Angel in the Kitchen

On the day before Thanksgiving, I was in the kitchen preparing a batch of Atole de Masa, which is a hot drink made of masa, milk, sugar and water for the following day of Thanksgiving.  It’s an old family recipe.

I had already placed the water and masa in the pot to boil and as I grabbed the half cup to measure the sugar, somehow it just broke in thin air.  When I grabbed the half cup and reached my arm out to scoop the sugar, it just flat out broke apart.  I was a little puzzled about how it broke, because it seemed to break with some force when I know I hadn’t banged it against anything.  I thought that was odd.  Luckily, I had two sets of measuring cups.

Before getting my other half cup, I glanced at the recipe again and noticed that it called for one-fourth cup and not a half cup.  If I had used the half cup, I would have ruined it and made it too sweet.

I can’t think of any other explanation as to why the half cup broke, other than an angel must have been in the kitchen and kept me from messing up the batch.  Thank goodness since I didn’t have any more milk left to make another batch.

Just in case you wish to try this drink, here’s the recipe.  It’s good when you want to warm up on a cold day in winter.  You can put any left overs in the fridge and warm up a cup at a time.

Atole de Masa

5 cups of Water

½ cup Maseca or Masa

¼ cup Sugar

1 small can of Pet Evaporated Milk

In pot, add water, masa and sugar.  Bring to a boil and keep stirring to keep bottom from sticking.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Then add the milk.  Keep stirring.  Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  You can add more water if it comes out too thick.

Depending on your sweet tooth though, you might want to add an extra 1/8 cup or  1/4 cup of sugar though.