The Cooking Diva Blog: Original Tropical Creations by Chef Melissa De Leon

Struck by Lightening & My 10 Favorite Foods

In the premises of preparing my contribution post to the "You are what you eat food Meme: My 10 favorite foods" I have been thinking about the foods I always have in my home kitchen. Which ingredients have secured a deluxe setting in my pantry, my refrigerator and freezer? Oh well, that was a good question, even more now during the holiday season.

Then, it was raining and I got struck by lightening!!! (in the metaphoric way of course), or I better say: I experienced an intense momentum of "Gourmet Divine Enlightenment". I know, it sounds like the beginning of a new church, but at this point believe me it is NOT!

So, one after the other...images of the foods I love more than others began one of the most unique parades I have ever seen:

First came the Chili peppers: The nerve endings of my taste buds were declared clinically dead during the years I lived in beautiful Mexico. This happened shortly after I self proclaimed myself as the "chili head queen" resident. It took a lot to find the perfect chili blend. Then, a few days ago when we visited "Brisas de los Lagos", Dr. Velasquez warned me about a few "dangerous" bushes they have in the property. "Dangerous?", I asked shocked. They look just like "chile piquin" to me. He said "Yes, BUT this kind is not from Mexico. This is a rare variety that is originally from Nicaragua and there is not one person, not even the most experienced chile eater from Mexico who would eat one of this diminutive and fiery little devils".

Fearing the upcoming, my taste buds begged me not to do such a thing: they tried all kind of tricks from the new edition of the "taste buds tricks for dummies, advanced course", to prevent me from trying the deadly new specimen of the "chile piquin". None of the tricks worked. I ate one. It was hot. It was really really really hot. The heat invaded my tongue and esophagus for about 10 minutes. My taste buds were resuscitated after all. And we are happy to inform we will be researching about this chiles, planting lots of them to experiment in the kitchen. If you are interested to try them, email me at cookingdiva@gmail.com

Then came the milk: totally raw and proud, dancing and singing: "the milk of human kindness is not pasteurized!". In total Ecstasy my taste buds jumped with happiness, imagining they tasted that special "no-cook real milk ice cream in a pineapple" they adore. Ah, and all that butter and cream,...all those cheeses! "No doubt this is heaven," they commented one another.

Please salute the nuts: the cashews and almonds show up. Organic and raw, ready to grind real fine and prepare the most unique and delicious cakes, butters and desserts. The marzipan, never shy, took her favorite seat and lady-like adorned the most beautiful princess cake. Have you tasted the "Orange-Almond Pound Cake with Uchuva Sauce"?. If not..., what are you waiting for???

Just when I started to wonder about them, all the Fish & Seafood arrived fresh from the market. The same market that was built by the Japanese very close to where I live. Lucky me. I love them raw or in ceviche, which is a traditional appetizer and party food in Panama. We have such an abundance of marvelous super fresh fish, seafood, vegetables, fruits and the always growing tendency of fusion cuisine finds interesting ways to transform this traditional, all time favorite dish into a delicate or adventurous trip to the tropics. Are you ready for that?

The delicious and fresh meat had to show up undercover. They didn't have a choice and had to dress up like a vegetable!. It’s confusing—not to mention frustrating—that so many “experts” on nutrition pretend that animal food doesn’t exist. Just what do people have against meat? It’s a great source of protein, fat, Folic Acid and cholesterol (which your body needs to survive). Without any doubt, Beef Carpaccio is a beloved dish for Us.

Roasted in olive oil, the garlic arrived! There is nothing better than a fresh roasted head of garlic with a still-warm loaf of French bread. And I say loaf, because when you start it would be very difficult to stop!

The use of garlic is just about as old as man himself. And the herb's medicinal properties have been known for about as long. If you look through the ancient stories from just about any part of the world, you will find garlic mentioned as a curative and tonic, able to help solve minor medical conditions and a few major ones as well. Take a look at my latest article on garlic to get more useful information and fantastic ideas to prepare this precious food.

The "alligator pear" scared the hell out of many that didn't know he is also known as "avocado"! But, everything came back to normal when some guacamole was served among the presents. He also, like the greeny pro everyone claims he is, presented a masterpiece recipe to prepare "Avocado & Coconut Butter", a delicious and aromatic pre-shampoo hair mask. It helps promote healthy hair growth, sealing the split ends.

Who needs and expensive trip to the spa, when you can have one of the best and freshest products, and made by you...of course! This gator is really GOOD!

And last for the night, the coconut involved us again with a very intelligent document "Nuts about Coconuts", which actually is his presentation card! Later he shared a tantalizing recipe to prepare: Coconut Meringue Pie. I didn't say a word. After all, coconut is the tree which gives all that is necessary for living!

