Category Archives: Belize

Good Old-Fashioned Doctors.

February 23, 2015 Munchkin

Today, I will talk a bit about doctoring in Belize since we had a whole day of house-calls:

We are thankful that we are able to practice Medicine in Belize according to our philosophy. We are both House Call General Practioners and our services include chronic care, post-operative care, palliative care and minor procedures. We see people of all ages from the elderly to babies to pregnant women. These days, we find that doctors are so specialised that they are only confident with their specific field. We, on the other hand are all-encompassing doctors with knowledge in every medical specialty. Also, prior to Belize, we both already had experience in Tropical Medicine (tropical infections, land and marine envenomation and parasites) as we had worked in Northern Australia.

As doctors, we feel that one of the most important factors of proper care and management is giving time to the patient. We purposely book one hour for each patient so that we have the time to assess a patient properly and answer all their questions. In our experience, this time factor is critical for the patient to feel satisfied and get better.

I want to share with you an experience which I had in my early days as a medical doctor. I used to work under a very stern consultant and every morning, we walked through the hospital to do the ward round. He used to dictate to me what was required in terms of further investigations including blood and diagnostic tests and I would be scribbling like mad as he ran through the blood tests which he wanted,

He would say, “FBC, WCC, U+E, LFTs, etc, etc,” and then he would look me squarely in the eyes and say, slowly and deliberately, “TLC.”

Tender Loving Care. I will never forget it because he was such an old cantankerous bat who never smiled nor made a joke. But, he taught me a very special lesson in being a doctor. This story still makes me smile to this very day.

Belize, Food

Lotus Paste Doughnuts with Custard.

February 22, 2015 Munchkin

Recently, I have been having a craving for “Dunkin’ Donuts”; It may be a nostalgic feeling from my university days when I used to choose a different flavour each time to take home and enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

We managed to get a hold of a huge packet of lotus seed paste and Gnome and I have been diligently and conscientiously working through it as hard as we can. I did an Internet search on recipes with lotus paste and only two main things came up: mochi balls and mooncake. Well, we have been eating mochi balls like they have been going out of fashion (and loving it). And, I would like to make the mooncake for the Mid-Autumn Festival which is the night of the full moon between early September and Early October (celebrated by Chinese).

So, I decided to mix things around and fulfill a doughnut craving at the same time. Today. I made Lotus Paste Doughnuts:

I opted to make a yeasted dough without eggs and milk. This gives a fluffier and lighter texture. Also, I added very little sugar to the dough because I thought that the filling was sweet enough.

And, of course, we had to have ours with custard!!

Needless to say, I am no longer thinking of shop-bought doughnuts…if you are interested in my lower calorie doughnut recipe, check out Lotus Paste Doughnuts.

Amusing, Belize, Fiction, Pets

Piggie Paradise: Tragedy and Fortune in One Day.

February 21, 2015 Munchkin

In the early hours of Thursday morning, on the 19th of February, foul play was afoot and a heinous crime was committed at Paradise Pastures, the gated community for Guinea Pigs. A one foot deep hole was dug beneath the cage and three newly born piggies were snatched from their cradle.

Gnome was at the Scene of the Crime a few hours later; the scene was one of devastation and distress.

Paradise Pastures was quickly secured and placed in a protected area. Gnome and Munchkin combed the surrounding land looking for the remains of the three missing baby piggies. And, alas the diligence was paid off as one live piggie was found, unharmed and safe.

Tragedy and fortune came hand in hand on this fateful day. Meanwhile, the criminal has been apprehended and remanded to custody with bail set at $500.

The piggies at Paradise Pastures are up in arms over this crime. They have petitioned Mayor Gnome to build a secure “Mother and Baby” facility.

Mayor Gnome must concede to their demands or else he might find himself bang in the middle of a Piggy Riot. And we don’t want that, do we?!

Belize, Food, Plants

Cantonese Gibnut with Taro.

February 20, 2015 Munchkin

Good Evening Everyone. It has been a really drizzly day today so no farm things were accomplished.

We stayed indoors and continued eating left-overs from last night’s Chinese New Year extravaganza.

As promised, here are pictures of the Cantonese Gibut:

For anyone interested, the Gibnut is also known as a Paca which is a member of the genus Cuniculus of ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodents in South and Central America.

We cooked Taro, a type of ground root, as an accompaniment:

This tasty vegetable comes in different shades of purple and some are white. We have a nice variety with purple flecks; once cooked, it becomes a uniform lilac. It is an extremely glutinous vegetable which goes well with fatty meals.

This is what we had for Chinese New Year last night:

Sliced Cantonese Gibnut, Taro and Seasonal Vegetables.

The Gibnut had the texture of suckling pig and it was extremely delicate tasting. The meat was so tender that it melted in your mouth. It was well worth the preparation (6 hour marinating and 6 hours cooking time). Gnome says that he would consider it a “prized” meat like venison or wild boar.

Check out my recipe: Cantonese Gibnut. It is flavoured with Chinese five spices, crushed star anise and orange peel.

Belize, Food

Gong Xi Fa Cai!! Mastering the Art of Pigging Out!

February 19, 2015 Munchkin

Happy Chinese New Year!! And what a perfect excuse to sequester myself in the kitchen today to cook really good food and pig out! It is indeed a masterful accomplishment to keep fine food flowing from the kitchen to the dining table and also, keep on eating for the whole day! Gnome was very happy and sat down to watch the Sean Connery “James Bond” marathon and now he has just started on the Roger Moore series.

