All posts by Munchkin

Pasta Colours in Belize.

November 29, 2020 Munchkin

If you happen to have a pasta maker lying around in the kitchen during this new COVID 5am to 9pm curfew and you are stuck indoors with bad weather, you might want try your hand at making colourful pasta with the ingredients in Belize. I thought we could have a lively discussion about pasta colours today since were just talking about pasta yesterday…if you can think of anything better…I am all ears!! Yes, this is another Bored in Belize project!

The green colour in pasta is originally made with spinach greens. Here in Belize, there is a popular green called calaloo which is from the amaranth family. On our farm, it comes up everywhere as a voluntary vegetable.

I collected a whole bunch of calaloo and boiled it until it turned to mush…then I added this to flour to make the dough for pasta. The resulting colour was very nice and Gnome said that it looked like authentic spinach pasta…if you look carefully, there is a mottled green colour.

I was very pleased with this colour as we had previously tried spirulina, a high protein algae that Gnome grows for the animals. When it is freshly harvested, it is a very intense green colour:

Splat!! Spirulina looks like a big green glob and we thought it would be perfect as a colour additive in pasta. This is what we got:

It doesn’t look so bad but as it ages, it actually acquires a blue tinge to it which looks less appetizing. I don’t have a picture of the aged pasta but I have one of spirulina ice-cream; it is a funny cyan colour:

Anyway, the calaloo experiment was so much better. Another colourful ingredient that you can use is cacao powder which imparts a rich colour and chocolatey taste:

To get a vibrant yellow colour in pasta, turmeric works very well:

Alas, we have not finished our colour experiment yet because if you read our last post, you will know that our pasta machine has stopped working. We still need to find a nice red colour…I don’t want to use tomatoes because that would be too straight forward…what about ground annatto? Hopefully this will be a later blog if we ever find another pasta machine!!

Belize, Food, Saving Money

Another One Bites the Dust!

November 28, 2020 Munchkin

I am, of course, referring to the demise of our third pasta maker. These pasta makers…you know one of those ubiquitous $50.00 to $100.00 ones that claim they are Italian-made…can’t withstand the rigours of a Gnome pasta marathon. We got twenty-five hours out of then it started groaning and creaking and before we knew it, it carked it good and proper. We reckon that these pasta machine only have a 20 to 25 hour working life…

Aawwh…we were only on day 3 of 7 and had just done the lasagna sheets and linguini…we were just about to start the angel hair…

Gnome took the machine apart to try to fix it. He noted that the gears were made of a soft alloy and had completely worn out and lost shape. He has seen this problem with all our former machines and it seems that no matter what brand of pasta machine (this third one was a slightly more expensive, top of the range) they are designed with a short length of usage in mind.

Hmmm…these pasta makers should just be labelled with: Ornamental Pasta Maker: For Countertop Presentation Only with a special message for Gnomes: Warning: On no account should you be fooled into thinking that this is a fully operational pasta maker!

Anyway, we are mourning the loss and feeling a bit put out. Between Hurricane Eta, Iota and the usual high rainfall here in Toledo, we have been stuck indoors for over a month. It is either flooded or very wet outside so no farm work can be done. We were hoping to get our 2020 Pasta run accomplished. Here are some pictures of what Gnome managed to crank up:

This is a ‘cheese roll’ that Gnome made; there is a central length of cheese which is then rolled in layers of thin dough (made with the pasta maker). Before the dough is rolled, grated cheese and chilli flakes are sprinkled onto the flat sheet. In all, this cheese roll was made with about 6 feet of flattened sheet dough. You get a nice patterned effect like this:

Ohhh and Ahhh…it is crunchy in texture and tastes delicious!!

Gnome also made pastry for beef pie:

We made this food in between pasta runs so that when we had a break, we could eat something yummy. We did also make pasta:

Oh, and this time, we made green pasta from calaloo greens; more about colouring pasta in a later post. The colour turned out very well:

Do you like the picture?? This was my attempt at a fancy ‘coffee table’ picture!!

Amusing, Belize, Pets

It’s a Boy!!

