Talking my friends into sharing their health stories and their favorite go-to recipes is cathartic. It also reminds me of just how many amazing women I get to engage with at home and across the country. I am rich in personal connections and I’m so proud to highlight as many (cool and (mostly)) Indigenous women as I can on this blog.

Maybe there’s more to come from Susan Chapman Plumb (Cherokee Nation) on this blog at a later date, but we’ll start with this recipe she sent over for her basic bean salad. Oh, who am I kidding? We’ll get to the bean salad shortly.

Native women lawyers hold a special place in my heart. They do a lot. Their bandwidth in our communities is absolutely incredible. In addition to being a lawyer by trade, Susan is a mom to wonderful adult daughters (including Arkansas Razorbacks and a former Miss Cherokee).

She has been instrumental in providing critical board leadership for several nonprofits inside the Cherokee Nation including Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc. and a comprehensive health system’s foundation arm. She was delegate to our tribe’s constitutional convention and has served as Chairperson of the Cherokee Nation Election Commission, which is not a task for the faint of heart.

And if that’s not enough, she’s also on the Board of the KC Federal Reserve (representing Oklahoma).

And did I mention she runs a bank? Yep. Board Chair and CEO of Bank of Cherokee County, one of the first Native CDFIs, if not the first, to be certified by United States Treasury.

And she makes a wicked Bean Salad. This recipe is pretty much the only thing about Susan that is, “basic.”

Susan’s Basic Bean Salad

One can cannellni beans

3-4 chopped mini red/yellow peppers

small celery stalk w leaves chopped

1 green onion chopped

10 is Sweet cherry/grape tomatoes halved

Pepper to taste

Nature’s Own Seasoning to taste

Newman’s Own Classic Vinegar and Oil

Add course ground prepared mustard and a little vinegar and olive oil

Optional:

Tuna fillet in olive oil

And shredded Parmesan

Of course you can use whatever you have on hand ….. cucumbers, parsley, carrots asparagus, heart of palm, olives artichokes, etc.

Also in Food & Fitness
Hiding Stuff in Food: For Adults

Hiding Stuff in Food: For Adults

Many of us moms have tried to sneak something healthy into our kid’s food. Sneak the “yucky” or less glamorous into their favorite foods. This…

The Final Frontier

The Final Frontier

I did the unthinkable. I removed the coffee pot from the kitchen counter and put it away in THAT cabinet. The place of kitchen exile…

Winter One Pot Wonder

Winter One Pot Wonder

Spitting snow flakes this evening and I wanted comfort food but craving something spicy. I love Cajun food but can’t eat hardly any of it…

A Very Grand (Canyon) Experience

A Very Grand (Canyon) Experience

Back in August, I shared a training journey embarked upon by a few students, staff and faculty from the Indian Legal Program at the Sandra…

Pedal to the Metal

Pedal to the Metal

I had my first automobile accident at six. As the driver. That’s right – 6 years old. A beater pickup on my grandpa’s farm near…