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Yeah, It’s Cold but not for long!

November 16th, 2007

It is windy and cold still, but the GOOD news is that verano (summer) is coming and coming fast!

November marks the beginning of the transition from the rainy season to the dry season, and the telltale signs are almost non-stop winds and the lessening of the afternoon rains. It also is great sleeping weather! Nights are chilly and breezy and because of the constant air movement, the air smells fresher, even in the Central Valley that is occasionally troubled by smog. Days are warm, less humidity here in the Central Valley, and just going out to do choirs is pleasant. The beaches of course will continue to be hot,but there too, there is a pretty contstant breeze to keep things manageable.

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Salsa Lizano and Other Stuff

November 11th, 2007

Gallo PintoWhere can I buy that??

The first time I started to get that question was right after I posted my daughter-in-law’s recipe for Gallo Pinto. Her recipe is, in my not too humble opinion, the absolute hands-down best I have had anywhere in all the years I have lived here and the years before when I was a visitor. She got the recipe from her mom and who knows before that… but it is superb! Those of you who know me are aware perhaps that I am not exactly an amateur eater!

Gallo Pinto, the basin ingredients are rice and beans, is perhaps the most famous of all Costa Rica foods and is served mostly as a breakfast dish, but also for other meals or even as a snack.

However, it is the seasoning ingredients that make the dish!

The key ingredient in her Gallo Pinto, or for that matter a large number of Costa Rican typical food dishes is Salsa Lizano. This dark brown sauce has a pretty unique flavor, and not a few tourists have loaded up on it before returning home. The problem, of course, is that they run out! That’s when I get the emails.

So, I decided to add a small online store to The REAL Costa Rica web site that sells not only Salsa Lizano and Costa Rica coffee, etc, but a variety of other foods gifts, clothes (check out the baby clothes!) and even a Costa Rica flag.

To get to the store, just click here. Then just click on the Salsa Lizano category.

Of course there are also the usual books on Costa Rica, but I also threw in stuff like music and DVD’s as well as learning Spanish. Just for yucks, I also added references to Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama as I get a lot of email from people asking about those countries.

All stuff is shipped from the USA. Enjoy!

Questions from Readers

November 6th, 2007