We have one
small problem. It is such a tiny problem
that if they aren’t on the move, you don’t see them….ANTS!!!! One must be very careful not to leave crumbs
or anything sweet on the sink sideboards.
This small single sink is steel with a sideboard on each side. The sideboards have grooves for drainage into
the sink and are slightly slanted. Mel
does the dishes after the meal, and sets them on the sideboards to dry. Each time I try to do a meal preparation, I
have to do the ant dance around the countertop. One evening, she accidentally
left a tiny piece of meat from the plate on the sideboard, and when I went to
the sink in an hour or so, there were no less than 50 ants working on that tiny
piece of meat. It was a crumb of
hamburger, and that is small, but it did collect the ants.
The food here is
in great variety, especially fresh food. There are no frozen vegetables that I have
found as yet, but fresh are best. I do
miss the tiny green peas, but other things have replaced them. I started my food prep by using the Tico
philosophy that everything is centred by rice and beans. Then I had some beans in a kettle on the
stove for too long and they foamed and soured.
I haven’t done beans since. I will
get over it.
I can still make
a good curry and I have invited Rita and her husband Victor to come to eat
dinner with us this coming Saturday evening.
I brought my cooking spices with me from Canada. I put them all in different plastic bags and
tucked them into my pots and pans. That
suitcase was very heavy, with the steel pots and cutlery. I even placed my knife sharpener and daily
whipper in with that grouping. When I
opened that bag, I found an inspection certificate from one airport or another
(I think it was Texas)
but nothing was missing. There were
inspection certificates in a few other cases as well.
The most
important food is water. The water here
at the orchard is muy bueno….That is Spanish for so good it’s a miracle. It isn’t very cold from the tap, but I like
drinking at that temperature. It almost
sparkles. It is fresh mountain water,
with very little else in it. Rita says
they use little chlorine. I haven’t
found the gathering receptacle yet, but I have to rely on their good
graces. This country is very first rate
at Green and Clean. Their street
sweepers are everywhere. I only wish
they had the network for recycling. I
hate to see paper products and what few tins we have, go into the garbage.
Also, the milk
is delicious. I haven’t enjoyed milk for
years. I was spoiled as a child with our
own Jersey milk, and haven’t acquired a taste
for milk since. The milk here is
great. I use 2%, which I used to think
was like chalk water, but this milk has flavour and body and I eat cereal most
mornings, just to eat the bananas sliced on top.
Tonight we are
going to have a vegetable dinner. Green
beans, jicama, a bit of plantain and some sliced tomatoes. What a healthy way to live; fresh fragrant
air, cool mountain water and fresh vegetables and fruit. I can’t wait for mangoes.
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