Category Archives: Belize

Belize, Farming, Fermentation, Food, Our Products

Just A Thank-You.

February 21, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.More.Eating If you follow our posts, you may have realised by now that we enjoy the creativity and inventiveness of harvesting and processing our own food. Peach Palm Miso was borne out of a fusion of an Asian preservation technique with a farm grown ingredient. I would like to give a special Thank-you to Julian Obererlacher of Itz’ana, Placencia for his resourcefulness in using our Peach Palm Miso as an ingredient in his menu.

Another Thanks to Enrico Cordenons for providing us with the Itz’ana Menu as follows:

WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY, 2016

Sweet/spicy soup of Belizean vegetables with masa

King Estate Pinot Gris 2013 (USA – Oregon)

Poblano pepper stuffed with arugula, lentils, Caves Branch ricotta and parmesan

Zolo Malbec 2014 (Argentina – Agrelo Valley)

Snook, Casa Mascia Peach palm miso glaze, coco yam puree, grilled zucchini Itz’ana garden chinese greens

Crimson Fetzer Pinot Noir 2012 (USA – Napa Valley)

Banana loaf, chocolate, peanut cream, belizean rum caramel, purple basil

Mayan hot chocolate or Local Rum (Belize Punta Gorda/Placencia)

It is inspiring to see a preference and a confident boldness in using local ingredients.

We have Peach Palm Miso for sale within the country. Please check out The Apothecary for more information.

Amusing, Belize

The Kipple Box.

February 19, 2016 Munchkin

Gnome.With.Box

The word Kipple was first coined by Philip K Dick in “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.” This is the definition:

It refers to the sinister type of rubbish which simply builds up without any human intervention. Eventually, one day, the entire world will have moved to a state of kipplization.

Well, we have a Kipple Box which contains a whole load of crap that we refuse to throw away. We dearly cling onto the stuff as if our very lives depended upon them! Hey, at least it’s just a box…I am sure everyone has kipple lurking in the dark recesses somewhere… perhaps in the drawer, the cupboard, the bedroom or even the entire house! It is an insidious monster that invades and pervades every nook and cranny!

Every now and then I sort through the box and have a good laugh at the useless rubbish that we are holding onto. Here are a few pictures:

Casino dice from the old days when we played Craps all night:

Chinese ear buds with the scoopy bit..

I asked Gnome over and over again,

“What are these?”

He wouldn’t explain himself, rolled his eyes and muttered,

“It’s just kipple.”

Hair stuff…bought them about 8 years ago and never used them!

This has never been used before either:

Trapping Wires?!

Water sensor for the broken water pump:

Hmmm…someday they might come in useful….

There was a whole lot of other stuff including old batteries, spectacles, a strop and a badger-hair shaving brush, dental floss, plastic razors, etc, etc.

Well you know what I did. I put them all back into the box and said to Gnome:

“Well you never know…don’t want to throw anything away just in case.”

Gnome calmly ignored me and said nothing.

Gnome.at.Desk

Belize, Farming, Food

Home-Made Banana Flour.

February 18, 2016 Munchkin 4 Comments

Together.Eating.Fire.Pot

We are making our own banana flour right now. With huge bunches of green bananas, we find that the best way to preserve them is to process them into flour.

This actually involves quite a lengthy process but hey…that’s why we have chosen to live like this. The green bananas are peeled and then grated like so (by Munchkin of course):

The shredded bananas are then dried out in the sun. Once dehydrated, they are crushed by hand into crumbs and then milled (Gnome Job):

And this is what you get:

Eighty green bananas fills roughly half a gallon jar and weighs about 2lbs (1kg). And now Gnome has presented me with a challenge:

“Munchkin, cook something yummy with it!”

By the way, this product is not for sale because it contains too much blood and sweat! 😉

Belize, Food, Our Products

Coconut Cream Brownies.

February 17, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Eating.Bun This recipe is designed to entice our local readers to whet their appetite…and to buy our freshly squeezed coconut cream! For all our readers outside Punta Gorda, you can used canned coconut cream for this recipe…it is still delicious. We are coming up against stiff competition with the packeted dehydrated coconut powder. At this point in time, it looks like convenience is winning through. Arrrrghhh!!! What happened to all you organic farm-fresh lot out there?! 😉

Our coconut cream is manually squeezed by yours truly on our farm. They come in 4oz bags for only a $1 each. We can deliver this fresh to anyone in Punta Gorda every Wednesday of every week.

You definitely have to try this Coconut Cream Brownie Recipe. The coconut adds extra creaminess and decadence to the whole experience! Yum…

Belize, Food, Plants

Pacaya in Season!

