Category Archives: Farming

Paradise Piggies: Close Call For Mayor Gnome!

July 9, 2015 Munchkin

On Wednesday morning of this week, Mayor Gnome called an urgent meeting to discuss a serious maternity issue. After the last blunder with the homeless baby piggies, he has been extra cautious with decision making for the gated guinea-pig community of Paradise Pastures.

The problem was this mother piggie…look at the size of her! A young teenager, in her first pregnancy, 10 days past her estimated delivery date.

Mayor Gnome called in the Dr. Munchkin DRCOG (member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) for her expert opinion on the matter.

This is what Dr. Munchkin said:

Here in Toledo, Belize there are no facilities available for induction of labour simply because of the small population of this area. The council would have insufficient funds to maintain such a facility. I have examined the young mother and she has an unfavourable, unripe cervix and three foetuses can be felt high up in the uterus and at present, there are no signs of her going into labour. Since this is the first pregnancy for this mother, she would be categorised at high risk so I would recommend an urgent elective c-section.

Mother Matilda was admitted into the Susan B Anthony Maternity wing for observation with a view to a c-section scheduled for Thursday morning.

I tell you what…Mayor Gnome must have been praying ALL night for a miracle because…

This morning, Matilda had a normal labour and gave birth to three sprightly new babies. Cor Blimey…it’s a Piggie Miracle!! As soon as the babies’ bums were licked, Mayor Gnome whisked the babes off into the Paisley Suite for a photo shoot:

Dr. Munchkin was seen shaking her fist at Mayor Gnome! How dare he snatch these babies away from the mother at such a critical bonding time!

She marched into the middle of the photo shoot to take the babies back to their mother! What a scene…angry Dr. Munchkin with her bulging eyes and Mayor Gnome with his “Devil-May-Care” attitude!

What’s Mayor Gnome up to? Swiping these babies so quickly to get a picture?

TRYING TO WIN VOTES FOR….

THE MAYOR ELECTION 21st SEPTEMBER 2015!!! BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.

We have a sneaky suspicion that Mayor Gnome would rather not be square…

He Wants Piggie Votes...at any cost! — He Wants Piggie Votes…at any cost!

Is there a dark side to Mayor Gnome?

Belize, Farming, Food, Mushrooms

Wild Chinese Mushrooms in Belize.

July 3, 2015 Munchkin

Hi Everyone! More wild mushrooms in Belize and we haven’t even stepped outside our farm! I have called these mushrooms “Chinese” because they are eaten mostly in Asian cuisine and they are commercially cultivated for this reason. The wonderful thing is that I can harvest them fresh in my own backyard rather than buying the dehydrated form from China via container transportation to the little known country of Belize.
This one is known as “snow ear” or “silver ear” fungus in Chinese. Yes, even I know this one because it is so popular in Asian cookery. If you ever find yourself in a Chinese household, you will be sure to find a packet of this dehydrated fungus secreted in their food cupboard. It is usually used in soups (pork soup in my household). Wiki states that it is cooked in sweet dishes…I have never heard of it being cooked in this way.
Tremella fuciformis growing on a dead branch on our farm; it is slowly getting bigger day by day:

You can buy this mushroom in the dehydrated form in Asian supermarkets. It looks like this:

The next one is another very popular Chinese fungus called “wood ear.” This is another “must have” in the Asian kitchen cupboard. Again, this one is used in soups and stews. Both the snow ear and the wood ear fungi have the texture and bite of soft and succulent ligamentous tissue…again, you have to be Asian to appreciate this. This is why we like eating them (Gnome likes them too…that’s because he is a wannabee Chinese). Auricularia auricula fungus growing wild on our farm:

Shop-bought dehydrated form of wood ear mushroom:

There is a spelling error on this packet: “Dride Black Fungus.” Gnome figured that it was a Scottish-Chinese who made the spelling mistake. Ha-Ha!!

