Couchsurfing in San Jose with DanDan!

Well well well, time for a really fun n exciting video blog!

San Jose Couch-surfing with DanDan, plus bonus How to Make your Own Compost pit 🙂

Hope you really enjoy it!!!

Upon arriving at my gate with only a half a hour before departure the Gate attendant calls out, “No one without a Round Trip Ticket will be Admitted into Costa Rica”.

Holy Mango!! I only had a one way as I wasn’t sure how long I would be in Costa Rica and really prefer to live by the Seat of my pants 🙂

That said I wanted to go so I up and bought a ticket, thanks to the kindness of the head Honcho there and bought a trip back one month later in cash for just over 200$. Well worth it, got in and on the run to downtown San Jose!!

After missing the farmers market by 10 minutes I went to Pali, the only store close by and bought some banana’s and plantains to tide me over until I met my Friend Danielle Day. DanDan as she oft calls herself is another 80/10/10 raw foodist, in fact she works for/with Dr Douglas Graham on his Newsletter and had just finished being the photographer for his Walking tour as well as month long fasting retreat out here in Costa Rica. We met up found a sweet hostel and were treated to a sweet complementary fruit breakfast!! SO Sweet!

The next day our Friend Lucas Buchanan picked us up and we went on a wild foray into the unknown of San Jose.

From there DanDan and I went to Fredo and Victor Ruilova’s and Katie’s house, oh i cant forget Rulfo. I had reached out to them on Couchsurfing.org looking for skateboarders in San Jose, what a great service, I cant think of any better way to travel than Couchsurfing.org other than for me doing my Full Time  Raw Live In Consults Love love love doing them! Fredo also skates so he showed me some really sweet spots and we both had a amazing time skating together. During the week while he worked Victor and Katie Also showed us some fun things to do and where the markets were! Eating raw in Costa Rica, or the markets in San Jose are really good and great deals. We picked up tons and tons of Mangos, the best Ive had in a really long time, Amazing Star Apples that taste like cookies and cream, as well as many others.

I enjoyed my First Cashew fruit! The “raw cashew” has some controversy around it, many people include most growers Ive talked to say you cant get “Raw Cashews”. At the Very Least most if not all of the “Raw Cashews” you find in the stores have a good possibility of being treated in some way. The reason for this is that the nut is encased in a hard shell filled with a caustic acid that burns the flesh. If you break it and damage the nut the Cashew is ruined, if you get it on your skin you will pay for it! The acid is really a thick oil that is really really hard to wash off, best not try to open them. I personally have only had one brand of cashews that I felt good after eating, they really are notorious for being the heaviest and hardest nut on digestion. When in doubt see if it will Sprout! Once again, When in Doubt see if it Will Sprout!!! If you cant sprout a nut its not raw. I personally have never seen a store bought “raw cashew” sprout, they always turn to mush hmmm.

I invoke a challenge, anyone who can test a whole bunch Raw Cashews from different companies and document it (in good enough quality that I can use it in a video, 1 – 2 min please) seeing if any sprout I will give a free copy of my “101 Frickin’ Rawesome Recipes” ebook as well as my new upcoming “TRA Retreat Treats” If possible including a Nut fresh from a cashew fruit to would be optimal.

Back to the fun! DanDan and I enjoyed many times, yoga, wall climbing dancing playing and much super awesome food. Being a amazing Photographer DanDan got some great Shots, many of which are in the video blog!! 🙂 Was so fun Danielle, look forward to more times!! 🙂

One of my favorite dinners ever and the best recipe!

Mangos and Tomatoes! Fill a bowl with them, whole or chopped and devour!!!!

Is it a simple raw recipe or not? Is it?

My camera broke while wall Climbing, due to this I had to switch to filming off my computer! Still lots of fun but we didn’t get as much out and about filming. One key thing we did do at Fredo’s house was make a Compost. It is really easy to make your own Compost within the video I provide a simple “How to make your own Compost pit” in the “Home Compost Made Easy” style hahah. I will also include the steps here to making your own compost pit, I hope they help, definitely well worth watching the video! If you don’t have a compost pit, Make one!! Best use of your scraps and peelings, turn it and create the healthiest cheapest food straight from your garden. If you don’t have a garden, Start one up!!!! Your house, A friends House, a neighbour, cousin, by the riverbank yea!! Serious, more gardens and compost pits the better. Lets all reconnect to the soil, help it grow and in turn love its embrace 🙂

How To Make A Compost Pit!

1) Select a piece of ground that gets both sunlight and partial shade during the day. Mark a area 2 x 4 or 3 – 6 feet. Any larger and its really hard to mix, you never want to step into your compost pit.

2) Dig out the marked area to a depth of 1 1/2  to 2 feet. Pile some of the removed soil near an edge of the pit to add back into the pit later. Remove and discard big stones, roots and debris from both the pit and the stacked soil. Create a base layer of Small Rubble, Dry Straw and or Corn Stalks, lightly water this first layer.

3) Deposit garden clippings, dried leaves, chopped twigs, brown organic material and small amounts of shredded brown cardboard, Lightly water.

4) Your ready to add in your fresh fruit and veggie scraps and peels, only use organic, otherwise it could disrupt the Bacteria. The smaller the chunks, without getting neurotic, of foodstuff the faster it will turn. Cover loosely with Grass Trimmings and a bit of dirt, sprinkle with water.

5) Turn the contents of the pit with a pitchfork every two weeks. Heap the material to the center of the pit each time. Add a shovel full of the set-aside soil into to the compost each time you turn it. Poke holes in the stack with a long sharp stick, providing places for air to reach the inner layers.

6) Maintain a state of dampness by sprinkling water on the pit contents if they become dry in the summer months. Cover the pit with black plastic during rainy spells to keep from getting soggy. Hold down the edges of the black plastic with heavy bricks or stones.

7) The compost is ready when it is thoroughly decomposed and crumbly.

!!!! Now you have amazing Compost that is ready to use!!!!!

Mix into soil for nutrient rich organic gardening or place around established plants for a more nutrient rich delicious experience!!

Make a Compost, Grow A Garden, Connect to the earth in a new way!!!

These are amazing things to do with our youth, teaching them how to connect to their food has never been more valuable than now!!!

Love and blessings