Papaya chicken salad has several ingredients you’d expect plus one that might surprise you. Papaya seeds! Those peppery seeds I’d always thrown away have some unexpected health benefits. According to healthline.com, papaya seeds can help fight infections, may protect kidney functions, could have anti-cancer properties, and may improve digestive health. […]
My husband, Jim, and I had never been to Costa Rica until April 2001, but five months later we returned as inn-sitters to allow the owners to take a vacation. We had no experience as innkeepers. We didn’t speak the language. How did we get this sweet gig? I simply […]
For two wondrous months in 2001, Jim and I were inn-sitters the Villa Decary on Lake Arenal in Costa Rica. When we revisited in 2012, Elkin, a Tico (that’s what Costa Ricans call themselves) who works there now, led us on a tour of his family’s nearby farm. His father […]
For my first meal upon our return to Costa Rica, I ordered shrimp ceviche at Kukula, a restaurant in Quepos. The dish came with patacoñes, twice-fried green plantain chips that are golden brown and crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and lightly salted. They were so good I tried to […]
The sign claiming “Best Shrimp Ceviche in Quepos” enticed us into Kukula, a restaurant in a small town on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast on the first day of our 10-day vacation. We tried ceviche at several other places during our stay, but we all agreed that Kukula’s made the […]
When we were inn-sitting at Villa DeCary in Costa Rica, Nuria, one of the employees, taught me to make pico de gallo. She told me it should have equal parts red, white, and green, the colors of the Mexican flag. These measures will get you close. When you are done, […]
Hi! My name is Mary Zalmanek and I love to cook. My husband Jim and I also love to travel in our motorhome, which means I cook a lot of meals in the tiny one-butt kitchen in our motorhome. My recipes come from various sources: my family and friends, successful experiments, and inspiration from restaurant meals enjoyed during our travels, various cookbooks, and food blogs. All of my recipes are gluten-free.