And, of course, there is the paddy straw mushroom, which I have mentioned in previous posts, which preferentially grows on cacao trash (which we get from the Chocolate Factory in Toledo for manure). These are the egg-shaped mushrooms that you get in Chinese food and stir frys.
Volvariella volvacea on our farm:

You can buy these mushrooms canned in Asian Supermarkets. But guess what…we have fresh ones to eat…yeah!

What an auspicious three-some to find on our farm. Such delectable wild treats…who needs a restaurant when we have the best food right here at home. Whenever I mention going out to eat, Gnome laments and says: Wah!! Our Food is fresh fresh fresh…what more do you want? Why waste money eating bad food outside?

Sometimes he sounds just like my mum! And so we feast a plenty at home…

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

We Have a Big Baby!

July 2, 2015 Munchkin

We have our first big baby weighing in at a formidable 28lbs (14 kgs).

We have had our eyes on this little one for quite a few months and have affectionately called them our jackfruit “babies” because they resemble giant pods that look like they will burst open at any moment and something alive will pop out of them!

This is the first year that our jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) trees have produced so we are very pleased. Jackfruit can weigh up to about 40 kgs so they give you a lot to eat. We picked this one when it started emitting its characteristic musky fragrance and when the outer shell was pressed, the flesh behind it felt softer.

A word of warning…if you ever get a hold one of these babies, be prepared to spend at least one hour preparing it. Use plenty of newspaper and coat your knives in oil to stop the latex from sticking onto the utensils. Also, wearing rubber gloves (and goggles!) helps so that you are not too immersed in goo and latex. Don’t let any of this worry you…it is definitely worth it!

To prepare, cut the jackfruit into quarters lengthwise. Then cut out the mid-line pith, like so:

The jackfruit is mostly eaten for its delectable arils. Take these out and pop out the seeds. All parts of the jackfruit are edible so do not throw anything out except for the shell. So this is what you get:

The Fruit:

The fruit can be eaten fresh. Our variety is a firm type which we prefer. There are softer varieties which tend to be moist and sweet and have the consistency of snot (still good, though). You can freeze the fruit and eat in the frozen form. They can be used to make desserts such as ice-cream or fruit pie. I really like my fruit savoury, so I am going to stuff some of these with minced pork. Yum! There are plenty of recipes to be found on the Internet; just look up Malaysian, Indian, Ethiopian and Cambodian cuisine to name but a few.

The Seeds:

These can be boiled and eaten as a snack or used as a carbohydrate accompaniment to a meal. They taste like breadnut (also Artocarpus sp.) or chestnuts (if you are from the temperate region). The seeds just need to be boiled for about 20 to 30 minutes until tender and the shell comes off easily.

The Rest:

Don’t throw out the rest of the fruit! A great deal of it is composed of unformed arils which are edible. They tend to be less mature and may have more latex on them. I use this part for cooking in stews, stir-frys and curries. You can also dip them in batter and fry them in oil (like onion rings). Again, this part of the fruit can be stored in the freezer.

We are going to be eating mostly jackfruit…

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Fiction, Pets

Paradise Piggies: Baby Blunder and Condo Cock-up!

June 29, 2015 Munchkin

It’s not all paradise for the piggies at Paradise Pastures presently. Mayor Gnome has found himself in the piggie line-of-fire as a rogue guinea-pig mother gave birth to babies outside of the maternity suite in the late hours of Monday night. In his defence, Gnome says that this mother has had a poor attendance record and had failed to book into the ante-natal clinic. As a result of this, two shivering little piggies were found wandering the streets of Paradise Pastures this morning.

In attempt to quell trouble and potential piggie up-rising, Mayor Gnome improvised immediately by putting the two homeless babies in a quickly constructed Special Care Piggie Unit (SCPU). The Douglas Suite:

Upon release from SCPU, the babies were re-united with their mother in the The Susan B Anthony Maternity Wing:

Mayor Gnome acted quickly. But was it quick enough? There is trouble brewing and this could be the start of something bigger. Mayor Gnome better watch out…there’s a condo shortage and we have an exclusive picture right here:

Not enough condos to house the piggies!! What does Mayor Gnome have to say about this? Destitution in Paradise Pastures…what next??

