Yesterday everyone asked if I was going to do something special for my birthday. I said I am going to sit by the pool and do absolutely nothing for a few hours and it was so nice. In a half a year I will be in Alaska and after that Antarctica, thus I am destined to soak up as much sun juice while I can in paradise before journeying to the Ice again.
I can never get enough of taking pics of palm trees.
The thinking tree. 
Baby dinosaur. 
You can kayak from island to island, no problema. 
How much is it to buy that island? 
Palm trees :) 
Swimming pool. 
I have about 6 cooks under my wing. Some know how to cook local dishes, while some are better at cleaning. My challenge this week is to organize and clean the entire kitchen, then organize the staff force a bit more. Where is a camera crew when you need it. 
Oh geeze, teaching Onnie how to make blueberry muffins. We will work on organization later... welcome to Panama. If I am successful, I will have a breakfast staff to cook good breakfasts, so I can sleep in :) I haven't been able to sleep in since I left Antarctica in November. If the Chef gets to sleep in the dinners will be even more tasty. 
Let's start with a sweet and sour chicken salad. 
Taco salad. 
Fresh red snapper tacos and fried yucca with sour cream.
Meat lover's pizza with chorizo, bacon and sausage. I have a fetish for stuffed crusts, so every pizza I make will have something in the crusts.. could be cheese.. could be olives.. or maybe something even better like a bunch of bacon. Did I just give one of my secrets away?
Pineapple and lobster pizza. Brie in the crusts. 
FIRE!
A holistic Panamanian dish. 
Roasted red snapper stuffed with salsa fresca, coconut rice, roasted squash and toasted plantains. 
Filet mignon, potato and yambi puree, rosemary gravy, steamed beans and brocolli.
My famous Thai chicken curry, rice and lentils, roasted squash, salsa fresca, carmelized orange and homemade naan.
Honey glazed pork chop, poutine, chipotle corn and black bean blend, mixed roasted veg. I am practicing presentations and my first stop along the way is using up all the local fruits and veggies to roast, present and make sauces with. Reductions, reductions, reductions. Coconut cream goes a long way in making a spicy habanero sauce with reduced rum and pineapple somewhat sweet and not so spicy. 
Creole chicken stir fry. 
Candy Cody's famous peanut butter truffles. I derived this recipe from the Ohio buckeye candy recipe, but got lazy and just dipped the entire peanut butter fudge ball into island chocolate and rolled in it nuts. 
Sopapillas and ice cream. Simple and sweet. 