February 16, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.More.Eating

Pacaya is in season right now and is being sold in bunches at Punta Gorda Market. Don’t miss out on this delicacy because it is only harvested for a short time. These are the male inflorescences of the palm Chamaedorea tepejilote and are hand-picked in the wild rainforests of Toledo.

To prepare pacaya simply make a slit lengthwise (see upper picture) to reveal the flowers which are the edible part (lower picture).

The Mayans at the market recommend that I chop the pacaya into pieces and cook it with egg. I haven’t tried this yet. I actually boil the pacaya for about 5 minutes and then I drain the water. You can boil it for up to 20 minutes if you would like to remove the bitterness. I like the bitter taste and I think that it is part of the whole culinary experience.

I’ve been eating the pacaya with a dash of soya sauce served with a bowl of miso soup. This food has a crunchy texture with a pleasant bitterness.

I am sure you will find traditional recipes for pacaya on the Internet but if you are used to reading my Blog, you will be aware that I enjoy creating my own dishes. Next on the list is pacaya tempura…ooooh, can’t wait!!

Belize, Construction, Farming

Back On Track!

February 15, 2016 Munchkin

New.Munchkin.Gnome.Yellow.Boots

The parts finally arrived for the brush-mower and Gnome has managed to install the new parts. A big Thank-you to Joanna Randolph for sending us the parts. Now, the mower no longer looks like a “bird’s nest” of wires at the back:

The ignition works (so no more hot-wiring) and it all looks very tidy with all the wires in place:

Everything is now working:

And also the chainsaw has been fixed:

The Zazen Duckie pond has been partially filled with the rains from yesterday. Next will be the fencing for the Zen Garden:

And, while Gnome is effortlessly doing all the above like a Super-Hero farmer, I think I will bake some panettone ;)! Received these in the post from Joanna as a belated Birthday present…yay and many thanks!! I may need a few tries before I get a perfect picture to post up on the Blog!

Belize, Construction, Farming, Pets

A Pond For The Duckies!

February 14, 2016 Munchkin 1 Comment

Together

Everyday for the last two weeks, Gnome has been digging out a pond for the Duckies. When Gnome was asked what machinery was used in the pond construction (I think they were expecting some sort of excavator in the answer) he replied with:

“A spade.”

The pond is situated in the middle of the Zen garden and lined with rocks. Since the weather has been so dry, we were a bit dubious over whether it would get filled with rainwater. I mentioned to Gnome with a twinkle in my eye:

“…well, since it is a Zen Garden, can we fill the pond with sand and rake ripples into it? Do you think the Duckies would notice?”

Munchkin.Cute.Shot

No need to worry though…we had a constant drizzle today and the pond is getting nicely filled up.

Oh, and we have to thank our doggy for helping Gnome every morning. She apparently thinks that a wheelbarrow should be pulled along by grasping the wheel with her teeth and dragging it along. What a funny dog she is! Gnome couldn’t resist shouting out to me to take a photograph…this is a picture of her in action.

Amusing, Belize, Food, Mushrooms

On Eating Hericium Erinaceus…

February 13, 2016 Munchkin

Red.Bean.Munchkin I wasn’t sure how to title this post because this particular mushroom has so many names including: Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Bearded Tooth Mushroom, Satyr’s Beard, Bearded Hedgehog Mushroom and Pom Pom mushroom. In Asian cuisine, it is known as Monkey Head Mushroom. I have never found this particular mushroom in the wild but luckily for us you can obtain it in the dried form from the Taiwanese Supermarket in Belize City. For a long time I had avoided these mushrooms because I did not know how to prepare them for cooking. The Chinese person at the supermarket would look about me dubiously (because I kinda look like a Chinese person but act like a “white person”) and shake her head at me,

“…you know how to cook? If you don’t do it right, it taste bitter…”

Well, this time, the Chinese person in me broke through and I was determined to try these tasty treats!

This is what it looks like once it is soaked in water.

Soaking.Lion.Manes.Mushroom

I did some research on the preparation and basically you just need to soak the dried mushroom in water for about an hour until it gets soft. During this time, you keep on changing the water until it turns clear.

After that you can cut it up into pieces and cook it anyway which way you want…sauted in butter, Chinese-style, in soups and stews, etc, etc.

I’ll be posting up some new recipes with Hericium erinaceus over the next few weeks so watch this space. I did my first test cook by sautéing it in cacao butter with onions and garlic:

Sauted Lion's Mane. — Sauted Lion’s Mane.

The verdict:

“It’s tasty! It tastes like chicken!!”

Yum.Yum.Gnome

I replied by saying,

“Oh, but…on the Internet, they say it tastes like “beef!”

Casa Mascia Apothecary