All posts by Munchkin

Yummies From Singapore!

March 21, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Eating.Bun Oooooh! We got a whole load of goodies from Singapore. It always feels like Christmas when we open up the box and let all the lovely South-East Asian jars, bottles and silver-foiled packets roll out. We really miss Real Chinese food!!

This was a Chinese New Year pack and so we received various celebration food including mini prawn samosas and almond cookies. Oh, and there was a nice packet of TimTams (chocolate covered biscuit that is great dipped in tea). If you are from the UK, it’s like a classier version of the Penguin biscuit.

Many Thanks to our Sinagapore connection for the wonderful gifts. I even got a jar of Penang curry powder…can’t wait to try it with my coconut curry!

Amusing, Belize, Construction

Lining Up The Bananas For The Iguana Rains!

March 20, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.with.Umbrella We’ve been working all weekend to get our new gutters up to catch the rains tomorrow.

AccuWeather have forecasted rains for Monday and Tuesday. Metaphorically speaking, we were lining up “bananas” because, if you are familiar with Belizean construction, nothing is straight. Gnome used a laser level (yes, ha-ha…what a joke!) to line up the gutters but discovered that he had to strip it back down because the roof was not straight. After much sweating and roof gymnastics, he lined the gutters against the line of the roof which ended up having a slight downward angle to the right anyway. This is actually quite amusing because the downward spout used to point towards the left! That’s why the gutter leaked in so many places!

So, Gnome had to climb on the roof and perform all manner of gymnastics to get the gutters up…

At one point he said,

“It’s scary up here!!”

It's Scary Up On The Roof! — It’s Scary Up On The Roof!

And I replied,

“Yeah, it’s scary looking up at you!”

All the hard work has been done…now we just have to wait to see if it actually rains! This rain which usually occurs once during the dry season is known locally as the “Iguana Rains” because it is supposed to soften the ground for iguanas to lay their eggs.

Go on then…time to lay eggs!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food

No Such Thing As Easy…

March 18, 2016 Munchkin

Together.Pointing It has been soooo hot and dry lately…as they say here in Belize, “The heat punish me.” The other morning, Gnome left the house and said that he was going to mow around the farm. He was gone for a fair bit and I didn’t hear the motor starting so I went to look for him. Well, he certainly wasn’t mowing because the cat had nicely settled down for the day!

I did finally find him with the fruit picker getting some sapodillas down. It was only 8am and we were both sweating profusely. I looked at him all hot and bothered and I said,

“Let’s do something easier today!”

And so we picked a basket of pigeon pea together and podded them. We thought it would be easier!!

Podding this amount took two hours!! Pea Sheller Jr (handmade in the USA) doesn’t work…we tried! We have to do it by hand:

Each pea you see represents one drop of sweat!! This one is definitely not for sale. It beats mowing in the dry season but not by far!!

Amusing, Belize, Our Products, Philosophy, Soap

Zazen Soap!!

March 16, 2016 Munchkin

Together.Sea.of.Tranquility So what’s our latest tout…or clout? Not only do we have Zazen duckies but we have Zazen soap! I have noticed that at some point, when we have done enough hours of an activity (Yes that 10000 hours thing), it evolves into an art. The other day, we had a moment of clarity whilst mixing up soap; we realised that by clearing our head of the internal dialogue (you know…the usual blah blah blah voice in your head) the soap mixes perfectly with no hitches. In contrast to this, when we are feeling chaotic, we get early thickening of the mixture and lumpy bits so that the soap has to be poured in haste. There you go…The Zen of Soap making by Munchkin and Gnome!!

Look at this soap…it is smooth and silky like custard:

Stacks of Chocolate Vanilla Cookie Soap. “Right Thought, Right Action” Soap!!

…better than maximal velocity soap. You can’t get better than Zazen!

Belize, Food, Our Products

It’s Curry Night!!

March 15, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Another.Eating.Shot Tonight we have a Bengali style curry. Thank-you Rumpa for the priceless cooking lessons back in the good old days in Glasgow. This curry has our own coconut cream (which you can purchase at Green Supaul’s in Punta Gorda).

I love cooking up curries because the wonderful aromatic herbs pervade through the house. This is when the dogs and the cat start sniffing around because it smells so delicious! Even the cat gets curry sauce on his gizzard!

Herbs and Spices used; cardamom, star anise, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and bay leaves.

Plate.of.Spices

Powdered spices used; curry powder, yellow ginger (tumeric), green chili (home-made), cinnamon and clove.

Ooooh…look at this. A “quick” curry in 2 hours (most other curries take about 12 hours!) with fresh coconut cream!

