Navajo Tacos at Cameron Trading Post

Renee Donnelly

Fry Bread was popular at Cameron Trading Post with lots of choices for toppings. The recipe for Navajo Tacos is in Tastes and Treasures cookbook.

Renee Donnelly made a new friend with Tiffany Aerion

Karolee Hess, Karen Swanson, Cathy Shumard

Members send pictures of Historical League bus trip to Monument Valley

Ready for Canyon de Chelly on a chilly morning

Thanks to so many Historical League members who sent photos of the three day trip to Monument Valley and the Navajo Nation.
Linda Fritsch, Zona Lorig, Mary Parker, Carolyn Hartman, Nancy Evans, Kay Holcombe and more.
The photos are still coming in. Stay tuned.

Lindy Isacksen, Zona Lorig

Tour organizers Mary Parker, Nancy Evans, Bonnie Newhoff, Dianne Linthicum

Katie Tovar, Karolee Hess, Carolyn Hartman, Renee Donnelly, Ruth Ann Hogan, Zona Lorig

Trip into Canyon de Chelly

Peter McDonald tells about Navajo Code Talker training

Deep in Canyon de Chelly

Navajo Weavings

Pat Faur watches a weaver at Cameron Trading Post

The detail in the weavings is stunning. Made by the Navajo women using no pattern . . . they create as they go. Traditional dyes are made from plants. Lucy and her brother at Gouldings entertained us in a hogan in Monument Valley. Showing us how to card the wool, use a spindle and roll it into yarn for weaving, we were impressed with her skills.

Lucy at Gouldings

League members watch the demonstration

Cameron Suspension Bridge history with Lindy Isacksen

Linda Fritsch, Renee Donnelly, Lindy Isacksen,
Sharron McKinney, Ruth Ann Hogan and Katie Tovar.

As we pulled into Cameron, AZ Lindy pointed out the bridge her grandfather had worked on. Lindy comments, "My Grandfather, F.E. Stearman, was the engineer who designed the Cameron Suspension Bridge. I remember staying in Cameron for a short time with my family in a trailer home in the mid to late 1950's while he and my father supervised and oversaw the constuction of this bridge."
Historical League bus tours are filled with so much history.

Cameron Trading Post shopping and lunch

Cathy Shumard and Dianne Linthicum

Our lunch stop at Cameron Trading Post included lots of shopping as well as delicious Navajo Tacos. Historical League tours are a great way to see the state and spend time with amazing members.

Mary Parker, Jane Scoville, Sally Little, Becky Bryan

Fever pitch shopping for turquoise and silver jewelry

Cameron Trading Post sells Tastes & Treasures cookbook

Happy to announce that you can purchase our award winning Tastes & Treasures A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona at Cameron Trading Post in Cameron, Arizona. We took boxes of cookbooks on our 3 day Historical League journey to the Navajo Nation. After lunch at Cameron Trading Post, Leslie Christiansen and Ruth McLeod showed took the cookbook to gift shop buyer, Jolleen Kerley. She looked at the first chapter with Navajo Tacos from Cameron Trading Post and was sold!

Jolleen Kerley was born on the black mountain
in the background

Next time you are in the NE corner of the state, stop in to this HUGE Trading Post and enjoy!

Ruth McLeod and Leslie Christiansen: cookbook planning on the bus

Shipping Tastes & Treasures to Moscow, Idaho

Nice letter from Ellen in Chandler who ordered a cookbook for her friend in Idaho after reading The Arizona Republic article about Navajo Tacos from Cameron Trading Post.

Dear Ruth,

I actually read the recipe for Navajo Tacos and Indian Fry Bread in the recent Chandler Republic in Jan D'Atris column. She mentioned  that credit for the recipes was the Historical League's cookbook. My friend in Idaho and I are both Arizona natives. She misses Arizona a lot and is interested in anything historical - especially if it involves cooking. I know she will use many recipes from this book - and when I go to visit I will willingly be the "Guinea Pig" when she tries them out.

