These are ears of Hopi Blue Corn I grew in my garden. The original seeds were gifted to me by a Hopi friend in New Mexico and the variety has produced beautifully for us and acclimatized well to our Ontario climate over the past 7 years.

I love to both eat the ears when young and creamy colored as sweet corn we also let many ears mature to this deep blue/purple color for grinding into masa for making tortillas.

Due to the high levels of anthocyanin (the rich purple/blue antioxidant pigment which is found in other foods such as blueberries and elderberries) the mature kernels are not just delicious they are nutritious/medicinal.

Saving seed is a way to honor and connect the pre-colonial ancestors of the land in a meaningful way. If we source out heirloom seeds that have been tended for many generations and have deep roots in cultural traditions (some with origins before the dawn of industrial civilization) we are protecting and caring for the living lineage that was tended by animistic ancestors with love and purpose.

In doing so we are showing respect for the hard work they put into saving seed from successive generations of the best crops so we could have access to many excellent varieties today. When we cultivate, nurture, harvest, cook with and save seed from heirloom varieties we are using our hands and our hearts to tend to the living legacy of those who came before us, we are keeping their culture alive, we are saying thank you to them and we are ensuring a good future for those who come after we leave.

As I detailed in my post on the transgenic Ag industry, we are living in times when a small group of corporations have sought to steal, buy and consolidate ownership of our precious ancient heirloom seed varieties (and force farmers to buy their toxic and nutrient deficient patented transgenic seed) the act of choosing to grow and save seed from ancient heirloom varieties is an act of defiance and peaceful civil disobedience in the face of corporate tyranny.

Therefore, in choosing to grow heirloom varieties in our gardens we are saying no to the homogenization of our food and destruction of the diverse cultural heritages expressed in the seeds they co-created with nature. This makes the act of growing and saving heirloom seed a form of Satyagraha (aligning with the force of truth to resist unjust laws and empires peacefully and non violently).

When we resist tyranny and corporate parasitism through re-connecting with the living planet in a reciprocal relationship as our ancestors did, nurturing the land and our bodies through cultivating food and medicine crops in a way that gives back, saving and sharing seed, we are mending the broken relationship that humanity has with the living world that sustains us. We are healing the fragmentation of our species and how we connect to our Mother Earth, and doing it in a way that (if done with love, reverence, reciprocity and care) can create a connection that is even more beautiful than it was before as we honor the land, the ancestors and the 7th generation that comes after us on a pathway to indigenize to place.

The Hopi Red Amaranth seeds I have sent out to everyone that ordered a copy of my book recently share a similar story and are even more versatile in the kitchen.

My book (Recipes For Reciprocity: The Regenerative Way From Seed To Table) contains information on other ancient heirloom seeds, how to grow them, companion planting, harvesting and recipes for enjoying the harvest.

All purchases of a copy of my book from now till the end of January will come with one of those two Hopi heirloom seeds plus Goji berry seeds (at the very least ;)

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My book is available for purchase through the link below :

recipesforreciprocity.c…