Recipe: Pupusa

I’ve never actually had a pupusa so I wasn’t really sure how to make these or what they should be like but it did take me two or three tries to figure out how wet the dough should be, how they should be filled, and so on so don’t get too discouraged if your first batch comes out a little interesting – they should still be delicious. This is just a great and quick way to deliver flavor to your mouth and it pairs really well with all types of salsas/sauces and you can fill with almost anything making it really versatile as a starting point recipe.

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Recipe: Tofu-Bean Meatballs

I don’t eat most meat (just birds and fish) so I’ve never been one of those people who is trying to make exact replicas of meat but I just wanted to find a recipe that made sturdier “meat” balls because they’re just such a useful food and these fit the bill. Just make sure that your tofu and beans are both really wrung out and that everything is mixed well together and these will come out with a texture that is only slightly more delicate than a regular meatball. They also taste pretty much like meatloaf which is a great plus in my book too!

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Recipe: Chickpea Soup

This really hearty and delicious stew is great for a cold day or any occasion. You can make this ahead of time without the noodles and just add them as you’re warming it up (if you’re using thin vermicelli style noodles). This is basically minestrone but with slightly different flavors and chickpeas instead of beans in case you need a little variety in your life.

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Recipe: Cranberry Brie Bites

This is barely a recipe but it works so well together that I want to post it to encourage people to put these together and have a really delicious day. These come together in just a few minutes and they are something that would really look impressive on a holiday or party table but it’s basically very low effort so I suggest it for your next gathering or any day you want to feel fancy with very little effort.

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Recipe: Bagels

I’m not the sort of person to tell you that you have to make bagels. Commercially available bagels aren’t particularly good but if you live near a bakery that makes fresh bagels the odds are that they’re going to be cheap and fairly good but if you can’t get bagels or happen to live in a place where they’re not particularly available this is an easy recipe which produces really good results for a home kitchen. You can rest these overnight but I’ve found that I personally like the sweet spot of about 4-6 hours in the refrigerator (at 12 hours these start to deflate for me, your results may vary). Luckily the recipe doubles easily and already made bagels last for up to 4 days without any taste or texture difference. If you can’t find molasses most sweet stuff will suffice: honey, brown sugar, and even dark corn syrup will all produce a crisp outside texture with a chewy inside – just how I like my bagels!

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Recipe: English Muffins

These aren’t too much work and will produce muffins with pretty good nooks and crannies for a great side dish with breakfast or a nice base for a sandwich. The only downside is that the batter needs to be made at least 3 hours ahead of time but that also means you can make the dough the night before and simply bake them in the morning. I baked mine on the stove in a cast iron pan but you can bake them only in the oven if you do not have a good heavy bottomed pan.

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Recipe: Crispy Potato Burger

The secret to this potato burger is actually two secrets: It uses poha (flattened rice) as a binder and also it uses crushed corn flakes as a coating this makes it the burger stick together extremely well while remaining soft in the center but gives it a good crunch on the outside. Since these are made of potato I found that they don’t freeze particularly well but you can do the prep work of making the burger patty inside ahead of time and letting it sit in the fridge to just coat with batter and cornflakes and fry at the last minute. Probably not great for every day eating but it’s a nice weekend or holiday recipe that isn’t TOO time consuming.

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Recipe: Panzanella

This is a great recipe for the summer because it’s not really cooking, it can be served cold, and it takes very minimal effort to make. Basically a dressed up bread salad and while I feel like it’s usually an appetizer dish, in the summer paired some fruit it could easily be a whole meal especially if you use really hearty bread (I used a thick seed-filled sourdough), this would pair really well with a nice piece of grilled fish or meat for a BBQ or cookout also.

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Recipe: Sweet and Sour Tofu

I was finally able to find reasonably priced firm tofu in the store so I’ve been trying out more tofu recipes lately and this is the winner by a large mile. It’s super easy to make, you can customize the sauce in a lot of ways, and it comes together with only one bowl and one pan. You can use fresh vegetables if you prefer but I love recipes where you don’t have to chop anything because some days you just don’t have the energy. I don’t love tofu but in this recipe it’s pretty tasty and it’s a nice change of pace every now and then.

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