Tales of Tamales

Well, we conquered one unknown.  I have always wanted to make tamales from scratch. I had "helped" on previous occasions in my life; a visit to Monterrey, Mexico with a friend to see her cousins glorified this interest. Our trip had culminated in a fiesta at noon, but we got up early and went with the cousins on an interest filled walk through the neighborhoods of Monterrey to arrive at another relative's home. There we progressed to make several types of tamales, all in what seemed like a short amount of time, laughing, gossiping, and talking. Sadly, it did not take long to see I did not fair well in spreading the masa on the husks, and was slowing the assembly line. Therefore, I was politely demoted to a lesser, but still "important" job of prepping the husks. I kept my eyes open and soaked in the the literal flavor of this cultural moment. 

Years later, another friend was making tamales. Remembering that time flew faster than masa splatters and the tamales were beyond delicious, I had volunteered to help. As I entered her home, she was in a foul mood; none of her sisters wanted to help, she ended up doing them alone. This did not improve my production. My masa spreading skills were still lacking, and my friend was already wound up to be even crankier. Within an hour, I felt I had enough, but tried to hang in another hour. The progress was slow, awkward, moody and the tamales were one flavor. I wasn't even going to be a beneficiary of my labor. So when I had the chance, I graciously bowed out. 

Well, I convinced my husband of 17 years to give the tamale making a chance this weekend. He has a number of sisters, sister-in-laws, and nieces who whip out the most savory tamales like professionals. I wanted to make some to have my own spin on tamales. I was risking that we would end up grumpy and arguing and have a mess of unfinished tamales in my kitchen, but it turned out to be a happy, laughter filled afternoon. Our teenaged daughter joined us, not to help but to chat for a while before heading out to join friends. Our exchange student came out to explore our project, sample the sauce and meat; he too sat and chatted for awhile and shared cultural similarities of tamales. 

We managed to assemble a decent four and a half dozen fabulous pork tamales, made completely from scratch (which was my first hurdle with my husband who wanted the pre-made masa. IKR? The guy who grew up with tamales on a regular basis wanted the pre-made masa. No way for me.) Of course the best tasting tamales were the ones that came straight from the steaming vat for quality checks. And the masa was superb. My skills were still lacking on masa spreading, but my husband graciously promoted me to meat filling and husk folding. And why 4 1/2 dozen? We didn't really count the husks, and that was what we ended up with soaked and ready. Oh well. The extra meat mixture will make a savory side with eggs, dinner or breakfast. 

The recipe we used was a mix of what I researched, the primary portions came from food.com and foodnetwork.com. The techniques were what my husband coached from his experiences and what we encountered in the kitchen.

Traditional Tamales (Pork)

Prep Time: 2 hrs, spread out

Total Time: 6 hrs

Yield: 40 to 50 Tamales...depending on your husks, what you count out 

Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs pork shoulder or 3 1/2 lbs pork butt, trimmed of fat and cut up

10 cups water

1 medium onion, quartered

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 cups red chili sauce ( see recipe for red chili sauce)

3/4 cup shortening

6 cups masa harina

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

50 dried corn husks (each husk should be 8 inches long and 6 inches wide at the top. If it is large, tear a strip from the side).

Directions

In a 5 qt Dutch oven, bring pork, water, onion, garlic and 1 1/2 salt to boil. Simmer covered, about 2 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender. Remove meat from broth and allow both meat and broth to cool. Shred the meat. Strain the broth and reserve 6 cups.

In the mean time, soak corn husks in warm water (for at least 20 minutes); rinse to remove any corn silk and drain well. This is key...husks should be pliable and moist, but gently dried.

In a large sauce pan, heat the red chili sauce and add the meat; simmer on low heat, covered for 10 minutes.

To make masa beat shortening to make creamier. In a separate bowl, stir together masa harina, baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt.  Alternately add masa harina mixture and broth to shortening, beating well after each addition. We got our hands into to really mix it thoroughly. Make sure the broth is cool, if you are going to do this. Add just enough broth to make a thick, creamy paste.

To assemble each tamale, spread 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture on the center of the corn husk.

Place about 1 tablespoon meat and sauce mixture in the middle of the masa. Firmly fold in sides of husk and fold up the bottom, to make a small little packet. Set these gently on a pan or large bowl, open side up. 

Place foil balls in the center of a steamer basket placed in a large (12 Quart) aluminum tamale steamer pot.

Lean the tamales in the basket, open side up. Add water just below the basket. Bring water to boil and reduce heat. Cover and steam 40 to 60 minutes, adding water when necessary.

Red Chili Sauce 

Prep Time: 30 minsTotal Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients

15 large dried red chilies 

4 - 5 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons ground cumin (substituted 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seed)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons oil

Directions

Remove stems and seeds from dried chili peppers. Place peppers in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast in 350°F oven for 2 to 5 minutes or until you smell a sweet roasted aroma, checking often to avoid burning.

