Day 716: Peace Corps Service - Composting Organics in Panama

Training a community member how to compost is one of the more important things Peace Corps Volunteers in Panama can do in their site hands down. Why? Everyday Panama is loosing soil fertility due to traditional agricultural practices such as slash and burn, ally cropping, and hillside farming. Most farmers here in Panama do not have the capacity or knowledge to manage and improve their soil, thus, they leave behind massive plots of land that are severely weathered (erosion due to water and wind) and unusable. The consequences of these actions are far reaching; from desertification (the Azuero Peninsula in Panama is a perfect example), natural disasters (flooding), and extinction of animals due to habitat loss.

Farmers learn about slow composting in Panama.

In Panama where 80% of campesinos (rural people, directly translates as peasants) are farmers or work in an area related to farming, what will happen if most of the land here is unfit for agriculture? You can make a difference one person at a time! Training a farmer how to compost is the first step because composting is not only a fertilizer, it is, in reality, TOP SOIL (with the exception of liquid composting)! When you compost, you are imitating the natural process of building and maintaining soil fertility.

These two paragraphs are the opening to "Composting Basics in Panama" a nine page document. It teaches volunteers three different ways (quick, slow and worm) to compost and gives the advantages and disadvantages of each way and how to teach the method to Panamanians.

Our compost pile in Panama is next to the kitchen.

Composting isn't something that is just for Panama. You could replace Panama with Iowa or any other state and it would still be one of the most important things to teach about soil conservation. Not only is compost great for soil concervation, but it also keeps organic waste out of landfills.

The internet and home and garden stores sell lots of compost bins, specific mix recipes and books of philosophies for how to compost. In the end if you put all your organic garbage in a pile outside, it will decompose. It is the nature of organics. All the books, recipes and plastic bins just help things move along faster. So there really is no excuse, if you have a spot of land to put a compost, get started. If you are a volunteer in Panama, email me or the SAS APCD and ask for the "Basic Composting in Panama" booklet.

Fried Green Plantains (Patacones) Recipe

Plantains, like bananas, grow wild in Panama, although many farmers also cultivate them. They are a cheap source of starch and make appearance in many traditional dishes. The most common way to eat them is as patacones.

Emberá women prepare patacones. Photo from Cooking in Panama

My Panamanian host dad ate patacones (fried green plantains) for breakfast every morning with an egg sunny side up. He would dip his patacones in the soft egg yolk and wash the whole thing down with chocolisto, an instant chocolate milk type drink.

In Panama City you will often find patacones served as a side to fried fish or sandwiches.

Patacones taste similar to French fries and like French fries they are commonly served with catsup.

Patacones

Green Plantains (about 1.5 per person)
Salt
Oil (preferably palm or peanut)

1. Peel a green plantain and cut into 1.5 inch cylinders. The sap from the peel is sticky and will stain clothing so try not to get it all over yourself.
     
2. Fry the plantains in a pot of hot oil until golden brown. The oil should be about half the depth of the plantain pieces. Flip them over to cook evenly.
     
3. Remove the plantains from the oil and put them on a plate. Squash the cylinder with the bottom of a cup or bottle to make little disks about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick.
     
4. Put the squashed plantains back into the oil for a second frying. Flip them over after a minute. To know when a platacone is done tap it with spoon it should sound hallow.
     
5. Remove the patacones from the oil and drain on a plate.
    
6. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot.

I am working on writing up how to cook some of the classic Panamanian dishes. Food is very much a part of culture. If you want your own little slice of Panama try some of the recipes here Recipes from Panama.

Fry Bread (Hojaldres) Recipe

Fry bread, called hojaldres, are a classic breakfast food in Panama. They remind me of plain funnel cake or savory donuts. You will usually see them sold at fondas (locally owned roadside restaurants) with a saucy meat like pollo guisado (chicken in herb sauce). Or sometimes by a guy pushing a cart. Hojaldres are also commonly sold at Bingo parties or sporting events for between 10-15 cents each.

Street vendor in Panama City sells coffee and hojaldres. Photo from Cooking in Panama

The key to good hojaldres is to strech the dough as far as possible without ripping it as you drop it into the oil.

Hojaldras

1/2 pound flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup warm water
1 egg
1 teaspoon sugar
Dash of salt
1 tablespoon oil
Oil for frying

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Then add the egg and water. Mix well. The dough should be a little sticky.
    
