Get the fresh masa at Lunas Tortilla Factory ant Woodall Rogers and McKinney.  First, wash all the corn husks and allow them to soak in hot water.  Next, make the masa mix.  Melt the lard in a large skillet.  Use a food processor to combine the masa and the lard to get the "right consistency" by following these steps:  (1) put about a cup of masa into the processor and turn it on; (2) slowly pour in some melted lard until you achieve the "right consistency" (the only way I can describe it is:  just soft enough to spread with a soft spatula); (3) continue to alternate masa and melted lard to maintain the "right consistency" as the food processor fills; (4) add salt to taste as you finish each processor-full; (5) empty the masa mixture into a large bowl (you have the "right consistency" when you can slap the mound of masa and it doesn't stick to your hand) and repeat.  Now you are ready to make the tamales.  Remove the husks from the hot water and wring them out.  You don't want any excess water in the husks.  Hold the husk in one hand (the bottom edge of the husk parallel to the bottom edge of your hand, pinching it in place with your thumb), and a soft spatula in the other.  Scoop some masa onto the spatula and spread it across the husk in two smooth strokes:  first, scrape the masa from the spatula onto the husk using the same stroke you would use to scrape the mud from your shoe onto the edge of a step (the spatula is the muddy shoe and the bottom edge of your hand is the edge of the step);  second, spread/mash the pile of masa evenly across the husk with a single, smooth stroke of the spatula.  This takes practice!  You end up with a husk about 6" tall with masa spread only on the bottom 4" of the husk and across its entire 4" width (each husk is about 6" x 4").  Place cheese and jalapeno vertically on the masa (stay at least 1/2" from the bottom of the husk or the cheese will ooze out when you heat the tamales).  Roll the husk, fold over the top, and arrange the completed tamale in a pan.  Repeat until all the masa is gone. This recipe makes about a year's supply for the frequent tamale-eating family.  You need to steam these for about 20 minutes before you eat them.  Only steam those you plan to eat immediately.  Put all the others into the freezer.

Our comments:  Try this at your own risk!  We never have.  We just hired Santa Maria to make these and Hays took notes.  We don't know if we can duplicate her work.  As we watched her, there seemed to be a good deal of judgment involved, the kind of judgment that comes when you have been making tamales all of your life.  We do know this:  (1) these are work even for an old pro like Maria and (2) they taste good.

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