Sugar Cane

Sugar Cane Juice is one of the most refreshing natural juices I love to drink and more on this over 80F degrees days.  I remember visiting a Bangkok Golden last week and Chef Seng asking one of the waitresses to bring a round of Sugar Cane juice for the table.

I visit this restaurant weekly but besides hot tea or a Beer Lao, I usually never order any drinks because of bad experiences in other places, I’m very picky about my natural juices so I never end up enjoying them unless truly they are fresh. Anyways, I was hesitant at first and then the pretty glasses arrived and with my first sip there came a big smile as well, it tasted just as when back in home at my family’s farm back home.

This really brought back old memories, summer time playing with my brothers and cousins, running around, getting the Canes and passing through the Trapiche, that looks more like this: Old School Trapiche with a horse squeezing the cane through the pieces of wood in the middle, the horse would go around pushing it and the juice would go straight inside a huge container, sometimes I would get the already squeeze cane and just chew for minutes trying to get more juice out of it.

I should write a whole post about Sugar Cane and Raspadura, I promise for the next time!

Sugar Cane Machine

This machine to squeeze the Sugar Cane juice is the one Chef Seng uses at Bangkok Golden Restaurant, really it can’t get fresher than this!

Instead of using simple syrup on your cocktails I highly suggest replacing it with this nectar and if you get the chance like my friend Caitlin said, add a stick of sugar cane on that drink and no shame chewing on it!

¡a comer!

A very hectic way to start my day, we had to wake up very early, left home without breakfast but brought snacks with me at least and my sweet folks got me a water bottle to take along with me.  I also left home without my wallet but it was a good thing to have my Dad nearby; he brought me some cash so I am not penniless the whole day.

Arriving to the Hotel El Panama (where the festival is taking place), I am so excited to see everything set up already, I take a seat on the first row and there it was Chef Elena apologizing for the event starting passed the scheduled time.

Chef Collins started the Conference, explaining the “tomate de arbol” and how his family brought this and “naranjilla” from Ecuador, I got so excited to hear this that after the conference I requested him his email so I can obtain more information on this and I can write an article about it, he promised he will tell me the story.

He made a dessert of Tomate de Arbol, cooked them in water, sugar and lemon juice.  Used this juice to make a shot with vodka, and also blended the tomatoes to make a sauce.  Baked some sort of Baklava but a thinner version and cut them in very long triangles as you can see on the picture.  Then he made foam with the goat cheese and milk.

I wish Avi Barak’s presentation wouldn’t have been cancelled.  Maybe next year we will hear from his tropical flavors.

El Chicheme from Chef Melissa was a really informative segment, she shared with us a documentary she made on bollos and tamales in Chorrera, where the Chicharron Bollo was the star (a bollo is a dough made of cooked “old corn” that has butter and some seasonings, the chicharron is pork fried skin, it was chopped and mixed along with the dough).

Little details such as we wrap our tamales in Panama with Banana leaves and then Bijao leaves, you should not use aluminum paper, etc, where taken by the audience with a lot of enthusiasm.  She recommended to wrap the bollo in a Palma Real leaf, and after her presentation everyone went almost running to the Stand outside the conference where the lady who was in the documentary was actually selling those bollos, my parents loved it, me I didn’t try them, I had more ceviche that night!

Las Curbitaceas de André Lestienne, Pastry chef at the Club Union.  one of the thing I remember the most of his piece was the comment on how Zapayo came from Egypt, from there this Chef really surprised me that with the little time he has been here (I think less than 2 years), he has worked so much with tropical fruits, and really fell in love with them, I actually asked him about his favorite vegetables or fruits and he mentioned the “Chayote” I was in shock, he said it is almost like a pear, and I tought and remembered we usually use it for salads and that is it!  Now I wish I bought the marmalade he was selling at his stand.

(correction, the Chef Lestienne has lived in Panama for 12 years and he is the Executive Chef at the Club Union, apologies Chef! =)

Chef Elena (organizer of this event) and Chef Luis Young, these two Chef brought the Cocina del Barrio to Panama Gastronomica. I believe Cocina del Barrio translation could be “Ghetto Food” or something like that.  The food that comes out of a necessity to cover expenses, which is very interesting since my grandma has already mentioned me in the past how the days she didn’t have a penny in her pocket, she would ask for corn and work on empanadas and tortillas to sell, because she had to.

Chef Elena presented a video on Rio Abajo’s Saus (pickled pig’s trotters), and Chorrillo’s fried fish, though she explained El Chorrillo was a very dangerous area so she went to a different place to get the video shot.  They were both very traditional and I liked the touch of garlic the lady added to the Saus on the video, on the other hand I felt the fried fish was a different one than the classic one offered in El Chorrillo, still it looked delicious.

Chef Luis did a deconstruction of both dishes, Sous-Vide technique for both and on the picture I hope you can see the different way he composed his dish.  They looked interesting, I am sure because of the technique the flavors were amazing, though I am still not sure if I want my Saus boneless!

Another big fan of Chef Jose Andres, this was Chef Alvaro Perrino from El Bodegon, he may be the first Chef that I know who will have a tasting room in Panama, and it really breaks my heart I won’t be here by the time he opens it.  His theme “Nuestras Tapas” was a new take on classic tapas, without falling in the classic deconstruction he went with inspiration and smaller portions with cuter presentations, on the picture you will see how he served both gazpachos on test tubes, the Gamba (shrimp) was serve in a stick, the Tortilla Española was served in a shot and he also made potato chips explaning how when in his childhood in Spain he and his friends would go running after football to buy these chips, it was a fun presentation.