November 27, 2020 Munchkin

We had said for a long time that one was enough and we would have no more. Well, every-one it is another boy…a boy cat…I mean! This year, our farm cat turned ten and I think he has retired unofficially…I say that it is not official because never had a meeting with us about it! This is what he does 23 hours a day:

And more sleeping:

For one hour of the day from 5pm to 6pm he suddenly becomes very active and animated; he paws at his bowl or nudges it with his head. There is no catching of mice or other vermin during any of his 24 hour day. Anyway, I wanted to get to the story of the new boy: several months ago, Gnome told me that he kept on seeing flashes of something with orange fur jumping about under the house…at first, I thought he might be hallucinating because when he mentioned it, our orange cat was quite happily sleeping upstairs like this:

After the first sighting, Gnome kept on getting glimpses of orange fur under the house. I was getting concerned about Gnome because I thought he wasn’t getting enough sleep or something…is your mental health okay, Gnome…is the isolation of living in the middle of nowhere getting to you??

After a few days, Gnome was convinced that there was something orange downstairs so he went scouting. After a while, he came back with this cute little kitten. We don’t have an early pictures but it was very skinny orangey-white kitten. These later pictures show that he is actually a bit of a chunk…well partly because Munchkin likes to feed him. Meet our new farm cat:

He has a very gentle personality and likes to sit on our laps. This one has a very noisy purr and trills (like a tribble, if you know what I mean!). He is probably about 6 months now and we are enjoying his company since he isn’t sleeping all the time!!

Amusing, Belize, Blog

Seriously Funny!

November 25, 2020 Munchkin

This post is dedicated to Giselle (you know who you are). It is a Thank-you for getting me back on track to writing blog posts. I stopped writing in May because it just didn’t seem fun any-more; writing posts became part of a tick list and it ended up feeling like yet another chore. I forgot the reason why and neglected my blog for six months. At times, I would ask Gnome whether I should resume and he always said that it was up to me. I couldn’t bring myself to write anything because I didn’t know my reason for writing and I felt that there was nothing to write about(!). These things I knew: it certainly wasn’t for fame and glory. What for?

Anyway, along came Giselle. And, every time we spoke she told me that my blog posts were Hilarious, Funny and Humorous!

Yes, Yes, Yes to all three descriptions…that was what I was always trying to do!!

Just to write to get a laugh, a chuckle or even a guffaw!!

Nudge Nudge…I was trying to make you laugh!!

In these times of COVID, Fear and Anxiety, we certainly need to find something to make us smile and remember to be Seriously Funny sometimes.

Belize, Plants

Gnome and The Giant Beanstalk.

November 25, 2020 Munchkin 2 Comments

We have this giant beanstalk stuck to the side of our house obliterating all views to the north east. So, how did we get into this beanstalk situation? Well, it is all to do with our personal interpretations of the Munchkin-Gnome relationship. You see…I think that we have a relationship where, we shouldn’t need to have a conversation about every single thing that needs to be done on the farm since Gnome should already know what needs to be done. On the other hand, Gnome thinks that if I want something done, I should just go ahead and say it.

Anyway, this all stemmed from a bean plant that sprouted next to the house. It started off small and it just got bigger and bigger since it has been raining non-stop for months. Well, I didn’t think I needed to have a conversation with Gnome about it since I thought that it was obvious that it had to be removed.

Months passed and the vine was growing and spreading along the side of our house. I didn’t say anything and Gnome didn’t do anything. It grew to 12 feet and reached the roof…and that’s when I finally had to say something.

Munchkin: “Ahem…Gnome…did you notice, by any chance, that there is a big plant stuck to the side of the house?”

Gnome: “Yes, of course I did, my dear.”

Munchkin: “Well, why haven’t you got rid of it?”

Gnome: “….because you haven’t mentioned it, I thought you hadn’t noticed it…”

Gnome thought I wouldn’t notice a massive creeping vine growing up the side of the house obliterating all views to the first garden???

If finally dawned on me that at this point that I had to “have the conversation” and speak plainly and tell him what I wanted him to do:

Munchkin: ” Can you get rid of the plant please!”

(I wasn’t as polite as that but for the purposes of wholesome family entertainment, this will suffice).

Gnome: ” Yes, of course. Why didn’t you just say? But, one thing…we will have to wait for seed.”

Munchkin: “Okay, when can we collect seed?”

Gnome: “…mmmm…let me think…sometime near the Ides of March…”

The Ides of March!! The middle of March!! That is months away…

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Love In A Time Of Covid.

