A Typical Costa Rican Meal - Casado

Have you ever been to Costa Rica? I haven't, but I got as close as planning a trip there and to buy a travel guide for Costa Rica. It would have been lovely to go there to see some awesome bits and pieces of nature in the tropical rainforest or the cloud forest. Honestly, I don't know what went wrong and why we didn't go. It has been too long since.
Now with the World Cup going on and with the Bloggers Around the World challenge along that line, I get the chance to think about things again. Now, wouldn't that be wonderful to have a post for every country taking part in the World Cup. I wouldn't manage that alone, but I already see there is a lot of interest in the blogger community to try things also from not so often mentioned countries.
Anyway, I do what I can and for today I decided to do Costa Rica. Here we go ...

Sometimes there is the tendency to do some fancy things, but here I decided to go for a typical Costa Rican everyday meal. It consist of rice (arroz), beans (frijoles), some greens or salad and a piece of meat - in my case some chicken (pollo). Normally there would go some plátanos with it, but I couldn't get hold on any plantains today. Otherwise, I would have sliced the plantains up and soak them in salt water for 10 minutes, pat them dry and fry them off. However, since I didn't have any, I didn't do it.
Back then to the typical Costa Rican meal. This time we have rice, chicken, beans and a mixed salad with cucumber, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
For beans I used some baked beans for ... I didn't have the beans in my pantry I thought I would have. Had I known, I would have bought some other beans while shopping today. anyway, baked beans will do.
All the different things are served side by side on the plat as you can see in the picture. Put together like this this meal is called 'casado', which means married.
From that a few flashes of the past come up. First of all, I have to say you find meals like this in neighbouring countries, including the Caribbean as well.
There I had the chance to go in the past, to the Dominican Republic. Well, I even went several times and one time I stayed a few weeks with a local family. They had no fridge and electricity not all the time and ... well, running water also not all the time. Now have a guess, what I had for a meal several times a week. Rice, beans, chicken and salad.
They didn't call that dish casado, though. However, I was asked several times whether I am casado ...
Most likely I will turn up the sound system soon and will go for some Merengue on my own. It's some good fitness, too.

Of course you see that glass on the picture, too. It's a fresco, juice mixed with milk. When I read about this kind of drink in my travel guide I immediately remembered the taste from back then. I often used to drink passion fruit juice with milk. Of course, the passion fruit was fresh. I couldn't achieve that today. So I got some ready juice. Just mix it 1:1, half juice, half milk. It's quite refreshing and lovely ...
Oh, all that makes me kind of a little sad, when I think about back then and on the ideas and plans I had and how nothing did work out. I remember all the sun, the sea, the beach and even the wedding with all that very very sweet cake and the lot of dancing and ...
Fine, we were in Costa Rica now. Casado is a filling dish and as I had it today it was quite tasty, too. Well, I had baked beans. Otherwise it will be a bit dry as I remember it. Think about it, would you love to eat that almost every day?

At least it's an inexpensive meal and you could vary the meat on the side or even use fish or no meat at all and put some corn tortillas on the side, too or some other vegetables.

Well, where are you still planning to go when it comes to food? Would be lovely to see someone going African in the coming days ...

Dangerous dieting, but soup is good for you - Winter Minestrone

I reckon, life can be quite dangerous as a food blogger ... when you are at least as crazy as I am ... at least. Otherwise, how would you call baking a Sachertorte just for your 2nd Blogiversary? As I don't throw away food, I will inevitably end up with having problems putting my trousers on. Yes, no help arrived in helping me eat that cake. 
Anyway, repeated incidents like this will turn you into being overweight. That can make life quite hard, especially when you want to go swimming at the Sea and at the same time activists of Greenpeace are nearby. For sure they will aid you in getting back into the Sea, where you obviously belong.
Now, you could also choose the way of dieting as some have the custom to do at the beginning of every year or ... no wonder ... close to the beach season. From the latter we are still far off.
In case you have found a diet that is working well for you beware that it isn't working too well. In order to help you with that I have some clues for you when to stop dieting ...

