Nanners Dos

Thought I'd start off with a recipe of fried plantain chips (Patacones Ticos) made by my house mother...

Ingrediants:
2 green plantains
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pinch salt,to taste

1. Peel plantains completely.
2. Slice Plantains into 1/2 inch rounds.
3. Heat oil in sauce pan until almost boiling.
4. Carefully place a handful of plantain rounds into hot oil, leaving them in until light brown, about 2 minutes.
5. Remove plantain rounds from hot oil with slotted spoon and place on a cutting board coverd with parchment paper.
6. Plantain pieces should be on only half of the parchment paper. Fold second half of parchment paper over them, and with a second board or other hard, flat surface press firmly on the paper-covered plantain rounds.
7. The rounds should now looked smushed, but still intact.
8. With slotted spoon, replace pieces of plantain in the oil until golden brown.
9. Remove pieces with slotted spoon and place on paper towel. Pieces should be slightly crispy.
10. Repeat with another handful of rounds, until all have been cooked.
11. Sprinkle with salt, to taste.
12. Dip in warm refried beans or also good with ceviche.



The Rainforest Alliance has been doing exceptal work in creating fair and sustainable environments for banana plantations while protecting CR's rainforests.

The Rainforest Alliance first began working with banana plantations in 1990, when the production of the fruit was increasing in the American tropics while at the same time rainforests were being cut down to expand cropland. Banana plantations were infamous for their environmental and social abuses, which included the use of dangerous pesticides, poor working conditions, water pollution, and deforestation. Pesticide laced plastic bags, which protect bananas as they grow, often littered riverbanks and beaches near banana farms, while runoff and erosion killed fish, clogged rivers and killed coral reefs. They have consequently organized working groups since 1990 to study the problems on banana farms and recommend improvements. Groups involved include: scientists, farmers, community leaders, and representatives of other nongovernmental organizations. In 1992, they produced the first principles for sustainable farm management, which were supported by dozens of measurable, concrete criteria.

A key feature of the Rainforest Alliance's sustainable agriculture certification standards is that they require steady and continual improvement of social and environmental conditions. Yet, they are practical enough to allow companies to stay competitive in the international market. Though the initial changes a farm must make to become certified require considerable work and investment, the large banana companies have learned that many changes end up paying for themselves.