"Costa Rica" Slaw or Cabbage Salad

In Costa Rica, the typical plate of food is called a casado.  It consists of rice, beans (duh), salad, fried plantains and some sort of meat (chicken, pork, fish... etc.)  Here's a beautiful pic of one... but this was actually in Nicaragua:

Sometimes the plantains aren't sliced so deliciously thin, and sometimes the salad looks a little more exciting, but this is it.  Please note Santa Claus table cloth.

I've had good ones and bad ones, but either way they are always filling and always cheap.  In Costa Rica, this would run you about 2,000 colones (about $4) but in Nicaragua, it was probably closer to $3.

Anyways, I love that cabbage salad - it's cheap, it's easy to make, and with the right vinegar, oil and spices it can be SO flavorful.  I've tweaked a few recipes and made a pretty tasty one the other night.  I'm not sure if this is inherently Costa Rican or anything, but it's a crowd pleaser in my apartment with Anthony & Lauren and it only gets better with time.

First off, if you haven't found out already, I'm a fan of color in my food so I got some green AND purple cabbage.  Groundbreaking, I know.

So I've got green & purple cabbage, red pepper, tomato, cilantro. For the marinade I've got some rice vinegar, olive oil, salt, sugar & pepper.  Not pictured is honey, which I added to the marinade after because it didn't have the sweetness that I wanted just yet.

* it helps to put salad in ice cream containers, because then it tastes better

Not much to this one folks, chop it up, pour some dressing over, shake it up and let it chill for as long as you can.  I use about equal parts vinegar & olive oil (maybe 1/4 c each) and a few teaspoons of salt & sugar.  Pinch of ground pepper and CHOO CHOOOOOO this train is boarding to flavor town.  (Thanks to my roommate Lauren for that wonderful saying.)

We breaded & fried some tilapia as well, heated up some beans from the other day, a little bit o dat natilla & avocado and we've got ourselves one of my favorite meals.

Next day, this salad looks and smells AMAZING - it is BY FAR better after a night in the fridge, and Anthony is impressed. 

I Actually Live in the Ring of Fire

This is a good thing, people. Since arriving here in Central America, the amount of super cool Earth science that I can witness first hand has increased drastically. I had never even seen a volcano until just a few months ago.


I live in Ciudad Quesada, which is in the northern lowland region of Costa Rica. Ciudad Quesada is the largest city in the canton of San Carlos and most people refer to it that way. I've got a thing for maps so here you go:

As you can see, there are quite a few little red triangles on that map! 

It just so happens that there is a volcano about 50 km north of here called Arenal and it is a sight to behold.  Most days it is covered by clouds, or I am in a particular part of town where you can't see it.  But, sometimes, it peeks it's pointy head through the clouds or the buildings and I seriously beam with excitement. Here are a few snaps I have gotten of it over the past few months.  Please excuse cell phone quality pics and dirty camera sensors.

From in town (Ciudad Quesada)

                                                                                       From the small town of Sucre

From the back of a pick up truck

From Kalambu Water Park in La Fortuna (along with some of my awesome students)

Fun fact: the small town at the base of Arenal, La Fortuna, actually used to be called El Bario. In 1968, the volcano erupted to the west destroying everything in its path.  The small town of El Bario to the east was spared the destruction and renamed "La Fortuna" or "The Forunate." 

So we got Arenal in the back yard, and it is active. Platanar is in my front yard, and it is dormant.  It is still an awe inspiring sight, though.  And my favorite view of it is from the closest bus stop.

On September 16, I headed to Nicaragua for a few days of travel and a border run to renew my tourist visa.  Two great friends of mine (who are engaged to get MARRIED, yay!) Nate & Emily suggested one of their favorite places in Central America: the magical, mystical, marvelous, Isla de Ometepe. 

Ometepe is a volcanic island in the middle of the MASSIVE Lake Nicaragua (3,191 square miles to be exact). 

Lake Nicaragua from Granada, north of Isla de Ometepe

Isla de Ometepe from the shores of San Jorge

The more conical and symmetrical volcano on the left is Concepcion and it is active.  The one on the right is Maderas and it is dormant. 

Concepcion: 

This is me and my dude before taking the ferry across the lake to the island. 

Concepcion and some ridiculously good looking clouds from Finca Magdalena on the island.

Concepcion, a pig and a boat. 

Concepcion is just so damn picturesque, I think I took an unfair amount of photographs of it compared to the other...

Maderas:

But really, can you imagine the force that BLEW the top of that mountain off?! 

I love it.