Gemelli pasta vegetariana al forno

You know what? I eat every day and not just once. Well, there is nothing special about that. Most do. So I really don't need to mention it. However, I don't eat every day the same, not even every week according to some kind of schedule. I know, some do that and the same dishes come reappearing week after week.
That doesn't need to be! Our planet is full of so many lovely ingredients. Those can be combined in various ways. Let's take just 10 ingredients. How many different dishes could you do with them? Let me know!
Now we like to focus on pasta, there is such a great variety. Here now something I came up with today. I didn't even need to do some extra shopping to get it done. It was all there already. Besides that, some things had to be used anyway ...

Lacking another name, I just called it Gemelli pasta vegetariana al forno. 'Gemelli' is the name of the pasta I used. So if you are going to use a different one, it might be called Orecchiette pasta vegetariana al forno. 
'Vegetariana' is obvious to you, I hope. So if you are putting any kind of meat to it, you have to cancel the vegetariana and ending up with Gemelli pasta al forno or Orecchiette pasta respectively. 
Then we have the 'al forno' left referring to the fact that it is baked in the oven. So, finally, if you are too greedy and don't want to send the dish to the oven you end up with 'Gemelli pasta vegetariana' or 'Orecchiette pasta vegetariana' or even with 'Farfalle pasta vegetariana' and if you put in some meat you have 'Gemelli pasta', 'Orecchiette pasta' or 'Farfalle pasta', which in my opinion would sound simply dull and wouldn't do any good.
On the other hand we could mention some more of the vegetarian ingredients, which could then lead us to ... wait ... that got already a bit far, but maybe you can figure out some other names by looking at ...

 ... the ingredients:
Various splashes of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into small pieces
500 g of tinned tomatoes
250 g cannellini beans
Dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Splash of red wine vinegar
500 g dried Gemelli pasta (you might even want to use Fusilli)
50 g grated Parmesan
125 g mozzarella (one ball)

The Preparation:
Heat up the first splash of olive oil in a large pan. Then gently fry the garlic and onion for about 10 minutes. Enjoy the smell of the garlic!
Now add the bell pepper, tomatoes, beans and a bit of water. Bring it to the boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
That gives you plenty of time to cook the pasta. Prepare them according to the directions of the package, but ... reduce 2 minutes from the mentioned time. Give the pasta some love and attention. Who wouldn't like that ... love and attention! 
Reserve a bit of the cooking water of the pasta.
Season the sauce with salt, pepper and dried oregano according to your taste or for those, whom you are cooking for. Show some consideration! 
By the way, you could also start heating up the oven to 200°C.
It's time to turn off the heat for the sauce. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and grate in the Parmesan. You could also add some of the reserved cooking water, if you have the feeling that things are looking too dry.
Then mix it all together with the pasta. You could do that either in the pan or in your dish you are putting into the oven.
Is everything in the oven-proof dish? Good! Tear the mozzarella ball apart and spread the individual pieces on your pasta. Season with some extra dried oregano on top and sprinkle another splash of olive oil over the pasta and mozzarella. Off it goes to the oven for 30 minutes!

After you have plated up the pasta al forno and are ready to eat it, you could sprinkle yet another splash of olive oil over it ... Enjoy your pasta! What do YOU like to call it?

Just looking at this last photo, I get reminded that I wanted to get some nice white plates. I guess it will work out one day ...

I might even survive a few more days with all my stored items ...

Basil and Garlic Chicken Thighs

Life is a roller coaster! This was something Ronan Keating sang, wasn't it?
Well, things are like that. Sometimes you're up and sometimes your down, but as long as things are still moving, it should be alright, I guess.
So far I haven't been able to motivate myself by cooking and baking. Anyway, I didn't have the time or energy for it. I hope, though, things will be improving in the next few days.
However, I want to write you a bit about something I had a few weeks ago. That is, if I still manage to get things right.

 

It wasn't quite a big deal. Hm! Quite simple. Just a matter of pouring things together. I even didn't bother much to hack the tomatoes from the tin to pieces.

The chicken thighs got some incisions into which I stuffed some slices of garlic and some basil leaves. Maybe a little olive oil over them will help as well.

Meanwhile, I took an oven-proof dish and poured a tin of tomatoes and a tin of white beans into it. A bit of extra water and seasoning with salt and pepper will not harm.
The whole thing goes into the oven. I arranged it, that the chicken thighs were on a grill above the tomato and bean dish, so that the fat from the chicken could drip into the tomato sauce.
Did it taste? I can say, that I was well fed by it. A baguette or a ciabatta on the side always works.
So far about food and eating for today, I have to get back to the roller coaster.

