Conscious Food Choices

Hello from Costa Rica!

As many of you know, I am currently in Costa Rica, working as a chef for two 3 week Yoga Teachers’ Trainings with Vidya Heisel.

The Southern Caribbean side  of Costa Rica is amazingly tropical and full of wildlife and exotic fruits and vegetables so I have been having a great time learning about all those odd looking hairy tubers they have here, and trying to figure out what to do with the huge and almost vegetable-like jackfruit and breadfruit!

Interestingly, despite the fact that there seem to be fruits and vegetables dripping off the trees here, there does not seem to be a deep food culture in Costa Rica. Especially for vegetarians. Gallo Pinto – which is rice and beans – and fried plantains are what you get…so after doing quite a bit of research on “traditional” Costa Rican cuisine, I opted to get my hands on as many local and indigenous fruits and veggies as I could get, and incorporate them into a more international menu. I am working with Tracy Morrisette, the Goddess Garden’s excellent new chef, who is making fantastic inroads with the gardeners and local area farmers, so I never know what is going to get dropped off in the kitchen these days! Sometimes its some strange hairy tuber, sometime a bright red fruit with inner meat that looks like a little yellow brain…

Here is a list of some of those crazy wonderful fruits and veggies I am working with, in addition to the daily supply of young and mature coconuts and many varieties of bananas that come from the trees on the Goddess Garden property

• Carambola or “Starfruit”: (from Goddess Garden trees) a tart succulent fruit which looks like a star when cut. We use in dressings, juices and marinades.

• Wild Grapefruits, Wild Limes and Sour Mandarins (from Goddess Garden trees) – interesting varieties of citrus are everywhere.

• Naranjilla:(from Goddess Garden trees) this looks like a cross between a tomato and a persimmon and grows in a tree. It’s tart and can be juiced.

• Tiquisque: This is a small brown hairy root vegetable which when peeled, cook up like a sticky potato. There are both red and white varieties.

• Chayote Squash: These are a pear shaped squash with a very firm, dense, zucchini like flesh

• Passionfruit: These are large round very tart fruits filled with slippery seeds – great for juicing.

• Platanos or Plantains: looks like a big green banana.  When green can be served like a potato, often fried. When ripe they taste like a sweet but starchy banana.

• Jackfruit: These fruit grow high up in very large trees and have a meaty yellow flesh that can be used like chicken in curries and cooked dishes.

• Ackee: The soft inner flesh of a bright red fruit that grows on the trees around the property also has a meaty texture and can be fried and used in savory

• Nami (pronounced Nyaami): This is a very large starchy tuber or root that tastes similar to Tiquiscque.

• Yuca: This is another large starchy tuber.

• Water Apple: These are bright red pear shaped fruit that are lightly sweet and slightly pear flavored. They are commonly eaten as a salad.

• Pejibayes (also called Palm Fruit): These are small orange and green fruits of a palm tree, which when boiled taste something like a cross between a chestnut and a sweet potato. The locals love them boiled in salt and dipped in mayonnaise.

February 18, 2011 - Posted by Jorin Hawley | Food Consciousness