Prosciutto and Melon

The first time I tried prosciutto and melon, I was sitting at the kitchen table of Elise Pierce, the Cowgirl Chef, for a French-Tex cooking lesson during our mother/daughter trip to Paris. Just prosciutto, melon and olive oil. I fell in love, but I didn't dare recreate it in the small east Texas town of Nacogdoches, where I live. It just didn't seem like I would find good prosciutto, like you mind not find good seafood in Montana or quality snapper in the Caribbean. 

The second time I tried prosciutto and melon, I was underneath a poolside cabana with my family in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, only a few feet from the beach and the shaded hammock where I spent the morning reading a book. This time, the prosciutto and melon were served with olive oil, capers, grated parmesan cheese and wedges of lime. I fell in love all over again.

The third time I tried the dish, I was at home. In the midst of a craving, I purchased prepackaged prosciutto from Kroger, added parmesan cheese and capers as well as lemon flavored olive oil and orange flavored vinegar from the Texas Olive Ranch. (Side note: this is amazing olive oil, even the regular olive oil they make is amazing. I bought it at a street market in Gruene, TX but recently saw it at Central Market in Houston). And again, I was smitten. 

I'm looking forward to our mother/daughter trip to Italy for many reasons, but one of those reason is that I think quality prosciutto and melon will be readily available. 

Also, after writing this post, I now know how to spell prosciutto. 

Have you fallen in love with a dish while on vacation? Is there a meal you've tried to recreate at home? 

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A Dusty Road Trip, Lunch and A Somewhat Hidden Beach

Sometimes, one these family trips, our group splits up. It usually happens when golf is involved. This was one of those times, when the guys went off to play golf and the ladies laid leisurely by the pool. We decided to meet the guys for lunch.

After a few meandering miles, we finally found our way North from Tamarindo to Playa Portero and wound up at Willie's Restaurant at Hotel Estela De Fuego in Flamingo Beach.

With a view like this, I don't think they needed good food or service, but they had both. They even had a guanabana coloda, which could have used a little more rum, but it was still refreshing.

When people tell you the roads are bad in Costa Rica, this is what they are talking about. There are some paved roads, but once we got to Portero, this was it.

After lunch, my parents headed back to Tamarindo and Husband and I set off with the In-Laws to explore. We ended up at Playa Danta, a little small beach that was mostly deserted. 

To our left, condos were going up about 50 feet from the beach, but to our right, nothing, just land. So we just looked to the right.

We walked the beach, collected sea shells and jumped in the waves without worrying about our stuff, but there wasn't anyone around to take it.

I love taking pictures of empty beaches.

The only drawback to this little excursion was that, at this time of year, it's dry and windy in this part of CR, so the wind kept blowing up sand from the beach and dirt from the roads. It was everywhere. I had like 5 asthma attacks. So we had to head back. This whole breathing thing really puts a damper on adventure. But it was still an amazing afternoon.

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Deep Sea Fishing in Costa Rica

My dad fishes. That's just what he does (well, that and golf). We decided to all join him and go deep sea fishing while in Costa Rica. 

Husband said, "You're about to see the food chain in action. We're going to use little fish to catch the medium sized fish that we're going to use to catch the big fish." Whew. That's a lot of fish.

On my previous trip to Costa Rica, I was warned to stay away from deep sea fishermen as their trips often involve prostitution, but the six of us family-ized this excursion.

We all stepped into the dingie boat and took our seats, the small waves rocking the boat just a little, and were off to the big boat. I turned around to see one man working the motor and another scooping water out of the boat and pouring it out the hole it came in.

My dad, who had brought his own fishing rod from home, was holding it on the beach as we were waiting to meet up with the boat captain. On the boat, they set up his fishing rod just like the deep sea rods, and it hooked a fish. The captain asked my dad what kind of lurere he had. I think my dad got really excited by that.

We each reeled in one fish, and when it was my turn, they put me in a chair. when I was done, my dad said, you got in the fighting chair!

Mom spent the entire boat ride right here, I think mostly asleep. She did get up once to real in a fish.

The worst part, we got attacked by bees! First there was one, then two, then three, four. The captain said, "Don't kill them, more will come." 

We killed two. 

