At home it is a Christmas and New Year tradition to prepare the hallacas, this activity becomes a family sharing for Venezuelans, it is a cultural symbol, each region has its own personal touch, my mom was in charge of preparing them, now my sister assumed that role, first because she has seasoning and secondly she likes to cook, I have always been something like Santa's elves helper because preparing hallacas is not just any old thing
I am in free days at the office, but I was called to advance a job at noon and I was coming home, on the road I saw a guy selling banana leaves which is what they wrap the hallacas, I stopped and bought 4 kilos, they were fresh because there is an area where there is a lot of banana planting, these leaves also have their work I think they pass them by candle to use them, we did not want to catch us the last day of the year cooking.
The hallacas have their process first you have to chop all the seasonings into small squares to prepare the stew, that's not my department hahaha, I just pick seasonings, wash leaves and tie the seasoning before it was my mom's, but she is already quite old and with some health problems, She also participates at the time of assembling the hallacas, but the seasoning was inherited by my sister and the technique first fills a thin layer of corn dough, with the stew olives, raisins, capers and some decorations like onions, carrots, paprika.
My brother also has a good seasoning, he gives the millenary touch to the stew and dresses the pork leg to leave it all night macerating so that it gets a good taste, he also prepares the dessert cake and helps my other sister in everything related to the food, they are the kings of the kitchen at home when there is a celebration, here I am tied to tie hallacas and Christmas buns.
After tying all the hallacas comes the cooking process, currently there are problems with the gas supply in the country, the little that is left we use it for what is necessary, but as nothing stops us hahaha, that apartment is exclusive to my brother, he improvised a fire with firewood in the garden, after the hallacas have to be put in the candle, while they are cooking we stay talking actually I went to bed in the early morning of the 31st, in the morning obviously I gave them a taste hahaha, they were very tasty, ready to enjoy a delicious New Year's Eve dinner.
This time we prepared 45 hallacas and 25 Christmas buns, my family is large, there are always at least 30 people so it is better to have more than enough, we had run out of leaves, but my sister remembered that she had some left over from
when she prepared the hallacas for Christmas dinner, at the end of the day we can only be thankful for the provision, it is practically the last day of this year and God continues to be good.
Les deseo un feliz año 2025 para todos y que se cumplan sus sueños