Breakfast at the Feria

We decided to have breakfast at Grecia’s feria del agricultor, or farmers’ market. This market is much larger then the one in Atenas, where we used to live. It is open on Friday from 11am to 9pm and on Saturday from 5am to 1:30pm.

The selection of tropical fruits and vegetables is amazing - stand after stand of fresh, in-season produce. Fish, meats, breads and cheeses are also available, in addition to clothing, garden plants, fresh cut tropical flowers, leather products, etc. This is the place to go for your weekly produce shopping and the prices are very reasonable. There are also a number of sodas (mum and pop run eateries) and we had breakfast at one of them.

We each had the same selection. From top going to the right: bread, gallo pinto (rice and beans), plantains, fried egg (that’s Lizano sauce on my egg), and fried queso fresco (fresh white cheese). I smeared the soft cooked plantain on top of my bread. Cost for both dishes was around 6,000 colones, about $10 USD. This is a really tasty meal. 

I have been looking for a leather wallet so we went to the leather worker’s stand. Didn’t find what I wanted but did buy this change purse.

One stand had the biggest, shiniest radishes - they looked like they had been polished - so we bought some.

 

I also bought this same vender’s own homemade achiote (for some reason named pito - which means “whistle”) and a guanabana fruit. I made a roast chicken using the achiote.

Here’s what the cut guanabana looks like. I use it in smoothies.

If you are visiting Costa Rica, do not miss out on an opportunity to stop at a feria - one of the delights of living here.

Flor de Itabo/Yucca Flower

Here are photos of some flowers I bought at our our feria last Friday:

 

These are the flowers of the yucca plant (Yucca guatemalensis), also known at Itabo. This is not the same as the yuca. So pretty and delicate - and edible! The yucca flowers and fruits around Easter time (Semana Santa) so that is why we see them in our markets at this time of year. I bought my bunch for 1,000 colones (about $2.00) from Ricardo Cortez Castro, the gentleman who sells his handmade miniature oxcarts at the feria and around Atenas.

Marcial Artavia, who makes and sells his terrific sausages at the feria (Sperone Italian Sausage) saw me walking around with them and called me over. He showed me how to pick the flowers off the stems and told me how he cooks them. They can be used in soups and omlettes or just sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper.

Here is what I ended up doing: I boiled a few potatoes and added about a cup of the flowers towards the end, then drained them. I chopped the potatoes into cubes. Sautéd an onion and some garlic. When those were done, in went chopped tomatoes, achiote paste, boullion, and Lizano sauce. I also added a couple of Marcial's sausages. Then I tossed in the cooked potato cubes and flowers. It was very good.

 

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