It’s hot in Coronado, Panama. And due to quarantine, no restaurants have been open for dine-in service for five months. I’ve relied mostly on some variation of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but thought I’d share a few pretty tasty recipes that I’ve made that are quick and easy.

I did get take-out from a restaurant once, but I have a bit of a slow and bumpy drive back to the house which somehow made the food less crisp, less hot and generally just less yummy. My one delight was to find that Pizzaria Artesanal was open on a day I’d taken a drive into my beloved mountains. I ordered a jamon and champignon (ham and mushroom) pizza with fresh garlic and basil.

I sipped, well, more like gulped, a mouth-awakening cappuccino while waiting for the pizza. Breathing in the aroma of the garlic mingling with the fresh warm air was the best aromatherapy.

I managed to eat on piece in a civilized manner at the table while I paid. But once in the privacy of my car, I devoured the other slices while navigating the curves in the road back to the InterAmericana Highway. That’s one nice thing about living in a smaller populated community even before quarantine restrictions - no traffic (weekends are a whole other story).

The recipes I’m sharing are things I kind of made up on the spot with ingredients that I had on hand. I’ve tried to give accurate measurements, but when I made these meals, it was just too much effort to measure stuff.

Pan Seared Salmon with Thai Red Curry Coconut Sauce with Pineapple

Ingredients:

1 piece of salmon filet

1 tsp. Thai red curry paste

1 cup coconut milk (the kind in a can)

chopped garlic and ginger (3 tsp total)

1 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. Bragg’s aminos (Tamari or Soy sauce)

splash of rice vinegar (I had regular white vinegar, was fine)

chopped pineapple (to your liking - I used a lot)

coconut oil for searing the salmon

Method:

Heat the pan, add oil, place salmon skin down (cover with splatter guard)

Mix coconut milk, brown sugar, Bragg’s aminos, rice vinegar in a small dish

Saute’ the salmon for a nice sear on the skin, let it almost fully cook

Turn salmon over, add the tsp. of red curry to the bit of oil left in the pan - stir, then add the garlic and ginger (don’t fear the high heat)

When the red curry is fragrant, turn down the heat, add the bowl of coconut milk ingredients (it will bubble) and stir

Add the pineapple pieces to mix in and heat up

Enjoy!

Serve with jasmine rice or sauteed spinach or on a bed of torn spinach leaves. This was good with black quinoa and I’ve enjoyed it with some sliced fresh mango on the side.

Easy Sesame Noodles with cucumber and cilantro

Ingredients:

Chow Mein Noodles (8 oz)

2 tbsp. Bragg’s Amino (Tamari or Soy sauce)

1 tbsp. rice vinegar (I had regular white vinegar, it was fine)

2 tbsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp. smooth peanut butter

1 tbsp. chili paste

1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar

finely chopped garlic and ginger (around 3-4 tsp)

Cilantro - chopped (1/4 cup) I love cilantro

Cucumber - chopped in small pieces (skinned, de-seeded) 1 cup

Method:

Cook chow mein noodles according to package

Mix all ingredients except cilantro and cucumber

Drain noodles.

Toss noodles with sauce. Add cilantro and cucumber and any other ingredients you’d like.

I did not have green onion, sesame seeds or peanuts but those would be a great addition. Recipes online call for a combination of light and dark soy sauce for the flavor to be more nuanced. I find with Bragg’s Aminos the flavor was balanced. I usually add in a bit more sesame oil. Some people add in Tahini paste, but I didn’t have any.

This is delicious warm or cold!

Time on your hands and you’re tired of scrolling the doom and gloom? Why not sign up for a Masterclass! Using my affiliate link doesn’t cost anything extra and it’s a great way to support my website, writing and content production. Thank you!

Banana and molasses smoothie

Omg this is delicious!!!

The secret ingredient to this smoothie is the local molasses that you buy from a roadside produce stand. The bottle has no label and the flavor is nothing like the processed molasses in the grocery stores. This is due to the massive amount of sugar cane that grows here in Panama. That said, if you only have processed molasses, I’d use it sparingly and use the dark or light, not blackstrap.

Ingredients:

Almond/coconut milk

1 banana

1 tbsp. cocoa powder

pour to taste of molasses

I use a single serve smoothie blender, so I can’t give exact measurements. To me, this tastes like a malted milkshake. Best made when the almond milk is cold. It’s incredibly refreshing and filling! Molasses has some decent health benefits. It has minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper and potassium. Vitamin content includes some of the B vitamins and molasses is good for reducing stress - just what we need right now.

Apple, ginger and mint smoothie

This is a great smoothie for first thing in the morning. It’s not too thick and it’s quite refreshing. Sometimes I add a few dashes of cinnamon and do less ginger.

Ingredients:

Coconut milk (the carton kind, not canned)

bunch of mint

ginger

1 apple, cut up

Blend away and enjoy!