Black Bean Pupusas & a Vegan Brunch Omelette

Pupusas are one of a variety of Latin American dishes that feature corn flour - masa harina - prepared with all manner of shapes and fillings and toppings. Of them all, I think the pupusa at least has the best name. I've only eaten pupusas in their native setting once, and it was love at first bite - is that too cutesy? Sorry, really....can't believe I even wrote that. Anyway, it's a corn flour dough, filled with savory mashed black beans (among other filling options), and cooked on a griddle until golden brown and crispy on the outside. I was going to go all out and take pictures of the assembly process, but will instead direct you to SusanV's Fat Free Vegan site, where she does the work for me - thanks! - and saves me from trying to take pictures with hands covered in masa dough. If you want to try these, the photos are really useful.

If you're curious, the day-glo pink onions on top are pickled red onions from a Rick Bayless recipe. Very easy, and a great condiment for all sorts of things - it would be fantastic as a Mexican-style veggie burger topping. Thinly sliced red onions are quickly blanched in boiling water, than soak for a quick pickle in apple cider vinegar spiked with black pepper and cumin seeds. Through some kind of food magic, this makes the onions turn bright pink, and oddly sweet. Check it out.

It's asparagus season, so I dug into these asparagus omelettes from Vegan Brunch for - I almost said lunch - brunch today. These are great, and it's amazing how well they mimic the taste and texture of an egg omelette...not exactly the same of course, but as tasty as any omelette I ever ate. Part of the goodness is the spoonful of topping, which is salsa romesco, from Donna Klein's Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen. Almonds, tomato, garlic, olive oil, parsley, dried chilis, and red wine vinegar combine for a brilliant Catalan sauce that would be great in all kinds of places.