Tamales With Ramon & Virginia

Tamales are a tradition in many parts of the world. Usually made for the Christmas season.

Each family takes pride in their own special way of making them.

The ingredients in these are as follows:

corn mush (consistency of cream of wheat)

rice (cooked)

peas & carrots (cooked)

chicken (often it is pork - cooked)

The wrapper is cut from the leaves of banana and plantain. Smoking or steaming make them pliable so they hold there ingredients together. The tying of them together is in preparation for boiling them over a wood fire for a couple of hours before they are ready to eat.

Here Ramon is tying two tamal together.

The only thing I was good for was cutting the string. My tamale wrapping was not very good. LOL