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Spotlight on Mama Tina's Tamales

Mama Tina's Tamales is another business that likely wouldn't exist without farmer's markets. It currently has no retail location, selling only at the Hartland, Norwich and Hanover farmers markets.

Named for Luis Gomez' mother Ernestina Gomez de Romero, he and his wife Melissa bring offer El Salvadoran tamales, quesadillas, pupusas, tortillas, refried beans, curtido, homemade salsa and horchata at the markets. With advance notice, all their products are available for catering or takehome orders as well.

If you're not familiar with them, tamales are soft corn masa stuffed with fillings like chicken, veggies or refried beans, steamed while wrapped in corn husks which you remove before eating. Tamales may be most identified with Mexican cuisine but they are common throughout Latin America and are often served as comfort food, street food or a holiday treats.

Pupusas are thick corn tortillas filled with refried beans or cheese. Horchata is a very refreshing sweet drink made with a combination of sesame seed, morro seed, cinnamon, peanut & vanilla. Curtido is a light salad of marinated cabbage and carrots.

You find them on UVFood and Facebook.

Luis and Melissa had this to say of their farmer's market experiences:

"Vending at the farmer's markets, it has been a wonderful opportunity for us. It gives us a chance to meet our customers personally and talk with them about our food and to get to know the local farms that are producing some of our ingredients. Chris Jacobson at Side Track Farm in Hartland is actually growing tomatillos for us now as well as Lorraine Slack in Lebanon! It makes us feel great to be able to have a direct relationship with the people who are growing the ingredients."

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