This month’s Making a Difference profile takes us south again to the Matapalo zone of our Aguirre county. It is always a privledge to be able to share with others the stories of how certain expats make the important decision to be active participants in our community as opposed to those who only complain about the cultural differences that separate us.
One couple, Frank and Karen Walker took the initiative to create the Zacatona Newsletter which serves our area by creating community between all of us, highlighting important information and events which may be useful each month to our community members..
For those who are new to the column, here below are the principles of this ideal to citizen action.
Frank writes: Charlie contacted me stating he wanted to feature Karen and me in his Quepolandia article because of the monthly Finca Zacatona Newsletter we started back in 2007. I agreed but really didn’t know how to respond…so guess I’ll just start putting words on paper and see what happens…or as is now done start putting those words in a word processing program. (more…)
place bread, eggs & cream in a deep 9×9 pan -let sit for 5 mins, add all other ingredients gently mix well with hands bake for 25-35 mins @220 C or 425 F Serves 9
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PUDDING de PAN de ABUELITA
1 pan cuadrado entero
1 litro de crema dulce
5 huevos
1 1/2 tasa de azucar
1/2 tasa de rum
Poner pan huveos y crema dulce en lata de holtel degar.Reposar por 5 minotos. Despres agregar otros ingedientes. Mesclar bien. Hornear por 25 a 35 minutos 220C o 425F
I would be very surprised if this main dish does not immediately become one or your favorites.
It’s a recipe I’ve had for most of my adult life and is a main dish that appears at our table with some frequency.
It came from a book called Beer and Good Food that a relative gave me when I was in college. Recipes either included beer as an ingredient or went well served with beer — no better cookbook for a college kid learning to cook for himself. Plus it’s fun and easy to put together and is always well-received.
bIt called for a pound of bulk breakfast sausage for the meatballs which is largely unavailable here, but you do have some options. You can buy a one-pound package of sausage links and squeeze out the filling. Another is the buy a pound of ground pork and season it with 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon each of thyme and sage, and some salt and pepper. Or use the same seasonings in a pound of ground beef. The recipe seems to taste best made with pork, though. (more…)
Don Gilberto Gomez Barquero, dressed in a wide brimmed hat, cowboy boots and blue jeans, a knife and cell phone tucked into his leather belt, is a familiar personality around Quepos. He can also be seen riding along the beach on Damas Island at sunset or in the hills around Londres guiding a group of sunburned tourists. He usually appears animated as he points out highlights of the area. But as we settle into his office at Iguana Tours he strikes me as a shy man, perhaps more comfortable with groups than in one to one conversations.
It’s easy to see that Gilberto is a multi-tasker. He doesn’t waste a minute. He speaks on his cell phone while leafing through the newspaper, all the time keeping up a steady conversation and motioning to me to be patient.
Don Gilberto, born in Purescal, completed his Bachelor of Education degree from La Escuela Normal de Costa Rica in 1973. He says the school gave him a profound education “in the sense that all the professors there were very strict – from teaching us how to dress – to how to look after a child. We had to wear grey pants and a grey tie. If your tie wasn’t properly knotted you would be reminded about it. The second time you would be sent home.” (more…)
Summertime is upon us in the tropics and that means hotter temperatures and weeks and/or months void of the cooling, refreshing, life-giving rains. To any gardener, be they home-gardener or professional, this can only mean one thing – water, water, water. Visitors who have spent time in Costa Rica in our rainy season, may find it hard to believe that watering is a necessity here, but the natural cycle of the rainforest does include a dry period for flower and seed formation of the natural vegetation. This is why the native vegetation/indigenous plants can withstand these dry times, moreso, than the imported, exotic species.
All he wanted was a cigarette and a rum & coke – and to catch his next plane to Miami.
I recently got to meet with a hero enjoying a hot dog and a cold beer at El Wagon –home of the BEST HOT DOG in MA as the guest of Alan Templeton of Costa Verde. He was here visiting his sister who lives in Jaco with his friend Karina from Miami. This was a trip he had been waiting 5 years to make and if circumstances had been different on December 25th it might never have taken place, but happily for about 270+ people, he turned out to be a hero and made it to Costa Rica……. it happened like this: (more…)
These Horoscopes are meant to be fun and enjoyed. They should not be taken too seriously.
AQUARIUS - January 20-February 18
You will invite a group of 11 to a dinner party at your house on the 10th, but only 2 hours before they arrive your oven will stop working all of a sudden. Panic? Don’t panic, it’s all the same in the planetary scheme of things…give your guests lots to drink and send out for pizza, only 3 will notice your plight.
AQUARIUS - January 20-February 18
