COSTA RICA-2a. Parte.

We continue in Costa Rica, gathering some ideas not just for humans…

Happy jumping Alaskan Salmon-Quiche.
This was spectacular and we did not have to go to Alaska to enjoy it, although I would go in a heart bit. Megon cooked this wonderful and economical meal for an evening full of good things… We made the mistake of bringing to the table some bread as an appetizer, totally unnecessary; the quiche was enough and more than enough. She shared with us her recipe and it is basically smoked can salmon, spinach, onions, cheese, milk and salt. It cost her about $5 dollars and the four of us ate 2 pieces each, well served. As usual, I kept a piece of mine for the next day, Brian obviously jealous about my decision got to enjoy Deya’s leftovers the next day…

Shitz’ pot.
Pets are not like family in Costa Rica, it hurts to see this. It hurts even more to see that they only eat once a week in a lot of cases. Why would anybody want an animal, especially a cat, if the animal is going to be ignored? Yes, I understand Costa Rica is wild and that there are lots of things to be eaten in the jungle but cooking for someone or “something” carries a lot of love…
Shitz’ pot is made with a bag of small chicken parts (770 Colones = $1.54 dollars) and some rice (maybe 100 Colones = $0.2 dollars). The parts are boiled with the rice and Shitz has food for a week. How hard can that be? I mean, Brian was insisting that I should keep some of that pot for him and I had to convince him that he gets more than just Shitz’ pot…
I really like and enjoy Shitz, I would take her with me but unfortunately I don’t think cats travel very well on a motorcycle.

Pejibaye.
Mireya and Eli, our friend’s parents, have been very helpful with us and we have learned from them a lot about Costa Rican food. Here we have a pejibaye, which is a relative of the coconut, is one of Costa Rica's most unusual treats. Pejibayes grow in clusters on palm trees, like miniature coconuts. The part that you eat would correspond to the fibrous husk, while the hard pejibaye seed, when cracked open, reveals a thin layer of bitter white meat around a hollow core. The bright orange or red pejibayes are delicious boiled in salted water, then peeled, halved and pitted and eaten alone or with mayonnaise. Their flavour is difficult to describe, they are not sweet, but more a combination of chestnut and pumpkin with a thick, fibrous texture. I really liked them. They can be purchased at markets or taken from the farm (our case); if purchased they cost between 1000-1500 Colones/kilogram, if cut from the farm then you just need to go out to the back of the farm and find an old grown palmito tree and take some pejibayes.

Palmito tree, pejibayes at top.

Mamón criollo.
This bitter-sweet fruit is kind of weird. I could not find a lot of information about it, I can only tell you that I liked tasting it but I will not buy it in the future. Good experience!!!

Fried yuca chips.
Yuca, which I introduced you to in the last report, can be used to make fried chips; the only difference is that you have to cut round chips because the fibres of yuca are quite hard in its longest side, therefore regular fried chips are not an option. Once you fry them you can add some Tajin (lemon zest) or simply a little bit of salt. Delicious and economical: 350 Colones for a kilogram of yuca.

Pura Vida drink.
This is the typical Costa Rican drink. It is made with a liquor called Cacique (aguardiente), another liquor (melocoton), orange and pineapple juice and syrup. We paid a little too much for this, but we were having our first vacation in our first year of travels. At Baldi Hot Springs we paid $9 American dollars. Crazy eh!

Tom’s Pan German Bakery, Nuevo Arenal.

Brian and Deya are known for liking food and riding anywhere just to try a new item; I know one thousand kilometres are nothing but we will ride that amount of kilometres just to try a piece of pie…
This time we went by a German Bakery but it was raining really hard and getting dark, we were in our way to our friends’ farm and could not take the time to stop because we still needed to find “the place”.
For two weeks we can only think about this bakery and finally we made the decision to go back and find it. I am glad we did because going for 180 kilometres was a breeze and what we got there was unique. I have to say that Costa Rica does not lack of anything but good food. This German Bakery is awesome. We tried couple of items: Bratwurst sandwich, plate of specialty cheeses and meats, bread, baked goods… but there is more… Prices are reasonable and the owner, Tom, is a very interesting fellow and an expert on his field.
www.tomspan.com

Brian making bread with Tom? Yes...

Moya’s, Nuevo Arenal.
We found some amazing pizza in Nuevo Arenal, I can say the best pizza we have ever had. This place, Moya’s, is owned by a Costa Rican who worked somewhere else making Italian pizza and came back to his town to give back to the community. A pizza is 5000 Colones and enough for two people. They have a good selection: Pizza Mayan Blanca (grilled chicken in a creamy white sauce with asparagus and mushrooms), Canadiense (Canadian, I can’t imagine what goes in it), Escupe Fuego (I imagine this one is spicy since the name means Spit Fire), Chismosa (Gossiper), etc.

Happy Brian!!!