Cookbook Thoughts

 Happy New Year Instagram Peeps! It’s been awhile. Been off the grid working on something meaningful and the reason…

I want to share something I have been quietly developing for some time now.
I am working on my cookbook, and it is not a traditional one. My cookbook is rooted in storytelling, truth in history, and the belief that food carries more than flavor. It carries memory, responsibility, and the stories we often do not make space for.

The idea for my cookbook grew out of my desire to create a culinary residency for Native youth. I kept imagining a kitchen where young people could explore who they are, where they come from, and what kind of future they want to build through food. While that residency is still a vision in progress, it shaped everything about this book.

My cookbook is organized into three chapters, each one holding ten dishes.

The first chapter, “Human Conflict”, looks directly at the realities of our past and present. These dishes speak to American Indian Wars, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, environmental destruction, white supremacy, and the erasure of Indigenous lives and histories. This part of the book is not meant to be comfortable. It is meant to be honest.

The second chapter, “Human Rights and Reconciliation”, moves toward healing and shared responsibility. These dishes explore what it means to exchange knowledge, respect boundaries, and practice restoration with one another and with the land.

The final chapter, “A Childrens Guide For a Better Future”, ends the book on a hopeful note. These dishes are playful, lighter in spirit, and rooted in imagination. They are meant to honor children and youth as carriers of what comes next, and to remind us why remembering history matters so we do not repeat harm.

My cookbook is about food, but it is also about listening. It is about slowing down and paying attention to what we carry and what we pass on. Every dish is meant to offer depth of flavor and truth on a plate.
I am sharing this now because this project matters deeply to me. It is still unfolding, and I am grateful to bring people into the process as it grows.

Food is how I tell stories. This is one of them.