Mayor Gnome: We need a solution…or YOU ARE OUT!!

Belize, Farming, Fermentation

Making Passionfruit Melomel

June 23, 2015 Munchkin

The days are getting sunnier and drier and so we are able to get up at 4am and finish all our work by 10am. Gnome has been cleaning up the coconuts and brush-mowing all the tall grass and small trees in that area. We have managed to use up all the fallen coconuts so presently, we are unable to process any coconuts until Gnome procures a big stick (20 feet or 6 metres) to knock them down. Gnomes do not possess the character trait of scaling heights (unless in emergency situations) so anyone waiting for our coconut products needs to wait for the big stick. He would rather have his feet firmly planted on the ground…Gnomes are kinda earthy creatures.

During the midday heat, we are (romantically) reading the Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica textbook together (thank-you Ted Berlin for your generosity in sharing such wonderful works). I read out loud whilst Gnome makes occasional comments on the specific herbal monographs that we read about. Interestingly enough, it takes him less time to understand the Traditional Chinese Medicine model. I still have my feet firmly (somewhat) entrenched in “anglo-thinking” whilst Gnome understands Chinese concepts better since he grew up in Asia. To put it in his terms: I am a “banana”; yellow on the outside and white on the inside and he is an “egg”; white on the outside and yellow on the inside. It is so funny because he thinks he is more Chinese than I am and I am Chinese but happen to have been brought up in Scotland.

Yes, you have guessed it…we are closet encyclopaedia readers and we are “coming out” with it. Well, I suppose that is how we became doctors…by reading copiously.

Anyway, enough about us. I am sure that you just wanted to know about the Passion fruit melomel! Well today, I sieved out the pulp and juice of 10 passion fruit:

I added water to the pulp (an extra 2 litres or 2 quarts). We then added about 750mls (3 cups) of honey to get a specific gravity of about 1.09 to 1.1 which translates to a 12.5% alcohol content. I then sterilised the solution by boiling it up. Next, I poured it all into a 1 gallon carboy and sealed it with an air-lock.

The last step is to “pitch the yeast” which just means adding the yeast once the mead has cooled down. And then you wait for the bubbling (fermentation) to commence…Blub Blub Blub!! Wait a while, wait a little longer and when you can not possibly wait any longer, you drink it! How easy is that? Munckin Magical Melomel!! Try to wait out at least 3 months!!

Belize, Farming, Food

Cooking with Cashew Fruit.

June 21, 2015 Munchkin

I have discovered the wonders of cooking cashew fruit and Ioving it! I have managed to get most of the tannic properties out of the fruit by peeling them. At first, I thought that I would peel them llike tomatoes (boil them, take them off the heat quickly and then peel) but when I actually got down to peeling the raw fruit, it wasn’t that difficult. So, here is a picture of the peeled fruit:

Here is a picture of the chopped fruit:

For all you vegetarians out there, this fruit has the texture of chicken breast so you could use the following recipe but omit the sausage. It has a good enough texture to give a satisfying bite.

My recipe is: Pork Sausage and Cashew Fruit Casserole.

I used some curry leaf in the recipe. The Curry plant actually grows very well here in Belize:

We were both very pleased with the cooked cashew fruit! The only problem is that that every single fruit is getting gobbled up by the paca (gibnut) community and as soon as one drops from the tree, it disappears. Gnome says that this is fair exchange for eating two gibnuts a year.

Belize, Farming, Food, Mushrooms

Paprika Stinkhorn Egg with Nori Flakes.

June 19, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone, you are getting two posts almost back to back because our Internet was down for most of the day. The day started off with a thunderstorm and stayed stormy for most of the day; there was also a power-cut for most of the morning.

