Soybean Sprout Soup (Kong Namul Guk)

I made my first batch of Soybean Sprout Soup for lunch today. I have been inspired to cook more Korean dishes this year and experiment with new recipes from my new cookbook, The Kimchi Chronicles. For Christmas this year, I received two copies (what are the odds?) of this lovely cookbook, one from my husband and son and one from my friend. I have been keeping my nose stuffed in this cookbook, reading about different Korean dishes and making a list of which ones I want to make. I went to the Korean market yesterday to get some more ingredients, so I could make Korean spicy braised chicken from The Kimchi Chronicles (hopefully, it will turn out ok). 

This is a new year and of course, the "diet" has to start! I hate using the word "diet," because everyone is on a diet (a diet is what composes your daily food intake!). What's more accurate is to say that I need to watch what I eat and eat healthier food. I am trying to cut out/reduce refined sugars (or, at least I am trying to significantly limit my sweets intake overall) and "bad carbs" like white bread. Anyone who knows me, knows that I would rather have something savory over something sweet anyway! (i.e., I'd rather have an egg roll or dumpling as a treat vs. a piece of cake, so cutting out sweets won't be that hard). I do need to eat more fruits and vegetables though and I need to exercise more regularly. 

Anyway, back to the soup...

I made this soybean sprout soup today because I wanted something light, quick and easy. It was so easy and satisfying! It is very cold in my house, so I have been craving soup a lot these days. I am officially addicted to this soup. My friend made it for me one time and I loved it, but I never had the courage to try to make it on my own. Today, I mustered up the courage to try to make it, since I had just purchased soybean sprouts at the Korean market. I probably ate more than a serving, as seen by this huge bowl, but it was my lunch and I skipped the rice to cut down on carbs. The soybean sprout soup was satisfying and warming, and the broth (which wasn't spicy at all, even though it has a little red pepper powder) filled up my tummy in no time! I figured if I got hungry in two hours, I could have a light snack (which is what I need to do anyway, space out more light snacks throughout the day, instead of having three big meals). 

I cannot take credit for this soup, so I would like to thank Aeri's Kitchen for sharing this recipe for Soybean Sprout Soup. Aeri provides a very detailed, step-by-step video for how to make this soybean sprout soup, so I studied her video and read the instructions several times before I attempted to make it. My goal is to incorporate more Korean dishes into my diet, so this soybean sprout soup marks the beginning of my journey to learn more Korean recipes. I am going to use Aeri's website and my new cookbook as my guides. Aeri makes Korean food very accessible to her audience and makes it less intimidating to tackle these Korean recipes. Since I don't eat beef, I will just have to try to adapt some of the beef recipes and swap out the beef for ground turkey or chicken or just make it vegetarian. I love Aeri's website and I am very grateful that she shares Korean recipes for everyone to try. The soup turned out so yummy! The only thing I didn't have on hand was "soup soy sauce," so I just used regular soy sauce. The next time I go to the Korean market, I will pick up a bottle of soup soy sauce and make this recipe again and see if I notice a difference. But I was very pleased with how it turned out, regardless of the substitution.

Thank you so much, Aeri, for your help!

Korean Jumuk-Bap, Rice Balls (aka: Japanese Yaki Onigiri)

My friend gave me a cute triangle rice mold to use for Korean Jumuk-bap, also known as Japanese Yaki Onigiri. This is my first shot at making this grilled rice treat! It was so fun to make, but I think I had my heat up a little too high (it was on medium, but our gas stove runs hot) and my triangles got a little charred. I might try using another type of fry pan next time, too (I used a cast iron skillet this time). I think I lost my patience and didn't let it brown properly on some sides (I rushed it along and I wasn't supposed to! I was eager to eat it, I guess! Oh well, lesson learned! Patience helps with this recipe.) My first batch was still tasty, but the batch after that turned out a lot better and had a wonderful crispy outer layer of toasted rice!

You can make the rice into any shape you want, just make sure you grill it on every side. That's what takes the longest--you have to grill it five times and then brush each side with soy sauce and grill it again on each side! But it's well worth the wait for these yummy snacks!

