Thompson learned to cook from family

Choctaw Indian Princess Nalani LuzMaria Thompson recalls learning to make iconic dishes like hominy from her great-grandmother, grandmother, and her mother. 

“My great-grandmother, Rosie Thompson, got me into cooking,” Thompson said. “She made hominy, and that’s where my inspiration originally came from. I was very young, around three years old. She passed away when I was four, and so I briefly got to learn from her and I still have a fairly clear memory of how she was as a person.”

Thompson said her grandmother, Anita, also made hominy along with her mother, Kelli, and she eventually began making the dish herself after learning from multiple generations of her family.

Thompson was born and raised in the Philadelphia area and is from the Pearl River community. She is the daughter of Desmond and Kelli Jones and will be a senior at Neshoba Central High School this fall, where she is a member of the Lady Rockets basketball and powerlifting teams. 

She said her favorite dishes to make while growing up included spaghetti, which is a favorite at family gatherings, biscuits, fry bread, apple and blueberry pies, and more. 

“I still enjoy cooking today even though I’m not able to do it quite as much due to being so busy,” Thompson said. “My favorite part of cooking is making the food and getting that satisfaction when it’s done.” 

Outside of cooking, and being the 2023-2024 Choctaw Indian Princess, Thompson enjoys breadmaking, basketry, and Latin American dancing such as the salsa and cumbia. 

HOMINY 

1 gallon of dried hominy

5 chicken drumsticks

1 pack of 12 oz. Salt Pork

3 of 48 oz Great Value Chicken Broth

The night before you cook your hominy, clean and soak hominy immersed in a bowl of 48 oz Great Value Chicken Broth overnight.

When ready to cook, build a fire outside on cedar wood. Put your kettle pot over the fire. Take two salt pork slices and dice meat part only. Dispose of the fat from the pork. Put your hominy, chicken drumsticks, diced salt pork, 48 oz great value chicken broth, and 48 oz of water in the kettle pot to cook.

Cook for 2 hours, adding water or chicken broth when necessary.

FRY BREAD

Self-Rising Flour

Whole Milk

Canola Oil

Aluminum Foil

Set aluminum foil sheets down on your prep area. Spread flour on foil so dough doesn’t stick. Sift flour into a bowl until you have desired amount of flour. Each fry bread would need a ball of dough that can fit into the palm of your hand.

Mix in whole milk and slowly work the milk into flour and knead your dough. Fill your cast iron skillet about halfway with Canola oil and set on medium heat. Put flour in your hand so the dough doesn’t stick to you.

Roll each palm sized ball of dough over and over on your palm until smooth. Flatten dough to form frybread. When oil is ready, cook both sides of your fry bread until golden brown.

MEXICAN GREEN SPAGHETTI 

4 Roasted Poblano Peppers

1 Pound Spaghetti

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 quarter cup of onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper (stemmed, seeded, and chopped)

4 Minced Garlic Cloves

1 cup Spinach Leaves

1 Small Bunch of Cilantro

8 oz. Sour Cream or Crema Mexicana

1 Teaspoon Chicken bouillon or 1 bouillon cube

2/3 to 1 cup milk or half & half

8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened and cut into small cubes

Crumbled cotija cheese or queso fresco

Pepitas

Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook pasta. While pasta cooks, make the pasta sauce (heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet; cook onion, jalapeño pepper for about 3 minutes until onion is translucent; stir in garlic, baby spinach for about 2 minutes until spinach starts to wilt; transfer to blender; add roasted peppers, cilantro, sour cream, chicken bouillon, and 2/3 cups of milk or half & half; process until smooth and creamy).

Remove 1 cup of pasta cooking water and remove pasta separately. Drain the remaining pasta water. Transfer pasta sauce to pasta pot. Heat over medium-low for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring as needed. 

Add half of the cream cheese and stir until it melts. Repeat with remaining cream cheese. Lower the heat and simmer for about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the pasta and toss to combine. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking water if needed to make the sauce creamy. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro, crumbled cheese, and pepitas if desired.