[News Boquete] Where do I start? How about real Cinnamon!!

Can you believe it’s already been a month since we’ve spoken.  We have lots to catch up on. Let me start this month’s newsletter with a little Panama tip.  Did you know that there were 2 types of cinnamon.  There’s the dark brown cinnamon that you find in most grocery stores.  This is what we call “fake” cinnamon or cassia.  The outer appearance is thick and hard with a very harsh aroma.  Then there’s “real” cinnamon (AKA Ceylon Cinnamon).  This true cinnamon has a lighter brown appearance and the cinnamon bark breaks apart easily.  It also resembles rolled cigars when in a bundle. The aroma of Ceylon cinnamon is delicate with a sweet taste with a hint of fruity citrus notes.  What’s even better are the health benefit of “true” cinnamon: * *Blood Sugar Management:* It improves insulin sensitivity and helps lower blood sugar levels, making it beneficial for diabetes or prediabetes management. * *Low Coumarin (Safe for Liver):* Unlike Cassia cinnamon, which can cause liver damage in high doses, Ceylon cinnamon contains negligible amounts of coumarin. * *High Antioxidants:* Rich in antioxidants like proanthocyanidins, it reduces oxidative stress and inflammation. * *Heart Health:* Studies suggest it can help reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol/triglycerides. * *Anti-inflammatory & Antimicrobial:* It helps fight inflammation and may protect against infections. * *Potential Brain/Cognitive Support:* Some studies suggest it may aid cognitive function, memory, and reduce brain fog Ceylon cinnamon used to be pretty tricky to get but the Asian market in David called Eternity Asian Market is now offering Ceylon Cinnamon in the stick form.  To make cinnamon powder just stick the sticks in your blender in blend into a fine powder.  Below are a few pictures of what you will be looking for but if you ask Mario (the owner) or his wife they can point you in the right direction.  If you are not familiar with where this market is at here is a Google Maps pin of their store: https://share.google/q2q5ryrVKjLmRS1ng ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We’re very excited to announce that we’ve officially completed Phase 1 of our “Experience” project!  Pictures soon to follow.. The dragon fruit orchard is ready for substrate and planting, the brook is complete, and the waterfalls are in place (now we’re just waiting on the rain 😅). Next up, we’ll be breaking ground on the foundation for the facility. Speaking of dragon fruit—this past weekend we had a truly magnificent showing from a variety called /Queen Daenerys/. Her bloom was an absolute spectacle. In a recent newsletter, I mentioned that in about 30 days we’d be able to try her fruit—rumored to be one of the most delicious in the world. Well, as fate would have it, I recently spoke with Larry and Kat Clayton (fellow local dragon fruit farmers), and learned they’re now coming to the Thursday Market in Boquete with their exotic Dragon Fruit varieties—including /Queen Daenerys/. Looks like I’ll be tasting the Queen of the Dragons this week 😁!! So, if you’re a fan of dragon fruit (or just curious), make your way to the Thursday Market, find Larry or Kat, and tell them Eric said hi! They’re bringing varieties that Panama has never seen before and it’s a real treat!! By the way, most people are only familiar with the standard red- and white-fleshed dragon fruit. If I had to rank the flavor of those store-bought versions on a scale of 1–10, I’d give them a 1 or 2. Think grocery store tomatoes vs. organic heirloom tomatoes—the store-bought ones are usually picked too early and lack sweetness and complexity. The exotic hybrids that Larry and Kat offer? They’ll absolutely blow your mind—and might completely change the way you think about dragon fruit 🤣 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you’re new in town, I’d like to personally welcome you to Boquete. My name is Eric, and along with my family, we own 2 Guys & A Cooler. For the past 15 years, we’ve dedicated our lives to producing high-quality prepared meals—meals that are generous in portion, convenient, affordable, and best of all, delicious. These four qualities are the foundation of our operation and what our customers love most about our service. I’ve never been a huge fan of self-promotion, so if you haven’t heard of us yet, I invite you to ask around. There’s a good chance your friends or neighbors are already customers and would be happy to share their experience. In a nutshell, our service revolves around a dynamic, ever-changing menu with lots of options. We know not everyone likes