olfactory power

tonight as i was riding my bike to choir, i suddenly smelled something that reminded me of pupusa from el salvador. i haven’t thought about this food for years, but suddenly, i was back in el salvador (i went there with my mother in 1988) with a hot, crispy, greasy tortilla like thing embedded with a filling of shredded meat/beans/cheese and topped with a vinegary slaw. mmm….. ain’t nothin’ else quite like it. i remember the first time i ate them and didn’t realize how filling they would be. i think i ate six. think of them as the equivalent of a small sandwich. my eighth grade tummy was absolutely stuffed! but they were so good! i still remember the house we ate them in. the walls were painted bright turquoise and i remember thinking it was so small! in all of my travels, i don’t think i ever found more generous hosts than i met on that trip to el salvador and guatemala. we went to a refugee camp while we were visiting guatemala. there, we ate lunch with one of the refugee families. they had so little and they wanted to share what they had with us. i felt bad eating their food, but they seemed so happy to be able to serve us! i think it was rice, beans and tortillas (good chance, anyway) and if i remember correctly, i thought it was quite tasty.

i have no idea what that smell was that took me back so vividly. i’m pretty sure there’s not a salvadoran restaurant on that corner, so it must have been some other food. but now i’m jonesin’ for pupusa. may have to experiment with that recipe in that link.