Our friend jakeSG sent me this fabulous email and post about his tasty food experiences in Costa Rica.

Be jealous.

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from: jakeSG
to: gansie
date: Sep 4, 2007 9:00 PM
subject: New Study Finds Beans to be 30% Less Musical Than Originally Thought

Attached is my blog attempt. It is probably too long, so feel free to trim it, format it, whatever, but post that sh*t, make that sh*t, and then fart a few times..oh wait..girls don’t fart.

enjoy.

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I recently returned from 21 days in the lush cloud forests of Costa Rica. Of the 21 days there, I ate beans, rice or both 17 of those days. You might think that after three weeks of the same food I’d be ready for something new. You’d be right. But after two weeks back in my home country, once again I was craving that hearty staple of Central American cuisine.

Less than a week into our trip we stopped at a Comedor (restaurant) for a delicious meal made by the lovely ladies below:

It was a mix of picadillo (a mushy yet tasty mix made from zucchini), cole slaw, beans, rice, chicken, and corn tortillas. There was also a cow intestine soup.

Here’s the plate they served us:

So back home, I figured I’d give my best shot to recreate my Tico food experience in my own kitchen.

I soaked black beans (boiling them, draining, and reboiling, but not draining the second time) until the beans were soft. I then sautéed onions and green pepper (I’d use red next time) in olive oil. I added oregano, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, a splash of lime juice and apple cider vinegar. Personally, I think I over did the spices, next time I’m going to go for a simpler recipe.

I made some white rice, and then headed out to the grill to make my whole 3lb chicken. I cooked that hen on a charcoal grill, using indirect heat. It took less than an hour to cook the whole bird, but it was juicy and delicious at the end.

I also grilled two ears of corn, husks on, mostly because I love corn.

Finally, I made some juice (the appropriate beverage accompaniment of Costa Rica). Speaking of accompaniment, anyone who knows me well knows of my undying love of condiments. Costa Rica has its own: Salsa Lizano. A green salsa (pictured below) that I smother everything on that plate with. It’s not too spicy, but quite flavorsome.

I added some store bought corn tortillas, the trick is to heat them on a covered skillet for two minutes or so before use, that way they won’t break.

Check out my attempt below, and enjoy!

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If you’ve traveled somewhere food-worthy, send us a write up with pics: info@endlesssimmer.com

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