Hot Tamales

August 26, 09

I came back for lunch at my host family's to find Patty, live-in cook, maid/cousin, hauling a huge sack of potatos into the kitchen. Why? My host mom, Estella, said she would make 500 potato tamales for the local school for a snack. Let me tell you, this tamale-making is definitely an endeavor.

What was needed:

*500+ potatoes, boiled, peeled then made into mashed potatoes

*Few pounds of tomatoes, onions, butter, oil (probably something else, I forgot to ask), blended together to make the sauce

*1,000 banana leaves made into pairs of one large and one small leaf

*dried corn leaves to make the string the tie the tamales together

*500 hot peppers

*20+ lbs of meat

*mix the potatoes and sauce together in a huge tub

*scoop out a big spoonful of potato mix, place in the 2 banana leafs, add a pepper, add a piece of meat, fold banana leafs and tie.... then place into a huge pot

I had a few for lunch today and they were awesome. Probably the best tamales I've had since I've been here. They started at 1:30 pm and didn't end until 4:00 am.... crazy!