Hominy Hominy Hominy

It’s here! I have been sitting oyf shpilkes (“on pins”, waiting with great impatience) for hominy and corn flour from the Iroquois White Corn Project to arrive. I don’t recall ever having been this excited about a three sacks of grain, and by now you know, I do get excited about grain. This is a rare “heirloom” variety of corn grown by Pinewoods Community Farming on the Cattaraugus territory of the Seneca Nation near Oswego, New York. I first learned about this corn a few years ago on a visit to Rochester, and finally tracked them down this year.

Even before I opened the sacks, the sweet earthy, nutty, corn fragrance filled the kitchen. This is wonderful stuff. I have had dishes made with Iroquois white corn at Angelica Kitchen and it is delicious, warming, also interestingly bitter. And of course, all the heirloom variety and community farming stuff just bakes my potatoes.

Two cups of hominy are now simmering in the slow-cooker with some salt. I understand they will be ready in about fourteen hours, and I don’t need to worry about over-cooking them. I will use the hominy, if the Good Lord is willing, to make my most beloved and comforting winter stew, Legumbres en Pipian, squash stew with chiles, spices, and ground nuts, from The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison