Day 2 - Pupusas, Curtido, and Salsa

These are from El Salvador but can be found in Guatemala (from what I read). Although these are a bit of work, they turned out pretty good. There are 3 parts to the pupusas and then you make the salsa and slaw separately. That is what makes it so time consuming. The parts of it are easy but there are a lot of parts to it all. 

The Curtido can be also eaten with tacos or anything really. (I've never made fish tacos but this would be great on them I would think.) My husband LOVED it. It has a bit of a kick with the cayenne and tastes even better the next day. I usually try to go light on the spice since my son doesn't like spicy things. But this turned out too spicy for him. I thought the spice was just right for this.

I think the salsa is really good, too, and can be used for anything you want to spice up. You blend it up so it's a smooth salsa. Mine came out at a medium heat. I used one small red jalapeno and half of a medium green one. Both were from my garden. I haven't seen red ones in the store before. Feel free to use whatever peppers you like!


Pupusas
Recipe adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/authentic-salvadorean-pupusas-277468

The Beans

2 T plus 1 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can red beans
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Heat 1 tsp canola oil in a large soup pan on medium high heat. Once the oil is heated saute the onion until they start to become golden brown. Place the beans, water, and cooked onion into blender and blend for 1 minute. Heat 2 T oil in pan. Carefully stir the beans from the blender into the hot oil. Turn your heat down to medium low. Carefully stir the beans until no oil appears in the beans. Cook on medium stirring about every 5 minutes until the beans have darkened about 3 shades and are the consistency of refried beans in a can. Stir in salt.

The Cheese

8oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 green bell peppers,diced  
1/2 medium jalapeno, diced

Place the shredded mozzarella, bell pepper, and jalapeno in a food processor and process until the peppers are chopped into tiny pieces and fully incorporated into the cheese. Next, place the cheese mixture into a glass bowl and warm the mix in the microwave for no more than 20 seconds. Next squeeze the cheese mixture with your hands until it becomes like a soft putty consistency. Set the cheese aside and get ready for the masa.

The Masa

2 1/4 cups masa corn flour
1 1/4 cup warm water

Place the masa and water in a bowl and stir until fully mixed. The masa should be sticky but should form an easy ball when rolled. If not, add water until it is sticky but easy to work with. Next, Place an egg size ball of masa in your hand (it helps to place a tiny bit of oil on your hands before doing this) and press the masa out in one hand to represent a small plate the size of your palm. Place about a tablespoon of cheese down onto the masa, then a tsp of beans. Pull the sides of the masa up around the beans and cheese and roll it into a ball. Next, flatten it a tiny bit with your palms to form a thick disc. Pat the disc turning it between your hands about 6 times to flatten it more but to keep it in a round shape. The pupusa should be a little less than 1/2 inch thick. Place the pupusa on a large oiled non stick surface and cook on medium high until each side is golden brown, around 3 minutes on each side.
 
Another way to do this is to use a tortilla press. Get an egg size ball of masa and divide it in two. Place one ball in a tortilla press lined with plastic wrap. Press thin. Do the same to the other ball. Place a tablespoon of cheese on one circle. Then place a teaspoon of beans on top of the cheese. Next place the other circle on top and press the edges together with your fingers. Cook as directed above.

Curtido De Repollo - El Salvadorean Cabbage Salad

Recipe from http://low-cholesterol.food.com/recipe/curtido-de-repollo-el-salvadorean-cabbage-salad-207798

 1 head green cabbage
1 cup apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup water 
1 medium onion
1-2 large carrots
1 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
scant 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp brown sugar (optional) 

Using a hand-grater or the grater attachment of your food processor, shred cabbage, carrots and onion. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.



Use the back of a wooden spoon to press all the ingredients down so they are submerged in liquid. Allow to rest at room temperature or in the refrigerator before serving, ideally for at least 4-6 hours. Serve with pupusas, or as a topping for fish, quesadillas, or other dishes.