I decided to document my first attempt at making grilled rice balls. As you can see from the video, my hands are a little clumsy at making the triangles! I always say, "I gotta start somewhere!" And, I always learn from my mistakes and try to make improvements the next time--that's what's so fun about cooking, it's all about learning and trying new things! Try, try again...

Onigiri (Rice Ball)

My friend gave me yet another fun thing to try: roasted seaweed wrappers for making rice balls or Onigiri. Gosh, I am SO LUCKY to have such a nice friend! I wouldn't know where to find half of this stuff without her help! Of course, now I'm hooked and I'll be buying these seaweed wraps all the time now. The package she gave me had 10 individual sheets of seaweed inside. I found them on Amazon for $20.90 for a 4 pack, which seems like a really good deal to me (4x10=40 for $20.90, so about $0.52 each). I can eat two rice balls easily for lunch...but if you put more in front of me, I'm sure I can eat those, too!

I was so excited to try this out, but as you can see from the video, I had a few technical difficulties. (But that's ok. It always happens when you're recording something, right?) 

I had some leftover seasoned sushi rice (I added some diced pickled radish to the rice), so I decided to make some Onigiri, rice balls. These seaweed wrappers are so cool because they have plastic on them so you can make them ahead of time and the seaweed won't get soggy! The wrapper is so cute, it has the directions for how to unwrap the rice ball (or triangle, really) by pulling down on "tab 1" and then slipping off "tab 2" and then "tab 3." It's magic! You get some nice salty, crispy seaweed for your rice when you're on the go! While I just filled my rice with chopped pickled radish, you can certainly put anything from salmon, tuna, cucumber, grilled spam, or even kimchi inside and you can have a nice picnic somewhere! If your kids like sushi, then try making this for their lunches!

Trader Joe's 1% Lowfat Milk in Tetrapaks

I am so glad Trader Joe's brought back their lowfat milk in individual tetrapaks! For $2.99/4 pack(or about $0.75/each), Trader Joe's offers the convenience of having non perishable milk on hand for lunch boxes or other last minute outings! I love that they have this back--it's been a long time since Trader Joe's offered non-perishable milk and I'm so glad it's there now!

Katsuo Udon with Tempura

My friend gave me some Katsuo Udon with Tempura to try at home and now I am addicted! It's such a satisfying lunch and everything a lunch should be: quick, easy and yummy! 

You can find this at a Korean Market in the cold section. Katsuo Udon with Tempura comes in a package with two separate servings. Inside, you get two packages of udon, two wet seasoning packets, two dry seasoning packets and two packages of shrimp tempura. 

The instructions are super simple: 

1. Boil 1.5 cups of water with the wet seasoning packet

2. Add the udon noodles and simmer for 2 minutes

3. Pour noodles and broth into a big noodle bowl. Add the dry seasoning packet and the shrimp tempura packet. Stir and enjoy!

This is perfect for a rainy day or when you feel too lazy to cook anything! It's fast food at home that almost tastes like you're eating at a restaurant. Sometimes, I add some shredded carrots, cabbage or bean sprouts if I have them in the fridge.

Katsuo Udon with Tempura is not your average, run-of-the-mill, packaged udon--it's way better! At $3.99/package, it's worth keeping on hand for emergency, lazy, last minute meals!

Oriental Pancake with Soybean Sprouts

I know this is probably the wrong way to eat these Oriental pancakes (I'm just going by the name on the package), but I was experimenting today because it was rainy and cold outside.

A couple weeks ago, I picked up these frozen oriental pancakes from Ranch 99 Market to try. The instructions seemed easy enough, just fry them straight from the freezer in a fry pan with a little bit of oil, a few minutes on each side. When the first one was done, I decided to stuff it with some soybean sprout salad that I made in the morning. I wrapped it up like a burrito and took a bite. It was so good! It was a nice, light, vegetarian lunch that was comforting and simple--not to mention, quick! The pancake was just a paper thin flour based batter with green onions, almost like a savory crepe--simple and good! I could eat a handful of these, they were that good!

I am definitely keeping these in the freezer for future quick snacks! Yum!!!!

