My favorite food to eat has to be tamales. I watch my mom put in the work mixing the masa for them and cutting the fresh vegetables. Nice starchy potatoes and freshly washed. Jalapenos, spicy greens to add, separate batch for them since one bite out or smell of this green vegetable will have your nose hair go up, or better yet one small taste will have you running away for some water. Rice is boiled in a pot to cook, and these are added to the exquisite tamales. Along with some delicious pork or beef, the beef or pork is cooked in a sauce that consists of tomato sauce, with some spices like salt, black pepper, and more. You bring the sauce to a boil seeing every bubble pop letting you know that the meat is ready to go in.

After you have cooked your delicious meat it should be smothered in the sauce and your masa will still be mushy but don’t worry it’s part of the process. Gather all your ingredients, and fresh vegetables in a separate bowl. Freshly steamed rice in a separate as well. You want to lay out a banana leaf with some foil under it and put about two spoonfuls of your masa onto it. Now you get creative, put your meat, vegetables, and rice. Now here’s the hard part. Fold it up delicately, and in it goes to the steamer for about 2 hours. What’d I tell you? It’s a long process

While you steam it your house WILL be filled with the aroma of the deliciousness. The smell of meat, vegetables, rice. Take a deep breath and enjoy it. After a few hours, they should be ready, they’ll be hot but the masa should have solidified, and when you put your fork through it, every vegetable, every grain of rice, and a big piece of pork or beef. That’s a real tamale. Now the taste test. It’s too delicious, it's as if you’re in a cloud. That's how you know you made it correctly. Enjoy.