Check out the recipe for Coconut Cream Chicken Curry in Belize Wild Recipes. Mmmmm…yum!!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Medical Related, Our Products, Pets

Lime-Sulphur Pet Dip At The Farm Store!

March 14, 2016 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!!! We have the wonderful smell of brimstone pervading through our house since Gnome has made up a fresh batch of Lime-Sulphur Pet Dip for The Farm Store. Ahhh…like the Catholic Gnome that he is he feels spiritually cleansed and renewed with the richly aromatic vapours of sulphur!

The High Velocity Cleansing Power of Sulphur.

So, get your Lime-Sulphur Pet Dip at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda. Guaranteed to work regardless of religion of pet.

Ask Brian at The Farm Store. Use it for the treatment of Mange, Fleas, Ticks and Ringworm. If you can’t remember the cumbersome long name of the product, just ask for “Presidente.” You’ll know why if you look at at our cheap budget packaging.

Belize, Farming, Food

Look What The Wee Wee Ants Are Doing!

March 10, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Bossie Can you believe what the wee wee ants are doing on our farm? We have one soursop tree here and the ants are systematically peeling the skins off the fruit. They leave the fruit whole and intact like this…you have to catch them before they go splattt!!

Here are some that I have rescued with a few holes on them. Look closely and you will see the ants crawling all over them.

I have written about these ants before but just in case you missed it here is a brief recap:

These leaf cutter ants (wee wee ants) usually form mounds above ground which lead down to their underground cities. I call them “cities” because these nests can grow to 100 ft (30m) across with smaller radiating mounds growing to about 260ft (80m) and can house eight million ants. Amazing!!

They cultivate a fungus by feeding it with fresh cut plant material (ie. all our lovely plants and trees). Furthermore, these ants carry a bacterium which protects the fungi from pests and molds. This is a really nice symbiotic relationship…sometimes you wish that us humans could form a better mutualistic relatiionship with the planet in the same way as these ants! The fungus is used to feed the ant larvae.

We have tried all sorts of ways to get rid of them and alas, have even resorted to ritualistic practice, dancing, singing and talking (nicely) to them. None of it works!! What to do…

Belize, Farming, Food, Our Products

Coconut Cream For Sale!

March 9, 2016 Munchkin 2 Comments

Munchkin.Shouting Hello Everyone!! We went into Punta Gorda today to deliver a fresh batch of coconut cream to Green Supaul’s. Just in case you are wondering, we make it by grating the coconut:

Next, we add some hot water to the grated coconut and squeeze the liquid out. The liquid is then left to sit for some time to allow the cream to separate and come up to the top (the coconut milk is at the bottom). The cream is skimmed off and sold in these bags. One coconut cream bag (about 4oz) is equivalent to one coconut.

This is fresh, organic, vegetarian, gluten-free, locally produced and politically correct in every way! 😉

!Sabor Natural! Ja-Ja!! 😉

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Everything Is Blooming!

March 8, 2016 Munchkin 2 Comments

New.Munchkin.Gnome.Yellow.Boots Hello There!! More farm pictures for you all to see and the promise of wonderful exotic fruit in the next few months. The mango trees are blooming all over Toledo so it looks like it will be another wonderful “stuff-your-face-with-mango-season” this year. Our running joke on the farm is that we never started planting mango until a few years ago…which was pretty silly of us since it is our favourite fruit! Anyway, we have our first blooming mango tree!!

We have three jackfruit trees flowering this year…they should grow into giant sized monsters and we will have a bumper crop in July.

The cashews are starting too. By the way, we noticed that we have mountains to the south side which block a few hours of morning sunlight and so our trees flower about a month later than others in Toledo.

These are our cinnamon trees looking very formidable at one year. Also there is a tall ylang-ylang tree in the middle with a lemon tree to the right. I wanted to sneak this picture in to show you how good we have been at keeping the grass down this year! Ooooh…look at that!

Belize, Elixirs, Our Products

More Apothecary Pictures.

March 7, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Kimono.Table I have updated The Apothecary section of our Website and finally (it has been more than a year) put in the following pictures:

This is our Body Salt Scrub range available in lemongrass, lavender, passionflower and ylang-ylang scents. The scents are all made from plant extracts or essential oils.

Here is the Foot Spa Range which is also available in the same scents. These foot soaks are ideal for soothing tired or swollen feet or used as a natural anti-fungus (Athlete’s Foot) remedy. Or you could just use it as a relaxing treat!

Last but not least, here is a picture of our Chocolate Velvet range which is available in original, orange, mint and all-spice flavours:

All labels are designed by Gnome, printed out here in the middle of the bush and pasted by yours truly. These are Authentic 100% Munchkin and Gnome products. Be aware of “Made in China” Cheapo copies!! 😉

Casa Mascia Apothecary