 

Salsa for Pupusas
Recipe adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/salsa-for-pupusas-292499

4 roma tomatoes or 1 (14oz) can of tomatoes
1/2 cup small white onions, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove 
4 serrano chilies (I used one small red jalapeno and ½ of a med green jalapeno)
2 cups water 
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vinegar

Place the first 5 ingredients in the blender and blend on high. Heat the canola oil on medium high heat and pour the salsa into the pan. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Add the vinegar and the chicken bouillon powder and continue boiling for 10 minutes until the salsa is reduced by half. Allow the salsa to come down to room temperature and serve.

Central American menus - Day 1 - Hilachas, Guatemalan rice, Tostones

One day about a week ago when I was making my meal plan, I had this great idea. Since my 5 year old son is Guatemalan, I thought I'd make an entire week of Guatemalan food. I'm not sure if he really appreciated it or not but he tried everything.

 

So when I did some research online I found it difficult to find what things were truly from Guatemala. So this ended up being a central american kind of week.

 

I don't think I've spent so much time in the kitchen cooking or used my rice cooker so much in one week. Everything turned out good. Even the picky preschoolers didn't complain too much with the new food. Needless to say, For this week, I quickly did a few freezer meals on monday so I'm not in the kitchen all week again! 

 

I wanted to blog about it because I'm not sure the people I know really know what the food is like there. Of course they have their fair share of junk food like us but here is a sampling of what I could find. I will definitely make some of these meals again but I doubt I'll do a full week of it.

 

This first one is like a beef stew. I have to say, that I really messed it up the first night and started again the next day. I rarely cook with beef and when I do it's usually ground beef. This recipe calls for flank steak and I never do steak because I don't really care for it. So I just followed the recipe and the meat came out so tough that I couldn't even chew it! Ugh! I also used a skirt steak the first time. I really don't know the differences in steak and I don't really care since I don't like it. But the rest of my family loves it so I tried it. I changed the recipe to something I know I could do - the slow cooker. It turned out really well this way for me.

 

The kids loved the hilachas with the rice and tostones. 

 

Note- that I didn't make this spicy since my son doesn't like spicy food. I used one jalapeno and it was really spicy at all.

 

 

 

 

Hilachas (Guatemalan Shredded Beef in Tomato-Tomatillo Sauce)

Adapted from http://www.whats4eats.com/meats/hilachas-recipe

1 1/2 lbs beef flank steak
3 cups water
2-3 T oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup tomatillos, chopped
2 -3 guajillo chilies, warmed over a flame, seeded and chopped (or can use jalapenos)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 -3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 handfuls cilantro, chopped

Place the beef, water and a big pinch of salt into a slow cooker. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until cook through. Remove the beef to a bowl, reserving the broth, and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, shred the beef with your fingers and set aside.

 While the beef is simmering, place the onion, tomatoes, tomatillos and chiles in a food processor or blender and puree, adding a little water if necessary. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium flame. Add the onion-tomato puree and simmer until the puree is cooked down and darkens somewhat in color, about 10 minutes. Do not burn.

Add the shredded beef and about 3 cups of the broth to the onion-tomato puree and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Stir in the potatoes, carrots and a little more broth or water if necessary Simmer until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce. Transfer to serving dish and top with cilantro.

Serves 6-8.

 

Arroz Guatemalteco

Recipe from http://www.food.com/recipe/arroz-guatemalteco-307913

2 cups white rice
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 cups mixed vegetables ( carrots, celery, sweet red peppers and peas)
4 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
salt and pepper

Saute rice in oil until rice has absorbed the oil but has not changed color. Add vegetables, salt and pepper, and 4 C of broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until liquid has been absorbed about 20 minutes.

Or if using a rice cooker, Saute rice as directed, then add all ingredients to the rice cooker and cook according to cooker directions.