But after we started moving again, they went away to wherever bees go.

Preston's fish was the only one that was edible; it was a Makerel. We were told by the concierge at the hotel that all the restaurants cook the fish you catch, that it was just what you do here.

At the end of the day, we headed out to The Dragonfly Restaurant. It turned out to be a bit more fancy than expected, because there was a little "todo" when we showed up without a reservation.

And then another one when my dad handed the owner a plastic shopping bag full of raw fish filets. 

But the food was great and they had a watermelon martini that was thick with real watermelon puree, a nice atmosphere, great tasting food and excellent company.

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Costa Rica

Tamarindo, Costa Rica - 2011
Tamarindo, Costa Rica - Trip Report
A Dusty Road Trip, Lunch and A Somewhat Empty Beach
Deep Sea Fishing in Costa Rica
In Search of the Perfect Churro...We Find a Fiesta!

Costa Rica Study Abroad - 2006
The Beginning
San Jose
La Fortuna 
Santa Elena

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In Search of the Perfect Churro, We Find a Fiesta.

 

One vivid memory from my time in San Jose, the capitol city of Costa Rica, is a little panaderia (bakery) where we stopped for pastries. There were so many little golden baked goodies lining the display cases, some with a fruit filling, some with meat, others with cheese. And I, being on a diet and not yet knowing that food allergies existed, decided not to get anything. I was being healthy.

I never thought that one of my "I-wish-I-would'ves" would be indulging in a pastry from that very panaderia. I don't remember the name of the bakery, I wouldn't be able to tell you how to get there and it was probably much smaller and less majestic than I remember. And yet still, I found myself, during that week before our trip to CR, craving pastries from a panaderia. Specifically, churros.

I coerced my boss into a trip to the Mexican market in town, La Michoacana, for pastries. We had been once before and snagged fresh churros, but this time, the churros were stale. It was a disappointing trip, but a trip that made me even more determined to find the perfect churro in Costa Rica.

Unfortunately, churros, the little sticks of goodness that they are, are not a big thing in Costa Rica. I was even hard pressed to find a panaderia. I found one, Panaderia di Paris, but it was trying to be  a French bakery and so didn't have anything resembling a churro. We found two others, but no churros there either. We even found a restaurant that was named something to the effect of "Crepes and Churros Cafe," but they said their churro machine was broken. (I should mention that I didn't realize you needed a machine to make churros.)

About halfway into our trip, Husband and I found ourselves at a bar, overlooking the bay, him drinking a cold Imperial and me an icy pina coloda, with a bartender that was from Minosota. 

 

About to give up on the search, I half heartedly asked if she knew what a churro was and where I might find one. Lucky I did because she was the person that told us about Fiestas Civicas de Villareal.

I'm not sure exactly the explanation behind the Fiestas Civicas, but here's what I gathered from watching and talking to people during our trip: Every town in Guanecaste has a celebration like this, called a Fiestas Civicas. The biggest part of the festival in the town of Villareal is a man-made, wooden arena with man-made, wooden bleachers.

People pay to sit in the bleachers, where they hold on for dear life. They also stand around the arena and climb up on the fence-like walls and take a free seat. 

Inside the arena, where the bull riding takes place, local men run around and drink and act crazy while they wait for the bulls to be released. Anyone can do this, no sobriety requirements. When the bull and rider are released, the rider tries to stay on as long as possible. When he is thrown, or grabs onto the fence around the arena and pulls himself up to sit with the crowd, the other men chase the bull. When it stops, they run past it to get it to chase them.

When the bull runs up close to the fence, where people are sitting, they lift their feet out of it's way and then tap it on the backside as it passes. Then the bull is ushered into a holding area and the whole process starts over.

All of this takes place in the middle of carnival rides, bumper cars, back street gambling stations, beer gardens and food vendors and a whole bunch of people.

  

And it is usually followed with dancing at the town hall. But the important thing here, besides the mixing and mingling with so many people from a different culture, is that one of those food vendors was a churro stand.

And so, this is how I came to be standing in the middle of a Spanish carnival in Central America, underneath wooden manmade bleachers, holding a beer and eating the best caramel filled churro I've ever tasted. Afterwards, we went to the dance hall, which I think was more of a bar than a town hall, and listened to live music (the singer was latino dancing the whole time) and watched locals dance.

