Friday, February 27, 2009

cows and comida: (food)

The cows in the warm areas seem to be bramhas and semmitals. (excuse the spelling) They have lumps on their backs and big floppy low set ears. There are a lot of dairy cows in Monteverde: mostly Jersey and Swiss. Dairy farming was started in the area by Quakers who moved there from Alabama. In other parts other parts of the country there seem to be a lot of mixes in the pastures: hereford looking white faces with big floppy ears and all different color combinations. The ears seems to be dominant.
We haven't had a bad meal in Costa Rica and most have been excellent. There is lots of fish and fruit. "Comida tipica" is what they call typical local food. All the hotels include breakfast in the price. It is a full breakfast with eggs, pancakes or french toast. Gallo pinto (painted chicken) is a typical dish that is served with breakfast. It is rice and little black beans flavored with onion, garlic and some other spices. I had it nearly every morning. I think it gets its name because it is brown with little black flecks, like a brown chicken with little black feathers.
The other dish that is typical are "platos casados" Casados literally means married people. It is a plate of food that "marries" a variety of food like fish or chicken, rice, beans,vegetables, and a chutney-like sauce. My favorite drink is jugo natural. They put ice, water, fruit an little sugar in a bender and make a really refreshing drink.