November 22, 2020 Munchkin 1 Comment

Love in a Time of COVID: Epic love and adventure set in the treacherous, wild jungles of Belize. Medicine Man meets Medicine Woman. This is a story of struggle and emancipation; the battle against the ravaging storms pummelling across Central America. A compelling true story of Explosive love and passion….now screening at a cinema near you!

Hello there!! Did I get your attention? Did I get my ‘foot through the door’ to get you to click on this blog post! I thought the explosive love would get you!! Okay, now that you are here…I have a few pictures on the farm for you to ‘ooooh’ and ‘aaahhh!’ over.

This is jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) which is also known as Chinese red date. Here in Belize, they call it Chiney plum. I have seen a few trees in people’s yards but it isn’t commonly grown. You definitely won’t find this kind of stuff in Punta Gorda market. We have four trees in total and this year, they are blooming like there is no tomorrow. When eaten green, they have the texture and taste of crunchy apples; when ripe (soft and yellow), they taste like pears. We also have a round variety:

This second variety is actually more acidic tasting and remind me of tiny pocket-sized crab apples. Since it was such a bountiful harvest (and were flooded in from Hurricane Eta), we did a canning marathon. Gnome peeled and I pared; as we processed, we dunked the cut fruit into water mixed with lemon juice (3.33oz lemon juice per gallon of water). This was for preservation purposes whilst preparing in a humid, tropical environment and it helped prevent oxidation of the fruit. After two days of sweating profusely over buckets of jujube in the jungle (is this the romantic, epic part??!!) we ended up with 48 of these jars in all.

And, Yes! We were surprised with the peachy colour too! We are not sure why… Gnome reckons that it might be a ph indicator for the lemon juice (???not sure). Anyway, once canned, they taste like canned pears rather than apples. We have made pie and eaten some with vanilla ice-cream. Oh, and we made a simple boozy dessert by drizzling our cacao elixir over it. Overall, it is a winner and definitely worth the time and energy in these isolating COVID times. After all, money can’t buy this kind of love and passion!

Amusing, Belize, Blog

The Awesome Duo Are Back!!

November 21, 2020 Munchkin 4 Comments

Hello!! I bet that you thought that we would never, ever write again after 6 months of complete and utter silence. Well this is the conversation that Gnome and I had:

Munchkin: ” Gnome, Gnome…”

Gnome: “Yes, my dear?”

Munchkin: “I think I know why nobody reads our blog posts!!”

Gnome: “Hmmm?”

Munchkin: “Well, I’ve been studying the media and other blogs…and, what I’ve noticed is that they use more sensational words to grab your attention.”

Gnome: “What do you mean?”

Munchkin: “Oh, like ‘awesome’ and ‘more awesome’ and words like that…to evoke a ‘flying off the seat of your pants feeling’ or words that make you feel like you are flying down a ski slope…that sort of thing… you know, that adrenaline rush …”

Gnome: “So, you think that by using the word ‘awesome’ you would increase your readership?”

Munchkin: “Yes, yes definitely!! The Brand New Munchkin and Gnome are going to be Incredibly Awesome and Mind-Blowingly Brilliant and are going to cause ripples of Awesomeness throughout Belize!!”

Gnome: “Hmmmm….”

Actually, this is what he looked like:

Yes, the Awesome Duo are back ready to awesome the pants off you. Being Bored in Belize can be Awesome!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Still Working!

May 5, 2020 Munchkin

Oh we are so tired but very satisfied with all the work that we have done this year; I think we actually did start on the 1st of January and we have worked like busy little bees during this COVID-19 quarantine. The curfew has really made us stay in, stop doing any frivolous activities and get down to the business of working. No distractions and nothing to procrastinate over!

I have always and forever had a big bag of seeds in the freezer (you know the one…seeds for planting next year or when we are ready…or when it is time!!). Well, in the last two months I have planted every single seed…yeah, even the weird and unusual ones. Because our “dry season garden” worked really well to keep us going with fresh greens and vegetables, we have decided to make more gardens. So this is the first garden which has green beans, bitter gourd (serosi) and okra. Gnome has re-tilled it and started another round of okra.

We had a second garden planted about two months ago for tomatoes and aubergines. Unfortunately, all my tomatoes died (fungus and rotting stems). My tomatoes are sometimes a hit and miss. The aubergines are still alive…I have baby purple striated, little orange bobble ones and some other mystery from Italy. This is the second garden; you can also see the trellises in the background which will be for climbing fruits and vegetables…so far, we have loofah and sweet granadilla.