the same things, so we mix it up each week. We cook with a wide range of proteins (at least the ones I can get here—still trying to track down some venison 😅), and we offer vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, low-sodium, spicy, mild, and everything in between. We also love exploring flavors from around the world—Thai, French, Cajun, Mexican, Russian, Italian… you name it. Our family of five are true food lovers who not only enjoy eating but have a genuine passion for creating. We typically send out our newsletter on Saturdays, and then on Sunday and Monday we deliver all the orders—and when I say “we,” I mean I personally deliver every single one. To see our menu, just click the link at the bottom of this newsletter to explore our weekly offerings—and be sure to bookmark the page so you can visit it often! If you’re into cheesecakes, you’ll definitely want to save my site—I’m obsessed with this dessert!! Coconut, blueberry, dulce de leche, white chocolate raspberry, dragon fruit, s’mores, chocolate mocha, peppermint bark… those are just a few of the flavors I’ve made so far—and I’m just getting started. Matter of fact, all this talk about cheesecake has me thinking… maybe I’ll put them on the upcoming menu 👀 Be on the lookout! Our 15-year anniversary of serving the Chiriqui Highlands our prepared meals is right around the corner, and last year we started something new and fun that I’d love to turn into an ongoing tradition. In the month of June, we selected four charities and donated 10% of everything we sold to those organizations. This year, we’d love to do the same thing again—and this is where you come in. Do you have a favorite charity you’d like us to consider this year? If so, please reply to this message and let us know about it. I can’t wait to hear your suggestions! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Let’s talk food. This week, I was craving something meaty, juicy, and smoky… so I made *smoked burgers!!* Our smoked beef patties are the foundation for your perfect burger masterpiece. Whether you prefer a simple burger with just meat and cheese, or you like it loaded with all the fixings, our 6 oz smoked burger patty takes the hard work out of it. I slow-smoke each patty in our commercial smoker for about an hour using a combination of oak, hickory, and cherry wood. Then we finish them to a perfect medium-rare with a beautiful kiss of fire on our ceramic grills. From there, the patties are blast-frozen to lock in all that flavor. All you have to do is heat and eat. The directions on the package let you adjust the doneness to your liking—medium-rare, medium, or well done. I personally love mine medium-rare and couldn’t resist making one and snapping a photo so you can see it for yourself. If you are handy in the kitchen and you would like to make these burgers yourself here is a video I made on my YouTube channel explaining the entire process.  I even share the exact recipe with all the secrets. https://youtu.be/IG7JNjrV2v4 If you make them let me know how they came out!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Next up we have *Mexican OVERSTUFFED Chicken Burrito*s.  I love this dinner as it is loaded with ingredients and literally bursting with flavor.  We start with Extra Large flour tortillas and begin by layering our house crafted refried beans.  Next up we add sauteed onions and bell peppers, black olives, Spanish rice, tender and juicy chicken white meat, our 4-cheese blend (Asadero, Queso Quesadilla, Monterrey Jack, & Cheddar), and finish it off with our home-made Mexican Salsa Picante. Each burrito weighs close to 1.5 pounds and will easily feed 1-2 adults. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Speaking of Mexican food, I couldn’t resist myself this week so I had to make our *Huevos estillo Ranchero* for the menu.  This was a dish my Abuelita in Monterrey MX (y mi mama) would make for us 5 mornings out of the week.  Mor me it’s breakfast comfort food.  Our version is a bit more elevated than how mom would make it and I think you are going to love it.  We start with sumptuous eggs.  This is a style of cooked eggs that turns out a very moist and fluffy egg.  We mix our sumptuous eggs with sauteed bell peppers, jalapenos, a little cilantro, onion, garlic, and tomatoes.  The end result is a beautiful Ranch Style Egg dish that is generally served with corn tortillas.  Works great as an authentic Mexican breakfast, lunch, or dinner. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Last week I was made to promise that I would make *Roasted Pumpkin and Sage smothered Cheese Ravioli* again.  Well, this week it’s available.  