Category Archives: Belize

Keep Your Skin Scrubbed!

April 23, 2015 Munchkin

In the humid hot climate of the dry season, it is really important to keep the skin cleaned and well scrubbed. Lack of scrubbing can lead to blocked pores and in-grown hairs which can lead to pimple formation. In this hot environment, this could easily lead to skin infections. Moreover, a routine skin scrub helps with the circulation and stimulates healthy skin formation. And so the first rule is prevention with a good shower scrubber used on a daily basis. Salt and sugar scrubs can be used on a weekly basis as an addition to the bathing regime.

This year our loofah crop failed because it got taken over by other creeping vines. And so we have been using an old pathetic little loofah to death and not actually getting much satisfactory scrubbing out of it.

Today, I found Gnome at 5.30 in the morning looking longingly at a whole array of shower brushes on Amazon. Now, when we buy anything from the States and bring it in to the country, we always have to consider transportation fees, import tax and duty. From past experience we have calculated that all these expenses usually end up quadrupling the original price of the item. And so when Gnome spied a rather nice looking bamboo shower brush for $20US that meant $80 to me. I kind of gave him the “Chinese woman don’t waste money look.” That put an abrupt end to his perusing and so Gnome tried to find a positive solution.

And here they are:

This one is a bargain at BZD 1.75 (USD 0.88) for four.

Pack of 10 for BZD 4.75 (USD 2.38).

Yay…Gnome is helping me Save Money!!

I tried both scrubbers in the shower and found that the “Jia Ju Yong Pin” was gentle but invigorating; it worked well also as a facial scrub. The other kitchen scrubber had its merits because it has a sponge side which allows for easy application of soap and the scouring end was also very effective. Overall, they did the job!

So, anyone in Punta Gorda who is in need of a scrub can buy “Jia Ju Yong Pin” at Lily’s Supermart on Main Street and the second one can be purchased at Vance Vernon Pharmacy (in the kitchen section).

Happy Scrubbing and may we all have smooth and silky skin!

Amusing, Belize, Our Products, Soap

Soft Lilacs For Springtime!!

April 22, 2015 Munchkin

Hi Everyone!! Just something short and sweet today because we are both hot and knackered from our town day. It is was our usual frenzied running around seeing patients in between delivering soap orders, opportunistic coconut cream selling and buying supplies. Sometimes it gets so funny…I have a bucket of coconut cream in one hand and a doctor’s bag in the other!

Anyway,”Soft Lilacs For Springtime” is the kind of title that a well established British boutique would use to sell expensive furnishings and perhaps soaps! So, I just wanted to see if I would get more traffic into The Apothecary with a title that promises elegance and panache!

Furnish your bathroom with these delightful soft-lilac soaps:

**Stacks of Lilac Soaps: Indulge in Sophistication.**

Gentle swirls inspire calmness and serenity:

A must for the discerning; Gentleman’s Shaving Soap:

When the lady of the house hosts her fabulous dinner parties, visitors will see this remarkable soap in the bathroom and she will be praised for her soap discernment. Her social standing will surely be raised as a result of this…

Our new soaps are Clay Artisan Soaps made from the purple clay from Bladen, Toledo area of Belize. They are gently exfoliating and have a lovely and luxurious scent of sandalwood. The Gentleman’s shaving soap is back by popular demand as the clay acts as a good slip which results in an even, smooth shave.

Come on everyone, show that you know good soap…show your discernment. Buy our soap!! 🙂

Belize, Food

Hibiscus (Sorrel/ Roselle) Spring Rolls.

April 21, 2015 Munchkin

Hi Everyone!! There was no post yesterday because we had a power-cut in the evening. We had to rummage around in the dark for all our candles…it was most inconvenient. We really need to get energy independent one of these days.

Again, boredom and excitement (what an oxymoron) are stimulating us to run around like busy little bees. Right now we are starting our day at 5.30am… as soon as the sun comes up. After that, it is a race to get things done before the on-slaught of heat! Today, Gnome was mashing and his comment of the day was, “I had good results from the Mashing today, tomorrow I will be Sparging.” Other than that, he didn’t say much else. He also made some nice sandal-wood scented soaps.

I have posted up a recipe for Hibiscus Spring Rolls…catching up an a back-log of old recipes. Hibiscus is also known as Roselle; here in Belize, everyone calls it Sorrel.

And these are my yummy Hibiscus spring rolls with shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots (my own, of course) and water chest-nuts. No meat, so they are vegetarian spring rolls. The hibiscus adds colour, crunch and a mild sourness to the whole culinary experience. Lovely!!

