Luna Nueva has really been connecting me to my food source. Because I’ve been in California for so long, where grocery stores are stocked year-round with every possible fruit and vegetable, I’ve lost sight of how our food is grown and where it actually comes from. Even after having been on the farm for two and a half months and knowing that the delicious pork and chicken that I dine on comes from the animals I see every day and adore so much, I have never really seen that middle step between clucking chicken and stove-top.
When Sara Newmark came for a visit with the Whole Foods’ Whole Planet Foundation (who are all such warm and incredible people! I wish they could have stayed a longer) she decided to stay an extra week at Luna, and little did I know that on her agenda was an item that would fill in that missing step in my understanding of food--she wanted to kill, clean, and eat a chicken. Her reasoning was that since she ate a lot of chicken, she should be able to kill one as a symbolic way of validating and completing the cycle of her consumption. Oddly, though I cannot kill a spider, I have no qualms about killing anything that I will eat, especially if it is done in a humane way, so the chicken sacrifice was not too an emotional experience for me, but taking life is serious and I felt heaviness in the air. The whole process was very gentle. Fernando and Yeudy, our animal guys on the farm, brought out the chicken and calmed it a bit by gently stroking it. Sara then said her thanks to the chicken and with the guidance of Yeudy, swiftly made the sacrifice. Tom Newmark, CEO of New Chapter, the vitamin company that owns Luna Nueva, also participated. He said it best when he described the act as feeling as though he just did something that people have been doing for hundreds of years. The chickens were next dipped in boiling water, plucked, cleaned, and quartered. The event ended with a heartfelt dinner. After observing this process I have a deeper appreciation for my food and am more grateful for my meals. If everyone was this in touch with their food than I doubt that there would ever be any waste!
On a lighter note, I want to mention how comical I find it when people ask me to act as a translator for them--if only they knew how rudimentary my Spanish really is! But despite speaking a really crude Spanish, I have developed a means of communicating most anything I need to with everyone on the farm, though I sometimes doubt what I interpret. The day of the chicken sacrifice Fernando and Yeudy asked me if Sara and I wanted to kill a turkey instead of a chicken. They said they needed to know ahead of time because they had to feed the turkey guaro (a Costa Rican hard liquor) beforehand. I looked at him incredulously and thought, “Did I hear him right? He needs to get the turkey drunk prior to its sacrifice?” After a "Como?" he repeated the same thing and I walked away a bit uncertain until Iti confirmed that the turkey sacrificing process does indeed include Costa Rican hard liquor.
In short, Luna Nueva is fostering an appreciation of food that makes each bite that much more delicious.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Many New Projects
Great day! I woke at 4:30 am to do a little yoga in the observation tower at 5 am with Gustavo, our agriculture intern who I’ve recently turned onto yoga. At 5:30 am we descended from the tower and made ourselves a breakfast of farm fresh scrambled eggs and toast with a hot cup of coffee. At six, which is when everyone starts work on the farm, I went out to collect sap from the Sangre de Drago (dragon’s blood) tree. After hearing how dragon’s blood sap is a great way to treat botfly wounds, and after discovering that many of our livestock suffer from such wounds, I decided to try a little experiment and help out the animals. Dragon’s blood sap is a deep crimson color, and as I hacked a V shape into the tree with a knife, it looked like the tree was bleeding. After collecting a bit of the sap, I donned a pair of rubber boots and hiked out to the dairy where the water buffalo are being milked. Since Julie, our mother water buffalo, is a new mother and being milked, I decided to treat her first. I couldn’t find a documented procedure for using the sap to treat the wounds, so I am just trying an undiluted application directly onto the wounds.
On my way back to the lodge, I ran into Steven who was on his way to check out the ginger plants. I accompanied him out into the field and we talked about trying to make ginger candy. Young ginger roots, around 4-5 months old, are best for making candy because they are less fibrous and spicy than mature ginger. After the short hike, I rushed back to the lodge to research ginger candy recipes and to answer a few reservation inquiries.
