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

Porotos con Riendas

Here is a typical dish, eaten at least once a week. Porotos con Riendas, which translates to Beans with Reins. It’s beans, with pumpkin-like squash, a sausage-onion-bell pepper sauted, and spaghetti, thus the "reins". I thought maybe Nelson Leland would love these beans! Also, you can add a bit of tomato sauce.
Sometimes these are made with no meat at all, and they are still good! You can make it with ground beef instead of sausage for a change.

Chilean Beef and Corn Casserole - Pastel de Choclo

This beef and corn casserole is very popular dish in Chile, where it's known as pastel de choclo. Lots of different flavors - beef and onions, raisins, olives, roasted chicken - go into the body of the casserole, and the whole thing is topped off with a thick layer of creamed corn. The creamed corn caramelizes in the oven, and the result is a delicious salty/sweet combination that's reminiscent of shepherd's pie. The following recipe has been "Americanized" in that the olives are chopped and not just inserted pit and all. The corn that we have in the United States is more tender and sweeter than what they have here. I have tried this with some frozen corn that I found here, but I don't like it with the fresh corn which is more like field corn that we fed the cows. How do you like the combination of olives, boiled eggs, and raisins again? It's not just in the empanadas. Hope you enjoy another taste of Chile.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1.5 pounds of ground beef
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 3 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup chopped black olives
• 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 cup shredded roasted chicken
• 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Sauté the onions in the vegetable oil until soft and translucent, 5 minutes.
2. Add the ground beef, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the beef is crumbled and browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Place the corn kernels in a food processor or blender with 1/4 cup milk. Process for 1 to 2 minutes, until corn is blended and appears creamy.
4. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a pan, and add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and the corn mixture. Add the remaining 3/4 cup milk and simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the chopped basil and remove from heat.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Drain the liquid from the browned beef mixture. Place the ground beef mixture in the bottom of a 3-4 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle raisins, olives, and hardboiled eggs over the beef, then layer the chicken on top.
7. Spread the corn mixture over the top of the casserole so that it covers the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle the powdered sugar on top.
8. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the corn mixture is golden brown.
9. Serve warm.

Rayuela – a Traditional Chilean Game

We went out to the “campo” or out in the country on Monday, the last day of the 4 day holiday for the Bicentennial. We had fun hiking and flying kites and eating. This is another things we did while we were there. We played the game called Rayuela. Rayuela or tejo is a typical traditional game of rural Chile that has been played since colonial times. The game of Rayuela most resembles the game of horse shoes. There is another game called rayuela played by Chilean children which is really just hopscotch. However, the traditional Chilean rayuela is very different from this childhood version.The objective is to throw your tejo, a disk or marker like a rock or a coin, so that it lands on the target.

The target is a wooden box less than a square meter in size and about a board’s width high. This box is filled with mud and a taut, white string is stretched across the surface in the middle. A player will stand a designated distance from the box and throw the tejo trying to get it to land on the string. The most points are awarded to the player who lands closest to the string or on top of it.

Dad was really good at this game. Must have been all that practice with horseshoes!