Twenty or so years ago, younger son was working at an historical site, Fort St. John Baptiste in Natchitoches, LA. One of the ladies who worked there, we'll call her Miss Juanita, was of Creole heritage, predominantly Spanish. She made tamales, using the old recipe where she would start with dry corn and lye to make her hominy. It was quite a production, and the tamales were fantastic.
One day, Miss Juanita was out in the courtyard, with an open fire and a big pot, making hominy when her father stopped by to visit. The old gentleman walked over to the pot, his daughter stirring it, and watched approvingly.
The old man stood there for a bit, then patted his daughter on the back. "That looks good, Juanita, but you know, you can buy hominy in cans now."
That's the way the world is these days. I did that post on block chili, simply as a blast from my past. That box of chili I posted isn't just exactly what I remembered, but it was close. We make chili now in a variety of ways. You can go easy and open a can of Hormel, or you can go old fashioned and slaughter a hog. They both fill the belly.
Hahahahaha! I miss those tamales! And Ms. "Juanita" even more!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, the 'old ways' taste a LOT better, even if they are a lot more work!
ReplyDeleteIn New Orleans, actually Algiers, for 2 things we would take the ferry to Canal Street to go either to Morning Call for beignets or out to Claiborne for Manuel's tamales at a streetcorner cart. For years when I went back later on leave I had to get those tamales. Wonder how they would have compared to Ms. Juanita's.
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