Bees, Belize, Farming, Pets

It Is Time for More Bees: The Gnome Mark II Bee Hive!

April 19, 2015 Munchkin

About a week ago, I opened up my stingless-bee, bee-hives to check up on the little darlings and discovered that in one of the hives the bees had started to build brood comb in the honey pot storage area. When I saw it, it was about half the size seen in the photo below. It doubled in size in a week!

Brood Being Built in the wrong place. This is where honey is supposed to be stored!

Out of curiosity, I got in closer to have a goosie:

Brood Comb Being extended with honey and pollen pots visible in the periphery.

It would appear that the bees have built an auxiliary brood area with new queen and everything in the middle of the honey chamber, co-existent with the original brood in the brood chamber with its own queen; so, two hives in one. I hypothesise that this is due to the depth of the honey chamber (which is currently set at 2 3/4 inches). The honey pots are about 1 inch tall so it is obvious that there is plenty of volume for a “nest” of brood comb even over a layer of honey pots.

I decided to test this hypothesis by reducing the depth of the honey chamber to 1 1/4 inches. Here is the new hive, which I have called the Gnome Mark II Modified UTOB Hive:

The New and Improved Gnome Mark II Modified UTOB Hive.

Compared to the original UTOB Hive:

I admit, not a Mind-Boggling Difference but putting it together in Dry Season Super Heat Time made me feel like it was something amazing and deserving of its own name!

Anyway, I took the “extra” brood out and put it in the brood chamber of the new hive:

…Into the new hive:

Here’s another shot after more brood was moved over:

All the Brood Moved to the New Brood Chamber.

And that was that, all the hives were sealed up and put into their places. Now it is time to wait another month or so before checking on them again…

I love stingless bees!

Belize, Our Products, Soap

Artisan Soaps and Apothecary Additions.

April 18, 2015 Munchkin

Phew…today started off with steaming, stifling heat at 5.30 in the morning and it just got hotter and hotter. In the dry season, strategy is the key and there is a small window of opportunity from 6am to 10am to “get things done” and in our case this means brush-mowing the farm, collecting coconuts and processing them into cream, weeding, watering plants, housework, making soap and packing products. It is indeed a mad rush before the wall of heat gets the better of you and you collapse into a red-faced, sweaty heap. What Fun!!

Here are the Artisan Chocolate Soaps that we made yesterday:

The soaps turned out to be more of an “impressionist” style of art, as you will see from the following Rorscharch examples. For those of you who are not familiar with Rorscharch, it is a test which uses a system of ink-blot pictures as psychological analysis. Being a doctor, I think it is fun to try to perceive impressions from our Artisan chocolate swirl soaps.

Rorscharch Gallery:

A Crab…

A Pig Snout…

A Willow Tree Bending in The Wind…

I do have quite an imagination! Do you see it too? Or am I just getting googly-eyed from the heat?

Last but not least, there have been new additions to The Apothecary which include: Body Salt Scrubs (Lavender, Lemongrass, Passionflower, Ylang-Ylang) and Foot Soaks in the same scents. This completes our Spa range of products.

Belize, Food, Our Products, Plants, Saving Money

Sticky Rice, Nori Flakes, Kun Batz and Stinky Tofu.

April 17, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! I am back in top form and promise that there will be no complaints today! Many thanks to the readers (namely, Erin and Adriana) who wrote back with a positive word and encouragement. Thanks to Gnome’s Mum for looking at 9 pages and the flurry of visitors after last night’s post. We indeed felt that life was worth living again. 😉

In a bid to increase our Stats, Gnome kindly wrote a post earlier on Ballistics…Hmmm…I am sure everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at this must-read! Gnome reveals all in his mind-blowing revelations on pellets! Just out of interest, I don’t give Gnome any pocket money for his pellets and so he funds his pass-time through coconut products. So, if you have bought any coconut cream, water or flour, you have helped Gnome out.

Gnome says, “Buy more of my coconuts!!”

Because it is a lot hotter, we have not been feeling so hungry hence the reason for less recipe posts. However, I thought it would interesting to let you know what we had for lunch today. In our last trip to Belize City, we stopped by the Taiwanese store to buy some goodies…interesting that when we think of buying yummy treats we always go for Chinese or Japanese food. We found some short grain rice (the kind that you use to make sushi), nori seaweed and stinky tofu.

Today, I boiled the sticky rice in our coconut cream…yes, the one that we sell in little bags! I also added whole black peppercorns to spice it up a bit. I toasted the nori flakes in a skillet and I brought out the stinky tofu.

