Coffee Recipe Roundup

Boquete Gourmet is writing and compiling recipes for the first “BOQUETE GOURMET COMMUNITY COOKBOOK”, to be available this June. The developing and collecting of interesting, useful, local recipes has begun. I’m “rounding-up” the best recipes available for this new cookbook and I need your help.

It is hoped that the book will bring about a greater understanding and appreciation of the natural resources available in Boquete, Panama, including fine coffee, bountiful foods and lives full of plenty. The air is cool and clean here, the water is pure and plentiful, the soil is rich, and the views are incredible. The lushness is seen everywhere you look.

Many residents have shared their historic recipes, new-comers have added ‘nouveau’ recipes brought with them for all over the world, local restaurants have contributed, and several Boquete charities have entered recipes that have a special meaning to them. This will be a very collectible cookbook, a unique group of recipes folks will want to use regularly. This is a “sneak preview” of a superb drawing by artist David Necker, which will be used on the title page of the book.

Boquete produces some of the finest, if not THE finest coffees in the world. This is a photo of some of our coffee beans we just finished roasting. I love the dark color and the aroma is amazing. We have a few coffee trees on our property and it’s fun to have fresh coffee available year round

Because Boquete is known for growing fine coffee, one chapter in my cookbook will contain recipes using coffee as the main ingredient. So, I am “rounding-up” original recipes that use coffee in the title or that relate to coffee in a major way.

If you know of such a recipe and would like to share it with our readers, please forward it to me at boquetegourmet@gmail.com, along with your full name and contact information. I will send you a reply as soon as possible and let you know the status of your recipe.

Thanks for your thoughts, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Cora

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Murals of Boquete #1

For several years, I lived in Lake Placid, Florida, a town a little smaller than Boquete, Panama, where I now live.  Lake Placid  is as famous for growing beautiful caladiums as Boquete is for growing the world’s finest coffee.  Lake Placid is even more famous for their unique murals displayed on walls throughout the town.

One day it hit me – - -  Boquete displays some of the most beautiful murals I have ever seen, some as lovely as those in Lake Placid or anywhere else in the world.

Murals have become so popular that you can buy them ready-made to install on any wall, inside or outside. 
Modern murals are a means of communication, to show a political view, a business product or just a beautiful scene or piece of artwork.  Styles vary from abstract, like David is painting on the right, or tromp-l’oeil, “trick the eye” styles like the mural at the top, found at the Streit Estate in Potrerillos.

The Sabroson Restaurante displays a mural of their Executive Chef above the door. If you haven’t seen it, please check it out.

Ancient murals show how people lived, like those found in Egyptian tombs that were painted more than 3,000 BC.   A good example of that style is shown on the historic mural in the Bistro Boquete, below.

Children love to paint murals. At the entrance of the Josefa Montero de Vasquez School, near El Constuctor, students painted a mural of Boquete and surrounding mountains, including the school’s mascot on the right edge, the brightly-colored Resplendent Quetzal. Does such an art project promote school spirit and a sense of belonging?

There are so many murals in Boquete, I will need to continue with several articles on this subject. Keep checking this site for information on how murals are painted, and you’ll see some unusual sights in Boquete that many visitors miss.

Boquete could become as famous for its murals as it is for growing the finest coffee in the world!

If you have seen a mural I may not know about, please tell me and I’ll include it in a future blog.