South Caribbean Adventures: The Beaches

How can I share about our time exploring the Caribbean (read about it here, here & here) without mentioning the beach?! Here are several pictures of us loving the beach just across from where our cabin was. It really is a beautiful beach... I was thrilled to see how clean and clear the water was there. Much cleaner than the Pacific side... which is pretty much always brown.


Anyway, we had so much fun playing in the ocean. Especially Tabi... she LOVED it and wasn't afraid at all while Naomi was a little timid. She didn't want to go into the water for a while, but we finally were able to encourage to get in with us and she enjoyed it very much. The girls loved getting dirty with the sand (of course!) and 


The morning before we left to head back home I decided to collect some ocean water in several bottles to take back with me. Why?


Because I remember finding a blog that showed how you can make your own sea salt. I thought... why not? It can be a fun project, but I don't know when I am going to get around to doing it! We are packing and getting ready for our move to Honduras. So exciting, yet feeling a little nervous too.


Anyway, enjoy the pictures  :o)

Jon getting ocean water to make sea salt

Noami heading out to the ocean with Grandpa

Tabi trying on Grandpa's goggles

Me watching my girls have fun while Jon take a quick nap

Naomi LOVES the sand, but not too fond of the ocean

Tabi getting used to the sand

Me getting some ocean water to (hopefully) make sea salt!

Our bottles of ocean water... sea salt coming soon!

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South Caribbean Adventures: Loco Natural World Fusion Cuisine

Now, here’s another delicious place using fresh, organic, real food ingredients. Remember, this is a hippie's paradise! If you haven't, make sure to read about Bread & Chocolate!

So, we decided to walk to the restaurant thinking it was only short distance away... yeah right! We ended up walking for about 15-20 minutes in the darkness to get there. Much safer to ride the bikes! But it was good exercise and yes, we walked all the way back to our cabin afterwards. What more can I say? It was a South Caribbean adventure! LOL!


Anyway, we got there and loved the place. The décor, mood & feel of the place was very colorful, artistic and yet pleasantly mellow. Unfortunely, I wasn’t able to get good pictures of the food because it was too dark. They are only open in the evenings and the lighting wasn’t the greatest for taking pictures, but believe me... the food was very good!

Their menu is very simple yet creative. You choose 7 different sauces: Tandoori Coconut Sauce, Tamarind Sweet & Spicy, Thai Citrus Peanut Sauce, Caribbean Madras Curry, Mexican Smoked Chipotle, Malaysian Guayaba Green Curry or Garlic Butter Sauce served over chicken, fish or veggie stir fry or shrimp. They all are served with brown rice and a fresh, delicious tropical salad. There are other choices, but this is their signature stuff  :o)


We all chose different sauces and it was great to try them all. Everything was fresh and served with a gourmet flare. I had the Caribbean Madras Curry while my hubby got the Malaysian Guayaba Green Curry... both with chicken. My in-laws ordered the Mexican Smoked Chipotle and Thai Citrus Peanut Sauce. My favorite was my hubby's sauce... it was deliciously sweet with a nice kick and made my mouth dance!

Next we ordered dessert... of course! Their selections of dessert that night was Coconut Cake, Brownie and Passion Fruit Cheesecake. We got all three and shared them... the winner was the Passion Fruit Cheesecake... OH. MY. SWEET. GOODNESS! I must find a way to make it in my kitchen!


Overall, it was a pleasant evening with a wonderful ocean breeze. We all highly recommend this place and go early... the place fills up fast!

Naomi enjoying her fresh fruit smoothie... it was bigger than her and she slurped it all up!

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Honey, That's Lime Dressing

I thought I should share this with you while I am working on my posts about our Caribbean adventures.


This stuff is so delicious! I feel like I am dressing up my salad with a bit of sunshine... The sweet tang will make your mouth dance and want more. Easy to whip up (less than 5 minutes!) and much healthier than the store bought version.

If you don't have access to limes... lemons will do great!

Honey, That’s Lime Dressing

• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cold-pressed flax oil (optional)
• 1 Tbsp or more raw honey
• one glass bottle

Mix lime juice with olive oil and optional flax oil.


Whisk in 1 Tbsp raw honey. Add more honey if sweetness is desired.


Pour into bottle and shake well. Drizzle over a salad with grilled chicken.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays @ Food Renegade.

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South Caribbean Adventures: Bread & Chocolate

First, I want to start off by sharing that it is not easy to find a restaurant in Costa Rica that serves fresh, wholesome, delicious food at a low cost. Good food comes with a very high price in Costa Rica… which is why we rarely eat out. If you want a cheap meal… go to a “soda” where you can get beans, rice, meat, fried plaintain & potato salad for less than $6 a person but it is usually cooked with margarine, MSG and refined oils. Not worth it.


