On our travels to Six Nations Reserve in Ontario to attend their Powwow, we had the pleasure to eat Three Sister Soup and it was amazing. Also Six Nations Powwow is one Powwow you have to check out.
This is a one pot recipe and it is very easy and delicious to make.
Contents
Here are the Ingredients That You Need
- 2 cups onions, diced
- 6 cups water
- 2 cans diced tomatoes, no salt added
- (14.5-oz. can) 6 cups red skinned potatoes, cubed
- 1 can tomato sauce, no salt added (15-oz. can)
- 1 cup corn, frozen
- 1 cup yellow squash, diced
- 1 can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (15.5-oz. can)
- 1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed (15.5-oz. can)
- ½ can quick cooking barley
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoon black pepper
Directions For Cooking
In a large stockpot, add all ingredients.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Serve immediately.
That’s it…very easy and fun to make.
History of the Three Sister Soup
The reason why it’s called the Three Sister Soup is from the three main ingredients in the soup – Corn, Bean, and Squash.
There was an old Iroqous legend of Sky Woman who fell from the sky. During this point in time, there was no land, only endless Ocean.
The animals saw her falling from the sky and swam down and grabbed the soil from the surface and placed it on a Giant Turtle’s back. The turtle rose up to the top of the Ocean and now Sky Woman had something to land on.
She landed on Turtle which ended up becoming North America.
Sky Woman’s Daughter and The Twin Boys
Sky Woman was pregnant when she landed and gave birth to a daughter. That daughter later grew up and got pregnant by the “West Wind”.
The daughter ended up having twin boys but unfortunately she died during giving birth to these two boys.
In order for the two boys to survive, Sky Woman developed a plan that would nourish the boys.
She decided to bury her daughter in the “new earth” and from her grave grew three three sacred plants.
Those plants were the corn, bean, and the squash.
These plants grew throughout the land and nourished the boys to keep them strong and healthy.
Later these plants nourished everybody and helped with the survival of the Iroquois people.
Why This Harvest Works So Well
These three plants were grown together in one crop. They all actually work together to create a wonderful harvest for all that needed it.
The First Sister, the bean, has a great ability to take nitrogen from the air which keeps the other two sisters healthy to grow strong. The corn stalks need nitrogen to grow and they grow very tall. The beans use the height of the corn stalk to climb which holds all the plants together in unison.
The Last sister which is the Squash is the protector. The Squash has big leaves which adds cover to the soil and keeps it moist. The cover all keeps the weeds from coming up and destroying parts of the crop.
Another thing that the Squash does is that protects the other sisters from animals coming up and eating the other sisters and keeps the harvest plentiful for all to enjoy.
Now go on and make this awesome Three Sister Soup and also remember that this goes very well with fry bread.
Other Renditions of The Three Sister Soup