Gochujang

I finally bought my first container of Gochujang (hot pepper paste) at the Korean Market today. I looked for spicy level 3, medium hot. I figured since this was my first go at using this in recipes, I better start low and work my up on the spicy factor! This was the smallest container I could find: 500g. This will last me forever I'm sure! A little goes a long way with this stuff! Bring on the Korean recipes--it's ON!!!

Nong Shim Korean Sweet Potato Snack

I went to the Korean Market today to get some goodies and found this Nong Shim Korean Sweet Potato flavored snack to try for the first time.  I could not resist trying these because I LOVE sweet potatoes!

I was pleasantly surprised at how light and crispy these Sweet Potato snacks were! They had a light, sweet hint of sweet potato, nothing too overpowering. It wasn't like eating a Terra Sweet Potato chip or anything like that, but almost more like an airier (corn-free) version of Captain Crunch Cereal, except in crinkle-cut potato sticks. Nong Shim Sweet Potato snacks have a subtle sweet potato flavor, accented by some black sesame seeds that add a nice nuttiness to the background.  They were not oily or greasy and they were so light and airy, that you could totally eat the whole bag in one day! (Note to self: must divide bag into two servings to prevent eating the whole bag in one sitting!) 

Anyway, now when I see Nong Shim Sweet Potato Snack at a Korean market, I will know what they taste like--where have these been all my life? I'm sure I will be craving these yummy Sweet Potato Snacks soon enough, so I'll have to make another trip back to the Korean Market! (Or else, I can conveniently buy them on Amazon to save me the trouble of driving to Chinatown and feeding the meter to shop at the Korean market there.) While these aren't the healthiest of snacks to have, they do not have MSG or Trans Fats, which surprised me in a good way! There is no high fructose corn syrup in this either, but there is glucose syrup, which I have never heard of before. (Glucose=sugar, so is this just sugar syrup or a simple syrup?) Sometimes I just crave something light, crispy, sweet and salty and this Korean Sweet Potato Snack hits all those notes. 

Ingredients:

Wheat flour, sweet potato, rice bran oil, sugar, wheat starch, palm oil, maple syrup, glucose syrup, salt, black sesame, pumpkin powder, sweet potato flavor. 

Nutritional Information for Nong Shim Sweet Potato Flavored Snacks:

Serving size: 1 oz (28 g), 2 servings per container (So grab a partner and share a bag!)

Calories: 140

Total Fat: 6 g

Saturated Fat: 2 g

Trans Fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 150 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 20 g

Dietary Fiber less than 1 g

Sugars: 2 g

Protein: 1 g

Fried Plantains

Tried my hand at making fried plantains today. They were pretty easy to make and they tasted so good on this cold, rainy day. I bought a plantain at the store a while ago and I have been patiently waiting for it to ripen or turn yellow. It was green when I bought it, so it took some time to turn yellow. Actually, I think my plantain got a little over ripe, but that's ok. I just cut it up in small pieces to get it ready to fry--it resembled banana chunks.

After heating up about an inch or so of vegetable oil on medium high heat for a few minutes, I dropped a few of the plantain pieces in and let them brown a bit, turning them after a few minutes. When they were done, I just added some salt to taste. They turned out pretty good! They have a slight sweet taste, but they are starchy like a potato, but chewier. Plantains have a very interesting flavor and they can replace the starch or carbohydrate part of your meal. I love them! It's a nice change up from your ordinary potato, toast or rice.

Free Fish Taco at Rubio's on Veteran's Day for Veterans or Active Duty Military

If you are a veteran or an active duty military person, go to Rubio's on Veteran's Day this November 11, 2010 with this coupon and you'll receive a free fish taco!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Find a Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill near you.

Trader Joe's Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies

Trader Joe's Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies are a miracle breakthrough in a store-bought cookie box! With a name like "Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies," I couldn't help but wonder what these cookies were all about, so I decided to pick them up during my last Trader's Joe's shopping trip. The Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookie box itself is super cute and has a very homemade look to it with a hand drawn oven on the side, on top of which says, in pretty cursive writing:

"One Taste...of these crunchy cookies and we knew we were on to something good.  These cookies showcase the power of simple ingredients well-wrought into a classic recipe: great butter + great chocolate chips = Highbrow Cookies." 

