Marching in Place

As time marches on (Get it? March! Okay, fine... It's a lame intro.), The Political Palate (The Bloodroot Collective (Betsey Beaven, Noel Giordano, Selma Miriam, and Pat Shea), 1980) mirrors the feeling of late winter and obstinately stays in place. Late winter started February 2 and won't end until the equinox-- near the end of the month-- so I've got a couple more recipes from the same section. 

This time, we're going to try to warm up with some southwestern classics. First up: Tamale Pie.

As I read through this, I realized the filling is remarkably similar to the recipe for cashew chili (and by "remarkably similar," I mean nearly identical!). (I'd make some kind of Groundhog Day joke about things getting repeated, but it's March now, not February, so I guess that wouldn't fit.) I'm not sure why the book presented this as a separate recipe when it might have been easier to add the recipe for the topping (referred to at times as "cornbread" and other times as "cornmeal mush") after the chili recipe as a variation. Maybe the authors just needed to reach a certain page count and listing this twice in the same section got them just that much closer? 

The tamale pie is supposed to be served with "guacamole salad," which follows on the next page, and is labeled only "guacamole."

Older recipes often add things like mayonnaise or cream cheese, but this one does not. It even includes jalapeno peppers! I'm most amused by the need to explain that fresh cilantro is an herb available in Chinese and Puerto Rican markets since it's so ubiquitous today. The biggest difference from current guacamole recipes might be that this one doesn't include any citrus juice-- usually lime now, though older recipes often call for lemon. I'm not convinced the citrus actually does much to prevent browning, but diners might miss the zing.

Here's hoping that the cold, slushy days stop repeating themselves, and the recipes for early spring will be here soon!