The Dark Side, Pasta and Random Recipes #19

Oh what a day? The original plan was to stay in bed through the whole day. At least that is what came into my mind yesterday. However, as things are, there are certain responsibilities. Even little dogs don't feel satisfied, when they can't get out, may it only be to do their business. Well, otherwise it would have been quite ...
Yet, here I am, writing and writing and hopefully a bit of thinking in between and writing up my entry for Random Recipes #19 for August at Belleau Kitchen. Dom has done a fabulous job last month for this huge round-up and now we are going back to basics and cooking random recipes again.

Considering the beginning of this day, I can be really proud. It's just barely over the middle of the month and I manage to take part in Random Recipes.
OK, what do they say about pride? "Pride comes before a fall!"
Right then, before being totally satisfied, I have to go through with it, complete the cooking of the recipe and finish writing up this post.
Considering it from another point pride would not be classed as a good quality. The same is true for anger. Oh no, some things really can make me angry. It would be true to say that yesterday there was a day containing 'some things' like that.
But beware ...
"Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny." At least that is what Yoda, a good friend of me, once said.
What has Random Recipes to do with Star Wars now?
Well, don't be quick to judge. I will give you a few reasons in a minute ... or less ... or more ... not quite sure up to this point.
Aha, for being in such a mood as he his, he is doing quite some talking ...

So ... Random Recipes: "Randomly select a cook book" 
Here we are: Classic Essential Pasta by Anne Wilson. It has just 64 pages. Now that would be about the size of a cook book I would start to write with, if someone would ask me to do so.

"Open the cook book to a random page"
And ... the winner is ... Fusilli with bean sauce. Ha, that should be an easy one.

"Cook the exact recipe on that page... do NOT cheat... you are only cheating yourself"

In fact, I had a look already at the beginning of the month. When I came to this recipe I thought, well, that might be a recipe too easy or too boring to do.

Was I thinking of cheating?

Maybe I would forget the randomly selected recipe until I would actually do the challenge. My memory might not be as good as an elephant's one, but I did remember. Therefore no chance to do the random part again.

So it may be then: Fusilli with bean sauce.

What did I need? The pasta, broad beans, speck, leeks, olive oil, cream, lemon zest, salt and pepper. After I have gathered all things together it's time to start to cook ...

... not yet, not. First of all some background music. Here it is, were we come back to Star Wars. The soundtrack of Return of the Jedi Knights is already in the CD player ... PLAY!

Again a quick glance at the recipe ... or did I study it carefully? Anyway!

Broad beans have not been my favourites when my mother used to cook them when I was a kid. Nevertheless, I can try again. After all, the way you prepare them is it what makes it to like or hate it.

The recipe calls for peeling the beans. Great! First put the frozen beans in hot water, then in cold water and then peel them. But, hey, no fear, have a try!

Simply remember Yoda: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Besides that: "No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." OK, then I just go for it!

That was a lovely job ... not! Up to now, my sympathy for the beans is not rising. It takes some time to complete the task.
By the time I was finished with the beans. The CD was already just before a certain track. The video fitting to that you can watch on YouTube. 
Just one word concerning that video: no parallels are to be taken from that one.    
After finishing the beans, the remaining part was no great challenge. The speck goes together with the sliced (with the right knife, I love slicing) leeks into the pan while the pasta is started as well. 

 

We are getting closer to the finish line ... just the lemon zest, cream, salt and pepper and shortly afterwards the ... eh ... well ... beans.    
Then mixing the sauce with the ready pasta and then we are ready to eat.
 

 
The end result was not bad, although I wouldn't class it as an essential pasta dish. It tasted fine, but doesn't make it into the category: Well, I have to do that one again, absolutely.   
It was a pleasure, as always, to take part in random recipes.    
What more is there to say: “The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see the future is.” - Yoda.    
As far as I am concerned, cooking and writing up a bit here on this blog has always helped me so far to conquer the dark side or bad moods. You can't be cooking all day, though, but ... at least ... you can do it every day!   
Another small note: All parallels or relations to any appearing characters in this post are just ... ah ... well ... random ... just as the recipe.  No worries!