History: Wampanoag Food

Today was our History Project day. This month we have been studying the Wampanoags and the various aspects of their lives. The kids learned last week that they were hunters and also fishermen as they lived on the coast. This week our focus was on the crops they raised, corn being chief, but also squash, beans and other things as well. We have really enjoyed learning about the role of children in the Wampanoag Tribe. Luke thought it was neat that the kids had the job of keeping the birds away from the crops, he thought that sounded like an easy job. In those times when shopping at the local supermarket was not an option protecting the crops was of course not a job to be taken lightly.


Johnny Cakes
1 c. cornmeal(I used corn flour)
1 c. milk(I used 1/2 water-1/2 coconut milk)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 t honey
Preheat griddle. Mix together egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be thin and crepe-like. These cook very fast, so keep an eye on them. We topped ours with fruit spread. They were delicious- despite the picture- I sprinkled cinnamon on some while cooking and they were particularly good.


We made Johnny cakes to go along with our study. However, I explained that we had it quite easy as our corn was pre-ground. We talked about how the Wampanoags had to dry and grind their own corn( I did not go into the methods of soaking the corn that are used by traditional peoples- please no one kick me out of the Traditional Foodies club). We of course had big fun making the cakes, aside from one slight mixer incident. I am happy to say we all still have our fingers though! Please excuse the photo quality, they were really delicious. Luke wanted to be cameraman!