All posts by Munchkin

Belize, Medical Related, Our Products, Soap

A Day For Copal.

February 1, 2015 Munchkin

We are having a busy run right now with making our stuff. I made a batch of Copal Medicinal Ointment today. Here is copal (Protium copal) in its raw form with the cleaned-up material to the front of it:

A pound block of copal is sold in the Punta Gorda market wrapped up in a leaf as shown. If you actually look closely, you will see all sorts of detritus in the resin. Through a cleaning and filtering process we remove all the muck out of it to get what is shown in the picture. It is a really messy procedure because the resin is a very sticky.

So, here is the pot with my magical formula for copal ointment:

The bright yellow stuff is beeswax melting in sticky goo (sorry for the lack of technical jargon).

And then we package it into containers:

Copal is used for skin ailments including bacterial and fungal skin infections. It also has natural cicatrising properties which aids the healing of skin and helps the formation of scar tissue. You can read more about Copal if you press on this link.

And, Gnome has been working too…

He has been working his magic on the soaps and has been hand-stamping a custom order batch. This is definitely not his favourite chore but alas, somebody’s got to do it! Stamping soaps actually requires co-ordination and correct alignment…it isn’t as easy as it looks!

and this is the result:

Gnome will be cutting a batch of Copal Medicinal Soap later on so I will adding a few more pictures later. Okay, hope everyone is having a good Sunday!

More Pictures:

In the above picture, the piece of wood at the back is a frame with horizontal wires running along the whole length of it. The front piece of wood is pushed down to ease the column of soap through the cutting wires.

And, this is the result:

Gnome only uses the cutter for the Medicinal soap because the result can be rough-cut. For aesthetic reasons, the Artisan Soaps are cut one by one with a single wire.

Amusing, Belize, Food

A Good Day For Custard!!

January 31, 2015 Munchkin

It has been really cold lately with temperatures reaching as low as 15C (60F) down here in Toledo, Belize. We have been freezing and Gnome is walking about with his woolly hat on indoors which makes him look even more gnomish! Over the last few days, Gnome has been craving hot custard and has requested it on numerous occasions. A few days ago I attempted to make custard and it went all lumpy and I got rather upset about it because I had used some of our delicious duck eggs. Yesterday, when we went into Punta Gorda to do some shopping, we even looked for custard powder to buy. But alas, there were none to be found. And the Chinese shop-keepers gave me a befuddled look when I asked them if they had any.

Nevertheless, I still felt the need to make hot custard for the Gnome and today I finally succeeded! We were so happy that we had a double helping of hot custard each:

The custard turned out silky and smooth…I was soooo pleased. I found that the trick is to take it off the heat as soon as it starts thickening and to whisk it for another five minutes after removing it from the stove.

Yeah…we are both warm and toasty now. Custard Crisis is over!!

Amusing, Belize, Our Products, Soap

Soap-making, Selling, Doctoring and Waiting!

January 30, 2015 Munchkin

Today we did a combination of things; the first thing was making soap which actually spans through the entire day. We begin by mixing and pouring the soap into molds. Later in the day, once the soap has hardened and done its magic, Gnome cuts it one by one with a wire implement; this is actually the longest part of the procedure and can take him about 2 to 3 hours to cut a whole batch of soap. The soaps that we made today are Chocolate Vanilla which involved the addition of essential oils. At first, you will see that the oils actually cause a lack of uniformity of colour:

As the soap ages, the blotchy appearance does fade and it takes on a smooth finish as you can see from the next picture:

This soap is a custom order and will be hand-stamped one by one over the next few days. Phew..making soap actually requires time and dedication!

I had to put on my “selling hat” today and show samples of our products to hotel management. Honestly…I don’t like this part because I feel like I am going through a script and I feel so automatic and robotic. You can see that I have not been to marketing school and what I would like to say is, “buy my stuff, it’s good ****!”

In between all of that, we saw some patients and did some doctoring.

Also, I had to queue up in a bank and a post office and it was painfully slow! This was actually the worst part of the day. Remember that every person in front of you is an additional 15 minute wait. Aaarrghh!!

Lastly, we saw a Fridge on a Pick-up, which is worth a 1000 points!! Donum Bonum!

Belize, Farming, Food

Busy Day.

January 28, 2015 Munchkin

We have had a very busy and productive day on the farm. I have started to pick pigeon pea (Cajanus cajun) which is an edible legume…

I harvested the brown pods as you can see:

This is the time of the year to pick this bean and if I keep up with the harvesting, the plant usually flowers two or three times making it a very prolific producer. Once we have gathered all the brown pods over a succession of weeks, we shell them all at the same time with a gnome-mechanised contraption. The pigeon pea tastes similar to lentils with more of a bite. Watch out for some recipes later on!!

Gnome has been working hard. He is not in a very talkative mood right now so I will tell you what he has been up to today:

He has been cleaning the coconut plantation:

He has been grating coconuts:

Gnome attaches a grater onto the end of a hand drill. We use the coconut in cooking and the animals like it too.