But for $5 a person, this place is totally worth it... 

Bread & Chocolate is a deliciously relaxing place that serves fresh, local, organic food at low prices. They really live up to their name perfectly… this place is dripping with the freshest ingredients of bread and chocolate… plus a fantastic breakfast menu using local, free-ranged, organic eggs.


Literally, everything is made from scratch using local and organic ingredients as much as possible… whole wheat bread made daily, locally made raw ice cream, homemade strawberry sauce, locally grown organic coffee and homemade chocolate sauce using local cacao, handmade truffles & peanut butter cups (to die for!!) and it continues all the way down to the mayo! They even confessed on their menu that they are pretty much obsessed with using the freshest ingredients possible and making everything from scratch. That is something to be proud of... I love that kind of obsession!

the awesome kitchen of Bread & Chocolate

One big obsession they have is their brownies… I’m not joking… they have the best brownies in town. I used (remember, past tense…) to love TGI Friday’s Brownie Obsession, but now I am obsessed with Bread & Chocolate's  brownies! You can taste the love and all the real food ingredients... especially the chocolate & butter in these moist, rich squares.

You can get walnut or mint… I loved the walnut, but you can see that the mint is the favorite. The mint was a little too strong for me, but my hubby loved it. They both were delicious… so get both!


Here’s the wonderful feast that we had. We were so full yet felt great afterwards! Shows that real food gives the real fuel to your body needs to feel great.

I had a fantastic coffee ice cream milkshake... it was so good that I forgot to take a picture before I sucked it down. I don't normally drink coffee, but I love coffee drinks like this once in a while. This wonderful drink had raw vanilla ice cream & espresso blended together and topped with real (fresh) whipped cream & homemade chocolate sauce... now you understand why it was so good!

My in-laws enjoyed some french-press coffee... 

My hubby ordered a fantastic breakfast of roasted herb potatoes, homemade biscuit topped with scrambled eggs & homemade mayo with a side of avocados. The biscuit was flaky, delicious and... made with butter. The roasted potatoes were perfect... soft flesh, crispy skin & tossed with herbs, sweet pepper and more butter. Of course, can't skip the eggs... they were soft & delicious. The mayo had a great golden color (egg yolks) and the flavor was so smooth & rich!

I had their French Toast. I had to have it! Made with their whole wheat bread freshly baked everyday. It sounded too good to past up and... it was! First, I couldn't believe how thick the slices were when they put that plate in front of me. Second, I was concern that it would be dry or doughy. It was neither... this French Toast was the best I've ever had (besides my own). They were perfectly moist, crispy and bursting with flavor. It comes with homemade strawberry jam and whipped butter, but you could also get a side of their homemade chocolate sauce... which I did ask for. Why would I past that up?! I devoured every bite and licked up everything. It was so good. So so good!

Next, we order the simple breakfast plate for the girls to share. It had fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and a homemade biscuit. The girls loved it, but they also loved my French Toast  :o)

Lastly, my in-laws shared a huge waffle with strawberry jam and whipped butter. Made with real ingredients and made fresh to order... they were fluffy and had a great flavor, but I loved my French Toast.

So that was our feast! We were all fat and happy... really we felt great.

While we were hanging out and finishing off the fantastic meal we had a great chat with the owner of the place, Tom Franklin, and asked how he got this place going. Tom first came down to Puerto Viejo from Maryland for a change of pace and bought Bread & Chocolate from a young couple who wanted to move back to the states. Since then the focus has remained the same because he loved what they started. Tom has been successfully running this awesome place for over 4 years now! Please stop by and tell Tom how you found out about Bread & Chocolate.

Meet the cool kitchen crew.

Now, I wish I could say that we went back there everyday... but sadly they are closed on Mondays & Tuesdays. I am thrilled that I went at least once and got to enjoy it so much! Thank you Tom and keep up the awesome work!

I seriously didn't want to leave!

This is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted at Cheeseslave!

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South Caribbean Adventures: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca & The Organic Feria

This is the beginning of many posts to come about our adventures in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca located on the southern part of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. The drive down there was beautiful and a whole different world from the Pacific side of Costa Rica. We drove through a breathtaking rainforest reserve, over many rivers , past large banana & pineapple plantations and miles of coconut trees along the coast. Can you tell that I've fallen in love with the Caribbean?!


Hmmmmm (daydreaming)...