The vegetable featured on the top right is Kun Batz. This is a wild passiflora vine which grows voluntarily in cleared areas. This plant produces fruit which can be eaten green like a vegetable; here I have cut it into pieces, steamed it and added soya sauce.

With plenty of vitamins and minerals from the sea-weed and B Vitamins from the stinky tofu, there was no need to include meat into the meal today. It was yummy!! Hooray for smelly (sorry, I mean fragrant) Chinese food!

Some pictures of Kun Batz (This is the Ketchi Mayan name):

Kun.Batz.Green.Fruit — Kun Batz Green Fruit.

Here in Belize, the Mayans prize this fruit considerably and like to eat it in its ripe form. Once ripe, the flesh turns yellow, spongy and inedible. The pulp around the seeds is eaten and has a fruity floral taste which is esteemed by the people here. It can eaten out of hand or used to flavour cool drinks. It is very similar to the giant granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis).

Good Evening everyone!! May all our lives become so simple that Blog Stats become the most important thing!!

Belize, Farming

Doing Gnome Stuff: Ballistic Testing.

April 17, 2015 Munchkin

It has been a day for doing some Gnome Stuff; in this case, Ballistic Testing of Three Different Pellets. Here is a picture of them:

0.117 Calibre Pellets Tested: Hollow Point, PBA, 10.5grain Domed.

The testing materials used were three aluminium bottles filled with water, the sort used to carry specialty oils and a cocoa powder can. The bottles were set at thirty yards, like so:

Bottles filled with water and set in the test field.

And the can was set at sixty yards, hanging off of a tree.

The first thing that can be seen from the above photo is that the rightmost bottle was knocked over by the shot with the heavy, 10.5 grain domed pellet. The entry and exit holes for this pellet:

Entry Point for 10.5 grain Domed Pellet.

The PBA pellets make a very impressive crack, almost like a real firearm, as they break through the sound barrier. These are their photos:

This is the embarrassingly bad photo of the deformity at the back of the bottle, ie. it didn't go through. — This is the embarrassingly bad photo of the deformity at the back of the bottle, ie. it didn’t go through.

The lead hollow point pellets also break through the sound barrier and are only slightly heavier than the PBA pellets. They showed similar results:

Entry Point for Hollow Points Pellets. — Entry Point for Hollow Points Pellets (yes, another bad picture).

The Hollow Point also did not go through the bottle either (I know, I know, the pictures are getting really bad...but Munchkin didn't take these, I did). — The Hollow Point also did not go through the bottle either (I know, I know, the pictures are getting really bad…but Munchkin didn’t take these, I did).

As an additional note: the can set at sixty yards and hit with the 10.5 grain domed pellets, fared like so:

Can.at.sixty.Entry.Heavy.Domed — Entry Point for 10.5 grain Domed Pellets.

And the exit point (Yay, I can actually see this one!!).

There are no photos of the can for the other two pellets because I couldn’t hit the can with three shots…presumably the accuracy of the other two pellets isn’t as good as the heavy pellet, which hit the can in one shot.

These are interesting results. The heaviest pellet happens to be the cheapest but appears to go through everything shot at in this test and also seems to be the most accurate at the longest distance. While the other two pellets are more expensive (the PBA pellet almost ridiculously so), they would not go through the metal bottles and did not seem to have long distance accuracy. This is probably of no consequence for plinking (expensive plinking, mind you) but for hunting, the heavier weight and improved accuracy of the domed pellet may be an advantage in stopping something a bit bigger (and yummier!).

Laters Everyone!! 😀

Belize, Blog, Farming, Fermentation, Our Products

Nobody is Reading Our Stuff (and it’s hot).

April 16, 2015 Munchkin 3 Comments

I am feeling a bit disheartened because I think I am writing at a brick wall. As usual, I try to write a post everyday but my Stats keep on dropping. Persistence is supposed to be the key so I will endeavour to keep on going…

It is also soooo hot here in Belize!!

Anyway, today Gnome racked the Melomel because it had stopped bubbling (or talking) to us. We had a quick taste…it was bright orange from the sapodilla and carrots…and it tasted rather orangey. Let’s see how it will evolve. He also put the last of the koji beans in jars in an attempt to make Chinese fermented black beans. We can’t find a recipe anywhere for this so we have decided to add salt to it in a jar and let it keep on fermenting. The fermentation area has been cleared up to make way for start of our soap marathon and so we shall be making a batch of chocolate soaps tomorrow. Gnome also removed the last of the barbed wire fencing which had been originally constructed for the division of large animals on the farm. We are not even going to pretend any-more…we are fine with small things like guinea pigs!