He has also been busy making a batch of soap today and right now, as I am writing, he is cutting the soap. No pictures yet…maybe later!!

Belize, Food

Basmati Rice with Chinese Sausage and Shiitake Mushrooms.

January 27, 2015 Munchkin

I found a 20lb bag of Basmati rice in Belize City and I grabbed it off the shelf quick-smart! Usually you can only find Basmati rice in pathetic little 400g (not even a full lb!) packets and it is enough for one measly meal.

So, today I cooked Basmati rice with Chinese Sausages and Shiitake mushrooms…you could say that it was Chinese-style.

Basmati rice has a lovely fragrant aroma. It is so much better than the ubiquitous long grain rice which is found in Belize; I find this rice really gummy and starchy.

I will have more Basmati rice recipes in the future since I have to work through a 20lb bag!

Belize, Food

Tropical Italian Sauce with Roselle and Star Fruit.

January 26, 2015 Munchkin

Since we are in the Tropics it is great idea to use exotic fruits and vegetables in an Italian sauce. In this recipe, I have added starfruit, roselle (sorrel) and malabar spinach.

Here is the yummy Tropical Italian Sauce with Pasta…

It tastes great and is really easy to make. For the full recipe click on this link: Tropical Italian Pasta.

Ok guys, have a great Monday and hope you are all eating something yummy for dinner!!

Amusing, Belize

On The Road.

January 25, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone! We haven’t written for a while because we have been on the road traveling to Belize City and back.

As usual, we played our Pick-em Up Game and we saw 3 fridges this time. That means 3000 points!! Did not manage to get photos so you have to trust us on the numbers. However, here is a freezer which gives us 850 points…

We also spotted tractor wheels…

And, here is a side view when we passed them…

Tractor Wheels are 500 points each and it was a bonus to over-take the truck and realise that there were two wheels.

Total number of points: 4850.

Here is a nice picture of Hummingbird Highway with the Maya Mountains:

More Gnome and Munchkin stuff next week!

Amusing, Belize, Fermentation, Medical Related, Our Products, Soap

Rorscharch Soap Test and Gnome Messing Around.

January 22, 2015 Munchkin

The Rorschach Test is an Inkblot test created by a Swiss Psychologist called Hermann Rorscharch. This test involves the psychological analysis of a subject’s perception of inkblot images.

We have transferred this same concept into our soaps since the swirls and blotches can form distinct images. Have a look at the following picture…I see mirror images of a toucan. What do you think…have I just got “Belize” in the brain!!

What do you see in the next Rorscharch Soap? How many birds do you see?!

On a different note, I just wanted to tell you that Gnome hasn’t got round to writing anything this week because he has been messing around with well, gnome stuff.

Here are some pictures; maybe he will explain them to you at some point.

As I write this, he is still messing around! And by the way, that was my nice lilac pillow case!

Gnome now refuses to explain what he is doing!!

Belize, Food, Plants

Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce.

January 21, 2015 Munchkin

The Roselle plant (known as Sorrel in Belize) can keep on producing fruit if you pick it regularly. I am on my third picking and still drying the sepals for tea.

In my research, I have not seen much culinary use for this hibiscus except for teas, drinks and jams. Because of this, I have decided to come up with a few ideas of my own.

My first invention is Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites:

Serving Suggestion 2: Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.

The chicken is seasoned with cinnamon and cumin which compliments the subtle berry-tones in the sweet and sour sauce. Wow…look at the colour…it is such a gorgeous red!!

If you are interested, read my full recipe in Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.

Belize, Our Products, Soap

Soap Marathon!!

January 19, 2015 Munchkin

Living in Paradise sometimes isn’t all it is cracked up to be especially when it starts getting very buggy. Right now the weather is cloudy and rainy and it is bringing out the biting bugs; the no-see-ums (sand-flies) are the worse because you can hardly see them until you start getting an antsy, itchy feeling. They are coming out in swarms and as a result, we are staying indoors! So, this is the perfect time to do a soap-making marathon.

We started off by making our Artisan Chocolate Soap. This time we opted for a more blotchy appearance as opposed to our usual swirl. It turned out well and it is amazing how one batch can make such a variation in designs!

Splotchy-Designed Chocolate Soap. — Splotchy-Designed Chocolate Soap

Since some designs can be very unusual, interesting and unique, we have come up with an idea to pick 12 of the best looking soaps and offer them packaged in a Special Edition Silver Tin. So, when our Apothecary finally opens, look out for our specials.

Playing with the “Doctor” theme, Gnome has come up with an idea to select some of our soaps as Rorschach Soaps because they have that ink-blot look which is associated with this well-known psychological test. So, keep an eye out for the Rorsharch Gallery devoted to possible interpretations of pictures on our soaps!

Casa Mascia Apothecary