I've always loved baking and cooking. I find it to be supremely relaxing and exciting at the same time. To me it's like a giant science experiment, for my mouth! I was dying in Korea due to my doll house sized kitchen and lack of oven. Also in Korea, the grocery stores and markets were so strange I didn't even know what I was buying and cooking with half the time.
Here in Costa Rica, I do ALL of my grocery shopping every Monday morning at the local farmers market. I am basically forced to cook with all natural and organic ingredients. Down to my homemade almond granola cereal for breakfast! School lunches are also homemade with fresh local ingredients. My favorite lunch being the locally caught fish on Friday. I always look forward to mealtime here, colorful and flavorful.
Tonight I made an avocado chicken salad with a creamy citrus mustard dressing. This is one recipe I have to share! Just the dressing...
1/2 Cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lime
handful of fresh basil
Blend this all together and pour over fresh salad, or use as veggie dip!
I hope to keep up this style of cooking when I get back to the States. I have to find the strength to not venture into those tempting aisles of disgusting boxes and cans!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Isla Tortuga
With the final days in Costa Rica quickly approaching, my friends and I decided to have a get-a-way this past weekend. Before arriving in Costa Rica, I was told that Turtle Island is one of the premier destinations, and a must go. Once I was settled here in Cobano, I realized that this Isla Tortutga was just a short boat ride away! One of my students families owns a boat and agreed to take the 6 of us volunteers!
We woke up early Sunday morning, packed a large cooler of beer, and took off to sea! Once we got close to the island, we could see what all the talk was about. Crystal clear water, powdery white sand, masses of palm trees, and a red parrot! We started with snorkeling. Not the best ever, but there were so many fish and we had a guide so that we were able to identify everything we saw.
We then made our way back to the island to eat fresh coconut, play games in the sand and sea, and enjoy some drinks. The water was awkwardly warm. For a minute we thought everyone kept peeing, but it never got below that temperature.
The drivers of our boat made us delicious fish with potatoes, carrots, and garlic bread for lunch. We also had lots of pineapple and watermelon.
After lunch, we were able to enjoy the water, beer, and each others company for a few more hours before heading back to the mainland. We had so much fun together as a group. This was the last time all of us will be able to hang out together and have fun before 3 of us leave Costa Rica. Sad times.
Could you imagine if mangoes were one of the largest problems in US schools? Luckily, here at our little schools that is one of our biggest problems. There are so many mango trees on the school grounds. For the first couple weeks of schools, students would fight over mangoes, eat them in class, and steal them from each other. The school received so many parent phone calls and teacher complaints that we had to come up with a solution. My solution-Mango Monday Madness. Every Monday for the last 2 months I start my class with all of the students gathered under the shade of 3 mango trees. We share mango fun facts, and sometimes meditate for a minute. Then, for the last 15 minutes of the day the students go wild. They throw basketballs and soccer balls high into the tree, as well as shoes, big sticks, or other smaller children. The goal is to collect as many mangoes as possible so that all students can take home one or two and eat them there. For the rest of the week, if a student is caught with mango he/she is not permitted to participate the following week. It has been a fun and usually chaotic time, and sadly today was my last Mango Monday ever...
We woke up early Sunday morning, packed a large cooler of beer, and took off to sea! Once we got close to the island, we could see what all the talk was about. Crystal clear water, powdery white sand, masses of palm trees, and a red parrot! We started with snorkeling. Not the best ever, but there were so many fish and we had a guide so that we were able to identify everything we saw.
 |
| snorkeling |
We then made our way back to the island to eat fresh coconut, play games in the sand and sea, and enjoy some drinks. The water was awkwardly warm. For a minute we thought everyone kept peeing, but it never got below that temperature.
 |
| the girls |
 |
| ready for lunch! |
After lunch, we were able to enjoy the water, beer, and each others company for a few more hours before heading back to the mainland. We had so much fun together as a group. This was the last time all of us will be able to hang out together and have fun before 3 of us leave Costa Rica. Sad times.
 |
| Salud Tortuga! |
Could you imagine if mangoes were one of the largest problems in US schools? Luckily, here at our little schools that is one of our biggest problems. There are so many mango trees on the school grounds. For the first couple weeks of schools, students would fight over mangoes, eat them in class, and steal them from each other. The school received so many parent phone calls and teacher complaints that we had to come up with a solution. My solution-Mango Monday Madness. Every Monday for the last 2 months I start my class with all of the students gathered under the shade of 3 mango trees. We share mango fun facts, and sometimes meditate for a minute. Then, for the last 15 minutes of the day the students go wild. They throw basketballs and soccer balls high into the tree, as well as shoes, big sticks, or other smaller children. The goal is to collect as many mangoes as possible so that all students can take home one or two and eat them there. For the rest of the week, if a student is caught with mango he/she is not permitted to participate the following week. It has been a fun and usually chaotic time, and sadly today was my last Mango Monday ever...
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