During lunch I began researching cow milking videos on YouTube for another project I am starting to pursue—videotaping buffalo milking and other happenings on the farm. Rocio, curious about what I was doing, asked how I was able to find so many different videos. She had never heard of YouTube and after a short introduction became an immediate fan. In no time she discovered music videos and even a few karaoke music videos, and by the end of lunch she had me and all the girls singing along to ranchero karaoke.
After lunch I pursued ginger candy making. I had about 3 different recipes to try and Rocio and Ana each had one. To practice my videotaping skills, I filmed Ana and Rocio making their candy recipes. Ana’s ginger taffy recipe didn’t work out because we were using the wrong sugar and the fresh ginger we used added too much water. Rocio’s first attempt ended up burning, but her second attempt was great. After dinner I tried some of my recipes out. One was a really spicy one that I used with just a tiny amount of sugar, the other didn’t turn out like I thought it would, but it was gooey, pink (colored with rosa de Jamaica tea), and just delicious! I then experimented by dipping the various pieces in molten dark chocolate. Tomorrow Ana is going to try a second attempt at ginger taffy and I’m going to up early again to film buffalo milking.
On my way back to the lodge, I ran into Steven who was on his way to check out the ginger plants. I accompanied him out into the field and we talked about trying to make ginger candy. Young ginger roots, around 4-5 months old, are best for making candy because they are less fibrous and spicy than mature ginger. After the short hike, I rushed back to the lodge to research ginger candy recipes and to answer a few reservation inquiries.
During lunch I began researching cow milking videos on YouTube for another project I am starting to pursue—videotaping buffalo milking and other happenings on the farm. Rocio, curious about what I was doing, asked how I was able to find so many different videos. She had never heard of YouTube and after a short introduction became an immediate fan. In no time she discovered music videos and even a few karaoke music videos, and by the end of lunch she had me and all the girls singing along to ranchero karaoke.
After lunch I pursued ginger candy making. I had about 3 different recipes to try and Rocio and Ana each had one. To practice my videotaping skills, I filmed Ana and Rocio making their candy recipes. Ana’s ginger taffy recipe didn’t work out because we were using the wrong sugar and the fresh ginger we used added too much water. Rocio’s first attempt ended up burning, but her second attempt was great. After dinner I tried some of my recipes out. One was a really spicy one that I used with just a tiny amount of sugar, the other didn’t turn out like I thought it would, but it was gooey, pink (colored with rosa de Jamaica tea), and just delicious! I then experimented by dipping the various pieces in molten dark chocolate. Tomorrow Ana is going to try a second attempt at ginger taffy and I’m going to up early again to film buffalo milking.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Learning to Make Beer
I learned how to make beer today! We at Luna Nueva are constantly seeking new recipes to introduce healthy foods on our farm. Fermented foods are wonderful for health, and since beer is fermented, and can be considered a food if it is unfiltered, we started to make our own beer! After tasting the first batch of beer I’ve been eager to learn how it was done. Just before I arrived at Luna our first batch of ginger mead, jackass bitter beer, and starfruit wine was made. The beers were made to be medicinal brews—something strong and good for your health since fermented foods, ginger, honey, and jackass bitters all have medicinal properties—but they were a bit too strong! The ginger was a bit overpowering, so the recipe had to be altered a bit, but the starfruit wine was just lovely! It was tart and sweet and a lot of fun to drink.
When Harold, our farm manager, was making a second batch of the ginger mead, I and the other interns, Gustavo and Riza, came to help and watch how it was done. We all donned hair nets and started heating the water and juicing the ginger and limes. The ingredients are so simple! All we needed was honey (it’s was makes it a mead), limes, ginger, and some yeast. I had no idea that making beer was so easy. The only tricky part was maintaining steady temperatures.
