Arroz con Camarones

MmMmMm, Shrimp and Rice...one of my favorite things to eat when I'm in Costa Rica. Soda Nanyoa in Dominical makes the best, but I decided to give it a shot here at home on my own. This super limited Candida healing diet that I am on is super duper limiting, but I can have shrimp and a little bit of rice, so a big 'hooray' for that. I whipped this dish up in just a few minutes and it was delicious!! I've been making it every day now and having it for lunch. I thought that I would share the easy recipe with you...

Arroz con Camarones:

Ingredients
1-2 cups cooked rice {i prefer jasmine brown rice}
1 cup cooked shrimp {cleaned and de-shelled, cut in half or in quarters}
1 small yellow/vidalia onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 tablespoons curry powder
1.5 tablespoons salt
handful of cilantro
pat of butter
bit of olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons of homemade salsa {or store bought pico de gallo}
juice of 1 lime


Pour a bit of olive oil into the pan and throw in your diced garlic and onions. Let them sautee for a bit before adding in your cooked rice and shrimp. Season with curry powder, salt, and cilantro. Finish off by throwing a pat of butter in the pan, squeezing the juice of one lime on top and mixing in two heaping tablespoons of salsa {preferably homemade}.

My arroz con camarones might be delicious, but nobody makes it like Soda Nanyoa! My last day in Costa with Mr.Aoynan and his brother, two of my favorite guys! Pat will endorse their Papaya con Leche's as well...she usually orders two.....

Maracatu Music Mayhem

Lara Pappas is in Dominical. Look out. I found her sitting out front of Tortilla Flats drinking a beer yesterday around 3pm. I met Lara last year during my time in Dominical. She was staying in town for one month, studying spanish at the school in town. She is doing her residency now in California...a pediatric oncologist. Serious shit. Anyways, she swam around with my mom while I surfed, then I waved goodbye to the crew and headed back to Lara's place. She has a friend in town for the first week, a surgeon, Crystal. We showered up and then headed to Tortilla's for a beer. Met up with some old friends from town who I haven't seen since I've gotten back (I've been a hermit up on Bill's hill and haven't gone out once). We caught up, told some good surf stories, and then the girls and I headed to MARACATU for Open Jam Night. I played for about an hour and a half. There were 10 djembes, and a ton of musicians in the house. It was a great time to hear songs that I've been playing for so long sound completely different than they normally do. We played some fooseball, I had two more beers, and was asleep by midnight. Got up at 6am and headed down to the beach...perfect timing -- the crew had just arrived. We had an awesome surf session, ate breakfast at Soda Nanyoa (obviously...where ELSE would we eat!?) and then came back to Bill's. Did some yoga, hung out by the pool, and have been glued to my book (The pillars of the earth) since we got back. We are packing up the car now to head in for our sunset session. Woohooo. Pura Vida.

settling in

san martin , dominical, costa rica
jan 6th 5pm

shawn and billy get along like two peas in a pod - both simple, quiet men. ive been keeping to myself, reading and writing, while they pal around the property, talking about building things, fixing things, making things, planting things, surfing and simplicity. simplicity is certainly a way to sum up costa rican life - especially billys. and its something, that comes very naturally when you are here. im completely content to wake with the sun and retire after it sets. no tv, no radio, but just books and conversations. im feeling a bit anxious without the inernet, but that will pass in about a week...i hope. we spent the early evening sitting out back watching the monkeys- i made a video of it that i will post this week. soon we will have some dinner, then sit in rocking chairs out front sipping te until its time to retire to bed.

the book im reading is ´best friends´ by martha moody. definitely a female read, but fabulous none the less. its not sappy but sharp and funny, a perfect depiction of the female friendship. im really enjoying it. clare LOVES sallys adjectives! adores them! and thats how i feel about certain odd features that my best friends have.

kill day 2009
billys house, dominical, jan 7th 5pm

kill day 2009. thats what billy and shawn dubbed today, over our banana pancake breakfast. because the waves are horrible and the tides not helping they were going to, as my dad says, kill em and eat em. well two attempts by noon...spearfishing with a snorkel and then fishing off rocks, we had nothing but sunburns. they decided on fishing off surfboards around 3 pm. that failed as well...so tonight over dinner they began to scheme tomorrows attack.

i did pilates this afternoon. well i tried. i got through yoga and i felt great, energized. but pilates was kicking my ass and it was hot out, and i realized that i just am not motivated enough to kick my ass all alone - i need to go to the pilates class. so...pilates is out. im definitely getting my buddha belly back. i guess all of the avocadoes and coconut cookies are catching up to me.

ive been stressing for the past 3 days about what im going to do once shawn leaves. billys place is beautiful, breathtaking, peaceful and FREE. but im at his mercy because its secluded. i cant do what i want when i want. so today i decided...no more worrying myself to the point of ulcers - yes, ulcers, thats how much of a worrywort i am. i decided im going to rent myself a little place at the end of town...the quiet end of town. live alone. surf every day, play music every day, write every day, visit the internet everyday, give surf lessons and start taking a few yoga classes in town. i feel good about it. i felt shallow before because i was missing the internet - but i realized that the internet is my connection to all of you - my friends, family, and hey...even a few interested readers. traveling alone im never alone, but i sometimes get lonely. so living in dominical is whats going to happen. boom. i made my decision.

so for a few more days the blog will be here and there - but soon ill be back in action.

love you and miss you all.
xo

pura vida.


ps...had dinner at soda nanyoa tonight. had their chicken soup--served witha side of rice and an egg in the soup...so fucking good. bah. i had to curse. its that amazing. phenomenal.