Murals of Boquete #4

The San Bartolo religious murals were painted in northern Guatemala about 300BC and they are the earliest known murals in Central America. You can see one of them on Wikipedia. There were no records of this form of artwork in Panama until recently.

The themes found in Boquete seem to portray daily life, outdoor beauty and love of country.

One of the most recent murals in Boquete is found a block from the main street. It is entitled “Nuestra Flora and Fauna Son Vida Protegelas”. This impressive mural is on a side wall of the entrance of the Vasquez School, near El Constructor. It was completed this year by artist Edgar Castillo G.. It depicts our respect for the plant and animal life within our Boquete environment.

Do deer live in or near Boquete? I never thought so.

On the main street of Boquete, and just inside the front door of Sabroson Restaurant is a beautiful historic “Pitti” mural.

This is a wide landscape showing Boquete many years ago. The detail is amazing and by looking closely at it, we can appreciate how our little Boquete has developed over the past decades.

The mural shows most of the main street lined with trees and fields.  I can’t see a bridge across the river anywhere. It probably wasn’t necessary because there was only farmland on the other side of the river.

The next mural is one of the most difficult to photograph. It’s easily seen from the main road leading into Boquete, on the left in front of the high school The problem was that every time I tried photograph it, a car was parked blocking most of the mural.

Finally on a Sunday, I made a special trip to get a photo of this very detailed and colorful mural. It depicts a large, waving Panamanian flag, the Panama Canal and the birds and people of this beautiful country.

If you are lucky, you will be able to see the entire mural as you drive by the high school. You may need to pull into the parking spaces to fully enjoy its beauty.

There are many more murals to be included in this series of articles about Boquete murals. One of the most intricate, fun and professionally painted murals will lead off “Murals of Boquete #5″, coming up next week. You won’t want to miss it.

Nuts for Bananas, Bananas and Nuts!

What do you do when you have so many bananas you don’t know what to do with them? This big stalk is only one of many that are ripening this month on our property in Boquete, Panama.  Our guests can only eat 8 or 10 bananas per day and everyone who comes to visit gets a bunch for their parting gift. There are over 100 bananas on this one stalk alone.  Banana Daiquiris are good, but how many can we drink?

Maybe making a Banana Cake with a Channel of Walnuts would be a good use for some of our bananas.  My favorite cookbook is written by New Zealand cook, Alison Holst, “The Ultimate Collection”.  Alison always has creative ideas for using fresh fruits and she has a couple of banana recipes that look really good.  Her banana cake recipe is perfect for using up my bananas, and I’ll add a walnut-filled channel to it, kind of like the Panama Canal.

This is how I made it:

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees and line a ring-shaped cake pan with baking paper or spray with Pam.
Process in your food processor until smooth:
4 ripe bananas
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk in a separate bowl:
1 1/2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Chop 1 cup walnuts or pecans.

Add the flour mixture to your processor and pulse until barely combined. It’s OK if not fully blended, because you can stir it a bit as you fill your prepared ring pan. Using a large spoon, press the middle of the batter to make a dent and while holding the spoon down in the batter, fill the dent with nuts. Continue dragging the spoon around the ring and filling the indentation with nuts as you go. The nuts fill a channel inside the cake and become the surprising highlight of your cake after it’s baked.  Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool and invert on a lovely cake plate, dust with powdered sugar, slice and serve to your delighted guests.

Now – - let’s get back to the Banana Daiquiris, we still have lots of bananas leftover.

To make the perfect daiquiri, use your drink blender.
Blend 1 cup crushed ice
2 shots favorite rum
1 shot lime juice
1 rounded tablespoon sugar
1 peeled banana
Blend 10 seconds and serve in a champagne glass and top with a cherry!
Keep those bananas coming!