First, we heated the honey and then added it to a large vat of hot water. Next we added the ginger and lime juice and let the whole mixture heat for 30 minutes at 68° C. Then we poured the concoction into a sealable bucket and added cold water to make 19 L. After letting the solution cool to 26° C, we pitched in some yeast, while stirring it vigorously, and sealed the bucket. Now it just sits for a week and is later bottled where it will ferment some more for six weeks. Simple!
I can’t wait to try the new batch! I am definitely going to try brewing beer when I get home.
When Harold, our farm manager, was making a second batch of the ginger mead, I and the other interns, Gustavo and Riza, came to help and watch how it was done. We all donned hair nets and started heating the water and juicing the ginger and limes. The ingredients are so simple! All we needed was honey (it’s was makes it a mead), limes, ginger, and some yeast. I had no idea that making beer was so easy. The only tricky part was maintaining steady temperatures.
First, we heated the honey and then added it to a large vat of hot water. Next we added the ginger and lime juice and let the whole mixture heat for 30 minutes at 68° C. Then we poured the concoction into a sealable bucket and added cold water to make 19 L. After letting the solution cool to 26° C, we pitched in some yeast, while stirring it vigorously, and sealed the bucket. Now it just sits for a week and is later bottled where it will ferment some more for six weeks. Simple!
I can’t wait to try the new batch! I am definitely going to try brewing beer when I get home.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Food and Fun!
A glorious day of food and fun! Today I woke at a leisurely 6am, went on a short jog, splashing my face with water from the Chachagua River at my halfway point, and arrived at Casa Luna by 8am to feast on a breakfast of fresh homemade yogurt, papaya, granola, and bananas that I picked on my way to the lodge. Delicious. Shortly afterward Angelica, one of our lovely staff members, began making fresh tortillas, which I couldn’t resist eating. Savoring each bite, I gobbled up three with fresh natilla. Natilla is sort of like richer version of sour cream; it’s made by skimming the cream off chilled fresh cow’s milk and letting it sit to ferment for a day or two. Irresistible.
Lately, the women staff members have been fundraising for new uniforms and it’s been nothing but gastronomic delight. They began by brewing ronpompe, a sort of Costa Rican eggnog made with milk, cinnamon, and rum. They then froze the heavenly concoction in little plastic bags, turning it into an apretado, or as it’s called in the San Carlos area of Costa Rica, a chirivisco. Chirivisco is the term for any ice-cream-like substance frozen in the plastic bags. Once it’s frozen, you are supposed gnaw off a corner of the bag and then eat the cold yumminess inside. In addition to ronpompe, the girls have been making blackberry, natilla (so rich!), and rum raisin chiriviscos!
Today they added to that list by making coconut chiriviscos. I helped them by grating fresh coconut, which was nothing but pure pleasure since I was instructed to eat the smallest bits that could not be further grated. We had Walter, our multi-faceted family farm member and my former home-stay dad, hack off the outer shell of the coconut with a knife so that nothing remained but a hollow ball of coconut meat. Some of the coconuts had a sprouted seed in the middle, which was delicious! I’d never seen or eaten one before. It was a spongy textured ball of coconut goodness.
The ladies have also been making lunches as part of their fundraising efforts. Today they made hot ham and cheese sandwiches, served with a glass of Coke. I haven’t had a sandwich or seen Coke since I’ve been here, so it was a surprising treat. Another day they made hamburgers! It’s been so fun helping out in the kitchen and learning new recipes. Hopefully when I go back home I’ll be able to make some of the delicious dishes I’ve been eating here, like arroz con leche (a rice pudding), pastel de yucca (a kind of yucca lasagna), arroz con pollo, ronpompe, and, of course, dishes that include lots of ginger and turmeric!
