In a few days i will be attempting my first pozole. i asked for Nixtamal at
a Latino grocery in NYC & was shown 1 pound bags of dry large corn kernels.
i bought two & since the one recipe i had was rather skimpy on details, i
looked up other recipes on the web. one of them reads as follows in
Spanish:

Se prepara el nixtamal con maíz ancho blanco o de color que son los menos
duros y
revientan mejor; es aconsejable remojar el maíz un día o dos antes de
prepararlo, cambiando el agua a diario. Al cocerlo se le agrega cal
desbaratada y se deja hervir tapado hasta que espese; se enfría y se
enjuaga bien restregando para quitarle el hollejo y descabezar los granos.

Which i translate as something like:

Nixtamal is prepared with broad white or colored corn that is the least hard
and explodes better; it is advisable to soak the corn one or two days before
preparing it, changing the water daily. While cooking it, crushed lime is
added and it should be left to boil covered until it (the lime?) is used up;
refrigerate & place it in water while scrubbing it well to get rid of the
hulls & remove the head from the grain.

It then goes on to say that after that it needs to be boiled for four hours.

Have i got this more or less right so far? It doesn't quite make sense. In
other words, two cookings, one to get rid of the lime, then cool & soak &
dehull, and then cook again??

But my main question is, where do i get the lime, specified as three
tablespoons full (per pound?) ? ? ?

Also, my wife adds, isn't lime a poison?

Any light you can shed would be appreciated.

very best to all!

alex