A Sad Day

Today I attended the funeral for Maria Julia Avelos.  I first met Julia when she was 18 years old, newly arrived in Los Angeles from El Salvador, not speaking a word of English.  Her sister Tony worked for a friend of mine, and we thought Julia would be the perfect person to care for my newborn baby Philip, while I was away at work.  Over the almost 38 years that I knew Julia she was my employee, a second mother to my children, and most of all a friend.  She died last week from complications, while waiting for a liver transplant.  She was 56.

Over the years, our families have shared many happy occasions.  Ron and I and our three boys attended Julia's wedding to her husband Peter.  Philip was the ring bearer.  When Julia married and left our house after 10 years to start her own family, she continued to work for my mom once a week.  Julia had three wonderful boys, and continued working for my mom until about 6 months ago, when her health prevented her from working.  She attended the weddings of our three children, and she took care of my dad in his last years.  To say she was part of the family is an understatement.

A favorite thing for David and Philip to do on the weekend was to go home with Julia to her home.  They loved her and her family, and spent many weekends with the Avelos family.  Julia was from El Salvador, and one of her favorite foods was pupusas.  Julia would either take my kids out for pupusas, or make pupusas for them at her home.  Everytime pupusas are mentioned, my kids think of Julia and the happy times they spent with her.

It was ironic this morning as Ron and I drove to Culver City for her funeral, that right in front of us for the last 20 miles of the trip, was a Mexican food truck, with the words "PUPUSAS" written in huge letters!  I thought that was a sign...of what, I don't know.  Anyway, here is Julia's recipe for pupusas, and the cabbage salad called curtido, that accompanies it.


                                                  Pupusas

2 c masa harina
1 c water
1 c queso fresco, crumbled

Mix masa and water well, and knead well.  Cover, and let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes.  Shape into a big ball, then cut into 8 pieces and make 2 inch balls.  Roll each ball into a 6 inch disc.  Sprinkle  with queso fresco, then place another tortilla on top.  Grill on a griddle, both sides, until cheese is melted.  Serve with curtido.


                                            Curtido

1 cabbage, chopped
2 carrots grated
1 onion, sliced

1/2 tsp cayenne or paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 c vinegar
1/2 c water

Combine first three ingredients, then set aside.  Combine the rest of the ingredients (for the dressing), and pour over veggies.  Combine, let it set for a while, and serve with pupusas.