El Salvador in an RV

 Tonight was the night for El Salvador. It is pretty cool to be back on my world culinary tour. On the menu: Curtido, Salsa Roja, Pupusas, Tortitas de Carne de Tomate, and Arroz con Leche. To view any of these recipes, click on the links.
I started out by cutting most of these recipes in half! This is the Curtido and it is traditionally served with Pupusas, which I will get to in just a minute.

 I made this dish early this morning so it could spend the day hanging out in the fridge.

 Here are the components for the Salsa Roja: tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and garlic.

 They all get cooked up...

 El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It's land area is 8124 square miles and it has a population of about 5.7 million. The capital and largest city is San Salvador. It borders the Pacific Ocean to the south, Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and east. It lies in the isthmus Of Central America and stretches 168 miles from west-northwest and east-southeast. and 88 miles north-south.
The highest point in El Salvador is Cerro El Pital at 8957 feet, on the border of Honduras.
The country has a long history of devasting earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There are over 20 volcanoes in El Salvador, although, only 2 have been active in recent years: San Miguel and Izalco.
El Salvador has over 300 rivers and the most important one is the Rio Lempa, which is the country's only navigable river. The tributaries of the Rio Lempa drain about half the country.
Another interesting fact about this fascinating country is that out of the eight species of sea turtles in the world, six of them nest on the coasts of Central America and four of those make their home on the Salvadoran coast.
El Salvador lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire (we have something in common!!). On January 13, 2001, there was a 7.7 earthquake that caused a landslide that killed over 800 people. Just one month later, on February 13, 2001 (12 years ago TODAY), there was another quake that killed 255 people and damaged about 20% of the nation's housing.

 The finished Salsa Roja just before I put it in the fridge to chill.

 I can't remember what country it was that I attempted to make rice pudding, but I do remember that it was not very good. I was skeptical, but I read that Arroz con Leche is a typical dessert in Latin countries, so I thought I would give it a whirl. I'm glad I did...it was delicious. Pretty damn sweet, but super good. Sticky as hell, but quite tasty.

 If you've followed my blog for very long, you'll know that the one thing I hate doing is rolling stuff out with a rolling pin. I almost skipped over the Pupusas recipe just because of that reason. I guess the easiest way to do these would be to invest in a tortilla press and I just may have to do that in the future as I still have many Central and South American countries to cook from, so it may be a worthwhile investment. This is where I'd like to hear from all of you that have one...is it worth it?

 Here is the start of the Tortitas de Carne de Tomate. The translation is Beef Patties in Light Tomato Gravy. I have never thought of tomato and gravy in the same sentence. This was another one of those recipes I was skeptical about. The patties turn out so moist and juicy and the tomato gravy is the perfect compliment. The lady who writes the Spanglish Baby blog sure knows her stuff (click on the recipe name at the beginning of the blog to go there)!!

 Bob said I could make these anytime!

 Ralph doesn't have a scrap left. Two were a bit much for me, so I have one hanging out in the fridge for a midnight snack. :)

 The pan gets messy while you make them, but they are completely worth it!

 Arroz con Leche

 Curtido

 Tortitas de Carne de Tomate

 Salsa Roja

 Pupusas (I hear these are the national food for El Salvador)

And this was our El Salvadoran feast!
Groceries for tonight ran me $14.26 (I also included in the cost the ingredients that I need to prepare my recipe for my Valley Bugler column), which left $5.74 for the Beach Bag. The total after Year 2, Country 86, Week 34 is $222.17. I realize that I've gotten quite a few new readers as of late, so here is the deal with the Beach Bag gig. I prepare an entire meal with a budget of $20 or less per country, the money that's left out of the $20 goes into my "Beach Bag" and at the end of the year, I go to the beach and have a blast!!
You all voted, albeit, a very long time ago and next week's country is Uruaguay. Make sure to vote for the 88th country/Week 36 by scrolling ^^^ up and to the --->>> and you'll spot the poll. There are 4 choices, so pick which country you'd like to see featured and I'll cook it!
Again, I've really missed my international meals and it feels really great to be back on my culinary journey. So until we meet up in Uruaguay...PEACE!