Congratulations to our 2011-2012 Journalism Contest winner, Dottie Warren of Ms. Monteil's class, from Lyons Elementary!Tsssss!
I can hear the screaming of the crisp steam, as my mother lifts the top off a
gargantuan pot full of one of my favorite foods. My favorite holiday food
tradition is when my family prepares Turkey Tamales for Thanksgiving. My grandfather
Arturo created the recipe because he wanted to combine the Mexican tradition of
preparing tamales for special occasions and the American tradition of eating
turkey at Thanksgiving. First my family and I visit our local Farmers' Market
where we buy all of the fresh ingredients we need. Next, we prepare our
multi-step recipe using a cornucopia of different ingredients. Lastly, we
celebrate Thanksgiving by eating over delicious creations that everyone will
enjoy!
When we visit the Farmers' Market that
my mother has shopped at for over forty years. My mother and grandmother share
stores about the hilarious things my grandfather would do on visits there. We
buy all of the freshest, greatest, vegetables straight from the farm like
spinach, kale, chayote, bell peppers, garlic, tomatillos, green onion, celery
and cilantro. Since we make our tamales in such large quantities to share with
the rest of the family, we try to find the fattest turkey available! This will
turn out great! Our new tradition is to make a non-meat, vegetables version
using wild rice, garbanzo beans, lentils, and carrots in addition to making the
turkey tamales. The traditions continue to grow.
The success of the tamales rests with
the quality of the vegetable base sauce. The sauce is used for making the masa,
preparing the meat/or vegetable filling and the cream sauce on top. The sauce
ingredients are: 2 heads of garlic, 1 bunch of kale, 4 chayote, 1 bunch
cilantro, 4 bell peppers, 3 lbs tomatillos, 2 bunches green onion, 1 whole
celery, 2 bags spinach. Wash and clean all the vegetables and place them except
the spinach in a pot with water. Cook until tender. Place cooked vegetables in
blender with the uncooked spinach and thin with the hot liquid. Return to pot
and cook about 1 hour, season with salt to taste. Boil the turkey then shred.
Use prepared vegetable sauce to simmer the meat for 30 mins. To prepare the
masa, combine five, 5 lb bags of dry masa with 3 large tubs of Smart Balance
Sprea. NOT LARD! Add the vegetable sauce until moist about 4-6 cups. Now spread
about 3 tablespoon of masa evenly on moistened cornhusks. Place filling (meat or vegetable) in center, then wrap both
sides over each other and fold the bottom up to seal. Stock in pot and stem
1-1/2 hr.
It's Thanksgiving day! By the time I am
awake and out of my bed, the meat-filled bundles are steaming in the pot.
Tssss! I help my mother lift the top off the enormous pot, and the steam and
delicious aroma fill the air. The unique smell quickly reminds me of past
family gatherings and of the one we will go to today.
Finally! The moment I have been waiting
for! As I unwrap the corn husk, the warm, green masa topped with a viscous vegetable
cream sauce, which my mother just finished by adding sour cream to the
vegetable base sauce, tastes like nothing I have tasted any where else but
home. I Buen provecho!
Congratulations to our school finalists:
Bria Booker, MacGregor Elementary
Victoria Lopez, Rodriguez Elementary
Juliette Cedillo, Briscoe Elementary
Avery Robinson, Whittier Elementary
AJ Guerrero, DeZavala Elementary
Taylor East, Harbach-Ripley Elementary
