Kitchen Ranch

Action.

Since the big kids started school, it has been all-action around here.  There is school: Lunches to be made, snacks to prep and uniforms to keep clean.  There is after school: Spanish tutoring sessions, volunteer-work, soccer, horse riding and boxing class.  There are the week-ends: Dinners with friends, more horse riding, swimming in rivers, exploring the hills, strolls to the sea and squeezing in time to spend together all of us-the five of us, together.  

There is peanut butter to be made because the one brand of peanut butter offered is loaded with hideous oils and extras...

There are colorful lunches to be eaten and shared with neighbors.

The rainy season will be coming to a close in two weeks and it has been utterly beautiful-every moment of it.  I think it might end up being my favorite time of year here. despite the fact that the town is quiet and pretty empty.  

These days are full in the best possible ways.   

Easy Living is Hard (sometimes).

Pixel and Robert start school at Del Mar on Monday.  They are acting uninterested, but I can tell they are secretly excited (I didn´t even have to prompt them to try on their new uniforms).  

I love this picture above.  I feel as though this photo captures their spirits so well at this moment in their lives.  

For a glimpse of how our lives are on a day-to-day read this article: Easy Living in Costa Rica  .... and it is true: Easy living was never so hard!

Panama . . . ?

Imagine this: The kids are on summer break, we have friends in Panama and we need a border run.  No brainer, right?  Road trip to Panama!

"Thanks for coming. . . now, leave."

I think my chin must have hit the floor when we arrived to the border of Costa Rica and Panama and our entry was refused because we didn´t have plane tickets to the USA.  We turned around, in total shock, and thought, "I guess we´ll head to Nicaragua."

In all truth, before we started discussing a solution to the odd reality we were confronted with, we muttered and cursed Panama out for awhile.

The long drive and hours of silence invited me to question my life here as it is not the path of least resistance.  There were some okay moments on our trip as we tried to make the best of it, but really, we were all confused and pissed off.

We returned home to mold all over everything (I never knew weather like this before) and a total ghost town as Nosara pretty much closes up in September and October.

I am reminding myself that experiences are just that: Experiences.  Experiences are neither good nor bad but more about how we choose to respond or relate to the experience.

So when I reflect on our Panama trip, I will remember all of it but especially I´d like to remember how much fun we had while we ate delicious desserts at that cafe in San Jose and how stunning the mountain views were in San Isidro del General.

 

Cake and Fan Letters

David Lebovitz is one of my favorite people that I´ve never met.  I love to read his blog which makes me laugh out loud AND get inspired.  I want to ride bikes with David through the streets of Paris, then drink cocktails while we stuff chocolate pastries and pickled beets into our mouths.  

I like him so much that I have even considered writing David a fan letter.  Not the fan letter like I wrote to Tony Danza FROM my friend Bill that begged Mr. Danza for an autographed photo; but a real fan letter, like I once wrote to Erica Jong many years ago.  

And, when I need a delicious dessert, I reach for Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes.  This birthday cake for Rich was top top delicious: Banana Walnut with Mocha Frosting and Candied Peanuts.

By the way, Tony Danza never wrote to Bill.  But, Erica Jong did send me a signed greeting card that thanked me for reading her work.

The One Pan Pasta and Chocolate Ginger Ale

I had to try it: The One Pot Pasta recipe over at Martha.  I loved the ease (really, throw it all in the pot and sit down with a cup of tea) but the dish overall was underwhelming.  I might try again with double the herbs as well as adding a bit of this or that.

 Anyone that has come to visit us knows that they can look forward to several Amazon packages on their doorstep to transport to us.  When I went to San Diego recently, I had several boxes waiting for me (In fact, I traveled to San Diego recently with a nearly empty suitcase that returned to Costa Rica filled).

The delicious chocolate ginger ale was inspired by one of the treats that made it back in my suitcase (below).  The recipes are easy, often the ingredients are already in your kitchen.  I personally am not keen to serve my kids store-bought soda, not only because of the health reasons but also because of the waste that purchases like that generate.  BUT, a homemade fresh and fizzy drink is very appealing.  Yes, please!

San Diego To-Do list and a few thoughts

I needed to travel to San Diego to gather some important documents so that we can file here in Costa Rica for a long term residency status.   The timing worked out because I needed to also purchase a couple bits and pieces that were stolen from us.  

It had been over a year since I left San Diego for Australia. 

I had a super time in San Diego.  I walked around the city day after day crossing off items on my to-do list  and eating delicious food.  I spent (not enough) time with the people I had missed most while I was traveling.   

As cities go, I don´t find San Diego especially likeble but it does offer familiarity and nostalgia. Like all cities, San Diego is overflowing with filth, hope and creative expressions.    

Although we are in the process of filing for a long term residency here in Costa Rica, we are open to anything happening.  And, I mean anything.  When we left for Australia, we planned to return to San Diego after a year, buy a house and live happily ever after (well, you know what I mean-plans, we had them).  

Now, we have no idea where we might be living or heading a year from now!  

There are times I feel at peace existing wholly in the present and not knowing what the future might offer but there are definitely times I don´t feel at peace with this lifestyle and I crave stability and routine.  

There are moments when I feel invigorated and a sense of freedom at the fact that everything the five of us currently own can fit into a couple suitcases.  There are also times I miss (with an ache) the belongings I have that tell me I am home.    

