What’s larger than a football, softer than a pillow, and edible?

Give up? It’s the strange looking Guanábana or soursop fruit. Since it thrives in areas of high humidity and warm temperatures, it grows well - and wild - in our Caribbean area.

I first noticed this unusual looking fruit in a Tica neighbor’s tree and asked her what it was and what it tasted like. She explained that the ones we were looking at were not yet large enough to eat. A couple of days later her husband showed up at our door with a ripe, football-sized fruit, along with instructions on how to turn it into a tasty drink, or make “helado,” a frozen ice cream-like treat that is eaten out of a plastic baggy.

I decided to make some of each. So, with knife, plastic bags and blender on hand, I was ready to start.

Step one. Cut the massive fruit in half. The spikes on the exterior were deceiving - they‘re soft.

Step two. Squeeze out the juice and the edible white pulp while making sure to discard the indigestible black seeds. The fruit is extremely juicy - there was juice and pulp everywhere including all over me.

Step three. Into the blender with some milk and sugar (I used a little sweetened condensed milk in place of sugar). No real measurements, just enough till it tasted good.

Since my instructions were verbal and in Spanish, of course, I may have inadvertently taken liberties with the recipe. But, in the end, the Guanábana drink and frozen treats were refreshing and creamy with a sweet and slightly sour taste. I guess it is best described as “unique.”

Guanábana is high in carbohydrates (particularly fructose) with significant amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2. Many herbal medicine practitioners believe the fruit has strong anti-cancer properties and the fruit, seeds and leaves are commonly used among indigenous peoples where the plant is grown.

One Guanábana a year is probably good enough for us.

Frog heaven

Think “Costa Rica” and “Rainforest.” What image comes to your mind? If you are like most people you are probably picturing one of those crazy-looking green frogs with red eyes. Suitably called the Red-eyed Tree Frog, this brightly colored amphibian is one of more than 100 types of frogs in Costa Rica. They have three eyelids, sticky feet and spend most of their lives in trees. They tend to stay camouflaged during the day by shutting their eyes and tucking in their brightly colored appendages. And, in my personal experience, they are hard to photograph (see photo). This one was at a friend’s house, at night, on a “former tree” (that currently serves as a support column).

Another easily identifiable amphibian is the Poison Dart Frog. In a previous post I wrote about the tiny Red Poison Dart Frogs often found in bromeliads. There are also an abundance of Green and Black Poison Dart Frogs (see photo of one we found under a tree in our yard). Adorable to humans they can be deadly to their predators by secreting toxins from their skin.

I am still not sure what kind of frog is in the last photo but I can testify that he was a good jumper. I was sitting quietly on the couch one evening when there was a sudden “thud” next to me. There I was face-to-face with this guy! For me, being so up close and personal with nature is a major attraction to living here.

Buying what you need…exactly

Grocery shopping in the USA.
Check the fridge. See what staples you are out of. Add items to your list.
Plan what meals you want for the week. Add items to list.
Check laundry and bathroom supplies. Add items to list.
Take list. Lots of money or debit card. And, off you go to the store.

So far, grocery shopping in Costa Rica is the same. The difference comes when you get to the store.

Say you want celery. In the US you are going to buy an entire bunch, or at the very least. A cellophane bag of celery hearts. Here, if you need 1 stalk of celery for a recipe, you buy one stalk. If you have a headache and need to buy aspirin, you buy the number of aspirin you need. That’s right, instead of buying a bottle of 100 or more, you can buy one. I know this from experience. The first time I went into a pharmacy and asked for aspirin, the clerk asked how many. Of course I thought she meant how many bottles, so, I said “one.” And, she gave me one pre-packed aspirin (orange square next to bottled aspirin in photo).

Most food items are the same. For example, the standard spaghetti sauce comes in a 4-ounce package. There are several brands available including familiar names like “Roma,” but they are all 4-ounces. There are 2.5 servings per package - Costa Rican servings of 2 tablespoons each. Now, how does this compare to an American serving. Well, one day we happened to find a “normal” size can of Del Monte spaghetti sauce. That would be 26.5 ounces, of course. According to Del Monte, an American serving was ½ cup of sauce - about twice that of the Costa Rican serving (but what a difference those additional 2 ounces make on your plate).

There are other differences as well. You find very little in the way of frozen meals, and those that you do find tend to be quite expensive. But you do find rows and rows of different flavors of mayonnaise. Produce sections are comparatively small in our area, and believe it or not, we have a hard time finding bananas.

I think that the differences between stores in the 2 countries may have more to do with lifestyles than it has to do with eating habits. Since a great number of people here walk, take a bus, bike or taxi to the store, lighter bags are an advantage. Plus, a 30 minute trip with frozen food could be disastrous. Produce trucks routinely bring their fresh products to rural neighborhoods and many people grow their own fruits and vegetables. So, it makes sense here to buy only what you need, when you need it.

Green-on-Green

We were driving up our road yesterday when a Emerald Basilisk lizard ran across in front of us - on two feet, of course. The species of lizard uses “bipedal locomotion,” keeping its arms at its sides, while it to runs up to 4.8 feet/second for a distance of up to 66 feet. You will also hear them referred to as “Jesus Christ lizards,“ because they can across the water’s surface.

They are a vibrant green color and quite “prehistoric” looking with they distinctive shaped heads. By the time I got my cell phone turned onto “camera” mode the little guy had made it across to the grassy side of the road. My “green-on-green” photo did not show much so I have taken the liberty of including a copyright-free image of the Emerald Basilisk lizard, although nothing beats seeing the “live” version.

Why try Cas? Because.

Because it grows on a tree in our yard. And it grows in our neighbor’s yard. And it grows on trees along our road. And it has a distinctive aroma that‘s hard to miss. And it is very, very popular in Costa Rica. So, of course, we’re going to try it.

Psidium friedrichsthalium is a sour guava. In Costa Rica, it is known as Cas, and, when mixed with sugar and water, is a popular, refreshing drink. I have read that cream is sometimes added but have not personally seen or tried that version.

When I prepare Cas for drinking, I remove and discard the large seeds and pulp from the middle of the fruit and put the rest of the fruit, including skin, in a blender on “liquefy.” (Note: I received the directions on how to prepare Cas in Spanish from a neighbor so it is anybody’s guess if I am doing it right). I think it tastes a great deal like a grapefruit but with the texture of applesauce. It definitely tastes like it is good for you. I am sure that there are people who eat Cas like a fruit, but to be honest, I have always seen it end up in a drink. I like it and I can particularly recommend mixing Cas with vodka.