Bill and I recently enjoyed a visit to Costa Rica. It was a great holiday with friends who were former classmates of Bill’s. The trip was part of their festivities to celebrate 40 years since graduation. Of course, we spouses were included, as we have been on many get-togethers over the years.
The people of Costa Rica had friendly smiling faces and were hospitable. While we wouldn’t want to trade our houses and yards with theirs, it appeared to me that because their houses and yards are often small, they have more free time than we think we have. We often saw women relaxing in the shade of the front porch watching their children play and the world go by. They gave us a smile and a wave as we passed by in our bus.
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Food can play a flavourful role in fun summer activities
Recipes – popsicles are made with lactose-free milk and yogurt so are perfect for those who can’t tolerate milk, while everyoneelse will also enjoy them
Many meat dishes and other foods are prepared and served as we would here. Rice and black beans, mixed together or served separately, are traditionally served at most meals, even at breakfast with scrambled eggs. The beans are mashed, lightly seasoned, tasty and filling. Familiar fruits and vegetables, as well as some specific to the tropics, were part of the buffets. They taste so good when fresh.
We saw pineapple, papaya, bananas and other fruit growing in the fields. We also passed by fields of coffee, cassava, sugar cane, palms (the heart of the palm is served in salads) and black pepper. Our tour guide often stopped so we could see, feel and smell the plants. A tour of a coffee plantation was most interesting, showing us all the steps from growing the trees to picking, roasting, grinding and packaging.
We experienced rain in the rain forest, steam from a volcano and the humid, hot air of an ocean beach resort. Costa Rica gave us this variety of climates, areas to explore, people to meet and memories to cherish.
Cookbook: Steam Cuisine
A new cookbook on the market is Steam Cuisine by Jenny Stacey, published by Firefly Books, November l999. This cookbook differs from many others because of its topic, cooking by steam.
All the 90 plus recipes in the book are cooked by the steaming method. Almost every recipe has a beautiful mouthwatering picture, giving evidence that steaming doesn’t make food boring and bland, but rather colorful and fresh.
The introduction illustrates the many types of steamers available, from the traditional Chinese bamboo baskets to stovetop steamers and state-of-the-art electric models. Any device will work if it holds the food above boiling water for cooking.
Steaming is a healthy way to cook, not requiring added fat and maintaining high levels of nutrients in the food. An entire meal can be combined in a steamer and timed so that everything is ready at once.
There is a wide range of recipes, including spicy vegetables in tortillas, lamb with bacon peppercorn sauce on a bed of cabbage, stuffed chicken in a blue cheese and pecan sauce, orange-ginger marinated whitefish and a dessert section of cakes, waffles, fruits and sauces.
Steam Cuisine is available for $19.95 at bookstores or by calling 800-387-6192.
The joy of planting
Spring is nearly here. With it comes thoughts of what to plant in the fields, the garden and also in containers and flowerpots.
A unique book, The Joy of Planting by Arlette Laird, gives ideas for pots and containers as if they were recipes in a cookbook. This Strawberry Sunday recipe is one example that I would like to try.
Strawberry Sunday
The pink begonia is all dressed up in it’s Sunday best, swirling in impatiens and dripping with lobelia. The ivy gives the finishing touch.
Suggested serving: 12 inch (30 cm) hanging pot or 14Ð16 inch (35-40 cm) patio pot.
Temperature: shade, part sun; low to moderate heat.
Ingredients: see below
12 14-16
in. pot in. pot
Begonias, Non-Stop,
pink or rose 1 3
Impatiens, Pink Swirl 3 3
Lobelia, trailing, sapphire 2 2
Ivy, English 1 1
At serving time: Deadhead (remove faded flowers) as needed.
Variations: Use an American Giant rather than a Non-Stop begonia in an upright pot. You can also skip the ivy and just put in an extra lobelia plant.
A great help is the colored pictures for most of the container “recipes”, tips throughout, and in-depth sections on soil, water, fertilizers, light requirements, plants, containers and preserving (overwintering, drying, pressing and plant photography.)
If we haven’t a green thumb, The Joy of Planting can help us develop one. If we have done a lot of gardening, this book can give us many appetizing ideas.
The Joy of Planting by Arlette Laird, published by Pirouette Publications, was released in January. It sells for $14.95. For more information contact: Centax Books and Distribution at 800-667-5595.
Fruity soda bread
4 cups all-purpose flour 1 L
1Ú3 cup each raisins, 75 mL
dried currants, mixed
candied fruit and
chopped dried figs
3 tbsp. granulated 45 mL
sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder 15 mL
1 tsp. baking soda 5 mL
1Ú2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
13Ú4 cups buttermilk 425 mL
3 tbsp. vegetable oil 45 mL
1 egg
11Ú2 teaspoons grated 7 mL
orange rind
Glaze:
1Ú2 cup icing sugar 125 mL
1 tbsp. juice 15 mL
In large bowl, stir together flour, raisins, currants, candied fruit, figs, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg and orange rind; pour over dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead lightly 10 times or just until dough holds together. Place on greased baking sheet; flatten into nine-inch (23 cm) circle that is three inches (eight cm) thick. With serrated knife, score top into sixths.
Bake in centre of 350F (180C) oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool on pan on rack for five minutes.
Glaze: Mix icing sugar with orange juice; spread over warm bread. Cut into wedges or slices. Makes one loaf, 20 wedges.
Source: Canadian Livings’s Best Breads & Pizzas by Elizabeth Baird and The Food Writers of Canadian Living Magazine and The Canadian Living Test Kitchen. A Madison Press Book, 1998.
You’d Never Recognize Grandma
Where did the grandma of yesterday go,
The grandma who took all the kids to the show,
Who stopped by to chat, and before we could ask it
Had tackled the laundry that spilled from the basket
Who offered to mend and to make the girls’ dresses
And pitched in to help clean up toddler-made messes
Who came on the run when the kids needed sitting,
And brought along storybooks, cookies and knitting?
Today’s grandma knows how to run a computer
She watches the market and buys stocks that suit her.
She dons a pink smock for the hospital lobby
Has taken up sky-diving, just for a hobby.
She’s gone back to college to get a degree
And zips around town in her bright yellow Z.
Grandma’s still here, and there’s no one to match her
But call before eight, or you simply can’t catch her!
– Author unknown
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all our readers. Enjoy Irish traditions by bringing out the green, listening to or singing the good old Irish tunes or by serving up a traditional Irish dinner.
