Batidos - yet another way to love a shake!

I recently returned from a trip to Panama.

We stayed at Tranquillo Bay," an eco adventure lodge," on an island on the Caribbean side of the country off of Bocas Del Toro. Two American families built and own the place and take care of you every second of the day. They have intelligent, friendly and very enjoyable guides (biologists doing something with their time in the turtle off season) that take you on excursions to explore the surroundings. I have included some pics so that you can get a feel for my time in the jungle!

The food that we had at the resort was for the most part familiar, Salads, curry and chicken rice, salsa and chips, doritos, cookies etc... We were busy in the sun all day and only ate when breakfast lunch or dinner was served. Because of this every meal felt very fortifying. I really felt like I was eating because I needed to it refuel, replenish. We did have a few things that really gave a nod to where we were. We had an appetizer made of plantains, cuban rum and one night we had fish that was from the pacific side of the country. We learned from our host that this is because the Panamanian fishermen on the Caribbean side don't ice their fish but the fishermen on the Pacific side do.

The best thing for me was the Batidos! I had one every morning that I was there. Basically it is a fruit shake (so, no surprise that it was my favorite thing). Fresh fruit is blended with ice, milk, and a sprinkle of sugar and that's it! I had watermelon on most days but they also had cantaloupe, pineapple and banana to choose from. This could be done with any fruits - Mangos, papayas, strawberries. Anything.

I am pretty sure that I have never looked forward to watermelon season more than right now.
The summer of Batidos? Time will tell...

Oysters for always.

Last winter I read M.F.K. Fisher's seductive description of her first oyster at her all girl's boarding school Christmas party. I wished that I was excited by oysters so that I could appreciate the passage better.

Next it was oysters at Neptune for KH's birthday in March. Of course I couldn't meet her until after the oysters eaten and I missed the chance. I didn't think of anything of it then, having never had an oyster.

In June, we went to the third Franklin and at KH's urging I got an oyster with her and SEM, not wanting to be outdone or boring. My first oyster was exciting and fresh and unusual and perfect as I was dying for the weather to be hot enough to go body surfing in some Atlantic waves.

By mid July SEM and I had orchestrated a culinary camping trip (all the money was for the food) to Portland, Maine with JP and TM. The point was Fore Street (hopefully I will go again this winter and I will write about it - especially because it may have been the best meal of the season). Our reservations were for very late. We needed something to do in the mean time. JB had ordered oysters before I even realized it. Another mollusk down the hatch. I loved it but still didn't understand it.

Late in July GMA and I found ourselves on a beach in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, listening to a novel being read aloud by SEM whose protagonist was the best oyster shucker in her family's Whistable Oyster house. We were completely clueless to the fact that we were in WELLFLEET reading about the famous WHISTABLE oysters! In our fog about it all we didn't look for any. We just enjoyed the seals and whales we swam with.

In August SEM ate oysters in Oslo!



Later in my favorite month I had friends in from out of town and they wanted a good food treat on a Monday night. Perfect! We went back to Rialto and had a beautiful plate of 12 oysters on the half shell with four different and refreshing toppings. This was the first time I had more than one in a row. Each one a little rush.

October brought SEM to New Orleans, another town famous for the oyster, but had no time to squeeze a taste of them in. Ah, the good and bad of a business trip...She did find this postcard. At least this time she knew where she was in relation to a good oyster.

Last weekend an impromptu dinner at Rendezvous in central square with GMA and SEM led me to my most recent oysters. They were the highlight of the meal and from Wellfleet. This renewed my newly established longing for them.

I want to know what I missed at Neptune last spring. I want to experience B&G Oysters. I want more oysters. I want the thrill of each one.


Norway and Franklin oyster were photographed by sem.

Living off the Norwegian Land (Part 2: Fisk!)

One of the most invigorating parts of my vacation was when I went fishing. I strapped a knife to my belt, put on a life vest and headed to the boat. SEM knew what she was doing and GA and I were ready to learn. We put the oars in the water and once we had a good pace we put in the otter trawler.

The otter is this little plank of wood with a long fishing line with 10 hooks and flies coming off of it. The line is connected to a piece of metal that pivots backs and forth so that it can change directions. As long as someone keeps rowing it looks like there are 10 flies dancing across the water. Irresistible. We made loops between the two island in the lake hoping something would bite. Sure enough, one did.

GA was holding the line and it started to pull. I was rowing at the time and to keep the fish on the line it didn't matter where I took us as long as I kept moving and avoided running ashore. SEM winded it slowly back in, being sure not to slice her hand with one of the other hooks. GA scooped it up with a net and brought into the boat. Finally, we had it! SEM took it off the hook, squeezed hard and clubbed it with an old wooden mallet designed just for this (sorry, there is no other way to describe what happened).

The otter went back in, GA guided it, I rowed and SEM pulled in the fish. After two more catches I was ready to change roles. I pulled in a fish of my own, unhooked it and then killed it.

We caught a total of 6 trout that day. After we anchored our little row boat and tied it to the dock I learned how to clean them too. Sem carefully and craftily showed me how to gut the fish. I slid the knife on my belt out of its sheath, cut the fish open and emptied it out.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this whole excursion. I felt a little squeamish and bad at the though of deceiving and killing something. But, the more I thought about it, I felt that I needed to do it. I needed to be a part of the whole (mild water) hunting process and know how it feels.

It took three of us to catch one fish. We were tired and had worked hard and for hours. I felt truly powerful. I had to use the power of my arms, stomach and legs to keep us going in the rowboat. I almost squeezed a fish to death because I didn't want to screw up when I clubbed it. I slit the fish open and made it ready to eat. I helped feed my friends. We didn't need any middle men. It was SEM, GA and I that took care of it on this day.

(To be historically accurate I should note that we had a second excursion that day to catch our 6th and final fish. JB helped to bring this one in.)


Below are a few very short clips of demonstrations the start of cleaning a fish and taking the skin of in order to eat it (please note KH having her way with the fish behind SEM's slow speed demo.)

Eating off the Norwegian Land: (Part 1: the Berry Edition)

These days eating directly from the earth usually means visiting a farm with a "pick-your-own" crop; shopping at the farmers market or growing a few vegetables as experiments in the backyard, or on the deck in pots or a little patch of well fertilized dirt. This is a glorious and satisfying way to get my food, but, never before have I just been able to feel like the casual roaming reindeer eating what the land provided for me!

One of the most magical parts of the second half of my vacation was the time that I spent in a cabin in rural Norway. Just up from a glacial fed lake that provided the drinking, washing, and swimming water, the cabin was our cozy home for 6 days.

There were two things that covered the ground: Blueberry bushes and reindeer moss. Luckily we were there at the height of the blueberry season. (Reindeer moss is actually a slow growing lichen that has a misty green hue that makes everything look enchanted.)

We had blueberries for breakfast. We put blueberries in our cocktails. We made blueberry galettes and blueberry crumble. We ate blueberries on the way to the lake. We ate blue berries on the way to the outhouse. And never did I feel like I had too many!

On our last day we took a long, dramatic and beautiful hike. Like good Norwegians we had chocolate bars with us for energy and morale. However, there was nothing better to keep me going than the occasional mountain raspberry that we found along the way. It is hard to tell, but here GA is picking one.

Bright pink-red berries peeked out of bushes on the sides of mountain cliffs. They may be the sweetest, softest berries I have eaten.

Oh, Norway, I’ll eat your berries anytime!