Well, I have developing more products for BotanicaBelize; this time it is Mens’ facial products. It was so hot!!! But, alas I did muster enough creativity, despite the heat, to make some nice products.

One day at a time…

I would like it to be fun all the time but sometimes the sweaty, horrible heat gets in the way!!

Belize, Farming, Food

The Trouble with Coconut Water!

April 15, 2015 Munchkin 2 Comments

On our farm, we have a coconut plantation and you would think that it would be quite the thing to sell coconut water with fun and profit in mind. The reality is not the case as we have discovered because there are so many considerations that make you stop and wonder whether it is all worth it or not.

The first thing is cost; here in Belize, people expect to pay between BZD0.50 to 1.00 for a fresh water coconut which gives an average yield of 150 to 200mls (5 to 6.6fl/oz) of coconut water. Belize manufactured coconut water can be bought for 500mls for about BZD2.00 (USD1.00). So, it is rather cheap and affordable as you can see from the prices and making a grand fortune from the sale of water coconuts was never possible but we decided to sell a couple of gallons on a weekly basis just to stimulate our daily maintenance of the coconut plantation.

In doing so, we realised what it actually meant to process coconut water and all of the pit-falls involved from the cutting of fresh coconuts to preservation and selling of the water.

Firstly, coconut trees have to be climbed by Gnome and 20 to 30 coconuts (most of ours are medium sized) give one gallon (3.785litres). The coconuts are cut open by slicing through the husk and the shell with numerous deftly cuts with the machete whilst you hand is holding onto the coconut …you need to watch your fingers… and then, the water is poured into a bucket. The water does get detritus from the coconut shell so it is then filtered through a muslin cloth. At this point, it needs to be freshly frozen as the nutrient-rich liquid is the perfect medium for bacterial multiplication. After de-frosting fresh coconut water, it should be consumed as quickly as possible (2-3 days in the refrigerator); at room temperature, in the Tropics, it will start fermenting within 2 hours.

I am sure that you all know, fresh coconut water has an unrivalled taste of sweetness. This is another one of the challenges that we face in processing our coconut water…we have to freeze it in order to preserve it but freezing it makes it less sweet. At this point, I would like to thank Adriana Guzman for independently noting this fact. We tested her observations and also found that the thawed coconut water tasted as if it had been diluted with water.

It was then that we came to the important realisation that shop-bought coconut water must be one, treated for preservation (probably a combination of pasteurisation and addition of preservatives) and two, sweetened to overcome the loss of sweetness due to the preservation process. This is why it never tastes like the real thing. The only way to get the true, natural taste is to have your own stash of fresh coconuts and be willing to cut them open yourself.

Amusing, Belize, Pets

Eureka!

April 13, 2015 Munchkin

I pondered over getting a hand-held vacuum cleaner for a long time. The main reason is because I live in Belize and it isn’t a matter of going down to the shopping mall or going online and ordering it on 24 hour delivery. Making a decision to buy something which can’t be bought in Belize entails ordering it on-line, sending it to a shipping company which transports to Belize, sending the invoice to the shippers, waiting anywhere from 2 to 6 months to get it shipped here, paying duty and transportation and then driving to the final collection point which is a 2 to 3 hours away.

And so I cogitated, procrastinated and then did some more thinking and finally told Gnome that I really, really wanted a Eureka hand-held vacuum cleaner. I went on-line to Amazon and noted that in some of the reviews, many people mentioned that it was very heavy for a hand-held machine. And so I told Gnome that the vacuum cleaner was 5lbs in weight but I wasn’t sure if this was too much for me to handle. With a glint in his eye he mentioned that the Cat was 5lbs in weight (at that time). He said rather nonchalantly, “Try the cat.”

I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that comment so he further explained that I should lift up the cat with one arm and shugle him about like I would a vacuum cleaner. And so I did, with the kind permission of our pet cat, Ewan. He didn’t seem too heavy to handle and he didn’t seem that bothered by my man-handling. And so Gnome concluded from my cat-vacuum cleaner emulation experiment that the Eureka was to be bought and I should go on-line immediately to purchase it and fulfill my cleaning requirements.

Six months later we collected it and brought it home. I was beaming with hope, pleasure and excitement as I unwrapped the box like a Christmas present (a belated one at that). It didn’t turn out to be heavy at all…Munchkin power can handle a measly 5lbs in weight and it worked like a charm.

Now the funny thing is that it is a running joke that the Eureka and the Cat are both sucking up all the crumbs on the kitchen floor and under the dining room table. We have a good old laugh about it…which is which? We have even started calling the cat “Eureka!”

HaHa…we know how to entertain ourselves out here in the middle of nowhere!

Casa Mascia Apothecary