Lately, the women staff members have been fundraising for new uniforms and it’s been nothing but gastronomic delight. They began by brewing ronpompe, a sort of Costa Rican eggnog made with milk, cinnamon, and rum. They then froze the heavenly concoction in little plastic bags, turning it into an apretado, or as it’s called in the San Carlos area of Costa Rica, a chirivisco. Chirivisco is the term for any ice-cream-like substance frozen in the plastic bags. Once it’s frozen, you are supposed gnaw off a corner of the bag and then eat the cold yumminess inside. In addition to ronpompe, the girls have been making blackberry, natilla (so rich!), and rum raisin chiriviscos!
Today they added to that list by making coconut chiriviscos. I helped them by grating fresh coconut, which was nothing but pure pleasure since I was instructed to eat the smallest bits that could not be further grated. We had Walter, our multi-faceted family farm member and my former home-stay dad, hack off the outer shell of the coconut with a knife so that nothing remained but a hollow ball of coconut meat. Some of the coconuts had a sprouted seed in the middle, which was delicious! I’d never seen or eaten one before. It was a spongy textured ball of coconut goodness.
The ladies have also been making lunches as part of their fundraising efforts. Today they made hot ham and cheese sandwiches, served with a glass of Coke. I haven’t had a sandwich or seen Coke since I’ve been here, so it was a surprising treat. Another day they made hamburgers! It’s been so fun helping out in the kitchen and learning new recipes. Hopefully when I go back home I’ll be able to make some of the delicious dishes I’ve been eating here, like arroz con leche (a rice pudding), pastel de yucca (a kind of yucca lasagna), arroz con pollo, ronpompe, and, of course, dishes that include lots of ginger and turmeric!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Julie, one of our water buffalo, just had a male calf! Today, at the conclusion of Iti's and my morning walk, we decided to visit the dairy and give our congratulations to Julie and check out her calf. As soon as I came up to the sweet, little calf he came ambling towards me, with his adorably awkward gait, and began licking my outstretched hand. He is like a puppy! He just came up and starting to nuzzle and lick me! I love our buffalo! Julietta, another of our buffalo, also began to nuzzle me as soon as I came up to pet her. Amazing animals! And thanks to our two lovely mother buffalo—Buffy also has a young calf—we have been enjoying fresh buffalo mozzarella at the farm! Simply delicious! We have a dairy that is set up to milk cows, buffalo, and goats. It also has a room set up to make cheeses, yogurt, butter, natilla (a type of Costa Rican sour cream), and other delicious things. Part of the reason breakfast is my favorite meal here is because I am constantly surprised with fresh goat and buffalo cheeses and yogurts.
Luna Nueva has just been teeming with life! When I first returned from my trip to Panama, Iti and I were going up to our rooms late in the evening when she said “Oh, I forgot, we have guests,” and then stopped to turn on the path lights. I wasn’t aware that we had any guests that day and was a little confused until the lights shone on a herd of sheep. Our sheep had been moved to the grassy area next to our individual bungalows--they're kind of like our portable lawn mowers. We then heard a little, yet strong, “bahhhh.” One of our sheep had a lamb! Though it is now a few weeks old, it is still as adorable as the day it was born, snow white and so loveable!
We also have two litters of Vietnamese potbelly piglets! One litter is a month old now, while the other is just a few weeks old. They are so adorable! And the runt of the youngest litter is impressively strong for its size—he’s a fighter! All the guests say they just want to scoop him up and take him home, but sometimes runts end up being the strongest of their siblings.
I have never lived in a place where there is just such a constant and profound display of life. All the plants that spring from the earth and animals bringing new life into the world are a constant reminder of how precious and incredible life really is. In short, being at Luna is renewing, enlivening, and simply good for the soul.
Luna Nueva has just been teeming with life! When I first returned from my trip to Panama, Iti and I were going up to our rooms late in the evening when she said “Oh, I forgot, we have guests,” and then stopped to turn on the path lights. I wasn’t aware that we had any guests that day and was a little confused until the lights shone on a herd of sheep. Our sheep had been moved to the grassy area next to our individual bungalows--they're kind of like our portable lawn mowers. We then heard a little, yet strong, “bahhhh.” One of our sheep had a lamb! Though it is now a few weeks old, it is still as adorable as the day it was born, snow white and so loveable!