We even went back a few nights later, on a Saturday, to take my parents and see the bull riding (because we were too late the first night to see anything) and of course to get another churro. It was good. It was fun, but it wasn't the same.

 

I don't know if it was a less touristy night the first go, or if it was the alcohol, but there was something special about that first night, as if I felt vindicated for missing out on those pastries at the panaderia in San Jose all those years ago. Either way, I'm thankful for a good memory to replace that "Wish-I-would've." 

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Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Every once in a while, my parents, Husband's parents and the two of us get together for a big family trip. We just returned from a week in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Why Costa Rica? Well, first, we went on this vacation during spring break, when everyone involved in any type of travel hikes up their prices, except, it seems, Costa Rica. Second, I spent a few weeks in other parts of Costa Rica, but never went to the northern area, called Guanecaste. I was interested in seeing that part of the country.

 

I think that the best way to experience Costa Rica is to town jump. Before, when I went to CR, I was on a study abroad trip for college and on a strict budget. We traveled to five different towns, San Jose, La Fortuna, Monteverde, Quepos and Puerto Viejo, and stayed in very inexpensive hotels/hostels. This time around, I was with my family, we stayed in one town, Tamarindo, and stayed in a really nice condo with a beach club. Very different trips. I think the best CR experience would be a combination of the both, traveling to different towns and staying in hotels that are a bit nicer than the ones I went to the first time around, but not all inclusive.

Tamarindo is a little town on the west coast of Costa Rica. We read that there is not a whole bunch of tourism in the coastal area where we wanted to go, but that Tamarindo was the largest town. To me, it seemed that a lot of the infrastructure in Tamarindo was built around tourism. The main road in the town was paved within the past few years and there are at least two large buildings going up with a "mall-like" atmosphere. Many of the stores were souvenir shops and the restaurants, but it did still have the feel of an "unknown" place. 

The beach was wide and really picturesque. It looked like a great beach for running, with nice packed sand. Locals rode their bikes along the beach with their dogs following close behind. There were several dogs, most with owners, some without, but all very sweet and only a little curious.

The Langosta Beach Club, where we stayed, was a best pick in my opinion. The rooms were large and comfortable and the beach club really made the trip relaxing. The pool was beautiful, with some shaded areas and some sunny, and hammocks and chairs on the beach. And the beach club menu was really good. It was nice to come back to a relaxing pool/beach area, lay in the sun or shade and read a book after running around and exploring during the mornings and afternoons.

We got some adventuring into that week, including a deep sea fishing expedition, a drive to other towns and beaches along the coast, a local rodeo, a great pizza in an unexpected place and even the dreaded tourist trap, all of which I'll tell you about in posts to follow. All in all, it was a great family trip.

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Goal Check!

If this was progress report in Jr. High, I would have Cs in Diet and Fitness, As in Travel and Personal Development and a B in Reading and Writing. I'm glad I did this assessment because I didn't realize I was spending so much time at recess.

Travel

We haven't been to the lake house yet, but we have planned several vacations for the rest of the year.  

Steamboat Springs, Colorado for a couples ski trip in February...

That's a glacier! Whistler, BC

Costa Rica for a family Spring Break in March...

That's a rain forest! Monteverde, Costa Rica

Hawaii for the 4th of July to visit friends...

That's the pacific ocean! Hanalei Bay, Kauai

and a mother daughter trip to Italy in September.

That's my kitchen table! 

Considering that SFA, where I work, just instituted 4 furlough days, we may plan a few more vacations. It's going to be an exciting year!

Reading and Writing

I've definitely been reading on a regular basis, but not writing and submitting regularly. That seems to come in spurts. However, I did submit to several different journals, which was stepping out of my comfort zone.

Fitness 

I've decided NOT to run a second half marathon, at least not this year. My hip is showing signs of unhappiness; it seems like I won't be able to stay healthy and run a half marathon in two months. Let me tell you, an immense weight was lifted off my shoulders when I made this decision.