There is a lot of truth to that little blurb! Man alive, these cookies are delicious if you like crispy chocolate chip cookies. They taste like they were homemade! I mean, in a pinch, if you had to bring cookies to some event, these could pass as homemade because each cookie is uniquely shaped, just as an individually formed homemade cookie would look coming out of your home oven!  The taste is superb for a store-bought, packaged cookie.  Trader Joe's always manages to sell amazing, high quality food at reasonable prices. For fourteen (net wt. 7 oz/198g) of these yummy Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies, Trader Joe's only charges $3.99. That's not bad for the quality ingredients they use and the amazing fresh, homemade taste you get to enjoy from your pantry! There are no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients, which is very hard to find in a store-bought baked good these days. Even the bakery cookies at supermarkets tend to have hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list, which deters me from buying them.  But, now I am hooked on Trader Joe's Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies--and I don't usually like store-bought cookies! I tend to just make my own because they taste better to me, but if you don't have time to make your own cookies, these will satisfy any craving for a homemade chocolate chip cookie...and yes, your eyebrows will raise up high when you bite into one of these babies, because you'll be shocked at how tasty they really are!

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 2 cookies (28g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 70 Calories 140
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 7g		11%
	Saturated Fat 4.5g	22%
	Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
	Monounsaturated Fat 0g
	Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 25mg		8%
Sodium 140mg		6%
Potassium 0mg
Total Carbohydrate 17g		6%
	Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
	Sugars 12g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A 4% Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0% Iron 4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Vietnamese Crepes

Last night was my first attempt at making Vietnamese crepes for dinner. Let's just say that I need to keep practicing. This will be a big ongoing experiment! I found this crepe mix in Chinatown for $1.19/package, so I'll be heading back soon to get more.

The directions for how to make these crepes were pretty vague on the back of the package. For instance, the package says to mix the contents of the mix and the included turmeric seasoning with three cups of water and a BOWL of coconut milk! A bowl! What size bowl? A rice bowl? A cup of coconut milk? I just added the entire can of coconut milk because I didn't know how much to add. Turns out, I should have added the coconut milk first and then added water gradually until the thickness of the batter was thinner than pancake batter but a little thicker than standard crepe batter. I think my batter was on the watery side because I added the three cups of water and the entire can of coconut milk. I should have cut back on the water. After I added sliced green onions to the batter, I let it sit for at least 20 minutes so it could set and develop the right consistency. That was fine because I just worked on the filling in the mean time.

Now, you have to be ready to indulge in this dish, so be forewarned with what I'm about to say...make sure you add a teaspoon or more of canola oil to a nonstick pan. That's right, you can't be afraid to use oil--it's the secret to good crepes! There has to be enough oil in the pan so the crepe will brown and get crispy without sticking to the pan. Once the batter is added to the pan, it takes a little while to set (but that might be because I had the stove on medium heat). After it gets firm, you can add the filling of your choice (cooked chicken, onions, shrimp, pork and/or bean sprouts). I used chicken and onions since I didn't have bean sprouts or shrimp on hand. Let the crepe continue to cook and then fold it in half. Flip it over until both sides are nice and brown and crispy.

My crepes didn't get as brown as I wanted, but they still tasted good. You can serve this with red or green leaf lettuce. I didn't have fresh mint last night, so I served the crepes with cilantro instead. 

To eat, simply cut off small pieces of the crepe and wrap them in lettuce. Spoon plenty of fish sauce directly on the crepe and enjoy!

Asian Taste Coconut Juice

My hunt for young coconut water has brought me to this can of Asian Taste Coconut Juice. This can has little bits of coconut inside, similar to a grass jelly drink. I found this coconut juice drink at an Asian Market for $0.99/can. One can has two servings, though, so you can ration it out over two days or share it between two people.

Actually, the consistency of Asian Taste Coconut juice is a little similar to a grass jelly drink in that it is has a somewhat syrupy consistency. I found it to be a tad disappointing, but tolerable. It's not what I was imagining it would be because it's a lot sweeter than it needs to be. From the picture, it looked like it would be like drinking a young coconut, but it wasn't. It actually had a strange aftertaste, almost like the can it was in! I don't think I'll be buying this again--luckily, I just bought one can to try it out! So, now I'm still hunting for an alternative to buying a fresh young coconut.

