Dry and Tasteless

I few months ago I joined this community that uses ‘local currency’ for goods and services. I’m not expecting much out of it. I thought I would create a couple websites or something to get my name out and then go back into the freelance world again. The one problem is that I’m stick and tired of web stuff. I just like tinkering for myself as a hobby and not having any type of deadline pressure while I’m doing it, so I started making tamales instead. The friend that introduced me to this community was my first customer and the next one was the person that introduced my friend to it. Both of them gave my tamales glowing reviews / high praise and all that jazz. The third person was a little different. She lives quite a ways away from me and so delivery was difficult. I had to give them to my friend who dropped them off at her friend’s house and then called this third tamale buyer to her house. Once she finally got the tamales this is what she emailed to me…

We finally got the 4 pkgs of tamales from **friend of my friend**. Thanks! I posted the **money**’s.
We steamed some up and had a meal. **boyfriend’s name** is from Tamale country - Arizona and had a few bits of imput. Tasty chicken flavor, traditionally the olive is whole to signify the baby Jesus wrapped in the corn mother - Mary…..sweet huh?

He found the corn pretty dry and lacking good flavor. We steamed them all just right, so I asked him what they needed and he said he didn’t know but the masa his Momma and Hispanic neighbor use is VERY flavorful. He’s also had bluie corn ones…..Hmmm??
We’ve ended up putting chipotle sauce on them to moisten them but then they have lost some of your original flavoring which I really like.

I wanted to give you feedback but not directly to your **local currency** account. I am wondering if you mess around with the recipe or if it’s solidly yours, perhaps passed down recipe you love dearly?

Also, he was curious why you put potatoes in there. He had never seen that before…….:) **her name**

PS Your Tamales are the only ones I have ever tried, so now I’m excited to embark on a new culinary adventure. Yours’ll always be my first……..wink wink

This is what I wrote back to her…

**her name**,
I’m glad you got your tamales. Thank you for the **money**s. I have heard of making tamales with a whole olive, but I’ve never heard of the olive having that sort of meaning behind it. I’m glad **boyfriend’s name** enjoyed the chicken flavor. It is unfortunate the flavor of the masa was not to his liking, but I can’t imagine that it was dry. I ate several from that same batch I gave to you and they were as moist as my usual, which are much moister than tamales I’ve had from others. My mother and I have been using this recipe for 30+ years; it is from the Sinaloa area of Mexico.

So now Kurt has made it a joke. Last night Kurt and I were playing City of Heroes with his friend in Wiscaansssseeennn and so we had tamales for dinner. I left my third tamale because it got cold before I could get to it, and I don’t like them cold. (We were playing while eating) This morning I went downstairs and noticed a 2” x 3” white paper folded in half so that it would stand up in the plate that was mine. On the note paper was written, “What’s the matter? Was it dry and tasteless?”