Harvesting Plantains

Remember when I posted about the banana’s growing in our backyard? Well we were wrong. They were plantains. They grew quite steadily too. One morning I noticed that one of the trees had fallen over, so Jim went out and hacked it with our machete, dumping it behind our house to return to the earth and the river. While he was at it he hacked off the massive plantains.

The girls were so fascinated with what Jim was doing, they watched attentively. Aren’t they the cutest?!

Then they got some morning love from me before I headed to yoga. Jim wanted to know if I wanted the plantains to cook with but I suggested that we throw them behind our house so that the monkeys would come back. We ate plenty plantains anyway. My idea actually worked and our friends Brad, Chandler, and Baby O got to see them while they were visiting.

But back to bananas. While BCO (Brad, Chandler, and Baby O) stayed with us Chandler got some of those tiny bananas for Owen. He loved them and I just think they are the cutest things ever. They are a little sweeter than regular banana in my opinion, but otherwise just smaller. I see them in the grocery stores here in the US too. Do any of you prefer them or use them in particular dishes or dessert?

And We’re Back

So we’re back in Boulder. Our dear friends Brad, Chandler, Baby O and their dog Honey let us live with them in their home (giving us the master bedroom and lots of cupboard space) for the first 3+ weeks. They even lent us one of their cars when we didn’t have transportation. They had been staying/visiting with us in Costa Rica (and they got married!) for 3 weeks prior to our coming back, so it’s pretty rad that we all still love each other.

So a couple days after getting back to Boulder (which was way too cold at the end of April) we got a car. (Not two, but one. More on that in another post.) She had a couple issue right off the bat (AC didn’t work, the hatchback didn’t close, and a few other things), but they have been fixed. She also is an L.L. Bean Edition, meaning it has some neat features (heated seats, 2 sun/moon roofs, and a great stereo with auxiliary input). Our fingers are crossed we didn’t bring our streak of car problems back with us. She’s not named yet, but if you’ve got a good name for her, let me know.

Many people ask if we’re happy to be back. The truth is  both “no” and “yes.” Our plan was to still be there and if we didn’t have all the car issues, we’d still be there. It has also snowed 6 times since we’ve been back, which just isn’t right. It’s true we have a great community of friends here, but it’s strange coming back after so many experiences and changes to a place that hasn’t changed much. We also miss the beach and our pura vida life, a lot.

There was much from our 7 months that I haven’t posted yet; much adventure, food, and just plain fun with Jim and the girls. We have also been up to a lot since coming back like how we’re trying to transfer our simplistic life from Costa Rica to Boulder, looking for jobs, our gardens, more food, friends, and fun. So check back soon!

Jim’s 28th Birthday

Jim’s birthday was April 1st. Yes, his birthday is April Fools Day. Poor guy. He may not have been made fun of for his name, but sharing your birthday with a holiday based on fooling people couldn’t have been great.

Jim told me that the day before he turned 28 he remembered that ever since we was a teenager he was sure he was going to die when he was 27. I mean both Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix died when they were 27, so it makes sense right?!

Anyway, since we had guests arriving Jim spent much of his birthday cleaning, but he was determined to surf, and I was determined to make a birthday dinner of his choosing. Well the surf sucked that day (and the next, but thankfully it was much better the following morning) and rather than mixing all my ingredients together for the vegan, refined sugar free, coconut lime ice cream before adding them to the ice cream maker I added them one at a time and it just didn’t work. (Thankfully I was able to salvage all the ingredients and do it again the following day.)

Alright, so as I mentioned I made Jim a dinner of his choosing. (This is a birthday tradition of my family’s.) He chose homemade pesto (with Parmesan, although he likes my vegan version too) over penne pasta with chopped tomatoes. I also made a small salad with my simple balsamic vinaigrette.

Jim’s favorite dessert is key lime pie. Well they don’t have key limes down here, but they do have his favorite tropical fruit, passion fruit. (They also don’t have graham crackers but coconut cookies made for an excellent crust.)

So, before I continue with photos and recipes and such, I need to share something. I’ve only been baking vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free food for over 6 months now, BUT this was an exception. It’s what Jim loves and it was important for me to be truly generous, rather than make him what I think he ought to have. (He also loves my raw lime tarts, so back in the US we’ll be doing more of that, and I may try a raw passion fruit tart, I just think the avocado and the passion fruit will make the filling an ugly color. Suppose I should just try though right? Plus I’m dying to work with Irish moss.) Lastly, I ate some. It may not be a big deal to some, but I want to be honest about what I’m consuming (more on that in another post) as I’m eating mostly vegan these days.

Alright, so here’s the pie and ice “cream”:

Passion Fruit Pie
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 bag coconut cookies, crushed (~2 cups crumbs)
3 tablespoons Sugar (I used brown)
1 cube (1/4 lb) Margarine or Butter, at room temp or slightly melted but not hot

Pie Filling:
5 large or extra large Egg Yolks
1 14 ounce can Sweetened Condensed Milk
3/4-1 cup fresh Passion Fruit Juice (3-4 passion fruit) Acquire juice by briefly zipping up the passion fruit seeds and pulp in a food processor, then strain, squeezing out any excess juice.

Directions:
Crust:
Mix the ingredients and press them into a 9″ pie plate.  Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 10 – 15 minutes until lightly browned. Place on a rack to cool.

Pie Filling:
Use an electric mixer and beat the Egg Yolks until they are thick and turn to a light yellow, don’t over mix. Turn the mixer off and add the Sweetened Condensed Milk. Turn speed to low and mix in half of the Passion Fruit Juice. Once the Juice is incorporated, add the other half of the Juice, continue to mix until blended (just a few seconds). Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake at 350F for 12-20 minutes to set the Yolks and kill any salmonella in the eggs.

The pie was such a hit with Jim and our friends who helped us finish it off the following day that I made a second one (that was also eaten quickly) with part passion fruit juice, part lime juice.

What’s a Gravatar?

No, this isn’t a post about the movie Avatar (I haven’t even seen it).

This post is about how to add a picture/gravatar (globally recognized avatar) to your blog comments. Not sure if you’ve noticed when reading comments on a blog you love, but attached to each comment is either a randomly generated image or a picture of the person leaving the comment. When I first saw that I thought, “Hey, I want my photo next to my comments too! How do I do that?” When I learned they were called gravatars I must admit I rolled my eyes. I thought “comment picture” made more sense, but then again, what do I know.

If you’ve got 3 minutes you can set one up for yourself free here and then any time you leave a comment on anyone’s blog (including your own) you’re photo will go with it. Not only does this make the writer(s) for a blog cheerful to see the faces of their readers, but it’s also a way you can start becoming part of the blogging community. People will recognize you, and if you leave interesting comments, people will be more apt to check out what you’re working on by visiting your blog, Etsy shop, twitter account, etc.

Really?!

Yes, really. I saw these in a mall in Panama City and just about died. I’m sorry but in real life their backs would hurt or they wouldn’t be able to stand up. Do people really want boobs like these?! Do these mannequins really help sell clothing?

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