Rice and Beans

Staple diets. You don’t mess with them! I’ve lived half my life in a country that could not say lunch or dinner without the word ‘potato’ in the next sentence. Then passed some time in places where corn was often the only item on the menu – mealies: mealy pap or porridge. Cheap, easy enough to prepare, well digested and very filling. Here in Central America it’s ‘rice and beans’. Of course further north corn is more important, but here farmers grow their own beans and Costa Rica produces enough rice to provide a mountain on each plate.

Traditional meals in this region consist of rice, beans and eggs. Add to that tortillas (flat bread often home made and delicious with everything!) fried plantain (platino) and an assortment of local vegetables I have yet to get to know. Recently this has been augmented with salad as lettuce and tomatoes become more widely used, and a love of spaghetti (pronounced here espaguetis).

So at home we alternate between northern fare (I try stir-fry with rice, chili con carne with beans) and local dishes (he fries pork ribs served with banana, rice and beans; empanadas stuffed with cheese or ‘frijoles moledo’ served with salad and mandarin orange juice dressing – and the mountain of rice!) His stomach revolts at the richness of northern food (lots of condiments) and when there is no rice I’m greeted with a look of puzzlement. I reel at the thought of what the rice is doing to my waistline (that was one of my objectives for coming here!) and I am pleasantly surprised that the beans have no adverse effects similar to those we suffer up north!

The grocery bill reflects my northern tastes – I have to give up: peanut butter, bottled dressings, familiar brands; but refuse to lose olive oil, the fantastic variety of fruit and vegetables (they’re cheap anyway) and I am missing cheddar cheese, crisp apples and blueberries. I am cooking more than I have done in the past 10 years since local ingredients are so fresh and eating an interesting assortment of foods is a sort of recreation here. And I have learned to love beans!