Anyway, I want to tell you all about our time in Puerto Viejo. I didn’t know what to expect, but I had heard that it was a hippie’s paradise… natural, organic and artistic… my kinda place and... I wasn’t disappointed :o)


We arrived Friday night and checked into our small cabin located about a mile outside of Puerto Viejo. I had heard through some people that the Puerto Viejo farmer’s market is open early on Saturdays and almost everything is organic… of course, we had to check it out and explore the town to get a feel of what we wanted to do during our time there. So, the next morning we got our bikes (instead of renting a van for all of us, we hired someone to drive us to our cabin and we rented bikes for our entire stay… much cheaper, great exercise & way FUN!) and took off to check out the market.

The market was very small, but there was much to choose from. You can find fresh chicken, eggs, raw milk, raw cheese, organic fruits & veggies, baked goods and artisan breads. We met and talked with some wonderful people and I actually met a fellow blogger! First I want to introduce you all to Peter & Ancel

They run a beautiful permaculture farm just outside of Puerto Viejo called Finca la Isla’s Botanical Garden. Their primary focus is growing exotic fruits and chocolate. Unfortunely, we weren’t able to visit and explore the farm as they were close during the times we could’ve gone. I was heartbroken… Nevertheless, I am still thrilled that we had the chance to chat with them at the market and hear how they started their farm. 

At the market they sell dried exotic fruits, homemade chocolates & cookies, homemade dog treats (they gave me the recipe! I will share when I whip them up for our dogs), exotic fruit jams & preserves, fruit roll-ups and some fresh fruits & veggies. We bought a couple bags of their dried fruits and some fruit leathers. Of course, I wished we had bought more… they were delicious! I loved the dried fruits because there were chunks of mangosteen in the midst. SO GOOD! Check out their amazing selections... mangosteen jam?! That sounds fantastic!


When I checked out their website, I was super excited (and super bummed because I would've LOVED to be there!) to find that they are passionate about lacto-fermenting, sprouting & making homemade vinegars from fruits. They described their kitchen as a very active place of working with certain yeasts, fungi & bacteria to produce several fermented products such as tempeh, kimchi, kombucha and fruit vinegars. Please visit their site and if you are in the area… let them know how you heard about them!

We came across another table displaying raw honey, organic cacao, organic chocolates, peanut butter, raw banana vinegars, organic coffee and coconut oil. While chatting with the man, Paul, I discovered that he runs the ice cream & coffee shop on the other side of town. We were actually looking for that very place because we had to deliver a box to them from Mighty Rivers (will tell you all about that place). Another thing we discovered was he and his wife are Christians and have been involved with the community for several years now.

That's one thing we found about the town of Puerto Viejo... there is a large community of Christians and it is very family-friendly for a beach town. Yeah, it has the usual party life, but it is not know for that while Jaco (where we lived for a while) is known for its drugs, prostitutes and party life. Comparing the two towns, Jaco (pacific side) & Puerto Viejo (caribbean side).... If anybody asked me where I recommend them to go for vacation in Costa Rica... I will tell them the Caribbean or La Fortuna.

Anyway, while we were hanging out and meeting people at the market, I saw a mama wearing an Ergo and wanted to meet her. Trish is the first mama I’ve met wearing an Ergo in Costa Rica. We started chatting and sharing each other’s stories of why we are in Costa Rica. She then suddenly asked me if I was a blogger and what the name of my blog was. I told her and she couldn't believe that our paths crossed each other in Puerto Viejo of all places! She said she took one look at my girls and thought they looked very familiar. Obviously, from their pictures on my blog! She blogs on Tiny Grass and had her baby here in Costa Rica. It was great meeting you and your family, Trish!

Now, this is not the end of our trip… I am just getting started! I have so much to share with you all about the delicious food we ate, an amazing organic chocolate tour that spoiled us for life & our time at Mighty Rivers Farm. So, don’t miss any of the posts!

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Our Marathon of Traveling is Over… For Now

It is so great to be home again. The only thing I hate about being home for the first couple days is the unpacking, laundry & adjusting back to our time zone… well, I guess that’s more like a few things. But I really can’t complain… it is so good to feel the sun on our skin, sleep in our beds and be in our space again.


When we got back… we found out that our internet was cut off. That’s why I’ve been so quiet this past couple weeks, but not anymore! I miss you all and have SO MUCH to share!! We’ve actually enjoyed not having the internet this past 2 weeks while we adjusted to being back in Costa Rica and hung out with the girls a lot. I had so much time to simply write on my computer because I didn’t have my email and blog to distract me. So I got A LOT of writing done to post on the blog! Remember me mentioning how I didn’t know how I was going to share everything with you… well, I didn’t have to worry because it all worked out!


