Monthly Archives: July 2016

Amusing, Belize, Philosophy

Swaying Bamboo Technique.

Giant.Green.BambooWe have had heavy rains and we are surrounded by a sea of water, the Jacinto River is up and there are flood signs everywhere.  The river floods onto our road every year and it looks like this occurrence is imminent.  In addition to all this, the truck is behaving dodgy (oh how technical of me!) and the two tonne front gate is still done broke.  In other words we are on forced house arrest!

There was a downpour lastnight so we couldn’t even get anything done on the farm.  I was so frustrated and said to Gnome today:

“Aaaaaargh…the weather refuses to cooperate!  Everything is conspiring against us!”

Munchkin Sick and Feeling Sorry for Herself!

Gnome replied with an enigmatic smile:

“My dear, we must sway like the bamboo…learn to bend like the limbs of the bamboo…be flexible!” 

Gnome.Another.Look.GreenIn response to this, I lifted my arms up in the air and flailed them from side to side.  Testily I said,

“Is that it???!!!  I don’t feel any better!!”

Munchkin.Another.Funny.ShotGnome:

“No dear you are not doing it right…you need to smile while you are swaying.”

This the Gnome-Style Swaying Bamboo Technique.

Amusing, Belize, Food

Funny Mango Story!!

1 Comment

Together.Pointing

A couple of weeks ago, when we were in the height of mango season, we chanced across somebody on the street selling huge bags of these black mangoes.  They are hairy, very juicy and loved by Belizeans.  When you eat these, you are expected to eat about 10 to 20 in one sitting because they are so delicious and very messy to eat; no point in dribbling mango juice down your front and elbows for less.

Black Mangoes.
Black Mangoes.

Anyway, a while later, we met a friend and hailed him down.  We grabbed a couple of these mangoes, that we had bought, and presented them to him as a gift.

Unexpectedly, he gave us a sideways suspicious look and he said cautiously,

“Where did you get these from?”

Before we had time to answer he said,

“Did you get them for a drunk Spanish guy?”

We nodded our heads in unison…in our heads we were thinking…yeah the guy kinda couldn’t walk in a straight line and had slurred speech!

Together.Talking.Horses

The friend picked a mango and scrutinized it,

“These are my mangoes!!  That guy is selling my mangoes!!”

Then he suddenly stopped and laughed, realised the humour of the whole situation and said,

“Ha-Ha!!  You guys are giving me back my own mangoes!!  No, no take them!!  I have plenty at home!!”

We all had a good laugh about it and then we drove back home to feast on the black mangoes…guilt-free!!

Amusing, Belize, Food

It's Mushroom Time…

Munchkin.Back.View

With the heavy rains in July, we have had lots of wild mushrooms popping up on the farm.  The Stinkhorn otherwise known as bamboo pith or bamboo fungus (Phallus indusiatus) has been  a common one for us.  These are edible and we are perfectly happy to eat them.  I say this because I have seen strange looks from Non-Asian people who look too frightened to try this epicurean delight.

These mushrooms start off as an egg-shaped structure, commonly known as “Witches’ Eggs.”

Stinkhorn Egg.
Stinkhorn Egg.

You can pick them at this stage to eat; once cooked, they have a gooey texture.  They are alright (not great) if you are feeling adventurous…best pan-fried with onions and garlic.

Asian people eat the mushrooms at this stage when they become erect and rather phallic looking.  In the Asian Market, they are cultivated and sold dehydrated.

Stinkhorn.
Stinkhorn.
Stinkhorn.
Stinkhorn.

You can stir-fry them and put them in stews and soups.  Go on then…do something different today and find some of these lovely specimens in Toledo and cook them up for dinner!!  They are supposed to be an aphrodisiac!

Amusing, Belize, Construction, Farming

Still stuck!

Munchkin.Puffed.Face

Interesting that we are still stuck on the farm but for other reasons this time.  About a week ago, half the gate fell over; it’s a really heavy gate made from sturdy hardwood but unfortunately the post has been destroyed by termites.  We didn’t see this happening because the termites had cleverly burrowed into the wood and were digesting the wood from the inside…on the outside it looked perfectly normal.

The gates can be moved with brute Gnome strength and so any trip out entails the moving of a tonne of wood back and forth.

So we have had to think seriously about taking trips out of the farm…basically no joy rides or “…let’s go out and get something quickly.”

The Gate.
The Gate.

So the other day, just in good humour, I said to Gnome:

“Darling, we have run out of sugar to put in our tea.”

