Day 177

Arepa De Queso (Cheese Corn Cakes): Today's new food is another purchase from my visit to the Cobb County Farmers Market this past Sunday. While I wasn't that impressed with the market, I did find a couple interesting things that were new to me. While me and the GF were browsing the frozen section, she noticed something that excited her: arepas. She grew up in Miami, and apparently these were a popular street food there. She insisted that I try them, and I couldn't argue with the idea of anything made from a combo of white cornmeal and cheese. I doubted they would be as good as a fresh version, but still worth trying all the same.

I decided to give these a try tonight as a side with my dinner, so I defrosted them and heated up a pan with a bit of butter for cooking. The idea was to get them brown on both sides, which didn't take long after the pan got hot. The GF was confused as to why these didn't have any visible cheese, since the ones she was used to were made sandwich-style with cheese in the middle. We decided that the cheese was blended with the cornmeal with these, but no big deal.

When they were done, I eagerly tried a bite, and was impressed. The taste was much like a corn tamale, but a bit sweeter due to the blend of cheese and butter. Not exactly healthy eating, but I could have easily eaten another one if we hadn't had shrimp and vegetables to accompany them. The exterior had a nice crunch from heating in the pan, and I bet they'd also be good as a dessert, sprinkled with powdered sugar or honey. Maybe I'll try that next time.

I'd love to try a homemade/fresh version of arepas now, so if anyone knows where I can find them in the ATL area, please feel free to let me know.