Once I get myself out of the house and on the road, I usually enjoy my walk out into nature. I saw what I thought was a black cat crossing the road in front of me. After close inspection it was a black monkey that had a tail as long as its body. There is also a tree that I pass every day that is full of a hundred or more parakeets. I have seen hummingbirds, swallows, sandpipers, and many other birds I can't name. They have such pretty songs that they sing. Sometimes I take off my earphones so I can hear their songs instead of my daily Spanish lesson.

Thursday night Dad was asked to drive President Riquelme (counselor in the temple presidency) to an appreciation dinner for the bishops and their wives of one of the local stakes. He said he could do it if I could go also. It was held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Panama City. We had a lovely dinner of food typical to Panama. It was a buffet and so we could sample everything that was there.

We had exotic vegetables and fruits like: hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, cold but cooked cauliflower and broccoli, pineapple, papaya, etc. Then we had the local chicken soup that I wrote about in my last post. After that we tasted pork, shrimp, beef, chicken, and sea bass--all cooked in local style sauces. Then we had rice with vegetables, plantain (or bananas) cooked in a glaze,and potatoes. For dessert we had tastes of banana pudding, nance pudding, a delicious berry concoction, and pineapple cake. Yummy!

While we were eating we were entertained by a troupe of four men and four women dressed in the lovely costumes of this country. They danced traditional folk dances of Panama. I felt very fortunate to be included in such a lovely evening.

     Some of you have asked about the food and shopping here in Panama. I have been pleasantly surprised at the availability of goods from the United States. It probably has a lot to do with the Panama Canal and all of the shipping that goes through here. Also, the United States had a major presence here until Dec. 31, 1999 when the Canal was returned to the Panamanian government.  So.....I can find most of the foods I buy in Utah. I even found cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. I hear that things come and go, so I will probably buy it now while I can find it and before the holiday run on such things. I also found some of the things I brought in our suitcase. Ha! Ha! I haven't found things like Cool whip that would be frozen, however.

     There is a membership store here that we joined called PriceSmart. As I looked around I found lots of things with the Kirkland brand. There is a snack stop too, just like in Costco. I even found my favorite mixed nuts, so I don't think that part of our life is going to be too bad.

    There is a mega-mall near here ($5 taxi)that has many US stores. There is a store comparable to WalMart by a different name. They have a food court that has all the US fast food and Subways are everywhere. I think US stores are as available here as they are for Betsy in Canada. This mall is HUGE. There are different "wings" of the mall that are designated by 10 feet tall cement statues of different animals.  Really cute!

     The normal fare for the locals is much like all of South America---chicken and rice with yucca root and plantain thrown in. The tropical fruits here are very delicious and quite good in season. I'm including the recipe for the national soup--Sancocho. Let me know if you try it and the kids like it.

Sancocho

Ingredients

• 1 x 3 – 3½ pound chicken
• 2 lb yucca root, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 lb yam peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes(if available)
• 2 large plantain peeled and cut into 1 inch slices (not too ripe)
• 1 bunch green onions coarsely chopped (white part only)
• 3 carrots scrubbed and cut into bite size pieces
• 3 ears corn cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ cup gringo cilantro leaves and stems, chopped or if Panamanian cilantro (leaf resembling dandelion) is used — 1 leaf
• water or chicken broth
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Put all ingredients except salt, pepper, and corn in a large soup or stock pot.
2. Add enough water or chicken broth to cover.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour.
4. Remove chicken, discard skin, and peel meat from the bones.
5. Break the meat into fairly large pieces and return to the pot.
6. Add corn, salt and pepper to taste.
7. Simmer for about 20 minutes longer.

August 5, 2012

After visiting home for a few months, we are now in Panama City, Panama on another mission. We will be assigned to the temple here. I will try to relearn the ins and outs of blogging so that I can post some of our experiences here.

Copihue: National Flower of Chile

The Copihue (Lapageria rosea),(Ko-pea-way) also known as the Chilean Bellflower and Chilean Glory Flower, is the national flower of Chile. It grows in forests in the southern part of Chile and Argentina…However, the climate here in Paniahue must be just right for it because we see it climbing on the fences all along the street. It is an evergreen climbing plant reaching up to 10 [meters] high among shrubs and trees. The flowers are red, with six petals; the fruit is an edible berry with numerous small seeds. I haven’t noticed that it has a significant fragrance. The roses, wisteria, orange blossoms, and honeysuckle are in bloom right now and smell SOOO delicious. The plant is pollinated by hummingbirds. This is fun to watch.

Sopaipillas

The first week after we first arrived in Chile, almost exactly one year ago (on October 18) we were greeted with a Relief Society Social. The Relief Society sisters cooked up a bunch of Sopaipillas for us. Some of them were “dry” with just powdered sugar and some were drenched in a brown sugar syrup. Chilean-style sopaipillas are delicious fried rounds of pumpkin-spiced dough drenched in a brown sugar syrup. They make a delicious fall breakfast or afternoon snack. They drink a cereal drink like Postum with these. Sopaipillas are traditionally eaten on rainy winter days in Chile. So we have eaten MANY this winter. They didn’t seem to need to serve them warm, but that was when they were the best! If you can find chancaca, a type of firm dark brown sugar (a byproduct of sugar cane processing), these will taste even more authentic. Sopaipillas are fantastic with their special syrup, but if you're short on time, serve them warm with dusting of powdered sugar. I think I like the “dry” ones best.

Prep Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 small sugar pumpkin (for baking)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, or grated chancaca
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 small orange

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degress. Slice the pumpkin in half, and remove seeds (reserve if desired*) and stringy parts. Rub a baking pan with the oil and place the pumpkin halves cut side down in the pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft and can be pierced with a fork. (*The seeds make a great snack, and you can roast them simultaneously wiht the pumpkin. Wash and dry the seeds and toss them in the baking pan with the pumpkin. Check frequently and remove seeds when golden brown, as seeds will roast more quickly. Toss seeds with salt and store in an airtight container.)
2. Scrape pumpkin out of shell and press through a food mill or potato ricer. You will need 1 cup of packed pumpkin.
3. Make the syrup: heat 1 cup brown sugar with 1 cup water, the cinnamon sticks and the cloves. Quarter the orange and add to the sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain and keep warm.
4. Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the melted butter and pumpkin and mix. Add water gradually, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until smooth dough forms. Knead dough gently until homogenous.
5. Roll out dough on floured surface to about 1/2 centimeter thickness. Let dough relax for about 5 minutes, then cut with a 4-inch diameter round cutter. Prick rounds with a fork several times
6. Heat several inches of oil in a deep skillet or deep fat fryer to 350 degrees. Fry sopaipillas in batches, turning once, until golden brown. Drain briefly on paper towels, then dip each sopaipilla in the warm syrup.
7. Serve sopaipillas warm, with extra syrup on the side.

Makes about 16 sopaipillas