Cooking with kids: Pupusas and Horchata

By Melanie H.

Since my family is having more meals at home during the stay at home order, we’ve been trying out new recipes. We’ve always liked the pupusas and horchata at the Daly City Farmers Market so Yoshi and I decided to try making them the other day. It was simple and easy to make and tasted so good! Here are our recipes:

BEANS AND CHEESE PUPUSAS

Ingredients
Dough
3 cups of masa harina
2.5 cups of water
2 teaspoons of salt

Filling
1 16oz can refried beans
1 lb queso Oaxaca, Monterey jack or mozzarella

Makes 10
Total Time: <1 hr

Directions
1. Mix masa, water and salt together using a kitchen mixer or your hands to form a dough.

2. Take a golf ball-sized portion of dough and roll into a ball. Pinch sides to create a well for the filling.

3. Fill hole with 1 tablespoon each of refried beans and cheese. Pinch dough around filling to enclose. Then, pat out the dough between your hands until flat. It’s ok if it cracks. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil on an iron skillet or non-stick pan. Cook both sides of the pupusas until golden brown.

HORCHATA

Ingredients
1 cup of long grain white rice
1 cup of almonds, walnuts or pecans
2 tablespoons of cocoa nibs (optional)
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups of water
3 cups of milk
1/4 cup of coconut milk (optional)
1/2 cup of sugar, honey or maple syrup

Makes 7 servings
Active Time: 20 mins

Directions
1. Soak the rice, almonds, cocoa nibs, cinnamon stick in 3 cups of water overnight or for 5+ hours.

2. Blend the rice mixture in a blender until everything is finely grounded.

3. Strain the resulting liquid into a pitcher.

4. Add milk, coconut milk, your choice of sweetener and serve over rice.

Another recipe that we tried and had success with: Cheddar Cheese and Potato Pierogi

More kids’ cooking recipes can be found at

Hope you enjoy cooking with your kids. I surely did.