All posts by Munchkin

Cantonese Gibnut with Taro.

February 20, 2015 Munchkin

Good Evening Everyone. It has been a really drizzly day today so no farm things were accomplished.

We stayed indoors and continued eating left-overs from last night’s Chinese New Year extravaganza.

As promised, here are pictures of the Cantonese Gibut:

For anyone interested, the Gibnut is also known as a Paca which is a member of the genus Cuniculus of ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodents in South and Central America.

We cooked Taro, a type of ground root, as an accompaniment:

This tasty vegetable comes in different shades of purple and some are white. We have a nice variety with purple flecks; once cooked, it becomes a uniform lilac. It is an extremely glutinous vegetable which goes well with fatty meals.

This is what we had for Chinese New Year last night:

Sliced Cantonese Gibnut, Taro and Seasonal Vegetables.

The Gibnut had the texture of suckling pig and it was extremely delicate tasting. The meat was so tender that it melted in your mouth. It was well worth the preparation (6 hour marinating and 6 hours cooking time). Gnome says that he would consider it a “prized” meat like venison or wild boar.

Check out my recipe: Cantonese Gibnut. It is flavoured with Chinese five spices, crushed star anise and orange peel.

Belize, Food

Gong Xi Fa Cai!! Mastering the Art of Pigging Out!

February 19, 2015 Munchkin

Happy Chinese New Year!! And what a perfect excuse to sequester myself in the kitchen today to cook really good food and pig out! It is indeed a masterful accomplishment to keep fine food flowing from the kitchen to the dining table and also, keep on eating for the whole day! Gnome was very happy and sat down to watch the Sean Connery “James Bond” marathon and now he has just started on the Roger Moore series.

Yummy Food Pictures:

Deep Fried Prawns with Farm Fresh Vegetables.

And, we are waiting for the Grand Finale; The Meal to end all Meals!! Cantonese Gibnut! Gibnut is a type of rodent which is related to the guinea pig; however, it is much larger (15 to 20lbs) so more to eat. I call it Cantonese-style because I have used Chinese Five Spice powder and star anise to flavour the meat. It smells just like Char Sui.

Cantonese Gibnut preparation pictures:

I scrubbed the foot thoroughly because as most Asians will understand, this is a prized part. If you don’t have a “foot fetish” you may not understand why I am so excited about the foot.

I am slow cooking this in the oven for 6 hours. It will be ready very soon. More pictures tomorrow!

Belize, Blog, Our Products, Soap

On-Line Apothecary is Open For Business!

February 18, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone. The Apothecary is now open!! After a few false starts, over cogitation and Type A anxiety and jitters, we have decided just to get it up and running. The ordering and payment options are really basic right now so that we can see if there is actual interest in our products. Once we get some orders and feel confident with sales, we will look into more E-commerce options. There are a few tweaks to take care of but for all intents and purposes, The Apothecary is open.

Belize, Our Products, Soap

Placencia Arts Festival.

February 17, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! We are glad to be back. We went out of town for the weekend to the Placencia Sidewalk Arts and Music Festival to sell and promote our wares. Here is a picture of our table:

Another picture:

Overall, we found that our wares were received well and the most popular and well-known product was the “Copal Medicinal Oil.” Since we have been around for a few years now, we found that it was more relaxed and we did not need to introduce ourselves to everyone so much. This is the 12th Sidewalk Festival in Placencia and other stalls included local jewellery, Paintings, Wooden Art, Pottery and lots more. The weather was hot and sunny. We were located at the stage area so we saw all the music activities including the drumming. It was definitely a good Belizean Cultural Experience and I would recommend this to anyone who happens to be in the country near Valentines Day.

That’s it for now. Back home so more farm stuff this week!!

Belize, Fermentation, Medical Related, Our Products, Soap

Jackass Bitters Oil and Bottling Mead.

February 13, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone! It is really funny weather today; first it was sunny and now its all windy and grey. It can really affect your mood sometimes so we have tried to keep busy today in order to keep out of trouble!

I have a new product called Bitters Oil which is made from Jackass Bitters and Neem. It is an effective treatment for cold sores and wounds of all kinds. Jackass Bitters is used traditionally in this country to aid in the natural healing of ulcers and neem is known for its anti-septic properties.

I have started selling a few bottles in the local pharmacy in Punta Gorda (Vance Vernon Pharmacy). The making of this product originally started with a personal request and since it has been working so effectively for this individual, I have decided to make it available to the public. A big Thank-you to Miss Joyce for using and supporting the Bitters Oil!

Meanwhile, Gnome is keeping busy by bottling Mead:

Out of a 5 gallon bucket, he ended up getting 57 bottles. Yay…we are going to get bubbly Mead!

And, he has been making soap:

And with a bit of Gnome Magic, beautiful soap was made:

Have a Good Evening!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Adventures with Pigeon Pea.

February 12, 2015 Munchkin

We have been growing Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) for many years and alas, I have to admit that I have neglected the wonders of this food plant. We haven’t actually been actively growing it; in fact, it started off as a single seed which we planted on the farm and now due to voluntary seeding, we have about 20 plants which are happily producing a bountiful crop.

In the past, I have harvested the pods in the fully dried form and cooked it as a lentil substitute. It has a good, nutty taste but in its raw form, it is extremely hard in consistency so in order to cook it, it takes about 3 hours. The slow cooking time of this legume has been holding me back from experimenting with it.

This year, I have decided to be a bit more flexible with it and I am trying to find other ways of eating it. The pods can be picked at a green (almost yellow in colour) stage and cooked like peas. I actually achieved a good result with the peas cooked in rice and bacon.

