Tamales

["Erlinda Castanon-Long" <longsjourney@...>]

When I was in Mexico for the first time 2 years ago while in 
Guadalajara our hostess stopped to buy corn tamales from a roadside 
stand that she frequently buys from.  They were pure corn made with 
corn oil, no meat fillers, no sause just pure corn tamale.  I had 
never seen that before but they were very sweet just as they were.

As an American born Mexican I was surprised at all the foods I 
didn't recognize both in Jalisco and Zacatecas.  I did find eating 
more healthy, cooking much plainer and portions much smaller.  In El 
Durazno, District of Jerez, the white cheese was delivered to the 
door wrapped in a cloth, the corn tortillas were made by 2 local 
women who started at 5am and closed at 8:30am.  People came by and 
bought them by weight including just masa if they wanted to make  
tamales.  I had never seen corn taken from the husk to a corn 
tortilla, they let me help since I was family.. they did use a 
machine to shape and cook them. They typically ate twice a day with 
a very light dinner of chocolate and sweet bread or fruit around 
8pm. We were invited for lunch at 3pm and were served potatoes, 
beans, tortillas, white cheese and a huge platter of cucumbers with 
limes.  Best meal I had in Mexico! They also went to market daily 
and fruits and veggies were fresh not canned.. we may still have a 
lot to learn from our 3rd world neighbors..
Linda