It's too early to tell yet what may come of it. In deference to the kids' need to celebrate Thanksgiving twice, in two different households -- and to liberate them from duplicative menus -- we agreed to try something different. It was Christopher's idea, as these things often are. Recalling that years ago we developed the tradition of making eggrolls on Christmas Eve, he suggested creating a new tradition of making tamales on Thanksgiving. After all, hadn't the kids gifted me with a tamale making lesson from a chef a couple of years ago?
We agreed to a test. I picked up the cornhusks and the ingredients, enduring the skepticism of the lady at the Mexican grocery who clearly didn't see me as the tamale-making kind. The kids each brought accessories. Lori made a side. Then, rolling up our elbows, we dove into the masa and began to spread, fill, and roll; and when they were all ready, to steam.
From a culinary point of view, the results were only fair. The masa was a little thick and rubbery, and the filling was a little bland. Tamales, I realized long ago, are an art form that we have only begun to practice. As art forms go, what we made were the Tex-Mex equivalents of stick figures.
But from a family point of view, it was a wonderful evening. Together we shared a common project; together we collaborated toward a common end; together we spent the evening working with our hands, which freed our lips to tell all kinds of stories, process all kinds of news, ruminate on all manner of dilemmas, prognosticate on various possibilities, and give freee-reign to our imaginations.
I don't remember that we undertook the traditional activity of one-by-one listing an inventory of our blessings; I'm not sure we ever got around to verbally giving thanks. We simply spent a few hours together creating an evening to be thankful for. We'll have to wait until next year to see if it becomes a tradition, but as far as I'm concerned it is "a keeper". There was something perfect about it all -- even if the tamales weren't.
1 comment:
What a fun family tradation. You have created fond memories for your family. I am confident that this too will become a yearly event and each year you will try a new twist on the tamale making.
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