Tamales

 This was our New Years Day Feast. It was delicious!!!

I have wanted to make Tamales for just about ever. When I was a little girl my family went to Arroyo Grande and helped another family make tamales. when I say another family I mean there were people coming out of the wood work. Men and women and kids everywhere.  I remember lot's of laughing, loud music,  lots of women with big butts, and yummy smells and happy, happy happy. ( The bug butt thing was probably because I was eye level with that part of the ladies.) There were big silver steaming pots and

 tables filled with bowls of spicy yummy meat and corn husks piled to the ceiling. Anyway I had a really good time and have wanted to make them myself but was to intimidated to try....UNTIL NOW........

 It was really easy. I soaked the husks for a few hours,while I prepared the meat. I used my pressure cooker so it was a bit faster. And I bought the masa pre made at a local tortilla/ grocery store here. They were making tortillas when I got there so it was warm and fresh.

 It isn't hard at all, just time consuming.

 Tradition is to put an olive inside each tamale for good luck for the coming year. Allison's teacher told her about putting two in. One for yourself and one for someone you love that's not there to enjoy the tamales. We put in two.

You roll the meat into the masa lined corn husk, fold it over, tie it up and ta dahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 Jennifer, Allison and I made about 30 or so. We just kept making them until we ran out of masa.

 Aren't they lovely????

 Little bundles of mmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm You place them open side up in a steamer and then cover with a wet towel and steam away for about 1 and 1/2 hours. We actually did these on New Years Eve and had "street tacos" for dinner that night, using the left over meat. Then on New Years Day we re -heated them and I made chili and we pigged out. I will definitely make them again. It's fun to be with people you love while making them and I can understand more now why my Mexican friends love getting together with their families to make them. Only they usually make a TON of them. Enough for the feast and enough for every family to take some home to freeze.

This may even become something I do every year. Tamale blessings, Sue