After a few days on the volcanic island, I went to Granada, a small city on the northwestern shores of Lake Nicaragua.  The jagged sleeping giant known as Mombacho overlooks the beautiful colonial city. Mombacho is dormant - no action since 1570. 

From my horse carriage tour around the city. 

Aside from all these awesome lava mountains, there are mineral & thermal springs sprinkled through out the regions.  And apparently there is at least one earth quake a day here, but I have yet to feel one. 

Shockingly, no one is really concerned about the active volcanoes, and just go about their day as if there wasn't this geologic time bomb looming over their heads.  I think it is absolutely fascinating (shout out to Catherine McCloskey, my high school science teacher!) and every time I see one, it is a little reminder of how truly 

AWESOME 

(adjective: extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear) 

our world is. 

BIENVENIDOS!

I've been in Costa Rica for 15 weeks now, and I've been meaning to start this blog for about 16 weeks now.  I have a handful of unfinished posts lingering in blogger limbo. Maybe it's because I don't really know where to begin.  But, last Sunday, I took advantage of the lazy rain and a big pot of black beans to finally get a little action going here. Welcome to my Gringo Pinto... a title I totally stole from THIS awesome youtube video.

There's nothing more Central American than a pot of beans, and there's nothing I love more than making one, so I figured it would be a good place to start.  The idea struck me half way through chopping, so you will have to use your imagination as to what these veggies looked like before hand.

What we have here folks is whatever veggies I have laying around.  This bowl consists of one red pepper, a large yellow onion, your Italian grandmother's amount of chopped garlic and a carrot.  Sometimes all I have on hand is just some onion & garlic, which does just as well, but I was excited to have this much color.

I am pretty new at the whole dry bean thing.  I've always loved beans out of a can, but let me tell you... I've been converted, and I don't think I'll ever be able to eat a mushy canned bean again.  

Usually I am really good at planning ahead and soaking the dry beans over night, but on this lazy Sunday, I cheated.  I brought the dry beans to a boil in this... thing.  Our main cooking device. Once they were boiling, I turned the heat off, and let them soak for an hour in the hot water. 

These beans aren't nearly cooked.  They are just ready to be thrown in a pot with lots of water, olive oil and veggies and soak up all those yummy flavors.  That's the beauty of dry beans from scratch.  They really absorb great flavors and maintain a vegetable like consistency, instead of mush. 

In the mean time, I've sauteed the veggies on our other cooking device.

It only takes about 20 minutes for things to get hot on this thing. "Tico Time" we like to call it. 

Once I've got some good smells going, I add what is probably 3 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth.  I'm bad at measuring.  

After letting the beans sit for as long as I can stand in that hot water, I throw them in their soupy home.  Look how pretty!  

If you can see the black beans, you probably need to add more water.  They absorb a lot of water, and there's nothing worse than opening up your pot to a dry black bean paste.

And now, we wait. We cover, and we wait. And we resist the urge to eat them every time we open and smell that wondrous smell. 

I usually let my beans simmer for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  It depends on how much you are cooking really.

In the mean time, I'll take you on a tour of our kitchen.

Welcome, to the Green Forest School Apartment Kitchen (which also serves as laundry room at times)

Equipped with some of today's latest technologies.

And with quite the view at times.  (Unfortunately, we are in a cloud right now, but sometimes you can see the dormant Platanar volcano from here.)

From the kitchen, you can view the state of the art laundry system.

I kid, I kid.  I am thankful for this humbling place, and it truly has everything we need. It may take 40 minutes to boil water, and I may have to wash the black pan 3 times to make one multi-course meal, and we may have to wait a few days for things to air dry in the rainy season of a tropical climate, but I love it here and am thankful for hot, nutritious food and clean clothes (albeit damp).

Speaking of food... our beans might be ready. 

The once brothy bowl of beans has turned into this bubbling beauty of married flavors. 

Now, there are 2 things here in Costa Rica that make my black bean experience a little different from anything you will be able to match anywhere else.

One, is this gift from the gods:

This, my friends, is Natilla, and it is worthy of that capital "N." A cousin of sour cream, some might say.  It's a little more milky, a little less bitter.  Can you bring dairy through customs?  Must I smuggle this creamy goodness back to the states? I don't know.  Maybe you will just have to visit and taste it for yourself.

Next, we have some of the most beautiful avocados I've ever seen in my life.

I don't mean to brag, but they pretty much all look like this, and are a fraction of the price compared to US supermarkets.

A few sprigs of cilantro, and here you are:   

Oh, don't forget the bread. 

That was fun, right?  I'll try to be better about keeping you guys in touch. 

Love,

Natalie