We also have two litters of Vietnamese potbelly piglets! One litter is a month old now, while the other is just a few weeks old. They are so adorable! And the runt of the youngest litter is impressively strong for its size—he’s a fighter! All the guests say they just want to scoop him up and take him home, but sometimes runts end up being the strongest of their siblings.
I have never lived in a place where there is just such a constant and profound display of life. All the plants that spring from the earth and animals bringing new life into the world are a constant reminder of how precious and incredible life really is. In short, being at Luna is renewing, enlivening, and simply good for the soul.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Attack of the Stingless Bees!
This morning I helped our new agriculture intern, Riza, clear a fallen tree out of the rainforest mysteries trail. The tree, which was a standing dead tree, had just fallen a few days ago, and was already decomposing to dirt! With all the millions of bacteria, thousands of fungi, and armies of termites and other critters, things return back to their elements very quickly here. So many things were feeding off the tree—there was even a crab!
After clearing the path, Riza wanted a photo of himself up in a tree covered with large strong vines. After clamoring up the vines a bit he exclaimed, “What are these?” Remembering that there was a trigona bee hive—stingless bees—on the back of the tree, I told him what they were and not to worry—stingless bees are harmless, right? The tree has a very large circumference and since the nest is on the opposite side of which we were climbing, I didn’t think the bees would be very disturbed. After Riza got down, I decided that I wanted a photo too. As I climbed the tree, I began to notice that the bees were definitely disturbed and quite unhappy. But, since they don’t sting, I continued up worry free so I could get a great photo.
Before long though, I noticed that although the bees did not sting, they definitely had a knack of getting everywhere and biting! Soon I was squealing, “Ahhh, they’re in my hair! They’re biting my scalp! They’re everywhere!” Followed by, “Oh no, what is that?!” It looked like a mosquito the size of my fist, and it was coming right at me! I called to Riza to take my photo fast, made a smile that probably looked more like a grimace, and jumped out of the tree, frantically shaking my hair and pulling bees off my clothes. I scurried away, losing my balance and wobbling all over the place and eventually got all the bees off. Now that I think about it, Steven did warn me about the stingless bees and how they have a knack of crawling up your nose, getting in your ears, and just getting everywhere. Next time, I will never doubt the ferocity of insects, even stingless ones!
Rainforest Tours
After clearing the path, Riza wanted a photo of himself up in a tree covered with large strong vines. After clamoring up the vines a bit he exclaimed, “What are these?” Remembering that there was a trigona bee hive—stingless bees—on the back of the tree, I told him what they were and not to worry—stingless bees are harmless, right? The tree has a very large circumference and since the nest is on the opposite side of which we were climbing, I didn’t think the bees would be very disturbed. After Riza got down, I decided that I wanted a photo too. As I climbed the tree, I began to notice that the bees were definitely disturbed and quite unhappy. But, since they don’t sting, I continued up worry free so I could get a great photo.
Before long though, I noticed that although the bees did not sting, they definitely had a knack of getting everywhere and biting! Soon I was squealing, “Ahhh, they’re in my hair! They’re biting my scalp! They’re everywhere!” Followed by, “Oh no, what is that?!” It looked like a mosquito the size of my fist, and it was coming right at me! I called to Riza to take my photo fast, made a smile that probably looked more like a grimace, and jumped out of the tree, frantically shaking my hair and pulling bees off my clothes. I scurried away, losing my balance and wobbling all over the place and eventually got all the bees off. Now that I think about it, Steven did warn me about the stingless bees and how they have a knack of crawling up your nose, getting in your ears, and just getting everywhere. Next time, I will never doubt the ferocity of insects, even stingless ones!