I spotted some Zico Coconut Water at Whole Foods the other day, but it was pretty pricey. I think it was around $2.59 for one little 11 oz single serving drink and $6.89 for a big 34 oz tetra pak. I also found it on Amazon.com for $21.59/12 pack.  I haven't tried it yet, but it looks good and it remains next on my wish list. Hopefully, it tastes better than the Asian Taste Coconut Juice. 

 

Asian Biscuit Snack Bars

My friend, Amy, introduced me to these crazy delicious Asian biscuit snack bars that come individually wrapped inside a cute plastic package with lots of legumes on it; you get a pack of 12 for around $1.59 at Asian Markets. I just look for the "99" or "100" on the outside with all the little beans and grains. I have no idea what these are called because I can't read the packages, but all I know is that they are good and I just call them biscuit snack bars.

When I looked on some packages, I could read one part: the English description of the flavor of the biscuit snack bar. They come in different flavors: milk, egg, onion, laver (seaweed), sesame seed. I like the milk and egg ones the best. They have a nice creamy, almost sweet, but not too sweet flavor on the inside of their tubular shape and a crunchy, crumbly biscuit outside. 

The best part is that Amy told me that these biscuit snack bars are made up of a whole bunch of grains, rice, buck wheat, oatmeal, and legumes (peas and red beans, mung beans, kidney beans, soy beans) and crazy healthy stuff like that, but it doesn't taste like any of that stuff at all--it just tastes like a yummy crunchy cookie biscuit with a thin layer of filling. Depending on the brand and flavor, one biscuit snack bar only has about 44-60 calories and between 4-5g carbohydrates! No MSG either!

These are the perfect little snack to throw in your purse or bag to stave off hunger pangs during the day because they are small, portable and yummy! Sometimes when I'm in a rush, I'll just grab one of these for breakfast to eat with my coffee or stuff it in my purse to munch on later on in the day. It's been a hunger-saver for me and it's one of my new snack addictions, thanks to Amy! 

Korean Roasted Seaweed

The hunt for Korean roasted seaweed continues, and so far, Korean Woorigohyang Seasoned Seaweed has the best deal available! Finally, seaweed that comes with more than three packs at a time! Woorigohyang Seasoned Seaweed comes in a 9 pack for only $2.99!!  You can find this delicious product at Silver View Supermarket in Chinatown (259 10th Street, Oakland, CA 94507. TEL: 510-834-2388). 

There are only 35 calories in one pack of Woorigohyang Seasoned Seaweed. This brand is surprisingly high in fat (good fats?), though, due to the roasting oils used (3g), but low in carbohydrates (2g) and (1g) protein. It still beats a bag of chips, though, so I can't complain!

I've had to look for alternative brands to Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed because they have been sold out of it for weeks and have not restocked their shelves! I've heard they are having a warehouse issue, so they don't know when they will be getting the roasted seaweed back in the stores. Even when they do have this product in stock, it mysteriously disappears off the shelves in a blink of an eye--it's a highly coveted product!

In the mean time, I have been on the hunt for good alternative roasted seaweed snacks that are readily available at Asian markets! The Woorigohyang Seasoned Seaweed comes with 10 rectangular sheets. I liked this brand, except it has a slightly stronger seaweedy aftertaste than the other brands I've tried. It's still good, though. At $2.99/9 packs, it's definitely a bargain!

One interesting thing I have learned through this new seaweed addiction is that seaweed is referred to "laver" on these packages, either in the ingredients list or on the product description. 

At last, I found another great brand of seaweed, HANASIA Korean roasted seaweed. I found this at Ranch 99 Market in a three pack for $1.59. This one seems to be my alternate favorite seaweed snack. The HANASIA roasted seaweed only has 10 calories per pack and only 0.8g of fat, 1g carbohydrate and 1g of protein per serving. I don't know if the slight difference in taste and nutritional content has to do with the fact that HANASIA seaweed says "Roasted Seaweed" vs. "Seasoned Seaweed" on the Woorigohyang Seaweed.  In any case, both Korean seaweeds have been great substitutes to the otherwise unavailable Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed.