Munchkin.Funny.Look.Yet.Another

Gnome replied rather facetiously with,
“Well, would you like me to move a 2 tonne gate and run out to get a cup of sugar for you, my dear!”

Gnome.Face

The Trials of Munchkin and Gnome Continue….

Belize, Food, Plants

Thank-you Mango Tree!

Our Mangoes.
Our Mangoes.

We had the pleasure of our first bearing mango tree this year and it was wonderful!  We ate mangoes non-stop for 4 weeks!!  This type of mango, that we have on our farm is the smooth, hairless (sans fibre) kind with a taste reminiscent of syrupy canned peaches.

Mangoes.
Mangoes.
Mangoes On Tree.
Mangoes On Tree.

We enjoyed our last big bowl of mangoes today.  For a treat, we drizzled Lemongrass Elixir to give it extra oomph!!

Boozy Mangoes:

Mangoes.
Mangoes.

A Big Thank you to our Mango Tree!!

Amusing, Food

Hello Again!!

Together.on.Couch

It is really had to start back on writing the Blog after this hiatus; it is actually easier to write everyday as you get into the rhythm of writing.  Oh well, let’s try again!!

It’s been raining almost everyday so we have had to resort to indoor activities.  We managed to get a new hand-cranked pasta maker that is a lot sturdier than the last one.  The last one was a disaster for USD $25.00; it was a Made In China piece of evil terribleness which didn’t survive past the first crank!

“Evil Terribleness!!”

Yum.Yum.Gnome

We’ve been experimenting with all sorts of wonderful and exotic ingredients including cacao butter, chocolate, banana flour and miso with great results.  Here are few pictures to show what we have managed to crank.  Thank goodness this machine is still going past the 20th crank (yay!!).  Gnome said,

“Well.  It’s because this one is made in Italy of course!”

Gnome.with.Staff

Pasta Noodle Making:

Miso Noodles.
Miso Noodles.
Fresh Chocolate Pasta Noodles.
Fresh Chocolate Pasta Noodles.
No.3 Miso Noodles.
No.3 Miso Noodles.
Banana Flour Noodles.
Banana Flour Noodles.

Cooked Home-Made noodles Chinese Style:

Cooked Noodles.
Cooked Noodles.

What a delight to have a machine that actually works.  This means a lot when you are in a Belize because there is no Amazon 24 hour delivery…if we need anything from overseas, it is usually a 3 to 6 month wait!  This one was worth the wait…

Amusing, Belize

Update.

We haven’t been writing lately because the Internet has been on and off with the bad storms.  Right now, it is on but I don’t know for how long so I will take this opportunity to write.

It has been absolutely pouring down and in the daytime, we have been wading about in ankle-deep puddles!  Needless to say that no one work can be done outside!  It is mostly raining at night  and early morning…I will remember to mark July on my calendar as “wet, wet, wet!!” to remind myself of this every year.  Otherwise, I will get frustrated and feel that I can’t get any work done…

Munchkin.Froggie.Jumping

Wise words from Gnome (whilst staring out of the window at gigantic puddles and grey skies for the last week):

“Hmmm…July is a time for contemplation.”

Gnome.Looking.Pensive

Munchkin replies with,

“What is there to think about?!!”

Munchkin.Bossie

Belize

We're Stuck!!

Together.Talking.HorsesAlas the saga continues…you can’t get away from truck problems especially when  you live down a dirt road.  We’ve been having car problems on and off for a few weeks  with the clutch sticking.  At the beginning, it was so infrequent, Gnome was able to hook it back up with his foot.  On Friday, we had a fine run-around in Punta Gorda seeing patients and that was the day of all days (of course  😉 ) for the things to get worse.

The clutch ended up stuck down for good!  Arrrgh!!!  We managed to pull over safely and the ever reliable Gnome managed to improvise by attaching a rope to the clutch to hoist it up.

That was indeed the last straw but we had one more thing to do; drop off stuff at Belcampo Lodge.  We both pictured the steep hill (30 degree incline) and we stared aghast at each other!  Imagine the clutch failing on that hill!!  Luckily I phoned Belcampo and they very kindly came to pick up the stuff.  Phew!!

We managed to get home without a hitch and we did all the sensible things like lubricate the clutch pedal and check hydraulic fluid levels; Gnome-brain is postulating leaking master cylinder seals (whatever that means) which he can’t do anything about.

We’re stuck at home right now!!

To all our friends from the United States, Happy Independence Day!  I never realised it until now but we never celebrated it in the UK!!   🙂