If you're confident enough in your cooking skills to try your hand at making tamales, you might want to spend a couple hours with La Guera Tamalera. Self-described 'White Girl Tamale Maker' Deborah Stern is holding an organic tamale class this Saturday, July 11 from 12-2:30 p.m. Sounds daunting to some, but Stern breaks it down: “it can be an incredibly time-consuming and complicated thing to do, but it's less of a science and more of an art.”

All ingredients are from farmers' markets, using the kind of organic, non-GMO corn flour that Michael Pollan would approve of. Stern, who is a graduate of Sandy Romero's kitchen training program at Mama's Hot Tamales, will provide step by step instructions for a “basic summer tamale recipe–and it'll be easy.” Participants will prepare the masa, assemble and wrap the tamales in husks, then steam or freeze at home. Cost is $58 per person, which includes all materials, plus other already prepared lunch foods — in case your tamale effort proves disastrous — and horchata sweetened with agave. Reservations required by Tuesday, July 7.

1326 E. First St., East L.A.; RSVP: (213) 880-0277.

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