Thanks for helping to keep the memories of Old Arizona alive.

Navajo Tacos from Tastes & Treasures cookbook in AZ Republic

From June 26, 2015 Arizona Republic, Jan D'Atri column (and we totally agree) -

Cameron Trading Post Navajo Tacos

If you lived in Arizona in the 1970s and '80s, you remember that Indian Fry Bread and Navajo Tacos were as ubiquitous as burgers are today.
What happened? Why did such a tasty Southwestern treasure fall off the Arizona map?

One place that still prides itself on having the authentic Navajo Taco on the menu is the historic 99-year-old Cameron Trading Post, north of Flagstaff at the east end of the Grand Canyon.  It was established in 1916 by two brothers, Hubert and C.D. Richardson, who filled it with dry goods to barter with Navajo and Hopi locals for wool, blankets and livestock.

Today, it's still a popular "stop along the way" where tourists can shop for Native American Indian Art and dine in the spacious dining room with is stone fireplace, picture windows and pressed tin ceiling.

The Cameron Trading Post Navajo Taco and Native Fry Bread recipes are featured in the award-winning cookbook, "Tastes & Treasures, A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona," produced by the Historical League.

It is available at www.historicalleague.org and at the Cameron Trading Post.
As the cookbook states, if you make this hearty and satisfying dish, "Have big plates and big appetites. Nizhoni!" (which means "beautiful" in Navajo).

Navajo Tacos 
Ingredients
1 medium sweet yellow onion, diced

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1
1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 (8 ounce) can chili sauce

3/4 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds or ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 (approx.15 oz) cans pinto beans, drained

6 pieces Navajo fry bread

2-3 cups shredded lettuce

2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 large tomatoes cut into wedges

1 large green chile, diced

Directions
In a large skillet, sauté onion in olive oil until golden brown. Add beef and brown. Add chili sauce, cumin, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and salt. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
When done, gently stir beans into meat mixture to and heat. Spread mixture over top of fry bread. Top with lettuce, cheese, tomato wedges and green chile.

Navajo Fry Bread Ingredients
Shortening for deep frying
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup or more, enough for dough to form a ball

Navajo Fry Bread Directions
In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and enough water to form a dough ball, stirring constantly. Cover and let rest for about 30 minutes.
When ready to cook, in a large skillet, heat 2-3 inches of shortening to 380 degrees. Pinch off 6 equal size pieces of dough and, on a floured surface, roll each out about 7 inches (the size of a small dinner plate.) Carefully drop into hot oil and fry on one side until golden brown, about 1 minute. With tongs, carefully turn bread over and cook until golden brown about 45 seconds.
Drain on paper towel and repeat process.

Little hands make Indian Fry Bread

Indian Fry Bread

Many American Indian tribes in Arizona make fry bread. Today you can taste fry bread at many American Indian festivals and celebrations or you can make your own at home.
Be careful to supervise children around the hot oil while frying.

Ingredients:
Shortening for deep-frying
7 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
½ cup water

Directions:
Step 1: Heat the shortening in a deep fryer, skillet, or frying pan.

*Note: To fry in a skillet, add enough shortening to fill the skillet about 1 inch.

Step 2: Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Step 3: Add the milk and water and mix to form firm dough.

Step 4: Pinch off a baseball-size piece of the dough and roll or shape by hand to the
size of a dinner plate.

Step 5: Deep-fry until the bread is golden brown.

*Note: Fry the dough in the hot shortening until golden brown, turning after 15
to 20 seconds.

Step 6: Drain on paper towels.

Step 7: Repeat with the remaining dough.

Step 8: Serve hot with honey or powdered sugar.

* Recipe from Cameron Trading Post found on page 14, Tastes & Treasures: A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona by the Historical League.