This is the end. More will come later!

Thank you dear PAZ, and Kevin for inviting me to participate in this FUN meme!

From our kitchen with love: Happy Holidays to you and all your family and friends. HUGS!

Chef Melissa

Tags: garlic, meat, cookingdiva, chef, panama, ceviche

Read Chef Melissa's articles at SPERO NEWS

UPDATE!!!: I have invited Esther from FoodMall.org, Michelle from the Accidental Scientist , Obachan, and SaoMai from Cocinalia to continue this MeMe! Let's see what their favorite foods are! :)

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by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · December 11, 2005 · 09:29 PM
Permalink · Comments (14) · TrackBack (1) · Categories: Food Blog Events · General · MeMe

hi, great post! btw, thanks for allowing me to discover your wonderful blog...

Comment by: Joycelyn • Dec 11, 2005 9:55:20 PM

What a wonderful list. I say, "Yes!" to each food you've listed. Those chili peppers sound very interesting and they look very nice and innocent in the photos. ;-) LOL! I like the name aligator pear. Thanks for participating in the meme!

Besos,
Paz

Comment by: Paz • Dec 12, 2005 1:44:21 AM

"Alligator pear!" What a nice name! :D To tell you the truth, I've never tried avocado until I was over 25 years old. Now I love them so much, but (maybe I told you this before?) they're expensive and it's hard to find good, ripe ones around here.

Comment by: obachan • Dec 12, 2005 2:05:29 AM

Very interesting! Now, we know almost all about you, dear Melissa!

Comment by: Elvira • Dec 12, 2005 6:55:20 AM

Melissa,let me tell you ...I am super impressed with your blog and its layout.Excellent.Neatly done.
Your meme post is very interesting and with regard the red chillis..I love spicy food alright..but to try those fiery little 'innocent looking' chillis..I would think twice about trying them.
Btw,thanks for stopping by my blog.I have added you to my blogroll..:)

Comment by: Sailaja • Dec 12, 2005 9:26:36 AM

JOYCELYN: Thank you for your visit! As I have mentioned in your blog, I love the quality and beauty of your photos. Every dish looks exquisite!

PAZ: You are welcome! Thank you for inviting me. By the way,...I think I have found a group of people to tag! I'll keep you posted. Hugs :)

OBACHAN: I am glad you like avocados! How much $$$ do they cost there? At the farmers market and supermarkets here in Panama you can get domestic avocado from $0.25 cents per unit. BUT sometimes we are lucky to have friends or relative that have avocado trees and they give it away. What a yummy gift :)

ELVIRA: I still have a few surprises :) Hugs my dear friend!

SAILAJA: Thank you for your visit. I'll be happy to send you some seeds of this killer chile if you want :)

Comment by: Melissa • Dec 12, 2005 10:24:40 AM

Hmmm sounds like fun. i wanna try..... I love spicy. If it ain't spicy than I don't want it. Hey I got a great recipe for a salad dressing using jalepenos, cilantro, lime juice, kosher salt, and green onions.. You want it?

Tanisha

Comment by: Tanisha • Dec 12, 2005 12:27:57 PM

I forgot olive oil!!

Comment by: Tanisha • Dec 12, 2005 12:28:33 PM

Can't believe you forgot the olive oil? Tanisha, it sounds great---please send by e-mail. I am preparing a post with some recipes our readers have sent. Hugs and thanks!

Comment by: Melissa • Dec 12, 2005 12:37:00 PM

I am with you on the garlic, nuts, and avocado. I have recently discovered (in addition to olive oil) the power of pumpkin. That is my new favorite versatile food to use in baking.

Comment by: Running2Ks • Dec 12, 2005 12:40:55 PM

Oh yes, pumpkin is great: the seeds and the oil are delicious for cooking and baking. I have prepared some really delicious vegan dishes with pumpkin seed. Will add it to my list of recipes to post. Thanks!

Comment by: Melissa • Dec 12, 2005 9:19:04 PM

Yup! I could not live without garlic:) Most of my favorite foods include anything with garlic and/or cheese:)
Oh...and fried plantain! And the Panamanian corn meal tortillas my mom makes! Yum! Time to eat!

Comment by: Yovanna • Dec 13, 2005 10:44:44 PM

I would like some seeds of this chile. Doing a search there really isnt much available powder out there...unless you know of some?

Great site!!

Comment by: Wade • Apr 4, 2007 1:45:57 PM

Hello

Looks good! Very useful, good stuff. Good resources here. Thanks much!

Bye

Comment by: rofovnifo • Jul 3, 2007 3:00:26 AM

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