Lightly seasoned roasted pumpkin and ground sage are mixed with butter, milk, and cream to form a delicate sauce that really compliments the flavor of the cheese ravioli.  We’ve garnished the dish with a touch of toasted almonds to boot.  Just heat and eat.  This meal can feed 1-2 adults. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Have you had our *Meatball Sub yet*? We first introduced this sandwich to our “Sandwich Line” last year, and it immediately became a smash hit. The concept is pretty simple: it’s a “sandwich kit,” which means you get everything you need to make this incredible sandwich at home. Inside, you’ll find a bag of pan-fried, fully cooked meatballs in our Parmesan marinara sauce, a bag of mozzarella cheese, and a hoagie bun (from Sugar & Spice). Just toast your bun, heat up the meatballs and sauce, assemble, and voilà! An amazing sandwich, prepared fresh in the comfort of your home—without all the fuss. And don’t forget, our sandwich line also includes the Philly Cheesesteak, Italian Beef Sandwich, and our Sloppy Joes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Deconstructed Cordon Bleu*could be gracing your dinner table this week… and honestly, what’s not to love about Cordon Bleu? Lightly seasoned chicken, rolled with Swiss cheese and smoked ham, then battered and fried—yes, please! Our version has all the same elements, but presented in a deconstructed style (think lasagna). We did this because we wanted to get more food on the plate for you to enjoy—and wow, did we deliver. This dish is huge and will satiate even the most voracious appetites. We’re talking nearly two pounds of food. It includes fried chicken, Swiss cheese, smoked ham, and a rich, creamy béchamel with grated smoked Gouda melted into it (technically called a Mornay sauce). We’ve packaged the sauce separately to make sure your meal stays perfect—freezing it together would make the chicken soggy, and nobody wants that. All you have to do is heat the Cordon Bleu, warm the sauce (just follow the packet instructions), and pour it over your meal when you’re ready to eat. Simple—and seriously delicious. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We’ve got *sausage* this week! Chandler put together a beautiful assortment of our mild, medium, and spicy breakfast sausages. He also made a chicken and apple breakfast sausage that’s a wonderful change of pace for all you sausage eaters. Last week, I made a large batch of our specialty sausages, thinking I’d have plenty to feature here—but as of now, the Texas hot links, cheddar jalapeño sausage, German bratwurst, Polish kielbasa, and Andouille are completely sold out. Yeah… I can’t believe it either. We’ll be adding more soon, so if you want to be the first to know when they’re back, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter (it goes out every Saturday). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I wanted to add more pictures but apparently, I am restricted to a specific file size when I send these emails 🤣 WOW—this email got out of hand quickly! As you can probably tell, we’re very passionate about food, and we absolutely love cooking for you. Thank you for taking the time to read this as I personally take the time to write every one of our newsletters (NO AI GENERATED CONTENT), and it truly means a lot that you’re here with us. *If you are not currently subscribed to our newsletter, be sure to click the link below to stay up to date with the lates news from our kitchen and get updates regarding Boquete’s newest “Experience”. * *Weekly Email Sign Up Form <http://eepurl.com/hNmPdz>* ** *2 Guys & A Cooler – We Cook, So You Don’t Have To (doshombrespanama.com) <https://doshombrespanama.com/>* *Panama Food Club — where you’ll always get more for less.* * * *It is always an honor and pleasure to serve you.* *Eric, Cecelia, Chandler, Keira, Aidan* -- ___________________________________________________________________ The above message was distributed by /News Boquete/, a free subscription-based community service. /News Boquete/'s _*ONLY*_ public email address is news.boquete@gmail.com. For more info and use policy, visit https://www.dropbox.com/s/24y1vz2vae9iaen/News_Boquete_Policy.pdf?dl=0. *If replying to this message, reply *_ONLY_* to the *_ORIGINATOR_* (typically your email's 'Reply To' function works; do not use 'Reply All').* To stop receiving these emails, send a message to news.boquete@gmail.com with the word /_unsubscribe_/ in the subject line or body of the message. © 2005-2026, /News Boquete/. All rights reserved. Public redistribution strictly prohibited without prior written permission.