Mary Parker's Taco Shells

Mary Parker is very resourceful. She served this lovely Taco Shell salad at the Historymaker Gala Wrap-Up meeting and impressed all of us. I like the fact that they are not deep fried but taste and look wonderful. It was nice to use the Navajo Taco recipe for the filling from Cameron Trading Post found in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Homemade Taco Shells
 Ingredients:

• flour tortillas (6-10 inches in diameter; 8" recommended for meal-size taco bowls, 10" recommended for salad, 6" recommended for appetizers)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If tortillas are not soft and pliable, wrap them in a slightly dampened dish towel and microwave 20-30 seconds, just until soft. Mold tortillas into bowl shapes using one of these methods:
1. tortilla shell maker molds (available at Amazon.com) -- press tortillas inside forms, bake for 14-16 minutes or until evenly browned.
2. oven proof bowl -- coat inside with cooking spray; press tortilla inside bowl; bake for 14-16 minutes or until evenly browned
3. inverted oven proof bowl -- coat outside of bowl with cooking spray; press tortilla around outside of bowl; bake for 14-16 minutes or until evenly browned

Navajo Fry Bread

Cameron Trading Post is featured in the first chapter in Tastes & Treasures cookbook. Page 14 has this delicious recipe. It is much easier than I thought and a big hit with the family. 

Candice from Maryland writes, "I used a recipe from Pioneer Woman. Not authentic (I think powdered milk is more authentic) but easy, ingredients on hand, and delicious! Super fun for toddler hands too. We ate so much we had to take a family walk."

Lots of great topping suggestions too - Lettuce, tomato, ground beef, pinto beans, sour cream, avocado, cheese, green chiles . . .

Navajo Fry Bread
Ingredients:

• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder (slightly Rounded Teaspoons)
• 3/4 cups Milk
• Water As Needed To Get Dough To Come Together
• Vegetable Shortening Or Lard For Frying

Directions:
Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork as you pour in the milk; keep stirring for a bit to get it to come together as much as possible. Add just enough water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup) to get it to come together. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it sit for 35 to 45 minutes to rest.

When you're ready to make the fry bread, heat about 1 to 2 inches shortening/lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Grab a plum-sized piece of dough (or larger if you want larger fry bread) and press it into a circle with your fingers: place it on a clean surface and begin pressing in the center and work your way out, stretching it as you go.
When the circle is about 4 to 7 inches (however big you want it) carefully drape it into the skillet. Allow it to fry on one side until golden brown, about 1 minute, then carefully flip it to the other side using tongs. Fry it for another 30 to 45 seconds.
Remove the fry bread to a paper towel-lined plate and allow it to drain while you fry the other pieces.
Serve warm!

Museum website recipes for kids

4th graders can learn Arizona history with the help of the www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org. It contains interesting stories, projects and recipes for children and parents to work together. The education department has done a great job to make this informative and fun for the whole family.

The Indian Fry Bread recipe is easy and delicious. Be careful to supervise children around the hot oil while frying.

Indian Fry Bread
Many American Indian tribes in Arizona make fry bread. Today you can taste fry bread
at many American Indian festivals and celebrations.

You Need:

Shortening for deep-frying
7 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
½ cup water

Step 1: Heat the shortening in a deep fryer, skillet, or frying pan.

*Note: To fry in a skillet, add enough shortening to fill the skillet about 1 inch.

Step 2: Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Step 3: Add the milk and water and mix to form firm dough.

Step 4: Pinch off a baseball-size piece of the dough and roll or shape by hand to the
size of a dinner plate.

Step 5: Deep-fry until the bread is golden brown.

*Note: Fry the dough in the hot shortening until golden brown, turning after 15
to 20 seconds.

Step 6: Drain on paper towels.

Step 7: Repeat with the remaining dough.

Step 8: Serve hot with honey or powdered sugar.

* Recipe from Cameron Trading Post found on page 14, Tastes & Treasures: A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona by the Historical League. Available for purchase at the Arizona Historical Society Museum at Papago Park, (480) 929-0292.