Alana Yazzie turns childhood cooking lessons into children’s cookbook
Navajo Times | Sharon Chischilly
Alana Yazzie, the creator of The Fancy Navajo, discusses her new children’s cookbook, “The Blue Corn Kitchen,” during the Navajo Recipe Showcase Nov. 6 at the Bee Hółdzil Fight-
ing Scouts Events Center in Fort Defiance.
DÁ’DEESTŁ’IN HÓTSAA
When Alana Yazzie’s 4-year-old daughter plays pretend, she sometimes gives cooking demonstrations, explaining how to make blue corn mush and naming the ingredients she uses.
The playful lessons remind Yazzie of her childhood in Fruitland, New Mexico, where her mother taught her to cook. Now raising a daughter in the Phoenix area, Yazzie has drawn on those experiences for a children’s cookbook that tells the story of three generations of Diné women through food.
Her second cookbook, “The Blue Corn Kitchen: A Navajo Story of Food, Family, and Tradition,” was released in September.
Yazzie is Tótsohnii, born for Ta’neeszahnii. Her maternal grandfather is Tábąąhá and her paternal grandfather is Kiyaa’áanii.
The book follows a young girl exploring her grandmother’s kitchen, discovering traditional cooking tools and ingredients and watching her mother incorporate them into modern recipes. Inspired by what she learns, the girl eventually creates a recipe of her own.
To read the full article, please see the Nov. 12, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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