sweet tamal carnio

Four and twenty blackbirds,
baked in a pie…

Under the influence of too many nursery rhymes (and possibly a shot or two of tequila), el señor Bowen assumed that Tamales Canarios was filled with canaries!

But apparently ‘canario’ (canary) is just another word for ‘amarillo’ (yellow).

And when the pie was opened,
the birds began to sing…

And when the tamale was opened, it was filled with ‘yellow’ cornmeal and custard, another wonderful version of sweet tamales.

For a recipe of a different sweet tamal: this one perfect for the festival of Candlemas, held on February 2 every year to celebrate the mid-point of winter. (This is also Groundhog Day!)

a sweet tamal about to be unwrapped

Los Bowens spent December 2012 travelling, eating and drinking their way through some obscure parts of Mexico, all while waiting for the ‘End of the (Mayan) World’, for the ‘long count’ calendar ended December 21, 2021…