Goya Pina
The
Tamale Queen
I
grew up on a remote ranch in West Texas. Not far down the road from where
I grew up lived a family that worked on the ranch. The Mom was named Goya, and
she was the best cook in the world. She is pictured at left in a
photograph made in 1963. Goya taught me how to make tamales. It is
her recipe that I have described on this site.
Goya and her family lived in a very small cinder block house. The
house had a tiny kitchen that barely had room for a stove. Some of my
fondest memories are walking over to Goya's house. As you got near her
house you could always smell something wonderful cooking in that tiny kitchen.
She was almost always making flour tortillas. These are not the kind that
you buy in the store today, but the kind made from scratch, and cooked quickly
on a hot griddle. I can remember when I would walk up she would always
greet me with a smile and a warm hello. She would throw me a flour
tortilla right off the griddle. She would toss it just like a Frisbee.
Never since have I ever been able to find a tortilla that tasted as good as
those she would throw me off that griddle.
Goya would also make hot tamales. I will always remember how good her
tamales tasted. Luckily, she taught me how to make tamales, and it is her
special recipe that is presented on this site. I hope to ad more of Goya's
recipes as time goes on.
Goya was the Tamale Queen.
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