Costa Rica Wrap-Up & Plans For March!

February was so short!!!! Well....since I gave up coffee for the month, the mornings of February did tend to ddrrrrraaaaaagggggggg, but overall, it went by so fast!

I enjoyed my pleasant day-dream vacation in Costa Rica this month. I can honestly say I've thought about living in a treehouse every day since my blog about Finca Bellevista, and even the crazy bright colored bugs have grown on me as I've looked at more and more pictures. Costa Rica's "pura vida" lifestyle is pretty enticing and I very much hope to visit one day.  I definitely want to take a zip-line tour over the canopy of one of the cloud forests, and I'd love to see how my attempt at gallo pinto stacks up...and maybe to take a cooking class:)

Studying Costa Rica was definitely a departure from my time with the Congo, and I must admit I had a form of culture shock switching out of thinking about some of the heavier subject matters discussed in my January blogs.  Life in the Congo is so different from my lifestyle, which made studying their customs and way of life fascinating. At the same time, I felt a lot of sadness for the unfortunate and, at times, unconscionable situations that many Congolese people face. To switch from reading current news stories about rape being used as a weapon of war in the Congo to seeing headlines about Costa Rica as a leader in environmental policy and being a top tourist destination was about as drastic a change as possible.

It was really heartening to learn about the "Switzerland of Central America" (they abolished their military in 1949!) and to marvel at the beauty of their well-preserved ecosystems.  I felt inspired to take a second look at the land on which I live - I've tried to more appreciate the plants and creatures around me (even the darn green parrots that hang out in a tree on my street and squawk up a storm).  I also really really loved the gallo pinto I made on feast night and the Lizano sauce I bought - I will absolutely continue enjoying Costa Rican food!!!!

All in all - I had a great month immersing myself in Costa Rica!

Soooooo, are you ready to hear where I'm armchair traveling to this month????.........Korea!!!!!!!

Costa Rican feast!

After the relative success of my Congo feast night last month (fufu - never again!), I decided to have  Costa Rica feast night!!! My cousins were the brave taste testers, and Kevin cooked up some meat again!

In Costa Rica they often call a complete meal a casado, which literally translated means "married," and reflects the blending of various foods to create a full and satisfying meal. There is always gallo pinto (rice and beans mixed together) which is a huge staple in the area, as well as some fried plantains, meat, and maybe tortillas and a salad. Here's my attempt!!!!

I made ceviche as an appetizer - Brandon approved:)

I also made up some empanada type appetizers with a gallo pinto and egg stuffing (confession - I used pre-made empanada dough...sooooo delicious!)  In Costa Rica the most popular condiment is Salsa Lizano. I went to a Latin market here in SD and the guy working there told me that the salsa you see in the bottle in the picture above is basically the same thing. I LOOOOOOVED it - tangy and sweet. Not Ashley's favorite though....

Yummy Costa Rican beer - "Imperial"

I bought some pre-made tostones (fried plantains) and fried them up...but none of us really liked them as you can probably tell from Ashley's expression. I've got some intrepid cousins:)

Here's my plate (top) and Kevin's (bottom). On my plate you'll see one of the gallo pinto empanadas, to its right is a salad made from hearts of palm, then the components of gallo pinto - beans and rice cooked with onions, red pepper, oil and cilantro -  YUMMMMM. On Kevin's plate is a pork dish he made. 

In a previous blog I mentioned the Costa Rican coffee I bought online from Cafe Milagro...oh man, it is delicious!!! I also attempted to make a tres leches cake. Don't be fooled by how it looks in the picture...it ended up basically inedible. I am ABSOLUTELY not a baker!!!

My favorite part of the meal was probably the gallo pinto empanadas with lizano sauce. SSOOOO yummy! I'm gonna keep buying that sauce forever!

Another successful evening of international dining! It had its good and bad points, but overall, a fun time had by all!