BREAKING NEWS: I just found HANASIA Korean Roasted Seaweed at a Lucky Supermarket of all places! It was in the Asian food aisle! Someone must have made a special request to stock this item at Lucky, because I have never seen it there before! At Lucky, you get a three pack of HANASIA Korean Roasted Seaweed for $1.49! Wow, that saves me a trip to Ranch 99 and Chinatown! The packaging is a little different from the above pictured seaweed in purple, though. It looks like this:

One thing that I noticed on the ingredients list of both the HANASIA roasted seaweed and the Woorigohyang seasoned seaweed was "perilla oil." I had never heard of perilla oil before and so I had to look up this mysterious new oil. According to Wikipedia, perilla oil is a very rich source of omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid:

"Perilla oil is obtained from the seeds of perennial herbs of the genus Perilla, usually Perilla frutescens. The seeds contain 35 to 45 percent oil which is obtained by pressing. Perilla oil is used along with synthetic resins in the production of varnishes. Perilla oil dries in less time than linseed oil and on drying forms a film that is harder and yellows more than that formed by linseed oil. The paint and varnish industry accounts for the largest usage. Perilla oil also is important in the manufacture of printing inks and linoleum, and in more ancient times was a critical component in creating durable earthen floors.
In parts of Asia, perilla oil is used as an edible oil that is valued more for its medicinal benefit than its flavor. Perilla oil is a very rich source of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). About 50 to 60% of the oil consists of ALA.

In Korea, perilla is mainly cultivated in Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla Province, so the locals there consume perilla oil a lot. In Korean cuisine, it is used for marinating namul (seasoned vegetable dish), coating grilled gim (Korean laver), or pan-frying jeon (pancake-like dish),[1] where it is called deul gireum (들기름) or beopyu (법유, 法油) in Korean.[2] In North Korea, it is called deulkkae gireum (들깨기름)."

Isn't this a pretty plant? Perilla frutescens, var. japonica

Apparently, some people take perilla oil softgels for health benefits! I guess this is another great reason to enjoy Korean roasted seaweed--it has perilla oil! 

(NOTE: Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed does not list perilla oil in the ingredients, even though it is a product of Korea; only certain Korean brands use perilla oil.)

Casa Sanchez Pupusas

Costco sells Casa Sanchez Pupusas! My latest discovery at Costco are these delicious handmade Casa Sanchez Pupusas. What is a pupusa? Well, if you like quesadillas--which I do!--then you will probably like these pupusas. They are made with thick masa harina (like a thick corn tortilla) surrounding yummy, gooey cheese inside. Of course, if you go to a Pupuseria (a pupusa restaurant), you can find all sorts of pupusas made with beans or pork or beans and cheese. The only thing missing from these pupusas is the curtido, the tangy, vinegary carrot and cabbage pickled slaw that is usually served with pupusas. We improvised and just used salsa de molcajete verde (green fire roasted salsa with tomatillos and peppers) and they tasted great! 

Preparation for these pupusas is easy! I simply melted a little butter in a nonstick pan and warmed up the pupusas until the outside got soft and golden brown. The best part? You get 12 of these little gems for only $9.99 at Costco! If you go to a Pupuseria, they usually charge $2.50-$4.00 for one order, which generally consists of two pupusas. Pupusas make a great quick lunch or snack, and each one is only 115 calories! Not too bad for something that tastes like it has a lot more than that!

Here's a Pupusa recipe for you to try at home courtesy of whats4eats.com
Makes 4-5 pupusas

• Masa harina -- 2 cups
• Warm water -- 1 cup
• Filling (see variations) -- 1 cup

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix together the masa harina and water and knead well. Knead in more water, one tablespoonful at a time if needed, to make a moist, yet firm dough. (It should not crack at the edges when you press down on it.) Cover and set aside to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball.
3. Press an indentation in each ball with your thumb. Put about 1 tablespoon of desired filling into each indentation and fold the dough over to completely enclose it. Press the ball out with your palms to form a disc, taking care that that the filling doesn't spill out.
4. Line a tortilla press with plastic and press out each ball to about 5-6 inches wide and about 1/4-inch thick. If you don't have a tortilla press, place the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and roll it out with a rolling pin.
5. Heat an ungreased skillet over medium-high flame. Cook each pupusa for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and blistered. Remove to a plate and hold warm until all pupusas are done. Serve with curtido and salsa roja.