Yummy Food Pictures:

Deep Fried Prawns with Farm Fresh Vegetables.

And, we are waiting for the Grand Finale; The Meal to end all Meals!! Cantonese Gibnut! Gibnut is a type of rodent which is related to the guinea pig; however, it is much larger (15 to 20lbs) so more to eat. I call it Cantonese-style because I have used Chinese Five Spice powder and star anise to flavour the meat. It smells just like Char Sui.

Cantonese Gibnut preparation pictures:

I scrubbed the foot thoroughly because as most Asians will understand, this is a prized part. If you don’t have a “foot fetish” you may not understand why I am so excited about the foot.

I am slow cooking this in the oven for 6 hours. It will be ready very soon. More pictures tomorrow!

Belize, Blog, Our Products, Soap

On-Line Apothecary is Open For Business!

February 18, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone. The Apothecary is now open!! After a few false starts, over cogitation and Type A anxiety and jitters, we have decided just to get it up and running. The ordering and payment options are really basic right now so that we can see if there is actual interest in our products. Once we get some orders and feel confident with sales, we will look into more E-commerce options. There are a few tweaks to take care of but for all intents and purposes, The Apothecary is open.

Belize, Our Products, Soap

Placencia Arts Festival.

February 17, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! We are glad to be back. We went out of town for the weekend to the Placencia Sidewalk Arts and Music Festival to sell and promote our wares. Here is a picture of our table:

Another picture:

Overall, we found that our wares were received well and the most popular and well-known product was the “Copal Medicinal Oil.” Since we have been around for a few years now, we found that it was more relaxed and we did not need to introduce ourselves to everyone so much. This is the 12th Sidewalk Festival in Placencia and other stalls included local jewellery, Paintings, Wooden Art, Pottery and lots more. The weather was hot and sunny. We were located at the stage area so we saw all the music activities including the drumming. It was definitely a good Belizean Cultural Experience and I would recommend this to anyone who happens to be in the country near Valentines Day.

That’s it for now. Back home so more farm stuff this week!!

Belize, Fermentation, Medical Related, Our Products, Soap

Jackass Bitters Oil and Bottling Mead.

February 13, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone! It is really funny weather today; first it was sunny and now its all windy and grey. It can really affect your mood sometimes so we have tried to keep busy today in order to keep out of trouble!

I have a new product called Bitters Oil which is made from Jackass Bitters and Neem. It is an effective treatment for cold sores and wounds of all kinds. Jackass Bitters is used traditionally in this country to aid in the natural healing of ulcers and neem is known for its anti-septic properties.

I have started selling a few bottles in the local pharmacy in Punta Gorda (Vance Vernon Pharmacy). The making of this product originally started with a personal request and since it has been working so effectively for this individual, I have decided to make it available to the public. A big Thank-you to Miss Joyce for using and supporting the Bitters Oil!

Meanwhile, Gnome is keeping busy by bottling Mead:

Out of a 5 gallon bucket, he ended up getting 57 bottles. Yay…we are going to get bubbly Mead!

And, he has been making soap:

And with a bit of Gnome Magic, beautiful soap was made:

Have a Good Evening!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Adventures with Pigeon Pea.

February 12, 2015 Munchkin

We have been growing Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) for many years and alas, I have to admit that I have neglected the wonders of this food plant. We haven’t actually been actively growing it; in fact, it started off as a single seed which we planted on the farm and now due to voluntary seeding, we have about 20 plants which are happily producing a bountiful crop.

In the past, I have harvested the pods in the fully dried form and cooked it as a lentil substitute. It has a good, nutty taste but in its raw form, it is extremely hard in consistency so in order to cook it, it takes about 3 hours. The slow cooking time of this legume has been holding me back from experimenting with it.

This year, I have decided to be a bit more flexible with it and I am trying to find other ways of eating it. The pods can be picked at a green (almost yellow in colour) stage and cooked like peas. I actually achieved a good result with the peas cooked in rice and bacon.

At its greenest stage, when seeds have not formed, apparently the whole pod can be eaten. The green pods took ages (well, half an hour) to cook to tenderness. They were actually a let down and tasted over-cooked and sucked of all vitality.

Anyway, the next experiment will be to sprout the dried seeds to see if this will reduce the cooking time. I will keep you posted with my adventures with pigeon pea!

Belize, Food, Plants

Spicy Sapodilla Sauce.

February 9, 2015 Munchkin

It is the beginning of harvest time for Sapodilla fruit here in Belize. We planted a whole orchard of this delectable fruit so we are expecting a bountiful crop this year.

The Sapodilla tree is widely known for the gummy latex which is obtained from the bark to make chicle. The fruit have the texture of rough peaches and have a distinctive cinnamon taste. Since we have so much of it, I have started to experiment with it. So far, I have found that they have a similar consistency to tomatoes, so I am using them as a substitute. Today I made Spicy Sapodilla Sauce with Pasta:

I used Seed Amaranth as a garnish because I thought that the sauce was a tad pale looking. Don’t worry if you don’t have that…it was just to add a bit of colour.

I spiced up the sweet sauce with chilli peppers, onion and spring onions. The result was a thumbs up from Munchkin and Gnome! Watch out for more Sapodilla recipes…might try pizza next!

Casa Mascia Apothecary