Remove from oven and soak in a large bowl with enough hot water (at least 3 to 4 cups) to cover for about 30 minutes or until cool.

Put peppers and 2 1/2 cups of the soaking water into a blender (save the remaining soaking water).

Add garlic, cumin and salt. Cover and blend until smooth. It will be a seductive deep red and creamy.

In a 2-quart sauce pan, stir flour into oil or melted shortening over med heat until browned. Carefully stir in blended chili mixture.

Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. If sauce gets too thick, stir in up to 1 cup of the remaining soaking water until you reach the desired thickness. Use this sauce for traditional tamales.

Best Fast Delicious Fudge

Variation on recipes posted.

Oh my gosh! So very good! And fast! No candy thermometers, no boiling and scorching perfectly innocent chocolate.

Ingredients:

3 cups chocolate morsels. I used 2 cups Nestle Minis and 1 cup white chocolate morsels, because thats what I had in the cabinet, and that's how I roll.

1 14-oz can of sweet condensed milk

4 tablespoons of butter; I used unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt 

You will need to line a square 8x8 pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray.  Set aside.

In a medium size microwaveable bowl, combine the chocolate morsels, butter, and the sweet condensed milk. Place in microwave and heat for 1 minute.

Carefully remove from microwave and begin stirring the mixture.  Keep stirring until the mixture becomes fairly smooth.  If you need to heat a little more, do it like 15 seconds at a time, stirring each time you take it out.  I only had to heat one extra time of 15 seconds, and that was because I stopped to do something, and I could see the butter wasn't softening and my chocolate was cooling. Life is not perfect, but fudge should be.

Once the fudge begins to look smooth and completely combined, add the vanilla and salt. Stir this in so that it is evenly distributed.  To be honest, I am not a good stirrer, and so I added the vanilla and salt before everything was completely mixed and smooth.  I don't like to make food stiff or dry by stirring too much. 

Once you have it all mixed to your satisfaction (i.e. the butter is completely mixed in), carefully pour the fudge into the foil lined pan.  It will come out of the bowl fairly quick and easy. 

Refrigerate the pan for at least 2 hours.  When ready to plate, this is the best part: lift the foil out of the pan, and place fudge face down on cutting board surface.  Using a  sharp knife, slice into strips and then into cubes.  I chopped into smaller than usual blocks, so my friends and family would not feel so guilty about eating more than one. And this was appreciated. 

Plate up and serve. Clean up is fast and easy too!

Saturday Productivity: How Do you define it?

Even though winter in Texas hardly draws the mittens and hot cocoa images to mind, there are days you can tag as wintery enough to snuggle with a lap dog or two. Sadly for me, this winter affect targts me when I should be rummaging through closets and drawers. Still have a stack of boxes in the garage awaiting to be unpacked from our move in, oh about 5 years ago.  What is worse is that those boxes harbor items that are needed, albeit not everyday, but enough to haunt to say I can't buy anything to replace it.  Such as cookbooks, knive sets, a super nice pizza cutter, several baking ware collections. I believe there are a variety of other items that will be greeted with a warmth given of long lost friends once they are rediscovered.

For now I will snuggle with my pups, sip some tea, muse, and pretend that it is colder than the overcast skies might reveal. Maybe I can set some goals, besides the number of books I might enjoy before Spring appears. Goals such as clearing out two boxes a day, sorting out clothes from one side of a closet...does anyone ever really get caught up on projects?

I don't know what happened to last year. But it is 2014 Now.

2013. Went by in such a blur. So many wonderful things happened, which makes the blur worth it. Our family tradition on New Year's Eve, before the frolicking starts, is to sit together at the diner table to compose our plans for the coming year. We seal them in an envelope to be read the next year. 

Generally we start reading last year's goals; what we thought we would accomplish, check off those things we did. Sharing is optional. No pressure. It is a mini time capsule. I have collected the letters to ourselves and store them. It is fun for my daughter to see how her goals have changed, her handwriting has changed, and what she has accomplished. The same for us as parents. 

The goal is to not lament what was not done, but celebrate what we did. In the beginning the goals were repetitious and expected, like lose 20 pounds, travel more, family time. But then we realized these are not measurable and enduring. So we started becoming more focused and deliberate. If weight was the issue, it was entitled improved health and with a specific goal like eating two extra vegetables a week or becoming proficient on fixing two specific healthy dishes by a certain date.  I have found that this helped increase my cooking skills, teach my daughter healthy eating habits and it would replace an undesirable tendency.

"Travel more" evolved into specific plans, such as listing desirable locations for family vacations. This actually resulted in us making the time to plan and travel for vacations. Sounds small and simple, but in truth we were not making vacation plans, we would just take short trips, usually for family events and not in the form of a true vacation. 2013 resulted in one of the best vacations we ever did. Needless to say, we are already forming plans for this year. 

