I spent my Sunday working on tamales for next week's department holiday party. I started with homemade veggie broth. Monika showed me how to make from all kinds of veggie ends and bits that you normally don't use the the butts of carrots, cores of bell peppers and some peelings. I added a bay leaf, a clove of garlic, an end of an old leek, celeriac and parsnip ends, cabbage leaves, thyme, oregano, turmeric, salt and pepper. I let that boil for at least an hour and strain out the water which turns pretty brown from all the veggies.
I used a new recipe this year for my tamales since I was going all vegetarian. The Masa Harina is gluten free (made from corn) so that is a bonus. I use 3 1/2 cups or Masa, 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 cup of vegetable shortening, and 2 cups of broth. I added a can of El Pato to my dough to add a bit of zip (spicy tomato flavor).
I made two kinds of tamales; pinto beans and cheese (grated jack and cheddar) and then second round with roasted poblano, anaheim and other misc peppers from my CSA box over the summer that I froze for later use and Mexican cheese and cheddar slices. I did not add the El Pato sauce to these since the peppers were zippy enough.
I could not find my regular steam pot in the basement! Luckily my mom gave me an old pot of hers that was huge and I was able to use that with a bowl and plate at the bottom for water steaming. I'll need to buy a steam rack for next year. I made 6 batches because Monika told me she wanted enough to last until the New Year. I'm not sure how long these will last as the two of us polished off half a dozen today and they weren't even fully steamed. 
I also made one batch of sweet ones with cinnamon in the masa, butter instead of shortening, pecans and dried fruit (raisins, pineapple, apricot and dates). Not a lot of people like these as much I do (I think because of the cooked raisins). I love them-- all of them, sweet, vegetarian, with meat (esp beef), etc. I only make them once a year though.