I am still aiming for the olympic triathlon in May, which only calls for a 6 mile run. I can handle that, and it gives me time to focus on swimming, which I love, and biking, which I only love when it's warm outside. Also focusing on core fitness and flexibility. 

Diet

I spent some time this weekend making and freezing meals for the week. Hopefully, that helps because I'm not doing very good with this goal at all. New plan is to take it week by week, cook and freeze on the weekends and focus on writing down what I eat. And as a result of my cheating, I gained a few pounds! I've already lost half of them by now though.

Personal Development (Ending on a good note)

Quilting classes have started. I should have my first quilt made by mid March. The vegetable garden hasn't been established yet, but the household plants are doing just fine. Laundry is actually kind of fun now with our new washer, dryer and laundry sorting bins.

I'm almost halfway through Rosetta Stone level 1 and "bootlegged" level 2 from my mom. We have plans to purchase Italian, but not until I finish French level 1. 

I guess this post is more for me than my readers (MOM). Did anyone else set goals for themselves? Are you keeping track of them? If so, how?

Costa Rica Series: Santa Elena

After our day in La Fortuna, we were off to the Monteverde cloud forest. A cloud forest is like a rain forest at a high altitude. The air is so moist and foggy that it looks like you are in a cloud. Well, I guess you are in a cloud. Anyway, we crossed a large lake, Laguna de Arenal, on a ferry and headed by van to Santa Elena, a very small mountain town. 

We drove through beautiful rolling coffee fields and a few small towns like this one.

An excerpt from my journal about our arrival in Santa Elena: 

July 21, 2006 - It's raining in Santa Elena. I am told that it's always raining in Santa Elena. I climb the hill to get to El Mar Inn, dodging cars and buses, side stepping stray rocks that are aiming for my feet. Four little boys pass me, smiling and giggling. As I enter El Mar Inn, I realize that in Santa Elena, it also rains inside. 

I have a conversation, in Spanish, with the woman in the lobby. I make a phone call, using a spanish language calling card with a spanish speaking automated voice, and call Cafe Britt, the coffee company I am studying, to arrange a meeting for when I am back in San Jose, in Spanish.

I think what I meant by "It also rains inside" is that the air was wet, inside and out. No matter where you were, the air was saturated with moisture. This is the "view" from the Inn balcony when we arrived. Beyond that fog, there is a mountain of greenness. I was also impressing myself with my spanish skills at this point in the trip. Later in the week, I caught myself counting money in my head in Spanish and I think I even had a dream in Spanish.

When we were eating lunch at this little restaurant, a man walked by along the road. He was carrying what looked like a keg of beer on his back. I don't know that it was beer, it just looked like a large heavy barrel that surely would be way too heavy to walk around with, but there he was, walking up a hill with it on his back. He was a little old man too. He looked over at us and said, "Buen dìa!" smiling, with this heavy thing on his back. It seems like a very simple moment, but it was very surreal at the time. 

Buen dìa is a shortening of buenos dìas, which is what I learned in school. I guess it's like saying hey instead of hello. Everyone says the phrase you take home from Costa Rica is pura vida, which means pure life, referring to the relaxed attitude you find pretty much everywhere in the country. I think buen dìa was the phrase that stuck with me, though.

The next big adventure was zip lining through the Monteverde cloud forest. This was crazy! For a girl that isn't too fond of heights, I did pretty well. I only chickened out on one zip line, at the highest point, that required you to climb a narrow tower, in the wind, in order to take off. Wind is a big factor in my am I going to be scared of this hight? equation, so I opted to take a nice little private walk to the next stop. Really, if the other option is a nice little private walk through a jungle, I'm okay with that.

After being in Costa Rica for almost a week, and especially Santa Elena for a few days, I started to feel, and look, like a hippie. I think it's a requirement for being in the town that you own at least one piece of tie dyed clothing. 

We stopped in a little grocery store to get a few snacks and found this would-be comrade. And no, I didn't try to find Nacogdoches on his shirt map.

This church was also really neat. It looks so humble, but you could hear the church bells throughout the entire town. And the entire town went to this church. It was THE church.

The next stop on our trip was Quepos, which I'll tell you about in the next Costa Rica Series post. It still feels like I don't remember very many details, but these little bits, like the church bells and buen dìa, are nice to recall.