FOTO FRIDAY: ENYUCADO

FOTO FRIDAY: For my last cooking class at Máximo Nivel, we made enyucado with instructor Noylin.

 A new fried dish for me, as it's made from yucca.  It was as good as it looks.

Noylin had already peeled and boiled the yucca until it was fork tender. 

That was a lot of yucca !

Our job was to mash it, removing any tough fibrous centers. 

We then added margarine, 2 eggs, and. a little salt... 

working the mixture until it was puree smooth. ( See video below.)

Croquet like shape

While the shortening was melting in the fry pan,  *we took pinches of dough,                                    * rolling the yucca mixture into flat small discs in        our palms,                                               *adding ~ a tablespoon of mozzarella cheese on        top                                                                      *and folding it over,                                          making sure the shape was sealed.                    

 

In order to ensure a nice browning, the shapes were lightly dusted with a wheat masa.  

Then, fried in the shortening until golden.

YUM...

I definitely will miss our weekly cooking lessons at Máximo Nivel Costa Rica..

then mashed to make a puree-like consistency. 

Margarine is added, as well as shortening, 2 eggs, and salt to taste. 

TBT: WITCH HUNTING (2019 posting)

TBT:  It's definitely time to post this article on witch hunting again as that is exactly what is going on in our country today with our ICE witchhunt...  And the Peter , Paul and Mary lyrics keep playing "When will they ever learn?  When will they ever learn?"

MIDWEEK MUSINGS: RAINMAKER

MIDWEEK MUSINGS is about my last side trip, a half hour from Quepos on Sunday.  

Destination: Privately owned Rainmaker Conservation Park, 1500 acres, a less frequented rainforest reserve where one can walk along suspension bridges, preserving vegetation and wildlife around you.

The day's guide, Kevin, a university student whose English and patience was put to work with a Chicago family of 5: a very active Grandma, her sister, son, daughter-in-law, 5 yo grandson and yours truly. 

The path was challenging as we climbed the paths into the canopy of the rainforest with the use of tire steps, brick stairways, dirt pathways, lots of metal railings and some rickety wooden ones and then suspension bridges to killer views and down to waterfalls and pools where we could cool off.

Thank goodness we were spared snakes, but I did add a colorful poisonous dart frog, helmet lizard and millipede to my rain-forest critter collection.

ants go into this tree at the round dot

and vegetation galore with all types of ferns,  and different types of symbiotic relationships with insect ant hosts/plants

                 Giant philodendrons climbed massive trees seeking light.

It was a terrific last excursion for my last week living the Pura Vida.

 

tUESDAY tUNES: EL AVENTURERO

Today's tUESDAY tUNE holds a special memory in my heart now and I don't think it would have until the following happened this week. You see my home stay family listens to very conservative music so that's what I have heard for the last month.

 So  I have to tell you that was when my bus driver Angel switched his route and his personalized license plate was not hanging in the front window, but COYOTE's was in its stead. Coyote had music playing as we boarded. One song ended and another started. The lyrics and melody were catchy, and before I knew it, I was tapping my fingers along with the music. Then one voice  in front started singing along followed by others then more and more passengers joined in as did  the bus driver as they sang along. No kidding, in a crowded bus- truly experiencing the Pura Vida. 

Take a listen to Yeison Jimenez's Aventurero and you'll understand...

CATCHY AVENTURERO. 

MONDAY MUSINGS: JUNTOS SOMOS AMERICA

 MONDAY MUSINGS: Last night I joined a packed restaurant La Gran Escape ( pronounced Es - Kah- Peh) across from Quepos 's boardwalk here in Costa Rica. Where else could be better to watch Superbowl's LX half time performance by Bad Bunny?  Remember I've been an a'sportual for the last 25 years.

I was sitting with some Maximo Nivel's participants, and we, as well as others around us, hooted, hollered and did some chair dancing along with Bad Bunny. 

Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, had visited San Jose, Costa Rica's capital just before he was awarded the Grammys, receiving 2026's Best Album award. The Ticos  (Costa Ricans), as most latinos are very proud of him. Bad Bunny, has unapologetically made sure to remain true to his roots and perform in Spanish, his native tongue. He didn't have to 'make political statements' during this performance as his pride in his roots was exemplified by him being surrounded by people humilde (humble) as the football field was transformed into a casita (home),  the markets, the sugar cane fields and on the streets connecting  Central and South Americans with their flags dancing with fellow latinos. Need I say Gran Escape roared with glee when Costa Rica was mentioned!

Behind Bad Bunny a billboard displayed the words "The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate is Love." 

At the end of his performance, he spiked a NFL football with the message  "Juntos somos América,Together We Are America." Let us not forget my friends, the United States of America is and will always be, a nation made up of many different nations. 

FOTO FRIDAY:PAINT & SIP

FOTO FRIDAY: PAINT & SIP provided by Máximo was a fun hour and a half as 12 of us were given local wildlife to paint: frogs, butterflies, toucans and different birds, turtles, raccoons, and sloths. I got my favorite...

TBT: SOCIALISM

TBT: SOCIALISM