Gnome has just finished tilling and digging a third garden. This is for pumpkins, melons, spinach greens, a bit of peanut and onions.

In the last few days, I have started the following seedlings: dandelion, amaranth, fennel, another three different types of aubergine and I can’t remember what else. When I excitedly told Gnome that I had started 24 new vegetable seedlings…he looked at me and said,

“…oh, will have to start digging a fourth garden…”

Actually, he looked more like this:

Okay, the rains have started early this year…what a relief! Will try to write again soon with more planting pictures.

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Happy Easter!

April 12, 2020 Munchkin

A Happy Easter to y’al! Oh my goodness…so much has happened in Belize (and Worldwide) in the space of only a month with regards to the coronavirus. The whole of Belize has been placed under lock-down in the last few days; we are in strict quarantine for 14 days to limit movement and traffic. It is very quiet all around; quiet in Punta Gorda:

Anyway, life on the farm is the usual since the animals and plants have no knowledge of the coronavirus. I am very grateful for the following things that has helped us through these changing times: the first thing is the definitely the water situation…I am so glad that our well is up and running. With the extra water over dry season, we have been able to provide water for the animals and to keep our vegetable garden growing. Normally during the dry season, we have no water for plant irrigation and we have very few greens to eat. This year we set up a drip irrigation system and we have had wonderful harvests. Yes you have guessed it: I am very grateful for the vegetable garden!!

We have had a great harvest of bitter gourd (serosi). This is actually our favourite vegetable! The Belizeans eat it in a specific way (after thinking about it, I have never seen a Belizean dish with serosi so I have no idea how they prepare this vegetable…they do however talk a lot about eating it!) and apparently it lowers blood sugar naturally.

We eat it “Munchkin Way.” I have been stuffing them lately since we have so many; two each for lunch and two again for dinner! When you have limited ingredients, you have to get creative!

Bitter Gourd stuffed with Minced Beef and Shiitake Mushrooms.

Yesterday, I stuffed them with rice and ham ; rice was cooked in coconut milk first:

I feel that since we put so much energy into growing our own food, I can only honour the food by cooking yummy, yummy stuff. More stuffing…this time tomatoes:

Oh, and Goosie for Easter. This is our own rosemary which is growing very well in a bucket.

Goosie roasted in coals:

I hope you enjoyed our food pictures. Keep Well Everyone!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants, Uncategorized

On The Farm

March 30, 2020 Munchkin

Hi Everyone! Yes we are at home on the farm staying out of trouble and heeding the quarantine recommendations for the Coronavirus pandemic. Belize has closed all its borders and the International Airport has been shut down. We only go into Punta Gorda once a week anyway and within the space of one week, there was so much difference. A couple of weeks ago, it was “business as usual” and village buses into town were packed full. When we drove in last Friday, it was like a ghost town; there were one or two cars and no buses (so we actually found parking!). A handful of restaurants were open but only offering take-out and supermarkets and banks were only allowing five people in at a time. People were wearing masks. It was such a stark contrast to the usual hustle and bustle of the town, that it felt eerie and surreal like a science fiction movie.

Anyway, back on the farm, it is definitely not eerie and surreal. Lots of things are happening and we are pleased with the progress. It is probably because our attentions are not divided by other things…business has ground to a halt and we are not seeing many routine patients or people. The garden is coming along very well…we started this at the beginning of the year. This is a before and after picture:

The “after” picture is still an old picture. Right now, we are harvesting lots of vegetables…I am very pleased with these green beans; they are really sweet and tender.

More vegetable harvests:

We are eating a lot of food harvested from the farm which is great since this is the reason why we do this. The duckies are happy and laying eggs. This is a picture of our fine-feathered duckies… they are gregarious and friendly:

Lovely Duckie Eggs:

Oh and guess what we have started feeding our duckies!! Yes, we have been busy bees. We have been breeding soldier flies and feeding the pupae to the duckies. This is the container that Gnome came up with; kitchen scraps and leaf litter are dumped at one end to feed the larvae; the pupae then climb up the clean end and drop into a container filled with soil and sand.

That is all for now. Keep safe everyone!!

Casa Mascia Apothecary