Variations

• Pupusas de Queso: With a cheese filling. Use grated quesillo, queso fresco, farmer's cheese, mozzarella, Swiss cheese or a combination. Add some minced green chile if you like.
• Pupusas de Chicharrones: With a filling of fried chopped pork and a little tomato sauce. A reasonable facsimile can be made by pulsing 1 cup of cooked bacon with a little bit of tomato sauce in a food processor.
• Pupusas de Frijoles Refritos: With a refried bean filling.
• Pupusas Revueltas: Use a mixture of chicharrones, cheese and refried beans.
• Pupusas de Queso y Loroco: With a cheese and tropical vine flower filling.Loroco can be found in jars at many Latin markets.
• Pupusas de Arroz: A variety of pupusa that uses rice flour instead of corn masa.
• Cooked potatoes or finely minced, sautéed jalapeño peppers are also tasty fillings. Try a mixture of different fillings.
• The above recipe uses masa harina, a special dried cornmeal flour used in making tortillas, tamales, etc. If you are able to get fresh masa, definitely use it instead. The flavor will be much fresher. Just substitute the masa harina and water with fresh masa. One pound will make about 4-6 pupusas depending on size.

Notes

• The pupusa is so fundamental to the cuisine of El Salvador that the country has even declared November 13th "National Pupusa Day."
• Pupusas are traditionally made by slapping the dough from palm to palm to flatten it out. I find the tortilla press to be quicker and easier for beginners.

Here's a recipe for curtido, El Salvadoran Pickled Coleslaw that I am going to try to make for the next round of pupusas.

Ingredients

• 1/2 head green cabbage, cored and shredded
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 quart boiling water
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano

Directions

1. Combine the cabbage and carrot in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over the mixture. Allow the mixture to steep for 5 minutes; drain well. Return the cabbage and carrots to the bowl. Mix in the green onion, vinegar, 1/2 cup of water, and oregano. Toss until all ingredients are combined. Chill for 20 minutes before serving.

The Perfect Splurge

I admit, even though I am older, I still get a craving for kids' cereals: Frosted Flakes or Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Pops (stop scolding me, I know it's bad, but hey, I'm human!) It just reminds me of my childhood and being a kid (yes, I was one of "those" kids that got "those" kinds of cereals!)  I guess when I was growing up, sugar wasn't as big of a concern as it is nowadays. Or, maybe these days parents are just more health conscious about what cereals their kids eat.

As a treat, I decided to get Josh some Cascadian Farm Organic Kids Cinnamon Crunch cereal. It is a little higher in sugar than his other low sugar cereals, but I thought I'd let him try it to see if he liked it. I don't buy him any of the normal sugary cereals that I grew up eating.  Those cereals have 11 grams of sugar or more per serving.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not the super strict sugar police with Josh or anything, because even when he eats a cookie (or anything sweet) he'll only eat half or one at the most, and he won't beg for more (which always surprises me in a good way).  I try to do things in moderation, and I certainly don't want him to miss out on childhood treats.  When I saw Cascadian Farm Organic Kids Cinnamon Crunch cereal, I thought it might taste like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and...I was right! It's even better, though, because it doesn't taste so artificial. Even though this cereal is a definite splurge, weighing in at 8 grams of sugar per serving, it's a moderate splurge for me to indulge in instead of buying Cinnamon Toast Crunch or eating a candy bar or reaching for ice cream! As for Josh, he likes it, but he never even eats a full serving in one sitting anyway. He doesn't eat much of anything, for that matter. So, even with this of cereal, I don't have to worry about him overeating it.

He is still quite happy with his Cheerios, Kix and Kashi Mighty Bites (which have the added bonus of having 5 grams of protein per serving!), but it's nice to have a new cereal in the house that we can share together!

Who knew cereal could be the perfect splurge to satisfy a sweet tooth?