This recipe is a variation of the coconut squares which I posted a couple of weeks ago…yes the yummy one with the chocolate drizzle! This one incorporates freshly chopped up eggfruit (canistel) with grated coconut.
The ripe canistel tastes like cooked sweet potato and compliments the coconut very well. This is a treat that is hard to beat!
Check out the full recipe for Coconut Eggfruit Slices.
The Mayan Cacao Fruit Balam is now in season. We have a few trees on the farm and this year they have been very generous.
This is Theobroma bicolor which is different from the Theobroma cacao in appearance and taste.
The Mayan cacao is also called “Balam” and it produces white beans as opposed to black/purplish beans of the normal variety of cacao. The pulp around the beans taste of sweet musk melon.
We have had such an abundant crop that we have been eating the fruit everyday; it is really nice chilled in the refrigerator for a couple of hours…it really brings out the strong fruity flavour.
We also make a Balam Elixir with the pulp of this fruit. The maturation process brings out the muskiness of the fruit and the end product tastes like a fragrant whisky.
About two months ago, we had so much peach palm (pejibaye) that we had to think of different preservation methods for it.
We cooked the fruit and the put it through the meat grinder with rice koji to make peach palm miso.
We placed it all in a bucket and put it away for a couple of months:
Just the other day, we opened up the bucket for a tasting:
We both concluded that it was a very nice amber-orange colour. The taste was fruity, hearty and pleasantly sweet.
Gnome: Very good, surprisingly good.
Munchkin: Fruity!! Can double-up as a condiment with french fries!
Peach Palm Miso is a definite winner and the taste will get even better with time.
Hello Everyone!! For our dedicated followers out there, you may remember that about a week a ago, Gnome gave me two banana blossoms (flowers) to give to the guinea pigs. I promptly refused because I was determined to make yum-yums out of them.
Well, I did some research on preparation of the banana blossom for cooking and this is what I did.
I took off the outer petals (bracts) of the banana flower, layer after layer, until I got to the inner piece which looked like a little cabbage.
While taking off each petal, there was a layer of florets in between the bracts, which are pictured below.
According to my research, you can eat these florets by painstakingly going through each one of these to remove the outer calyx and the pistil. I did one for the picture and then thought to myself that it was extremely tedious and I wasn’t bored and hungry enough to do the rest.
I finally got to the heart of the flower.
I cut it into pieces, as instructed, and placed them in vinegar water to remove the tannic properties.
After, a couple of hours, the tannin was partially removed to leave edible parts that tasted like cabbage. They didn’t taste that great and I didn’t think that it was worth all the trouble of preparation and soaking time to get something so bland and uninteresting.
I decided to give the rest to the piggies after-all.
In conclusion, I am glad that I tried to prepare the banana blossom so that I could make up my own mind as to whether it was worth it or not. Outside the cultural context of eating banana flowers in India and South East Asia, I can only view this as a poor cabbage substitute. For the amount of energy, time and effort required in preparation, I would rather give these flowers to the piggies to enjoy.
Hello Everyone!! The Elixirs Page is up and ready for you to read. There is an introduction to our Elixirs giving general information and there are also detailed profiles on five of our liqueurs. The Ginger Elixir is a brand new one for the season.
Check out the New Pages:
Elixir Profiles.
Metaphorically speaking, the Elixirs are the bottled essence of our Joie De Vivre!
Hello Everyone!! The tourist season is just round the corner and we are gearing up for the new season. I have added a few more additions to our product list. There are still more new products to come..how exciting!! We are now offering Copal Medicinal Oil in Vial form:
This smaller sized bottle (30ml) is an ideal size for traveling. Copal Medicinal Oil has natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties which can be used for cuts, scrapes, burns, scalds, skin infections, insect bites and fungal infections. For all our Copal fans out there, the medicinal oil is still available in the larger bottle (120ml) and ointment form.
We are also proud to present to your our Castile Coconut Soap also known as “I Can’t Believe It’s Not DB’s!”
We made this because of popular demand for a local liquid soap made from coconut oil. It is completely detergent free and contains no artificial ingredients. It is available in original (unscented), peppermint and orange citrus essential oils. It is mild enough to be used for face, body and hair. In fact, it is so mild that it can be used for sensitive skin and babies.
We also have this brand new Herbal Air Freshener; it has lovely essential oils including clove and lemongrass which act in synergy to remove odours and naturally disinfect the environment.
This nifty little sprayer is great for home use and can double up as a car freshener too. Also, it can remove pet odours without harming animals.
