T&A

This last week has been full of T&A, you know, tables and animals.  With Laura down at the Cape for most of the month, I have been left at home to tackle some projects.  One big thing was to clear up the clutter in our basement.  We never really moved out of "move in" mode, where anything we didn't know what to do with or where to put it, just got moved down to the basement.  Each item went one after another down the steps to keep it secret, keep it safe.

After picking up two solid core doors from the fam in the Ham, and a little bit of lumber, it was as easy as 1, 2, 3.... ugh.

Okay, so it wasn't as easy as I thought it should have been.  I felt like I was knitting.  I would be completely done with the table, then decide I wanted it to be a little bit different, take the whole thing apart, start again, and only ending up wanting to make changes when completed once again.

I must have rebuilt this at least four times.  Different height, different width, making it connect with the sink, blurg.  I still want to paint the frame and put a shelf underneath, but by and large it is complete.  I told Laura that this was a present for her, but evidently just because it is Laura's laundry table doesn't mean that only she can do laundry.

This evening after work I threw together a work bench really quick.  No bells and whistles yet, but give me another week or two.

I'm manish!

The two small, green, rectangular boxes had been how we were storing all of our tools before this.

My time alone in the house is largely very quiet.  Which means tiny little nails on the other side of the ceiling are easily noticed.  Here is the first friend I found:

What a cutie!  He (or she) just wanted a little bit of granola bar, can't blame them for that!  I released him/her at work (Outside obviously.  Wait... I am the person who has secretly dried elephant poop indoors before.  So, maybe I do need to state that I didn't release the mouse indoors).  The next day I found another friend (see previous picture).

After a long week at work, I finally get to see Laura again at the Cape.  Here is proof that we were by the ocean:

And here is our half dog/half wicker furniture cyborg:

Hope everyone is having a great summer and kicking the butt of your to-do list!

Flamin' Hot Pupusas

One of the great things about my trip (years ago) to Honduras was all of the amazing food.  There were mountains of avocados, mangos, cheeses, beans, plantains, and countless other yummies.

Do you see the white rectangles on the lower right?  At most vegetarian friendly restaurants in the US, geometric white blocks equal tofu.  In Honduras, white blocks equal fried cheese.  I can still taste it!

However, one of the most memorable things I ate (several times) were pupusas.  Pupusas are stuffed tortillas.  Kind of like a quesadilla, but thinner, not as dressed up, and one single tortilla.  Sometimes I think of it as a Latin calzone.  The important thing to take away from this is that they are delicious.

Now, chances are unless you are in a Honduran or El Salvadoran restaurant, you will not find pupusas on the menu.  This is exactly why I have made multiple attempts to learn how to make them at home.  I would like to dedicate this recipe to my dear friend Douglas who was my wonderful guide around Honduras.  In honor of him, I would like to name the following dish "Siguatepeque Pankeke."

Fast Forward to This Evening... As I was checking out at my local hardware store I was confronted by a display of snacks.  I try to avoid ever looking at these, because if I ever lock eyes with a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, chances are that we are going home together.  This was one of those days.

Driving home, I decided I wanted to incorporate the Flamin' Hot Cheetos.  A quick spin in the food processor and this is what it looked like.

I mixed together:
     1/3C crushed Flamin' Hot Cheetos
     1 2/3C Whole Wheat Flour
     1 1/2t Baking Powder
     2t Oil
*I did not add any salt because of the Cheetos, could have used maybe a tiny pinch

To this I added:
     3/4C of Milk that has been warmed up

Knead the dough until it is nice and pliable and sticks together; you will end up with an unnaturally red lump of dough.

I covered this for awhile as I cleaned up my dishes thus far (I'm thinking Laura would mind coming home to stained red counters, bowls, and cutting boards) and decided what to put in the middle.

Dividing the dough into eight equal pieces, I rolled each one out.  *It is very important to get the dough as thin as possible.  There is only a thin layer of filling between the two tortillas.  If the dough ends up thick, the finished product is like taking a big bite of flour.*

Here is one tortilla rolled out.  I added refried beans and some jalapenos for the middle.  Normally, you would fill the entire center and put another tortilla on top.  Being lazy, and wanting smaller pupusas, I just filled half and folded the other side over.

After folding over or adding another tortilla on top, you want to flatten it down again.  You can use your hands or rolling pin gently.  From my dough I made four pupusas like the one above, and left four unfilled to make plain tortillas.

Use a dry pan on medium heat to cook.  The tortillas only take about 30-50 seconds for each side, the pupusas take just a little longer.

Here is the bounty, and below is something I like to call "dinner."

I topped off the final product with mild salsa, roasted yellow & red peppers, and cilantro.  The tortilla was not very spicy at all.  Next time I would add spices like cayenne, tabasco, or pepper flakes instead of the Cheetos.  The mild salsa and sweet peppers were a nice balance for the spicy jalapenos.  The beans were a smooth and rich filler tying it all together.

Honduras, I miss you.  Hope to see you soon (and also Douglas & Michele and your tiny one!).

Adios.

Sorry! BRB

Okay, I know it has been a long time.....

                                   but, I'll be back next week........

                                                                 obviously I've been very busy.........