Food, pt. 1

I eat a lot here. I suppose walking a few miles every day contributes to this, but I still push away from the table with what feel like stretch marks forming on internal organs after every meal. Costa Rica's main staple is rice, which you will see a lot of below. A typical dish combining rice, some meat and some veggie or fruit is called a "casado".

Here is a casado with chickpeas, carrot, and chicken. Hard-boiled eggs with kidney beans for a side.

Here is the same casado five minutes later.

Here is Profesora Sofi eating a casado with shrimp.

A different lunch today with pasta with a mild, creamy sauce, accompanied by a beet salad.

Brown rice with eggs and ham.

Classic gallo pinto for breakfast, complete with a fried egg and toasted garlic bread.

For lunch, casado with pescado al ajillo, puréed potatoes and rice. Fresh salad. 

For desert, cinnamon custard with bananas.

More gallo pinto with fresh fruit. Breakfast matters.

We have a joke in the house that I live in the best restaurant in the city. My mom owns a catering business, so it stands to reason that her food would be above average. After some field testing, I would say it stacks up against every host family I've eaten with. I'm tired tonight. Long Monday of classes and errand-running, following a long weekend of waterfall swimming, beach bumming, and artisan shopping.