Cooking in Panama

NGOBE INDIAN MOM AND DAUGHTER

DINNER TONIGHT

CARVED TREE TRUNK

Butternut Squash soup last night, Pasta Fagioli tonight for dinner.  Yea, yea, I know - doesn't sound very Panamanian, but I am planning chicken enchiladas tomorrow night!  It has been a pleasure and a challenge to cook in Panama so far.  The fruits are excellent, they have a bumper crop of carrots, bell peppers, squash, and fresh ginger but some things are surprisingly hard to get - spinach, cilantro, basil, decent beef - just to name a few.  Fortunately, all incredibly inexpensive I might add.  We are so....spoiled in the U.S. where, no matter the time of year, we have most any vegetable you can imagine available to us.  Our proximity to the second largest city in Panama, David (pronounced Da-veed), only about 30 minutes away really helps.  They have 3 large supermarket chains there and if you shop all 3, you can usually get what you need or a good alternative.  Patience is not one of my original spiritual gifts, but I believe that I am growing in this area!!    Also, not always easy to get the spices you want so you have to be creative.    

FOOD ENTREPRENEURS

MY FAVORITE HOUSE SO FAR

Went in to a little local grocery called the Food Box (how cute) yesterday and they had some really unique items I had not seen in the grocery stores. Being as this was a small, neighborhood (7/11-type) place, I was surprised and started a conversation with the lady at the checkout.  She is a Muslim woman married to a Jew (check that out) and was one of the happiest souls I have had the pleasure of meeting here.  Anyway, her sister lives in Saudi Arabia and frequently travels back and forth to Boquete.  She gives her a list of customer requests for specialty items / spices, etc and she brings back a few each time she returns for a visit.

HILLSIDE OF SAME DEVELOPMENT-CHARMING

Long story short,  if you are enterprising and willing to shop a bit, you can get almost everything you need.  I think I forgot to mention, but fish here is fresh, inexpensive and fabulous!!    
Corvina (Sea Bass) and Dorado (Mahi-Mahi) are readily available and excellent.  About $6/pound.

COOKING WITH THE INTERNET

It must have been a trial before the internet, but no need to carry recipe books anymore.  I have all my favorite recipes and chefs available to me 24/7.  Need a recipe from Giada for Pasta Fagioli?  No problem.  Forgot the ingredients for pina colada mix - it's all right there.  Need a recipe for taco seasoning which I can't find here? Truely, you have your whole food library right on the internet.

ALSO VERY NICE

Boquete has a number of informational sites where folks can flog their products.  As the holidays are approaching, there are expats who have formed a catering / take-home business where you can purchase any number of fabulous appetizers, dinners, etc.  Fabulous cakes and pastries (really, really good).  You can pick them up or a delivery guy will whiz them over to you for a couple bucks.  Have not used that yet, but would be great to supplement a dinner party with a fancy appetizer or an impressive dessert.

Our current condo is fairly well-equipped and I'm enjoying cooking here.  The knives are dull - working on where to get them sharpened.  Unfortunately, the door on my oven is falling off, so can't use till it is repaired.  As this could take weeks, I'm majoring on what you can cook on the stovetop or toaster oven.  We visited a gorgeous housing development this week - would love to build there - and spent a lovely couple of hours visiting with the developer and his wife.  They are Expats as well.  Anyway, I told him I'd love to have a really nice kitchen and good appliances, but if those expensive appliances need repair, what do you do?  He sheepishly said that you have to take the appliance TO the repairman!  Yup, load it up in the pickup and haul it to the city.  I'm sure that over time, there will be repairmen who can do this, but not yet!  LOL.  We have seen some really lovely areas here for potential home sites and are going to view a bank-owned home today.  I think our best plan would be to purchase a lot where we could build several casitas that we can rent out, a main house for us and perhaps a plunge pool in between.  That would give us some passive income.  Also weighing the pros and cons of living in a gated community.  Although they provide more security (haven't really heard of a big crime problem, but a few) you have to deal with HOA's.  Have lots of real estate to see today, followed by Happy Hour at 5 down the street.  Hasta Pronto!