Everyone knew Chef Pedro was running a little behind nobody cared when he started his presentation it was that fun and hilarious!  Before his segment I was so tired but once he started talking it was better than a Capuccino with 4 shots of espresso.  He explained how he is self taught, how he doesn’t care about rules, he is just a rebel and I loved every bit of it.  I had so much fun I couldn’t take picture of his dishes, they were a risotto and a paella.

The last presentation, by the Chilean Chef Guillermo Rodriguez. He mentioned so many good things, how we have to work with what he have already, how when we travel abroad we should always share some of our beautiful and tasty gastronomy.  He took 2 traditional Chilean dishes who aftewards would never look again like comfort food.

Overall on the first day of this event.

I know I am quite late uploading this post, and I still have 3 days of the event to cover, but for now I can say that I won’t think too much about it and just enjoy the time until I get all my posts up.

All the pics are without name. if you have any questions sent me an email at littleladycook@gmail.com

¡a comer!

I love to read the Deep Dish section and imagine I can travel to all these cities and visit new restaurants and the restaurants that have had Chef changes. Also visit a place right before it closes and assist to the unveiling of a new one, I guess I day dream a lot sometimes wishing my last name was “Reichl”.

The ads on this magazine also bother me a little, but if I compare the 6 dollars I paid for this magazine in comparison with “Gastronomica” that is almost $14 I shouldn’t complain.

One of my favorite segments is the “Whisk around the world”.  This time Julie Mautner takes me to cities and countries I really want to visit someday: Puerto Rico, St. Martin, Antigua, Sardinia, Barcelona and New Zealand.

Of course the events section is amazing, for example I wish I could go to the Boston Seafood Show, but maybe one day I will be able to pick just anything from this magazine, get a ticket and go.

The drink arts is my least favorite section I am a very simple person perhaps and when it comes to drinks vodka, lime and ice is fine, the rest is extra. However, Kara Newman presents a drink by “Merino” names “Rose Angel” that looks just like the perfect drink for this hot/humid Spring day, the drink has strawberries, cucumber, vodka, basil and then the fancy ones arrive, black Hawaiian lava salt, St. Germain Elderflower queen, yes sure of course I have some of that in my pantry.

Yes for the magazines options on January and February I would have bought it.

Basics – Cada domingo preparo caldo de pollo.  Reservo una mitad en el congelador y la otra en el refrigerador.  Es increíble cómo este caldo le da un tono de sabor a las sopas, salsas y arroces.  Sé que debí haber cortado los vegetales más pequeños y así el contacto de los mismos con el agua aumentan el sabor, pero bueno, Thomas Keller, prometo hacerlo la próxima vez.

Siempre que hago caldo de pollo, hago sopa.  En una olla diferente sancocho yuca y a montones, para hacer diferentes platos en la semana, y el resto la congelo.  Yo soy adicta a la yuca, y así mismo como mi Papi no puede comerse solo un mango, o solo una naranja, yo tampoco solo puedo cocinar yuca para la sopa, así que sancocho un montón.

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Cooking Basics – Every Sunday I make Chicken Stock.  I save some in the freezer and some in the fridge.  It’s amazing how this stock adds more flavor into soups, sauces and rice dishes.  I should have chopped these vegetables smaller so the contact with the water is bigger and achieve more taste.  But oh well Thomas Keller I promise will do next time.

Every time I make chicken stock, I also make soup.  In a different pot I boil yuca, and I boil i separately because I cook yuca for several dishes, and even freeze it sometimes.  I am addicted to yuca, just as my dad he can’t just eat one mango, or just one orange, I can’t cook just yuca for the soup, I boil pounds of it.

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Mientras se hace la sopa, robo un trozo de yuca y le unto mantequilla con una rebanada de queso amarillo o queso blanco, con otros quesos también saben deli, pero estos dos quesos me llevan a mi infancia, mi mamá no era muy arriesgada comprando quesos y por lo general son más caros.

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Every time I make chicken stock I cook soup and boil yuca in a different pot, I boil pounds of yuca and I make several dishes during the week, and freeze the rest.  While I’m finishing the soup I grab a piece of yuca, spread butter and eat it with a slice of american cheese or queso fresco, of course with other cheese it tastes deli, but mom didn’t use to try new things (especially cheese), besides other cheeses are more expensive.

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Esto es parte de lo que compré en el supermercado para la semana.  Compré la leche y huevos en Whole Foods, el resto de las provisiones las obtuve del Glebe Market, no solo porque venden frutas, vegetales y carnes que no encuentro en Whole Foods, sino que también es mucho más económico.

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This is part of this week’s grocery shopping.  I bought milk and eggs at Whole Foods and the rest at Glebe Market, not just because there are some vegetables, fruits and meat I can’t find at Whole Foods, but it is also way cheaper.

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Esto es lo que usualmente tengo en la despensa leche evaporada y condensada, pasta de tomate, algunos frijoles, raspadura, pasas, nueces, etc.  Además de diferentes tipos de arroz y fideos.

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This is what I usually carry in my pantry evaporated & condensed milk, tomato paste, raspadura (panela or raw cane sugar), raisins, nuts, etc. Plus different types of rice and noodles.