It began with a wheel of cheese. A week ago our Spanish class met at the organic market held Thursdays in Ciudad Colon. We were tasked with asking vendors about their wares and about Costa Rican cultural tidbits. There were few stands, but the offerings were interesting -- herbal medicines, pastries, shampoos, specialty cooking oils. One seller had fresh fish and cheese. Cheese is readily available here, but not in the many iterations enjoyed at home or in other countries with rich cheese cultures. Instead, Costa Rica has two staple cheeses: cheese for frying and cheese not for frying. You can absolutely find other kinds, but they tend to be both more elusive and more expensive. Thus, it was with great excitement that I tasted the sample cubes of cheese this vendor was offering. The cheese was soft and creamy -- reminiscent of fresh mozzarella. Impulsively, I bought a wheel, but once I got home, sliced open the plastic covering, and eagerly cut myself a slice, the cheese had transmogrified into a hunk of grocery store quality dairy product. The delicate flavor was gone; the softness had disappeared; disappointment quickly set in. I had no idea how I was going to eat a kilo of mediocre cheese before it went bad. And frankly, I wasn't sure I wanted to eat it at all. Then I remembered a recipe I'd been saving.
Out to dinner at an Indian restaurant last semester I'd eaten a creamed spinach dish. There is a similar version of this recipe that calls for paneer -- fresh cheese. I figured I could make saag paneer using my hunk of ho-hum cheese. What I made Wednesday wasn't exactly what I'd eaten at the restaurant, but it was definitely edible. I daintily ate around the cheese -- just couldn't get over that disappointment -- but everyone else seemed to enjoy theirs. I served the palak paneer over rice, and made Turkmen flat-bread and a nice salad to accompany the main-course.
I've had a few people request the recipes from our dinners. While some meals are products of creative inspiration, mine are always recipe based. I'm happy to provide the recipes I use, but I can't promise that from everyone else :)
Saag paneer: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/saag-paneer-spinach-with-indian-cheese-recipe/index.html
Banana-brown sugar ice cream: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/03/banana-ice-cream-recipe/
AND NOW.....
I'm writing for Cam this week also. I got home from Spanish class on Thursday evening and found the kitchen counters covered in bowls filled with chopped technicolor vegetables. It was beautiful. Cam's meal was a paella inspired dish. Spicy veggies served over rice and topped with avocado were accompanied by amazing fried plantains. I recall a time in my life when I didn't like plantain. That was foolish. Plantains are delicious.
Delicious though plantains may be, they are not bananas. Lest anyone get confused at the grocery store (ahem: Blake).
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