Cookbooks are a lot like restaurants: It takes a team of specialized skill sets to create a really good one. And, like cooking in a restaurant, no one writes a cookbook alone.
Even when I'm by myself in the kitchen, I feel surrounded by friends, my mom, grandma and other cookbook writers who seem to help me season a dish. As a food writer, my dream projects involve collaboration, respect and the chance to experience an unfamiliar cuisine. The chefs I've worked with have a deep knowledge of their craft and ingredients, but few have the time or interest in writing. I become the scribe, recipe tester, food stylist, deadline wrangler. When I'm lucky, such collaborations lead to lifelong friendships.

That was the case recently, when I had the opportunity to work with Loretta Barrett Oden, a stunningly beautiful 80-year-old Native American chef — and one of the most influential leaders in the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Movement.
Barrett Oden sparked Native American cuisine in 1993, when she and her oldest son, Clay, opened Corn Dance Café in Santa Fe, N.M., the first in the country to focus on local Indigenous ingredients. Along with rave reviews, it caught the attention of national television outlets, including the "Today" show and "Good Morning America." Barrett Oden eventually segued from subject to host after helping create a miniseries for PBS, the Emmy Award-winning "Seasoned With Spirit: A Native Cook's Journey," which aired in 2006.
Her journey also has led to the newly published cookbook and memoir "Corn Dance: Inspired First American Cuisine" (University of Oklahoma Press, $34.95). The book follows Barrett Oden's path growing up in Shawnee, Okla., with her Citizen Potawatomi grandmothers and aunties, and of gardening, foraging and cooking.
Throughout the book she tells of her father's family, whose ancestors arrived on the Mayflower, and learning to ride horseback with her dad and set a proper table in her grandmother's home. As the young mom of two sons, she tended a ranch and orchard in Oklahoma, cooking for their 4-H competitions, cheering them on.
At 48, Barrett Oden left it all to travel and grow into the woman she said she was destined to become. She set out to discover her heritage, learning her real purpose — storyteller and cook — along the way. Traversing the country, she met with elders, researching foodways and cooking close to the land.
"I came to realize Native cuisine is as rich and varied as that of France, Italy or any other country," she said. This epiphany helped launch Corn Dance Cafe. The boldly seasoned dishes and the cafe's quirky Southwest vibe drew members of the American Indian Movement and a host of celebrities — Graham Greene, Joy Harjo, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Sherman Alexie, Ali MacGraw, N. Scott Momaday and Wes Studi, to name just a few. It closed in 2003.