Kendra slipped the apron over her head and secured the ties around her waist. “But can you videotape some of it so I can show it to my friends?”
Lamar paused, and then said, “If it’s okay with Miss Nydia, then I’ll do it.”
Nydia smiled at Kendra. “I don’t mind.” If the girl was serious about learning to cook, then she was willing to help document her progress. She waited for Lamar to leave the kitchen before reaching into the basket again. Nydia reached into the basket and removed a gaily wrapped package with a profusion of curling ribbons. “This is also for you, but you can open it later.” She’d given the girl a perfumed gift set of body gel, cream, and matching cologne. Nydia’s mother had presented her with a similar gift set the year she turned eleven to keep her from sneaking into her bedroom to spray herself with her expensive perfume.
Kendra’s reaction was totally unexpected when her eyes filled with tears. Her chin trembled as she tried composing herself. “Thank you, Miss Nydia.” Seconds later she launched herself at Nydia and hugged her so tightly that she was unable to draw a normal breath.
Nydia kissed the girl’s cheek. “You’re welcome. Now, you’re going to have to let me go so we can begin.”
Kendra managed a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that.”
She winked at her. “That’s okay. The first thing we’re going to do is wash the vegetables to get off any dirt or preservatives.” She handed Kendra several pairs of disposable latex gloves. “We’ll use the gloves when it comes time to work with the raw meat.” Nydia didn’t want to say that touching raw meat was her pet peeve. “The recipe I’m going to use will make about two dozenpasteles.”
Lamar had returned with a small camcorder. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Is that all you’re making?”
Nydia gave him a direct stare. “Once I go back to New York I’ll be up to my eyeballs making more than one hundred for family and friends, so to answer your question: yes, two dozen is enough.”
“Daddy, please,” Kendra pleaded. “Miss Nydia and I need to start our lesson.”
He held up his hands in supplication. “Okay. I’m going to sit here and watch. Let me know what you want me to record.”
“Kendra and I are going to begin makingsofrito, which is a recipe that is essential to flavor Latin dishes. It’s easy to make and can be frozen.”
Lamar nodded. “Let me know when I should start recording.”
Over the next two hours Nydia showed Kendra how to makesofrito, which Lamar recorded from beginning to end, the pork stock, and pork filling, and the root vegetable batter.
They took a break to eat a bowl of gumbo the housekeeper had prepared, and after Lamar retreated to his office, Nydia and Kendra concentrated on spooning the batter and pork filling, and topping it with olives and pieces of red pepper fromalcaparrado—a mixture of olives, pimentos, and capers—on pieces of parchment paper, wrapping it tightly before securing the tamales with kitchen twine.
“Some people wrap thepastelesin parchment in banana leaves, but my grandmother never used them when she made hers.”
Kendra washed her hands in the double sink with an automatic faucet. “We made more than two dozen.”
Nydia nodded. “You’re right. It is more like three. We can have them for dinner with a salad.” The built-in refrigerator /freezer was stocked with dairy, fresh fruit, and produce.
“What kind of salad, Miss Nydia?”
“Miss Ramona has feta cheese, so we can make a Greek salad.”
“I like cooking,” Kendra said as she dried her hands on a cotton towel. “Can we do this again?”
“I’m coming back tomorrow to prepare Sunday dinner, and I’m going to need an assistant when I makeperñil, rice with pigeon peas, and fried green bananas. Usually I’ll marinate the pork for two to three days, this time it will be overnight.”
Kendra’s dark eyes shimmered with excitement. “What kind of marinade are we going to use?”
“I like a wet rub that’s known as adobo mojito made with peeled garlic, and either sea or kosher salt, black peppercorns, dried oregano, olive oil, and white vinegar. I noticed Miss Ramona doesn’t have a mortar and pestle, so I’m going to use the bottom of a cast iron skillet to pound the garlic cloves and salt into a paste, before incorporating the peppercorns and oregano into the paste. After that we’ll add the oil and vinegar. While I’m making the rub I want you to take a sharp knife and make slits in the pork shoulder to fill them with the wet rub.”
Kendra’s eyebrows flickered a little. “How do you remember what to do without looking at a recipe book?”
“I’ve had a lot of years of practice. When I was a little girl I used to go to my grandmother’s house and sit on a stool to watch her cook. By the time I was your age she let me help her. I hated having to go to the supermarket with her to pick out what she needed for a particular dish. She’d tell me,‘Tráeme un poco de culantro,’which translates as ‘bring me some culantro’ in English. When I’d bring her cilantro she would lecture me sternly that culantro is not the same as cilantro. She liked it because its flavor is more intense than cilantro.”
“But, Miss Nydia, we made thesofritowith only cilantro,”
Nydia smiled. It was apparent her student was very astute. “That’s because I couldn’t find any when I went to the market.”
Kendra rested her elbows on the countertop. “Who taught you to speak Spanish?”
“My grandmother.”
