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November 2009
Una invitación a desayunar con una familia costarricense
~Sheila W. Cockey
English article below
Christian con su madre y su abuela en la cocina, mirando fotos de nuestra familia.
Visitamos mi esposo y yo con unos amigos que viven en una finca no muy lejos de San José. Cada mañana comimos el desayuno típico de Costa Rica. Es un desayuno muy rico que encontramos en cualquier rincón del país que visitamos. El café que tomamos en su casa es café de su cafetal, sin químicos, secado y tostado en la manera de los abuelos y bisabuelos, y molido en una máquina antigua. El proceso de preparar el café también es el proceso tradicional, en un chorreador de café. ¡Nunca hemos probado un café tan suave, rico y robusto, y sin ácido como su café! Cuando lo preparamos en casa, este desayuno nos trae buenas memorias de la estancia del hijo de la familia con nosotros en 2001 y la alegría que sentimos al conocer a su familia esta primavera.

Menú
Gallo pinto
Huevos revueltos
Queso frito
Tortillas
Fruta fresca (melón, mango, papaya, fresas, piña)
Café natural
Gallo Pinto
Ingredientes:
Arroz cocido (con cebolla, ajo, pimienta dulce roja y verde)
Frijoles negros o rojos enlatados
¼ taza de salsa de sofrito (en tiendas latinas)
salsa Lizano al gusto (en tiendas latinas)
Cebolla picado al gusto
Ajo picado al gusto
Cilantro fresco picado al gusto
Aceite vegetal
Prepare el arroz con las pimientas, cebolla, y ajo. En Costa Rica lo preparen en una olla de estofar para que los granos no peguen. Hay una cantidad lista para todas las comidas del día.
En la sartén, caliente el aceite hasta que crepita y añade el arroz. Añade los frijoles y el cilantro. Revuelve lentamente hasta que esté bien mezclado. Sírvelo caliente con huevos revueltos.
Queso Frito
Ingredientes:
Queso blanco de vaca bien fresco de 2” x 3 ½ “
Si no se puede encontrar, busque un mozzarella fresco
Aceite vegetal

Corte el queso en rebanadas de ¼”
Caliente la sartén con un poco de aceite de vegetal. Ponga las rebanadas en el aceite y cocínelas hasta que estén dorados. Voltéelas y haga lo mismo en el segundo lado. Sirve caliente.
Café costarricense
Para 4 tazas de café
4 cucharadas de café molido fino
Agua hirviente
Chorreador de café
Hierva el agua, fresca de la grifa.
Ponga el café en el filtro y eche el agua sobre el café,
dejando que el agua pase lentamente por el filtro a una
recipiente de vidrio de 4 tazas.
O, emplee una cafetera tipo Mr. Coffee.
Se sirve el café solo, con azúcar, y a veces con leche.
Article in English
An Invitation to a Costa Rican Breakfast
~Sheila W. Cockey
My husband and I were visiting friends who live on a small farm not far from San José. Every morning we ate what we came to know as the typical (one and only) breakfast any self-respecting costarricense would consider eating: gallo pinto, scrambled eggs, fried cheese, and fresh fruit. Of course this was always accompanied by a tasty cup of coffee. The coffee our friends treated us to was from their plantation, grown without chemicals, dried and roasted in the same way that their grandparents and great grandparents did, and ground in an antique coffee grinder. The preparation also followed traditional ways, using a chorreador de café. We have never tasted a coffee as smooth, rich and robust, without acid as their coffee! When we fix it at home, this breakfast brings us fond memories of the time when the son in the family stayed with us in 2001, and the joy we felt upon finally meeting his family this spring.
Menu
Gallo Pinto (Black beans and rice)
Scrambled Eggs
Fried Cheese
Tortillas
Fresh Fruit
Home-grown coffee
Gallo Pinto
Ingredients:
Steamed rice (with onion, garlic, red and green sweet peppers)
Can of black or red beans
¼ cup sofrito sauce (available in Latin food stores)
Salsa Lizano (available in Latin food stores)
Chopped onion, to taste
Chopped garlic, to taste
Fresh, chopped cilantro, to taste
Vegetable oil
Prepare the rice, adding the peppers, onion, and garlic. In Costa Rica they use a rice steamer to keep the grains from sticking together. Each morning enough is prepared to last the whole day.
In the frying pan, heat the oil until it sizzles and add the rice. Add the beans and cilantro. Stir gently until mixed. Serve hot with scrambled eggs.
Fried Cheese
Ingredients:
Fresh, soft white cow’s milk cheese, 2” x 3 ½”
If you can’t find the cheese, use a fresh mozzarella
Vegetable oil
Cut the cheese in ¼” slices.
Heat the frying pan with a little vegetable oil. Place the cheese slices in the oil and cook until they are brown. Turn and repeat on the other side. Serve warm.
Café costarricense
Makes 4 cups
4 Tbs finely ground coffee
boiling water
Chorreador de café
Using freshly drawn tap water, bring the water to a boil.
Put the coffee in the chorreador filter and pour the water
over the coffee, letting the water pass through the coffee
and drain into a 4-cup vessel.
Or, use a Mr. Coffee type coffee maker.
The coffee is served black, with sugar, and occasionaly with milk.
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September 2009
Manakeesh: Pizza, Arab Style
Wehbe and Katrina invited us over to their home for a delicious meal of Manakeesh. They served two kinds, the traditional Manakeesh with zataar and the more modern version with cheese and toppings. It is a breakfast food and served with cucumbers, tomatoes, and pickles of all sorts. We had it for dinner, however, and enjoyed it very much.
Katrina and her sons prepared two kinds of Manakeesh, zataar Manakeesh and pizza Manakeesh.

Manakeesh is quite easy to prepare. Here are the recipes for you to try.
Dough
8 cups flour
5 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
3 cups water
Combine first 4 ingredients. Slowly add water and knead. Divide into
12 baseball-sized balls. Let rise in a warm place for an hour. In an Arab kitchen, the balls of dough would typically be placed in the middle of a clean sheet on the kitchen counter.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cooking sheet with Pam.
Roll dough into circles. Place on cooking sheet and press finger
dents into dough so they don't make a pocket (this is the same recipe for pita bread).

Pizza Manakeesh
Top the dough with tomato paste, provolone cheese, and toppings (mushrooms and/or green olives).
Bake for 10 minutes.
Zataar Manakeesh
Top the dough with the mixture of zataar and olive oil.
Bake for 10 minutes.
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Zataar Manakeesh |
Table prepared with cucumbers, tomatoes, and pickles |
Andrea, Wehbe, Jerius, Gibran, Ihab, Katrina |
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