Even though the goal may be singular in its written form (I will...), we have found over time that the goals we set have expanded into our daily routines, creating support and enthusiasm. My husband has set goals of painting a set number of pictures in the course of the year. When his artistic bug bites, it gets the rest of us in an imaginative mood. Before you know it, the table is covered in paint brushes, water cups, acrylic paints, and a number of other artistic mediums. And dinner is delayed for a worthy afternoon spent in creative musings.

I have set specific goals of reading so many books within the year. I have in the past few years over achieved this goal, simply because when I set time to read, so does my husband. Then we talk about what we have read, enriching our conversations. I have read the assigned summer reading my daughter has for classes. We have had many enjoyable conversations and, in my case, a return to a classic story read long ago and happily reuniting with characters of interest. 

So while the year may have sped by in seemingly micro-seconds, the reflection on December 31 is with warmth and reward for 365 days well spent. The traditional resolutions have emerged into action and anticipation and results.  Here is to a Happy 2014 to you.

  

Moon Soil Science Lab

Well, as much as I hate to admit it…my mind has started wandering towards the return of the school year. School supply lists and sales are popping up everywhere, so it is natural to start back-of-the mind brain cycling (too bad this doesn’t burn as many calories as we spend doing it, eh?) of ideas.

Last Spring, I saw a posting on Pinterest for EyedropperVolcanoes; a lesson designed for preschoolers to create a pan full of volcanoes. I teach 6 classes of 20+ 5^th Graders, and baking soda volcanoes are fun but not in our TEKS. I liked the idea of using eyedroppers and creating reactions, however I wanted to focus on some other areas of investigation.  So this is how I extended the lesson to accommodate more kids, at 5^th grade level, keep it hands on for all of the students, and build our investigative senses.

My first criterion was everything had to be set up so that I could build up a scientific scenario. I like it easy-breezy; the students like it when the labs weave into a story line. I did not want them to see the “ingredients” as it takes some of the magic out of the story! As I have usually about 130 students in a day, it had to be ready to go, all students participate, and relaxing!

For set up, I used paper plates, and made enough for one set up at each table of 4 students. Each plate had a small amount of baking soda pocketed into layers of flour.

I also provided two beakers with two eyedroppers in each beaker.  One was just water, and the other was just vinegar. I used neon food color to make the colors bold and scientific looking; I use this to differentiate the fluids during the lab. We do discuss water-based solutions versus acidic based solutions during the lab. The kids get to experience the differences, hands-on.

Each class starts with a fresh plate of flour, and replenished beakers as needed.

The scenario I shared with my students went something like this: we are scientists who were hired to examine some unknown soil samples, possibly from the moon or Mars. It is our purpose to examine the properties of the soil, and determine some information for classification. We are comparing and contrasting the samples to what we know about soil on Earth. (All through this scenario and lab, the students are contributing to the conversation practicing and applying investigative vocabulary…I have found that performing as the absent-minded professor versus the all-questioning teacher draws out more from the students!).

I have one student at each table use the water “solution” (I indicate by color…they don’t know its water), and place four or so random drops on their “soil” sample. Everyone gets a turn with eyedroppers, so I only have one student at a time place their drops, while everyone makes OBSERVATIONS of reactions in of solution and soil. Naturally, nothing really occurs, but have each table report their observations to the class.  Sometimes the water rolls and puddles, maybe creates a groove/rut in the “soil”, sometimes the “solution” forms a crater, etc. The conversations are valid, so let those kids share!

Have the next student do the same with the vinegar “solution.”  This of course gets a lot of oohs-and-aahs. Have the same observation share time. This reminds students in an easy lesson to watch their own lab, and not look at others…they miss it on both tables! And you never have to say a word!

Because we want to verify our results and the reactions were intriguing, we repeat the water-based solution again. Share results. And then repeat with the acid-based solution. Share results. I would walk around and monitor results, chat with the tables, use a pipette to give a big stream of vinegar into the pile for the grand finale for the big Wows!

We did this lab on a shortened class schedule day, so classes ran about 25 minutes, which was plenty of time for all of this (and even some independent experimenting), and then clean up and set up for next class period. The kids love to help, and we only had one spillage of some flour mixture.

I will do this lab again, (earlier this year with a regular class schedule of 45 minutes), to allow the students to finish lab with a written summary and conclusion.  I have students write the science-y words we used on the white-board, as this is a great reward system for using vocabulary. The students like this; even my most quiet kids will contribute to discussions to get the chance to write on the board.  We all help with spelling, because Science has so many funny words. They can use the word bank they create as reference for their write-ups.  

I love labs like this, because the students are so focused and trying so hard. They will ask if we can do it again the next day, IF I have any “moon soil” left, and will bring it up as examples at review!

Let me know if you try the Moon Soil Lab.  I would love to hear feedback!