Rainforest Tours
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Visa Run!
Last week I ran off to Panama to renew my 90 day Costa Rican tourist visa. It was quite a trip! Knowing that I would eventually have to take this trip to renew my visa, I had mixed feelings of eagerness and trepidation since I was to do the journey solo, and traveling alone by bus and border hopping to a foreign country all the while staying in hostels was a new experience for me. Luckily though, I got a blessed mass e-mail from my dear friend and former housemate from Cal, Andrea, about her intention to run off to Panama and do the same thing I intended to do. After a couple e-mails and a nerve wracking phone call about potentially going to Nicaragua instead, it was all settled and we were to do the crazy trip together.
I did this same trip two years ago to renew my visa when I was doing a UC tropical biology program through the Monteverde Institute, so I had a fairly solid idea of what I was getting myself into. I met up with Andrea and her dad in La Fortuna, who then drove us to the bus station in San Jose. From there we took a bus to Puerto Viejo and stayed the night in Pagalu Hostel, the neatest and nicest hostel I have ever been in. The next morning we took a bus to the border and walked across a rickety bridge whose flooring was made of strips of decaying timber. I was very anxious to hurry across the bridge before I got stuck on it at the same time an 18 wheeler truck was trying to pass. When finally at Bocas del Toro, our destination, Andrea and I got a room in a hostel that had a bar attached to it, Mondo Taitu. We were so happy to be settled that we didn’t notice how grungy the place was until after dinner—it was like living in a frat house! But we made do. The only thing that seemed to appease us was the promise of their complimentary do it yourself pancake breakfast.
All in all, I had a blast snorkeling, swimming at the beach, and rooming in hostels with people from all over the world. I loved the medley of accents I encountered; all the Irish, English, Swedish, Swiss, and German was so fun to hear. I also got to practice my Spanish a bit with a Korean guy who didn’t speak any English. I was so amazed how Europeans were often fluent in multiple languages, while all the North Americans I met were sadly limited to only English.
I had a really great time, but unfortunately ran myself ragged and returned to Luna with cold. It is so nice to be back and be taken care of. Lorena made me chicken soup and Iti brought me room service complete with a pitcher of hot honey and lemon tea, strong, just how my mom makes! I’ll be better in no time.
Arenal Volcano, La Fortuna
I did this same trip two years ago to renew my visa when I was doing a UC tropical biology program through the Monteverde Institute, so I had a fairly solid idea of what I was getting myself into. I met up with Andrea and her dad in La Fortuna, who then drove us to the bus station in San Jose. From there we took a bus to Puerto Viejo and stayed the night in Pagalu Hostel, the neatest and nicest hostel I have ever been in. The next morning we took a bus to the border and walked across a rickety bridge whose flooring was made of strips of decaying timber. I was very anxious to hurry across the bridge before I got stuck on it at the same time an 18 wheeler truck was trying to pass. When finally at Bocas del Toro, our destination, Andrea and I got a room in a hostel that had a bar attached to it, Mondo Taitu. We were so happy to be settled that we didn’t notice how grungy the place was until after dinner—it was like living in a frat house! But we made do. The only thing that seemed to appease us was the promise of their complimentary do it yourself pancake breakfast.
All in all, I had a blast snorkeling, swimming at the beach, and rooming in hostels with people from all over the world. I loved the medley of accents I encountered; all the Irish, English, Swedish, Swiss, and German was so fun to hear. I also got to practice my Spanish a bit with a Korean guy who didn’t speak any English. I was so amazed how Europeans were often fluent in multiple languages, while all the North Americans I met were sadly limited to only English.
I had a really great time, but unfortunately ran myself ragged and returned to Luna with cold. It is so nice to be back and be taken care of. Lorena made me chicken soup and Iti brought me room service complete with a pitcher of hot honey and lemon tea, strong, just how my mom makes! I’ll be better in no time.
Arenal Volcano, La Fortuna
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