Today is Día de Reyes!
Growing up, Día de Reyes was one of the most magical days ever. The story tells that the night Jesus Christ was born the three Wise Men, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar, were drawn by a mysterious light, a star in the Western sky. They traveled with their camels until they found Baby Jesus and gave him gold, representing his kingship, frankincense representing his solemn priestly role and myrrh as a representation of his future sacrifice for mankind.
A lot of countries celebrate this day with food, parades and all kinds of fun things. Día de Reyes is one of the celebrations Puerto Ricans inherited from Spain as part of the Christianization of the island. We have parades, like some places in Spain, with the three kings on horses or camels waving at children and giving out bags of small goodies. The parade usually ends in a catholic mass. Some people make "promesas"(promises): when a person have a personal petition, usually better health or resolution to a terrible situation, they ask the Magi. If the petition is granted, the person pays in the form of folk music and prayer on Reyes Day for a number of years.
During the Víspera de Reyes, or Three Kings Day Eve, children all over the island gather grass in a shoe box and water in a bowl, put it under the bed and wait for the magi to come. The grass and water are for the camels because the poor little things are tired and hungry from walking around all night. If you behaved during the year and were asleep by the time the magi were near your home, you got a gift. If not... well, bad kids get nothing. I remember my mother used to make a mess with grass and water and complained about how the camels were so bad and messy. It was the best thing ever! I would love to be back home right now and celebrate Día de Reyes with my parents and brother but here I am, blogging and making Tembleque for the winter blues.
Tembleque (it means wiggly) is a traditional desert from Puerto Rico. It is basically a coconut pudding. It is delicate and delicious. My mother used to make coconut milk from scratch, which meant she was going to make Tembleque, Arroz con dulce (spiced rice pudding with raisins and coconut milk) and with the remaining shredded coconut, Dulce de coco (a very, very sweet coconut square). If it was summer, coconut milk meant limbers (frozen treat, like a popsicle but no stick, just in a plastic cup).
I know this is not a cookie, but I'm homesick. Here goes a simple Tembleque recipe:
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of coconut milk (If you want to make the real thing, it is not difficult but it is really time consuming. If you use canned coconut milk, make sure to shake it well before using it.)
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, if using brown sugar, use only 1/2 cup. I like granulated sugar because it helps maintain the color of the coconut milk.
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- dash of vanilla extract ( I used vanilla paste because I'm obsessed with the stuff)
- ground cinnamon for dusting
- pinch of salt
Let's make some tembleque!
In a saucepan combine 3 cups of the coconut milk, cinnamon sticks, sugar, pinch of salt and dash of vanilla. Dissolve well the sugar and let simmer over medium high heat. With the remaining coconut milk, completely dissolve the cornstarch.
When the coconut milk and sugar mixture is simmering, add the dissolved cornstarch while constantly stirring. I can not stress this enough: stir constantly after while adding the cornstarch mixture and after. It will thicken very fast and if not stirred properly, you will have terrible lumps and tembleque is ruined.
As soon as it thickens to a pudding consistency, pour in a moist glass baking dish, glasses or wherever your heart desires. I've seen people put tembleque in disposable aluminum molds but I really prefer glass.
Dust with a little bit of ground cinnamon, let cool a little bit and pop it in the refrigerator. Let it cool completely before serving, about 3 hours. This dessert is meant to be served cold. If made on a big dish, you can cut portions, like a pie. Enjoy!
