Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

History : Declared independence from Spain in 1821 Armed Forces : Dissolved in 1949.  Only two brief periods of violence have hindered the democratic development since the late 19th century Location : Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean Area : Over 51,000 sq km; 130th largest in the world          Slightly smaller than West Virginia Population : Over 4.5 million; 123rd largest in the world Religion : 76.3% Roman Catholic Capital : San Jose Human Development Index : Consistently among the top Latin American countries Carbon : Announced plans in 2007 to become the first carbon-neutral country by 2021 Happiness : Ranked #1 in the Happy Planet Index in 2009 Sources: CIA Factbook and Wikipedia When Kevin and I were recently considering where to go on vacation before the baby arrives, we seriously considered Costa Rica.  The standard of living is high and tourism is a major industry.  There were really o...

Blah.  Clearly I am having a hard time keeping up with this thing.  I was going to get two done over Labor Day Weekend.  Two!  Instead, because I couldn't find the right ingredients, I got none.  That is two fewer than two, for those of you keeping track at home. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, thinking how much I still have to go.  Thinking about the grocery stores I have to find, the time I have the invest, the writing I have to do.  It can be hard to motivate myself to find the next recipe.  But the hardest, absolute worst, part is knowing that I could spend 5 hours and a lot of money and still end up with something that tastes awful.  It is really disheartening. Anyway, I apologize.  That is my ranting and moaning for now.  I promise, I plan to continue.  I think I have just lost a little momentum.  But now, back to your regularly scheduled program! Background : Uninhabited until the 15th century when they were u...

A brief recap for the amnesiacs among us.  Here is Part One  in whole. We already have some rice and shredded kale.  The embassy recommended Feijoada, which is basically a lot of meat plus a little bit of other stuff.  No store remained untoched in my quest for all of the parts.  There is still a... Last time for Brazil, I promise. So what is that meat that I haven't introduced you to yet?  My recipe books calls it out as optional: one pork foot, eat, tail, tongue.  If that is optional, I'm not touching it, right? Except then I saw it at the Commissary.  If it is staring me in the face, can I really walk away?  It is authentic!  Plus then I could write about it!  I would like to introduce to you: the pig's foot. I told Kevin to react appropriately to it. Tesla investigated.  Curie would have none of it. *Shudder* To prove to you what it is. The real problem here is what in the world do I do with it?...