At its greenest stage, when seeds have not formed, apparently the whole pod can be eaten. The green pods took ages (well, half an hour) to cook to tenderness. They were actually a let down and tasted over-cooked and sucked of all vitality.

Anyway, the next experiment will be to sprout the dried seeds to see if this will reduce the cooking time. I will keep you posted with my adventures with pigeon pea!

Belize, Food, Plants

Spicy Sapodilla Sauce.

February 9, 2015 Munchkin

It is the beginning of harvest time for Sapodilla fruit here in Belize. We planted a whole orchard of this delectable fruit so we are expecting a bountiful crop this year.

The Sapodilla tree is widely known for the gummy latex which is obtained from the bark to make chicle. The fruit have the texture of rough peaches and have a distinctive cinnamon taste. Since we have so much of it, I have started to experiment with it. So far, I have found that they have a similar consistency to tomatoes, so I am using them as a substitute. Today I made Spicy Sapodilla Sauce with Pasta:

I used Seed Amaranth as a garnish because I thought that the sauce was a tad pale looking. Don’t worry if you don’t have that…it was just to add a bit of colour.

I spiced up the sweet sauce with chilli peppers, onion and spring onions. The result was a thumbs up from Munchkin and Gnome! Watch out for more Sapodilla recipes…might try pizza next!

Belize, Elixirs, Our Products

Post Elixir Tasting.

February 7, 2015 Munchkin

It takes about two whole days to recover from an Elixir Tasting night hence the reason why you have not heard from us for a while. Entertaining people is energy intensive…

The Elixir Tasting was a success and we had the pleasure of the company of Dandelion Chocolate from San Francisco. As I had mentioned before, we changed some things around. Gnome added a bit about the various stages of the aging process of wine and passed exhibits around. We also let everyone taste a Gnome’s New Year’s Eve Maize Beer; for all intents and purposes, it was perfect with clarity, colour, one inch head with good head retention. The only problem was that corn beer actually tasted revolting! No wonder nobody makes maize beer! It has a distinctive sour and “vomity” smell which puts you off before it even touches your lips! Everyone had a good laugh about it.

In previous Elixir Tastings, a lot of the time was spent waiting for glasses to be cleaned and bussed back after each tasting. This time we put bowls on the tables with jugs of water so that people could rinse out their glasses. Gnome’s mother had mentioned to us that traditionally, Italians do not like to waste a drop of alcohol, so the taster is suppose to rinse their glass and swig down the rest of the diluted alcohol. Everyone involved was quite happy to comply with the new rule.

Everyone loved the Lemongrass Elixir as per usual. And, the next favourite seemed to be the Roselle which has a mature, well-bodied taste. Of course, everyone enjoyed the Chocolate Velvet which is always the last tasting of the evening.

Anyway, we are almost back to normal so expect to hear from us soon. Unfortunately, I have not got a photo of the Elixir Tasting to show you but, Cotton Tree Lodge has promised to furnish me with one of their photos at some point. So, I will insert a picture in the near future…hopefully!

Belize, Elixirs, Medical Related, Our Products

Munchkin and Gnome's Guide to Elixir Tasting.

February 4, 2015 Munchkin

We are doing an Elixir Tasting for 15 people at Cotton Tree lodge tonight. So, whilst waiting for the appointed time (it will be a late night) I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about how we have devised a system to taste Elixirs (or Liqueurs).

The purpose of Our Elixir Tastings is to create an experience which allows people to expand and quantify on their olfactory and taste senses by taking them through a flight of various liqueurs.

Gnome usually goes through the history and background, expanding on the use of this beverage as a medicine. He talks about the four ingredients which include alcohol,sugar,water and flavouring. Basically, any material which is aromatic, coloured and medicinal makes up the fourth component and examples of this are fruit, herbs or flowers.

My part is to take the tasters through the journey of “eye”, “nose” and “mouth”.

The “eye” component includes the colour and the clarity. I always like to emphasize the importance of the clearness of the liquid because it represents time and dedication in the making process. We allow our Elixirs to clear naturally by gravity and we take the time to let all the sediment settle down to the bottom. The clear liquid is siphoned out of its vessel and left to sit again and the racking process is performed on a monthly basis until clarity is achieved. It usually takes about 12 months to get to crystal clearness and in a few cases, this perfect visual appearance is never reached, despite our conscientious methods. The next step is the swirling of the glass to see the “legs” of the liqueur which gives an indication of the sugar content of the drink. High sugar content is shown by wider legs and a tendency for the liquid to cling to side of the glass and travel slowly back down to the bottom.

Next, is the assessment of the “nose” component which I feel is actually the most important part of the tasting because the human olfactory system is very sensitive and has the ability to separate and sense hundreds of different smells. Compare this to the human taste system which can only detect 5 components (sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami). The inhalation of the liqueur will give an idea of smell and the actual exhalation combines the flavour component.

Usually at this point, everyone gets twitchy because they want to start drinking so I try to speed it along to the taste experience. This part involves explaining the intricacies of “mouth-feel” and making people think about texture and taste. Usually, this is guzzling time but tonight I am going to do something different and request that they hold the tasting in their mouth for a few seconds, in order to saturate the taste buds, before swallowing.

And so tonight, I have chosen the following Elixirs for tasting: Lemongrass, Limecello, Passion Fruit, Cacao Fruit, Balam (Mayan White Cacao), Culantro, Suriname Cherry and Roselle (Sorrel).

Gnome is also going through a timed series of various fermentation products to emphasize the importance of time required in reaching the full potential of a mature final product. Also, there will a bit on bitters if we can fit it in…

Phew…hope everyone enjoys themselves tonight!!

Casa Mascia Apothecary