Coronavirus, Gallo Pinto and Costa Rica

We are now under new driving restrictions, curfew hours and so on - a relaxation of the stricter requirements imposed during Semana Santa (Easter Week). This Tico Times article explains the latest requirements to help the country deal with COVID-19.

Another Tico Times article from today has the current information on the coronavirus stats in this country. 

We cannot drive on Fridays and Sundays but this is no real hardship (our licence plates end in 9). We can attend dental and doctor appointments, go to drug stores, the hospital/clinics and grocery stores. Yesterday I had a dental appointment in the late afternoon. Lance was waiting for me in our car - he brings a book to read. If the appointment is going to be a long one, he drops me off and I take a taxi home. As we pulled away from the curb after my appointment, we realized we had a flat front tire. Curses.

I went off to the parada de taxi (taxi stand) not far from us to see if one of the drivers would change the tire for us. They do this all the time. One driver agreed to help after he checked with his dispatcher. Meanwhile, Lance was doing just fine as two young men had already volunteered to change the tire. This is Costa Rica - somebody is always ready with a helping hand. I’ve had a flat tire when on my own and experienced the same thing.

They observed that the spare was a bit soft and needed air and to drive to a gas station right away to get that done. One of them advised us to buy a stronger jack. We were ready to go in ten minutes! Nobody would take any payment and when we persisted, were told to give it to the taxi driver as he may have missed a fare helping us out.

We decided to buy two new tires and went to our local tire shop today. We had bought two tires from them a year and a half ago and the two that needed replacing came with the car when we bought it. We considered this an essential trip. The shop was practicing the recommended precautions - hand gel, face coverings, keep your distance. They had fresh, strong, hot coffee too!

Back home, I decided to make gallo pinto - Costa Rica’s famed rice and beans - a national dish. It is called gallo pinto (spotted rooster) because the black beans and white rice resemble the speckled appearance of a rooster. I turned to my trusty Costa Rican cookbook:

I see that I bought it in August, 2011 - a couple of months after we moved here.

Here’s part of  the recipe:

I used ghee (clarified butter) and achiote when sautéing the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. I bought the achiote from a vendor at our Grecia feria (farmers’ market) and the ghee is a Costa Rican product.

I cooked the rice in our rice cooker. For the black beans, I cheated a bit and bought canned:

The brand name Goya is an interesting one. I see their products here in Costa Rica and have no hesitation in purchasing them.

Here is my final version of gallo pinto. I love cilantro so used lots of it. Lance was my taste tester and pronounced my pinto “very good”. That’s high praise because he is a fan of gallo and rates every restaurant that serves it. So now we have a delicious addition to our morning eggs.