Love these ladies that are always doing inspiring things.

My sister and Serena are beautiful.  

No matter what the future brings, I like knowing San Diego is there and it is an easy and welcoming place to be, we might very well end up living there again.  Or, we might not.  

To be cont....

Then our computers were stolen . . .

It was an evening like any other. We ate dinner, we read to the kids before bed and then we all went to sleep. I looked at the clock, it was 9:48 PM. At 12:01 AM, Rich said, "Someone has been in the house." Naturally, I was a bit groggy, confused and I thought Rich was dreaming. I jumped out of bed and headed straight to the kids who were all sleeping soundly. We walked around the house for the remainder of the night in shock noting how the burglers entered, what they took and what they didn't take. While we slept. I think there were two of them. They entered through the second story kitchen window which was the only window without bars. I am guessing it took them about five minutes to sweep through the house. Rich had fallen asleep with his iPod on and headphones in his ears while listening to NPR (which always puts him to sleep). One of the burglers disconnected the headphones from the iPod and took it from his sleeping body. You must be wondering if we are the deepest sleepers on the planet. The answer is no, both Rich and I wake up in a pinch if one of our kids mumbles in the night. I hardly slept for the following two weeks. I'd like to say this sort of thing does not happen all the time, but it does. While the town we live in is very awesome, it is also a town in a Central American country. This sort of thing happens all the time and the best one can do is play it smart and raise the barrier to entry. We have since had bars installed on the windows, picked up a security alarm, motion sensor lights and we are dilligent about placing our belongings away at night. We really were sitting ducks, as they say. All the i-devices on the table next to the bed, the cameras in a neat pile on the counter, wallets in plain sight and two laptops right on the desk. The bits and pieces stolen are just things. All of our data, photos and music is in the cloud. Passports were left untouched (the new US passports have GPS chips, that is the word in the street). The GPS on our I-devices was not activated, but It will be in the future (I think eventually word will get around and all I-devices have the ability to be tracked and like passports, will remain untouched). I have had many thoughts like: What if one of the kids would have woken up? What if Rich had woken up? Although we were greatly inconvenienced and heavily spooked, all are without harm. For that, I am grateful. So, that explains the break from blogging.

Fancy a Pineapple-Mint Mojito?

When there are four pies to be made, one needs a great drink (or two) to sip on the side.  I think I have mentioned before, that my idea of a good time is hanging out in the kitchen with friends cooking and drinking.... for hours on end.  So, when a friend mentioned that she might be keen to open a pie shop in town and wanted to spend some time making pies and trying recipes-I said, Yes please!   

So yes, four pies were made: Carrot Pie, Carmelized onion and blue cheese galette with walnuts, potato and squash quiche and a coconut cream pie (not yet assembled in the photo below).

The pineapple-mint mojitos served us well and all the pies were top notch delicious.  The kids went nuts over the carrot pie and the grown ups all agreed that the galette was pretty divine.

It was agreed that the meal felt like a Thanksgiving dinner.  

Thanks for the recipe Bon Appetit! 

Pineapple-Mint Mojito

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 limes, each cut into 8 wedges
• 1/2 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
• 2 cups light rum
• Club soda (for serving)

Pineapple-Mint Purée

Bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to disolve sugar. Remove from heat, add mint, and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, place pineapple in a blender and purée until smooth. Strain mint syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into pineapple purée and pulse to combine. Transfer to a jar, cover, and chill.

For each cocktail, muddle 2 pieces of pineapple, 3 lime wedges, and 1 tablespoon mint leaves in a cocktail shaker until lightly crushed. Add 2 ounces rum and 2 ounces pineapple-mint purée to cocktail shaker, fill with ice, cover, and shake until outside of shaker is frosty, about 30 seconds.

Pour drink into a highball glass (do not strain) and top off with club soda. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve with a straw.

DO AHEAD: Pineapple-mint purée can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

These days,

From this sky to downpour in mere moments!

Riding horses.

Making pickles.

Volunteer work at the kid's school.  Along with two other very cool ladies, built this herb spiral which is an example of permaculture.

Planting an herb garden at home.

Swim team.

Chocolate making from local ingredients (more on this subject when I nail a recipe down).

Meet the cat we have been adopted by- we call her Pinto Bean. 

Make and Do

I often find inspiration from (the very creative and super fun) Desi over at Law of Attraction blog. When she recently posted about tie-dying adventures, I felt inspired to have a go.

Living here in rural Costa Rica means there is not an art store within reach and receiving a package of dyes by mail might take over a month.  I started researching the how to make natural fabric dyes and I am happy to report it was easy and very satisfying.  

Pixel and I chose the spice turmeric to make our our first batch of dye.  Now I cannot wait to try making dye from beets, black beans, plums...the list goes on.  

We started by boiling the white cotton in a vinegar and water bath (4 parts water to 1 part vinegar) for one hour.

Rinse your fabric and boil the chosen spice (or other) in water.  I think we used about 4 tablespoons of spice to 8 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, add fabric and cut the heat.  Allow to soak. What determines the color is how long you leave the fabric in to soak. 

We chose to tie dye the fabric and recycled rubber bands we had around the house.

Remove rubber bands and rinse.  As much fun as unwrapping a surprise gift.