And before you know it, fall slips in between the blasting heat and threatening frost. She’s that quick, and always armed with a few tricks up her colorful sleeve. One day shorts and sandals, the next, sweaters and frantic picking of the remaining tomatoes in the garden. Today, we finally have blessed rain to help with our drought. Ah, the sound of raindrops, and it’s a nice slow drizzle, not a downpour. We certainly needed this, so thank you for this first full day of autumn delight.

That in-between time

 Yet, it seems like the fall harvest has just begun, as pyramids of colorful squash decorate farm stands and corn stalks sit ready to decorate for Halloween. We’ve the last of the summer vegetables holding on for dear life, bounties of tomatoes and sweet peppers. The zucchini and beans are being pushed aside for the beets and carrots and large bags of onions and potatoes for storing.

Enjoy it while it lasts!

But we’ve plenty to enjoy right now, and mixing the summer and fall crops means a great variety of textures, colors, and flavors. We love them all.

Companion planting

In this side dish, we’re combining some of the first cultivated crops of indigenous corn, beans, and squash, the “three sisters” an original companion planting, one that is often cited a being pretty perfect for the plants and humans alike. Each plant contributing something to the whole.

Working together

The first nation technique of planting all three crops together on a mound was simple: the corn provided the stalk for the beans to grown up, the pole beans fixed nitrogen from the air to add fertilizer to the ground (although they probably added other nutrients to the soil like fish carcasses), and the squash (more likely a pumpkin-like vegetable) provided weed control and temperature regulation at the base of everything. These vegetables were dried or stored for use through the winter, providing balanced nutrition during those lean months. It served the native population, and our earth, well. 

A waiting harvest

However, the most likely reason this planting technique was practiced was to reduce labor in the growing of the vegetables. In the northeast, members of the tribes routinely took jaunts during the spring and summer months to where the best fishing was, setting up temporary camps here and there. By interplanting these crops, there was less work as they grew, and whenever they returned during the season, if they were lucky and beat out other animals, they had food growing and waiting for them to harvest. 

Pick your story

There are various forms of these plantings among many tribes throughout North America, some I’m sure more efficient than others, and quite a few native legends about the origins of the three sisters, all enchanting. One Mohawk version appears at the end of this post.

Better together

            I’ve made many dishes using these three vegetables. The corn and squash add a lovely sweetness and texture to any dish, and this recipe in particular is so incredibly nutritious you feel energized eating it! Beans ground everything, add protein and fiber, and the squash a myriad of other vitamins and nutrients. All in all, this side dish (or light lunch) is a nutritional powerhouse.

The beans

            The beans here are black beans I prepared quickly in my pressure cooker, but you could use another favorite. One cup of dried beans, a half an onion, dice, and a quart of water with a bit of salt. Job done with 30 minutes at normal pressure, quick release, no presoaking. You’ll have a cup of cooked beans left over for other uses. If you like, you can use rinsed canned beans here, but the cooked dried beans taste much better, or substitute some green beans chopped up.

Squash, how about some kohlrabi too?

            Butternut squash has hit the stands, and this was my first use this season. How thin the skin this time of year! A dream to peel, and I don’t always peel it. I slipped in a little red pepper as well, a fourth native sister, even though in a companion planting, she might be greedy of nutrients! And because I couldn’t resist the beautiful kohlrabi and its leaves, I added that as well, every inch is edible, raw or cooked! That’s what I call a vegetable ready to please. If your kohlrabi has been shaved of its leaves, substitute another green such as arugula, or leave it all out. The toasted garlic was a perfect topping for everything, and one of our favorites, adding a nutty crunch and intense flavor.

Fresh or frozen

Here we used roasted corn from dinner the night before; if fresh corn on the cob is finished where you are, you can substitute frozen. The next morning, we stuffed this side dish into a frittata, and it was absolutely delicious. We often served this up on Indigenous Peoples Day at the inn here in Vermont.

Keep the family happy

            Use local ingredients at their peak of freshness. For many weeks in the fall, you will find the corn and beans and squash, and even peppers if you’re lucky, all sitting there together, like a happy family, waiting for you to make this recipe!

Three Sisters on the Side

• 2 cups winter squash such as butternut, diced
• 2 cups kohlrabi, diced
• Greens from the kohlrabi, rough chop
• ½ large onion, diced
• ½ medium red bell pepper, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups cooked corn
• 2 cups cooked beans
• 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
• For the topping:
• Garlic chips, below

Cut up the kohlrabi and squash and steam until tender, adding the greens from the kohlrabi at the end just to wilt. Toss everything in a large mixing bowl.

In the meantime, in a little olive oil, sauté the onion, pepper, and garlic until soft and fragrant. No need to color. Add to the bowl along with the corn and beans.

Toss everything well, then place in a serving bowl, top with a big pat of butter or drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkle in the chips.

Garlic Chips

• One head of garlic
• Olive oil

Peel the cloves and slice thinly.

Heat a small pan of olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic slices. Continue cooking slowly until the chips are lightly browned. Drain.

Second Act: Three Sisters Frittata

Three sisters Frittata: Fold leftovers into a scrambled egg base, top with a bit of Parmesan, and finish in the oven until golden brown. An excellent breakfast, lunch, supper, or snack.

One Three Sisters Legend

Adapted from Cornell Garden Based Learning Project

“Once upon a time, a very long time ago, there were three sisters who lived together in a field.

They were different from each other in both their size and how they dressed. dressing. The youngest sister, dressed in green, only crawled at first. The second dressed in bright yellow, and was apt to run off by herself. The eldest sister, stood straight and tall, and guarded the young. She wore a pale green shawl, and she had long, yellow hair that flowed in the breeze.

They only things they had in common were they loved one another deeply and were never separated. 

After a while, a little boy came to the field. He was fearless and as friends with the animals and birds, and the three sisters watched him closely.

As summer drew to an end, the youngest sister disappeared. Her sisters moured for her, and the little boy came to the field again, gathering reeds at the edge of a stream, leaving his footprints a he returned home. That night, the second of the sisters disappeared. She may have set her feet in the tracks of the little boy.

Now the eldest stood alone in the field as the days grew short and cold. Her green dress faded, and her hair turned brown and tangled. She was lonely.

But one day in harvest season, the little boy heard the crying of the third sister and felt sorry for her. He carried her to the lodge of his family.

What a surprise! Her two lost sisters were there in the boy’s home, safe and happy to see her once again. It seems they had both been curious about the young boy and followed him home. They liked the warmth of his home, they decided to spend the winter with him, and so they stayed and kept the meals coming through long winters, never to be separated again.

Every child of today knows these sisters and needs them just as much as the little boy did. For the little sister in green is the bean. Her sister in yellow is the squash, and the elder sister with the long flowing hair of yellow and the green shawl is the corn.

~ A Mohawk legend

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