Check out The Apothecary for more detailed information on our products.
Have a good night everyone!!
I am sure you may have had your suspicions when you wonder how to two doctors can maintain a farm, do all the wiring, plumbing and mechanics, make apothecary products and also see patients. Surely, there must be The Brains behind the operation that is co-ordinating Da Gnome and Munchkin? Yes, today we reveal el jefe in his full glory:
Waiting to be chauffeur driven:
Bossie supervising soap-making:
El jefe deep in comtemplation over the structure and organisation of Casa Mascia:
Do Not Disturb The Brains:
Just a bit of fun and humour for a Tuesday night…
On a different note, here is something for a special friend of ours who is going through a difficult time.
Munchkin has chosen this heart-wrenching song for you and will cry along with you:
And Gnome has chosen this song for you. He will sing along with you too:
Have a Good Night!!
Hello Everyone!! All of a sudden, it is very, very wet. The air feels really damp and muggy. Still no need to complain; we are getting bountiful water to wash clothes to my heart’s content and I can have plentiful hot showers through-out the day!
The farm continues to give generously and there is always stuff to harvest everyday. The carambola (or starfruit) are bearing; I have to pick them partially green before the birds and the bees get to them.
These are the rogue pumpkins that were missed in “The Hidden Pumpkin Technique” which I described a few weeks ago. The pumpkin patch is still going strong and with these new rains, we are getting a second round of flowering.
In this technique, the pumpkins grow and sink into the tall grass; whilst hidden from the hungry eyes of critters and bugs, they can be left to grow flawlessly without a single burrowed hole or bite-mark.
Oh, and last but not least…banana flowers…
This morning, Gnome cut these down and instructed me to give them to the guinea pigs. I gave him a funny look and said,
“I heard that humans can eat them too!”
Gnome said that he had heard about people eating them in India but he wasn’t convinced about the potential tastiness of the banana flower.
Well, I looked at them and convinced myself that they looked a bit like artichokes and therefore there could be some potential for yumminess. Well, let’s see…tomorrow, I am going to try cooking them. Watch this space for the results!!
People sometimes ask us what kind of green vegetables we grow on the farm to eat. This is mainly because, as doctors, we are always advising people to eat green, leafy vegetables for their high vitamin and mineral content which helps maintain healthy growth of cells and promotes healing. These people in turn, go to Punta Gorda market to look for them, only to find one common type of leafy vegetable to eat which is calalloo (Amaranth sp.).
This is fine to eat (though they still complain about the lack of variety) but also they are not found in such great abundance that they can be eaten in substantial proportions everyday. We eat about 100 to 200 grams (1/4 to 1/2 lb) of dried leafy green vegetable a day and this is the amount that we recommend to other people to eat.
Here in Belize, there is a plethora of greens that can be easily grown with the minimum of fuss and maintenance. You just need to regularly harvest (cut back) to stimulate growth and you will have them mostly all year round. The only time there might be a problem is the 2 months of dry season but this can be overcome with daily irrigation which should be possible for a small garden.
Malabar spinach is a climbing vine. It grows really well in wet areas. You eat the leafy parts and discard most of the fibrous stem. It can be eaten raw in salads, steamed or stir-fried.
Chaya plants, also known as tree spinach, needs little maintenance and even survive through drought without much irrigation. They are best chopped finely and boiled for about 20 to 30 minutes.
A more familiar green for people from temperate countries is kale. They need a little bit more care and raised bedding; nonetheless, they can still be cultivated in the Tropics.
This one is called Avuvo, apparently a well-known Nigerian green. The seed was given to us by somebody who had plans to grow Nigerian vegetables in Belize for an export market in the States. It grows prolifically.
Ok, guys go forth and start your own garden of fresh green leafy vegetables! You will find that they taste so much better than the bought stuff! As well as providing ingredients for a healthy diet, maintaining a garden will keep you fit (c’mon …don’t hire a gardener!) and you can save money on your grocery bill.
We have been busy little bees working with Joanna at Botanica Belize for a product launch at Wild Orchid, Placencia in Belize. Here are some pictures to show you the line of products that will be available.
Wild Orchid is a resort offering luxury marina lots and villas on a stunning 26 acre property. The products will be show cased in November 2015. Good Luck to Botanica Belize!!
Also, on the subject of products. I will be writing a collection of pages on our Elixirs with Cocktail Recipes. In preparation, I have tried looking for some appropriate cocktail glasses…of course, none could be found in Toledo! This was what I came up with…they are quite fun and funky!
Good Night!!