Overall, we had a great time in the States. You can read about it and enjoy the pictures from our RO4Y blog. Many thanks to our friends who let us stay in their homes while we visited and many thanks for everyone’s encouragement, kindness & generosity. We were able to go to a couple farmer’s markets, the Long Beach Aquarium Center, simply catch up with friends and build new friendships! The girls had a blast at the Aquarium Center… they were knocked out tired when we left!


Oh my! It is SO good to be home! Did I say that already?! The last 5-6 weeks have been busy with lots of traveling, visiting friends, attending the mission’s conference, sharing at a church and more. Let me give you a quick rundown of our life over the last several weeks. We've never traveled so much in just two months!


First we went to Honduras, felt right at home and… we are moving! We are super excited about moving there. Tentatively, we are planning to move sometime at the end of February… yeah, that’s fast… but we believe that is where the Lord wants us. We felt the wonderful sense of “home” while we were there and the Lord has been giving us green lights! Please keep us in your prayers as we make another transition to a new country. We are turning into a cross-cultural family… fun!


After we arrived home from Honduras we took off a day later to the Caribbean. It was a Christmas gift from my in-laws… thank you guys! We had a blast there and I wished we were able to stay another week because there was so much to see around this area. I have so much to share with you about this small world of cacao trees, coconuts, chocolate, raw ice cream, organic produces, the beach, Caribbean life, Italians and delicious food… of course, it is all about the food!


After our fun and sun in Puerto Viejo… we spent a few days at home and got ready for our trip to the States. We arrived to California a couple days after Christmas and stayed in the Long Beach area for about a week and visited many old friends along with making new friendships. Then we headed down to Murrieta for the Missions conference. We met many wonderful missionaries from around the world and had many opportunities to share our vision for RO4Y. We even met a family who lived in Honduras for a year! It was good to hear and learn from their experiences.

Next we flew to Seattle right after the conference was over and had over a week of R & R. Our amazing friends truly have the gift of hospitality and giving. We went to downtown Seattle for a day and visited the Space Tower & the Downtown Farmer’s Market… I promise to tell you all about it! It is the best market we’ve been to so far because it had SO MUCH to offer. We also went up to the mountains to play in the snow and ended up enjoying a blizzard! It was beautiful and COLD! LOL!


Now we are home for the next few weeks, but we are starting to pack for our big move to Honduras. I am looking forward to this being our our final move... I hope, but we are open to wherever God wants to lead us. Please keep us in your prayers and stay around to read more about our adventures. I will also have recipes up here and there too!


So good to be back!

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First Post of 2010: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Hello... anybody out there??

Wow, it has been too long since my last post... and that was from last year! Happy (belated) New Year everyone! I have SO much to share with all of you... I don't know how I will be able to share everything that I want to share with you all, but I will try. Right now we are staying with some friends near Seattle and enjoying some R & R.

For now, I want to share a really YUMMY ice cream recipe that I've been saving for a long time now. If you love cookie dough ice cream (like me)... then you will LOVE this ice cream. I made a custard-like base using raw whole milk and soaked the oats in it which produced a rich, creamy & chewy texture. I used my 'Soaked & Ready' Oats, but you can use regular rolled oats... just remember that oats are very high in phytic acid which prevents absorbtion of important minerals and harder to digest.

I still want to make a chunky cookie dough ice cream someday, but this was a good start. I had to hide the ice cream from my hubby to make it last more than one night... yeah, it was that good!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

• 2 cup raw whole milk
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup coconut sugar or rapadura
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, generous
• 3/4 cup Soaked & Ready Oats (or you can use regular rolled oats)
• 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon

 Pour milk, sugar and sea salt into a medium saucepan and set over LOW heat. Stir till sugar dissolves and when the mixture becomes very warm to touch add the oats and cinnamon. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes (don't let it boil!), stirring constantly, until the oats has thicken with a creamy texture but still chewy. 

To test for creaminess... Stir the mixture, pull out the spoon and the mixture should coat the spoon while slowly dripping off. Set aside.

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar or rapadura
• 1 1/2 cup cream or whole milk
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

 In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks with the sugar until throughly combined.

Add a little bit of oatmeal mixture into the egg mixture and whisk. Slowly continue to add more while whisking until completely blended. Whisk in the cream or milk. Taste for additional salt. Let it cool completely and refrigerate overnight in an airtight container.

Stir the mixture and churn in your ice cream machine. When ice cream is almost done add in chocolate chips. Scoop into an airtight container, cover and place in your freezer to firm up.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday @ Kelly The Kitchen Kop

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