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Welcome to March's edition of Casa Holanda' s Newsletter. You know, my housekeeper knocked on my door and handed me a bag of fruits which the cashew comes from, exclaiming in Spanish, "You should see the market today, there are so many fruits available!" |
| Gardening: Espalier Techniques
Our Three "Espaliated Plants": I had begun this, just on a whim, to jazz up our garden walls with our more viny plants of bougainvillea and aromatic jasmine, but she informed me it could be done with basically any kind of tree and was frequently used with fruit trees. It is great because it not only maximizes space, and lets in more light to the flowers beneath, but increases fruit production because more branches are exposed to the sunlight. The technique is very ancient, some thinking it
goes back to Egyptians. The Europeans adapted the technique in the 1600's
which, of course spread to the American colonies. If you would like to
learn more about the technique of espalier and see all the cool shapes you
can form your trees into, click on this link to go to the Espalier
Society's web page. Our garden was already nice, and Cristian really "greened" things up by meticulously feeding and getting rid of any pests and mold. But our "ranchita" gypsum wall was rotting out and somehow I didn't like the view of a full functional sink from the dining room. Therefore with a very successful January and February, some changes were due this March and probably will be the last major change the house will need, except for maintenance Above are pictures of the current state of three main target areas: the ranch house, the corner, and the clothesline area. Plans are to transform these areas into cozy, meditative spaces.
The sink in the ranch house will be taken out and a barbecue fireplace will be installed. The empty corner, where a butterfly palm tree once stood, will now have a gurgling fountain to attract more birds. The shower/clothesline area will not be so cement-filled and softened with slate. Grass will grow in between the cracks. Ambient lighting will be added for extra effect throughout the garden.
Stayed tuned to photos of the finished product in next month's newsletter.
Jolle and Henk were not only delightful guests, they provided an audience of about 28 with a wonderful Sunday afternoon concert here at Casa Holanda. It was a perfect day, with a cloudless sky and sparrows brilliantly singing along with the pieces. Sweet wine poured generously for the crowd, thank to my mischievous assistant, which made all relax and enjoy this special moment in time.
Costa Rican Ken Soto provides on-the-spot translation
The lute is a soft and magical instrument and was a perfect compliment to Jolle's pure and effortless voice. Most interesting was the fact that people usually mill about, but obviously there was something so captivating, you could hear a pin drop. Thank you, Jolle and Henk, for sharing your art with us here in Costa Rica. And thanks to Ken Soto who graciously provided on-the-spot translation for our audience.
NEW! Cooking Seminars at Casa Holanda Several guests were inspired by our recipes to request that we begin cooking seminars of our Costa Rican dishes. I was a little apprehensive at first. Would I turn into the Costa Rican Martha Stewart? Would that be such a "good thing"? And what's more, most of these recipes I usually just throw together from my many years of trial and error in the kitchen. However, it sounds like a great idea and Henk and Jolle were my first participants. In this tour you will assist and learn to make a couple of dishes that are typical to Costa Rica, like Gallo Pinto, other Gallo's, soups, dishes and breads. It includes a booklet of Casa Holanda's recipes, and we have a nice dinner to eat what we make afterwards. Details and prices will be posted in April on our
website's Tours Section . So be looking, or if you're staying with us, just request "the Casa Holanda Cooking Seminar." Costa Rica's Roots (Vegetables)
Now let's get to our roots! There is a typical soup in Costa Rica that is made with what I call tasty root vegetables usually flavored with fish or beef. Some of these we have already discussed like yucca in previous newsletters; some of them you may already use frequently like the carrot and potato; some of them may not exactly be a root, but have the same starchy texture as the rest, like the green plantain ; then there are the new ones, which are included in the picture above. The first strange root is the Corms of taro . According to this Vegetables from Underground website, they are also called dasheen, cocoyam, kolocasi and ocumo . My housekeeper, Argentina, calls it Tiquisque (pronouced, "Tikiske"), a Nicaraguan name, which I imagine is the name here in Costa Rica too. This is the root that poi in Hawaii is made from. It contains 3% sugar, and I can personally attest it has a very agreeable, sweet flavor and tends to cook fast. It compliments the other root vegetables in a soup, and I am curious to see if there are any dishes here where this is prepared alone. The other strange, delicious root is called
camote and is basically Latin America's sweet potato. This root doesn't have the deep orange color like the sweet potatoes found in North American supermarkets. Here is it purple on the outside and white on the inside.
So now that you are familiar with Costa Rica's roots, so to speak, try this recipe on for taste. My friend Wendy, owner of Cashew Hill Jungle Cottages in Puerto Viejo, said on the Caribbean coast this kind of soup is made with coconut milk and is called Rondon. Casa
Holanda's Fish and Root Stew 1 large sauce pan
First peel and chop all the root vegetables into bite-sized chunks. Then put potatoes, carrots, yucca, plantains in the saucepan and cover with water. Boil until tender, then add the camote and tiquisque until tender. Now keep the water from this, turn down stove to low as it will go and add the rest of the ingredients and cover, stirring occasionally. If stove has really low heat, like an electric stove, simmer for about 30 minutes. With gas around 20. The lower you can keep the heat the more the flavors will rise. As always after you add the herbs, be careful not to over-cook. And fish in general rarely takes long to cook. Serve hot or try cold in nice bowls to guests. Compliment with white French bread. Check
often at the website to keep up-to-date, and please tell your friends who
might be considering a spring break vacation that Costa Rica would be warm and perfect!
Chao! James 
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Music Playing: "Eulogy for a Poet" Interlude from "O Holy Art: A Tragic Opera in One Act" : Composer James Nathaniel Holland, Copyright 2007