 

 

 

 

Tostones (Fried Plantains)

 

I actually make these often. We love them. Plantains are a starchy side to any meal. Below is a picture of a ripe plantain. For this recipe I like to use unripe ones - the ones that are still green. (I just forgot to take a picture of it before I made them!) The green ones aren't sweet like ripe ones. They taste more like a potato, if I have to describe it. Later on in the week, I will make baked plantains with a ripe one. It's ok to use the yellow ones or the black ones. The more black they are, the sweeter they are.

Also, as you can see, I kinda burnt these that I made. I tend to do that when I have too many things going on at once. They were still good!

 

2 unripe plantains
1/2 cup oil
salt


Peel the plantains and cut 1-inch slices. Heat oil in a pan and fry plantains on each side until golden. Remove from pan and let them drain on paper towel. Flatten each piece with a glass until about 1/3-inch thick. Fry each on both sides until golden. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt.

Support us in our race!

https://www.teamorphans.com/fortwayneteam/

We have decided to join Team Orphans this year and race for a purpose.  We will be competing, along with a few friends, in the Fort 4 Fitness Event on September 29^th, 2012 and our team goal is to raise $1200.

Our son is running the kids marathon, My husband is running the half marathon and I will be running the 10k race.

Team Orphans supports Brittany’s Hope Foundation, who place grants on special needs children in orphanages (sibling groups, older children, or children with medical needs) to help pay for their adoption costs.

There are more than 147 million orphans worldwide. Many of the children adopted internationally will have medical costs depending on their medical need on top of the cost of the adoption and travel. Many families wouldn’t be able to adopt without these grants. There are so many kids in need of a family! Help us raise money to help one more child come home!

Would you be willing to sponsor us in our race by making a tax-deductible donation to Brittany’s Hope Foundation?   100% of the money you donate will go toward adoption grants.

To donate:

1-       visit www.teamorphans.com/fortwayneteam  and donate online
2-      or mail a check to:   (put “Fort Wayne Team” on the memo section of your check)

                                      Brittany’s Hope Foundation

                                                      Team Orphans
                                                      1160 N Market Street
                                                      Elizabethtown, PA 17022

****************

 

 

We also have cookbooks left from our daughter’s adoption fundraiser. If you are interested in purchasing a book for $20, all the money will go to team orphans and towards our goal of $1200. Go to http://www.journeyforourdaughter.blogspot.com/2010/06/cookbooks-are-in.html for more information on the book. Then let us know if you’d like to purchase one. You can pay us in cash or check.

 

Thank you for your support!

 Todd, Amy and Josiah Miller

Wow, The summer went by fast!

A few weeks ago, I tried to figure out why I haven't been able to do any posts. Then I looked at the last one I did. It was right before my son's school ended. ah-ha! That makes sense! Summer break came and since the kids don't nap anymore, I just wasn't able to get anything extra done. I decided that was ok. I was busy going places and doing things with them and by the time we got them to bed, I was exhausted and just wanted to watch a show and go to bed.

Although the summer was fun, i'm actually looking forward to having more of a solid schedule. I think the kids really need it, too.

I do have some grilling and summer recipes that I am still going to post. I've been meaning to do it all summer. It's never to late to fire up the grill!

I'm also in the middle of training for a 10k. It's been a rough couple weeks here with training with getting a tooth implant and then follow that with a head cold. I'm doing my best to get rid of it and hope it doesn't settle in my chest so I can get back to my running schedule. I'm running with some friends so we do our long runs on the weekend with each other. It's a great way to encourage and motivate each other to keep running on the hard days. But more of that later.

Here is something I did for the kid's lunch one day. I got the idea from somewhere but I can't remember where. They loved it! My son said "This is a special day!" The idea is so simple and they got such a kick out of it. I put some turkey, egg, cheese, blueberries, raspberries, carrots, cucumbers, yogurt, and some pudding. The only thing they didn't eat was the pudding. It's a good idea for something different for the everyday lunch.