2. Flour a flat surface. Drop the dough on the surface. Knead until it forms a smooth ball.
    
3. Place a tablespoon of oil in a clean bowl. Put the dough in the bowl. Roll the dough to cover it with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let stand for 1 hour.
    
4. Heat the oil in the frying pan. Pull off 2-inch pieces of dough. Stretch each piece as you drop it into the oil. Deep fry until lightly golden. Drain on a paper towel.

 

I am working on writing up how to cook some of the classic Panamanian dishes. Food is very much a part of culture. If you want your own little slice of Panama try some of the recipes here Recipes from Panama.

Panamanian Potato Salad (Ensalada de Papas) Recipe

Ensalada de Papas (Potato Salad) in Panama is a beautiful pink color because they throw in a beet. Don't let this discourage you from trying it. The beet adds more color than flavor. This is a very common party food. Often served as a side to Arroz con Pollo (Rice with Chicken) for birthday dinners.

This little Latina has finish Arroz con Pollo and Ensalada de Papas. Photo from Cooking in Panama

The women generally get together the morning of the party and cook the food together. The boiling is done in a deep metal pot over a cook fire.

Panamanian Pink Potato Salad (Ensalada de Papas)

4 potatoes
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 onion
1 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 clove garlic
1 beet
1 egg
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Start by boiling the potatoes in a large pot. When they are close to half cooked add the beet and carrot. Then add the egg to the pot for the last 10 minutes.
    
2. Meanwhile, chop and dice the celery, parsley, onion, and garlic.
    
3. Drain the potato pot. You should now have tender potatoes, a tender beet, carrot and a hard boiled egg.
    
4. Peel, dice the beet and carrot. Chop the egg. It is a little counter intuitive to us Americans, to boil and then do the chopping and peeling. However, that is the custom in Panama.
    
5. Mix the egg, celery, parsley, onion, garlic, mayonnaise and mustard in a deep bowl.
    
6. Then add everything else and mix just enough to coat the vegetables with the mayonnaise.
    
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Pink potato salad can be served warm or cold. Generally there aren't refrigerators in the country side of Panama so it is served warm. This recipe should serve 4-5 people.

I am working on writing up how to cook some of the classic Panamanian dishes. Food is very much a part of culture. If you want your own little slice of Panama try some of the recipes here Recipes from Panama.

Panamanian Chicken with Rice (Arroz Con Pollo) Recipe

Arroz con pollo (chicken fried rice) is a typical party food in Panama. It is generally served for birthdays and holidays with ensalada de papas (pink potato salad). It is often cooked over a fagón (cookfire) in a large piala (round bottomed pot). There are as many ways to make this dish as there are women in Panama, so this is just a basic recipe.

 

Emberá children wait in line to get their Arroz con Pollo. Photo from Cooking in Panama

This is a huge batch, enough for a party.

Arroz Con Pollo

2 chicken breasts, with bone and skin
3 cups chicken stock or broth
4 culantro leaves (substitue cilantro if you can't find culantro)
1 little envelope of achiote (seeds that give a yellow color to food)
1 sweet red pepper diced
1 cup green peas
2 pounds rice dry
1 small jar of green olives
1 small jar of capers
1 medium onion diced
4 cloves of garlic diced
4 bay leaves
salt to taste
vegetable oil for frying
2 tablespoons tomato paste

1. In a large pot boil the water, chicken, achiote and half of the onion.
    
2. Remove chicken when it is cooked through and the meat is not pink. Save the broth.
    
3. Then tear the meat off the bones and into bits. Set the meat aside.
    
4. Fry the rice in oil with the remainder of the onion, pepper, bay leaves and garlic. Then add the broth, adding additional water if there isn't enough to cover the rice by about an inch. Cover and cook until the rice is done.
    
5. In another pot mix the chicken bits with the tomato paste, olives, capers, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover
    
6. and cook over low heat to bring the flavors together. Add a little water if needed.
    
7. To the rice add the chicken sauce and peas. Cover and cook 5 minutes to heat through.

 

I am working on writing up how to cook some of the classic Panamanian dishes. Food is very much a part of culture. If you want your own little slice of Panama try some of the recipes here Recipes from Panama.

Visiting Bogota, Colombia

We have returned from Bogota, Colombia and we didn't get kidnapped. It actually felt really safe. There were security guards everywhere. Including this guy and his fellow guards in front of the presidential building.

De Bogota, Colombia

For more photos click here.