Chili Today and Hot Tamale

The other day, I received an email from my friend Rae.  Her daughter and son-in-law were coming for a visit and she wanted me to meet them.  She told me that Charlotte was going to give a lesson in making tamales and I was invited.  Tamales are definitely one of Paula and Joey’s favorite Mexican foods and I had been researching recipes.  I knew enough to know that making tamales is quite an undertaking.  I excitedly accepted the invitation.

The plan was to meet at Rae’s house about 3:00 in the afternoon, make the tamales and then stay for a wonderful Mexican feast in the evening.  When I arrived, Charlotte and Rae were already mixing the first batch of masa.  They started with 5 pounds of masa and a pound of butter.  They had it in a big bowl and were using Rae’s KitchenAid stand mixer to blend this stiff dough.  Rae had already prepared the fillings for the tamales, shredded pork for some and then cheese and chiles for others.  After a time, Rae got the cooking liquid from the pork out of the refrigerator.

This cooking liquid was thick and rich, making my mouth water when the spicy aroma reached my nostrils.  I could just imagine what a great addition it would make to a spicy green chili pork stew.  But, we were here to make tamales, so this went into the masa to bump up the flavor.  After the mixer ran for what seemed a really long time, Charlotte took a marble size ball of the dough and dropped it in a cup of water explaining that we would know the masa was ready if the ball floated.

With the masa complete, we were ready to assemble.  There were 5 of us sitting around the table assembling the tamales.  When it came time to start with the chile and cheese filling, I took the liberty of a taste.  Rae told me she roasted the jalapenos bought from the local farmer’s market.  After de-seeding the jalapenos, she added them to some caramelized onions and chili peppers.  The mixture smelled heavenly and as I brought the spoonful to my mouth I was transported back to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

A couple of summers ago, Rae, another friend of ours Rita, and I travelled to Santa Fe School for the Deaf for an ASL Immersion Week.  What an adventure!  We spent our days immersed in a world of American Sign Language and our evenings exploring the food of Santa Fe.  Rae was on a quest to explore the world of chili peppers and I gladly joined her.  No matter what meal or where you were, there were chilis to be sampled.  In bread, on eggs, in stews, in chocolate, chilis permeated the air and culture of Santa Fe.

One evening, we went to a restaurant some of the other students had recommended.  We were seated outside in a very pleasant area lush with flowers and alive with the smells and sound of Santa Fe.  Rae is Deaf and was thrilled to be immersed in a world of Sign Language.  I was just learning and struggled a bit with communication.  This dinner was quite comfortable, though.  We signed, ate and laughed, generally having a wonderful time.  We rose from our table, bellies full and our hearts overflowing with the laughter of blossoming friendship.  As we were leaving, Rae realized she had left her receipt on the table.

Rae went back to the table and I went on the meet Rita at the front of the restaurant.  She was standing next to the host who was leaning on a podium looking a bit bored.  He was a rather tall man with extremely curly salt and pepper hair.  He was dressed in black slacks, a white shirt and was wearing the biggest turquoise cross necklace I’ve ever seen.  I rounded the corner and was signing to Rita explaining that Rae had gone back to the table to get her copy of the receipt.  Rita signed back to me that she needed a copy of hers, too but had left hers on the tray.  I suggested maybe she could get a copy of it from the cashier.  I said she should ask the host if this was possible.  All of this communication took place using Sign Language.

Rita then turned to the host and said out loud “Could we get a copy of our ticket?”  This man about jumped through the ceiling exclaiming “Oh good Lord I thought you were Deaf!”  I burst out laughing at his exaggerated reaction, Rita followed suit as did the host.  The three of us were recovering when Rae came around the corner signing that she had not found her ticket.  The man looked at her and said “Now don’t you start!” which just started Rita and me on another fit of laughter.  We had to explain to Rae what had just happened and to the man that Rae was truly Deaf.  Oh my goodness, that was such a fun time!

Rae, Rita and I were still laughing when we returned to the school that evening.  We staggered up the sidewalk towards our dorm rooms.  In the distance, we saw a woman from our cottage and she made the sign for “drunk” with an inquiring look on her face.  Of course, this just made us laugh harder having to lean on each other for support.  No, we weren’t drunk on alcohol, but our souls were drunk on laughter and good times.  I suppose to the bystander it looks the same.

These were the memories evoked by that spoonful of chili filling.  As I looked around this table of women stuffing and rolling tamales I was struck once again with the importance of preparing meals in our lives.   This time together allowed opportunity for us to get to know each other better and for Rae’s daughter to catch a glimpse of her mother’s rich life.  I can picture a family spending all day preparing tamales and bonding during the process.  Hours later we all sat outside enjoying the summer breeze and wonderful meal of tamales.