Host family: The family of Bernardita Castillo Alvarez, her husband Manuel Villalobos, and her son Johan Manuel (age 28). Bernardita also has a daughter, Stefanie (30), and Stefanie has a son, Anthony (4), who do not live at home. I was sent pictures, and their home looks beautiful, and the people seem nice. Apparently Bernardita loves to cook, which is wonderful! Also, their house is about a 10 minute walk from La Universidad Latina, so not too far.
Money: The U.S. dollar equals about 500 Costa Rican colones
Seasons: "Winter" or the rainy season is May-November. "Summer" or the dry season is December-April. Lucky me, I'll be there during the dry season!
Government: Democratic Republic. The country is broken into seven providences, each with elected leaders. There is no national military. Any money that used to go to the military now is split up between education, health care, and conservation.
Conservation efforts: Over 1/4 of the country is dedicated to conservation and national parks.
Baking class recipe:
Here is the dough receipe for the baking class I took. Just a warning, it makes a lot of dough. You can probably cut it in half.3 pounds flour
4 bars of butter
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 heavy cream
1 cup light sour cream (natilla)
Add milk as necessary to keep the dough moist. Knead the dough until it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
Bake all pastries at 350 degrees Farenheit.
Tartletas de frutas (fruit tarts)
Use a muffin or cupcake pan. Put the dough in the cups, but make sure that it is thin because the dough will rise while baking and it will close up and you won't be able to add the fillings. Bake until golden. After baking, let cool. Add vanilla pudding. Top off with cut up fresh fruits (make sure there is no juice).
Palitos de queso (cheese sticks)
Use a flat cookie sheet. Take the dough and roll it into a stick then braid it. Roll the dough in baking cheese. Bake until golden.
Rosquillas dulces (sweet donuts)
Use a flat cookie sheet. Take the dough and roll it into a THIN stick then pinch the ends together to make it into a ring. The ring should be thin so that the hole doesn't close up when you bake it. Place one side of the ring into a bowl of sugar and leave the other side plain. Bake until golden.
Empanadas de piña (pineapple empanadas)
Use a flat cookie sheet. Using a rolling stick, flatten a palm-sized amount of dough into the shape of a circle. Place your filling (which can be pineapple filling like what you would put in a pie or apple pie filling or whatever you would prefer. You can even stuff them with meat or vegetables) in the middle of the flat circle of dough. Fold the circle in half to make a half-moon shape. Use a fork to press together and secure the edges of the dough. Bake until golden.
Cooking class recipes
Gallo Pinto Costa Rican style rice and beansIngredients and tools:
Frying pan
Something to mix with
4 cups of cooked beans (red or black)
5 cups of cooked white rice
5-6 teaspoons of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of Lizano sauce (optional)
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro (coriander)
1 large sweet red pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon pure cumin
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
Use a frying pan on a stovetop burner on medium heat with vegetable oil. Add the onions to allow them to carmelize. Next add the beans, and then the rice, all the while stirring the ingredients to mix together the flavors. Continue adding the remaining ingredients. Stir and cook until everything is cooked and slightly browned. Should only take about 10 minutes. Very simple, but hearty, dish.
Tortillas Alineadas Cheesy tortillas
Ingredients and tools (for the tortilla):
Mixing bowl
Frying pan
Spatulas for flipping and mixing
Vegetable oil
4 cups corn flower
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 stick of margarine
27 oz. of firm and sponge white cheese (shredded)
1 tablespoon of yuca starch
Salt to taste
Luke warm water
Flor recommends starting with the dry ingredients to have a more thorough mixture. First mix together the dry ingredients and then the wet in order to make the dough for your tortilla. Then, take a palm-sized ball of the dough - could smaller or larger, depending on how big your frying pan is and how big of a tortilla you want, the rolled out tortilla just has to fit in the pan - and put it on a surface (covered in flour so that the dough doesn't stick) simliar to what you would use to roll out cookie dough. Using your hands, flatten and roll out your tortilla until it is circular. Then, place it face-down in the frying pan (with vegetable oil) until golden brown. Flip and cook the otherside until it is also golden brown. Remove from the frying pan and enjoy with your choice of toppings (we put refried beans and sour cream).
Empanadas de platano plantain and cheese empanadas
Ingredients and tools:
Something to mash the plantains
Frying pan
3 yellow plantains (NOT BANANAS)
Sliced cheese
Vegetable oil
Refried beans (optional)
Salt to taste
Skin the plantains and cut off the ends. Put them in a plastic bag and place them in the microwave for 4 minutes to soften. When done, mash the plantains. Place a large spoonfull of the plantains on a floured surface. Flatten into a circle using your fingers or a spoon. On one half, place some cheese slices (however many you want and makes sense based on the size of your circle). If wanted, spread refried beans on the other half. Fold the circle in two, making a half-moon shape with the beans and cheese inside. Use your fingers to seal the edge. Place the pocket in the frying pan and let cook until golden. Flip to the other side and cook until golden. Enjoy.
Chimichurry This is basically a salad
Ingredients and tools:
Chopping knife
Large mixing bowl
2.2 pounds of tomato (roughly three tomatoes)
1 large onion
1 bunch of cilantro (coriander)
1 lime
1 sweet red bell pepper
salt to taste
Chop all of the ingredients and mix in a large mixing bowl. Serve chilled or room temperature.
Prestiños I don't really know how to explain this except fried-deliciousness
Ingredients and tools:
Mixing bowl
Mixer
Frying pan
Roller
Vegetable oil
Sugar cane syrup (NOT maple syrup)
Salt
Flour
Water
Mix together the flour, water, and salt in the mixing bowl until thorougly mixed. Let sit for 20 minutes. Take a palm-sized amount of dough - once again, more or less based on the size you want and the size of your frying pan - and place it on a floured surface. The dough should have some elasticity. Roll it out using a roller, then use your fingers to shape it into circle. The dough should be pretty thin. Place the dough face-down in a frying pan with vegetable oil. Cook until crispy and brown on both sides. Let cool, then drizzle sugar cane syrup on top and enjoy!