As promised, I have posted up my recipe with the Witches’ Eggs which I foraged yesterday. I seasoned the sliced immature stinkhorn mushrooms with paprika and white pepper.

The dish actually turned out nicely and Gnome commended me for my efforts. Prior to eating, he had been giving me a sideway neophobic ducky look in preparation for the slimy quality of the mushroom. However, when he did eat it, he looked surprised and likened it to oysters; he said that they should be called “vegetarian oysters” or “faux oysters.”

The toasted nori flakes complimented the “seafood” taste of the mushroom very well. For the full recipe, check out Paprika Stinkhorn Egg with Nori Flakes in Belize Wild Recipes.

At this point, I would like to thank our Chinese friend (real Chinese, not like me!) for emailing us to give us some more information on this fungus.

This is what she said (more or less):

This mushroom is called Zhu Sun in Chinese. The Zhu means bamboo (because it grows on bamboo litter) and it also has the same sound as congratulations. The Sun means smooth and successful. Zhu Sun also means longevity. This mushroom is usually eaten during Chinese New Year but can also be eaten all year round. The Chinese eat the mature mushroom and the recipes are usually found under “bamboo pith” on the Internet.

This information was a great help and we will be collecting some fresh mature specimens to eat. I can’t wait!

Yes, she is right, they do grow on bamboo litter as you can see:

May we all have the pleasure of eating such an auspicious mushroom!

Belize, Farming

Snake and Internet Crap.

June 17, 2015 Munchkin

Internet Crap…short post today!!

We have started getting up early (4am) in a neurotic (Belize still can’t take the neurosis out of two doctors, even after 10 years) bid to get everything done before it gets unbearably hot and humid at midday. Unfortunately, there was no committee meeting so the other animals (especially the night shift ones) haven’t quite got the hang of the new schedule. This morning, we found a snake fast asleep next to the freezer. I walked right passed it because I was half asleep and then I had to do a “double-take” and realise that there was a snake next to me whilst I was filling the teapot. I was quite unfazed by the snake and merely said “Snake!” to Gnome. He quickly got two sticks and used them like chop-sticks and got him out!! We then had a nice cup of tea (Ahhh…hits the spot!!) and started the day!

Belize, Farming, Food

Baked Wax Apples Stuffed with Chilli Beef.

June 16, 2015 Munchkin 2 Comments

We have so many wax apples on our farm this year…we have even been giving them away to our piggies.

We have been eating a lot of them raw. Because they have the crispy texture of an apple, I thought that they would do well baked. And, then I thought of chilli beef and hey presto, I came up with this recipe: Wax Apples Stuffed with Chilli Beef.

To stuff the wax apples, you just need to cut a wedge into the bottom. Like so:

Stuffed wax apples:

I slow-baked the stuffed wax apples with onions so that the onions could form a nice gravy.

We ate it with a side of green vegetables:

We really enjoyed this dish and this is also a great way of cooking other fruits in the Syzygium family, notably the Malay (Molly) Apple.

Enjoy your evening!! It has been raining all day.

Bees, Belize, Farming, Pets

Animal Farm.

June 14, 2015 Munchkin 3 Comments

Here are some pictures of “animals in action” on our farm. First of all, I would like to say that our cat is back on track after his traumatic event. He rather enjoyed being fed three times a day and the intensive heavy petting. No more nightmares for Kitty and by the way, he is sleeping well. This is the cat “not in action.”

Tarantula in the house…this one might actually be a resident but we don’t mind because he does the night shift so only comes out after dark. I used to be terrified of spiders when I lived in Scotland (and they were tiny compared to the ones here). Anyway, I actually think that the furriness makes the tarantula look cute and cuddly.

I am pleased to tell you that The Gnome Mark III Stingless Bee Beehive has been a success and the little troopers are doing their thing.

And, of course, our beloved piggies residing at the famous gated community of Paradise Pastures are doing their piggie thing…eating. The population is now 15 with 4 expecting mothers. The maternity wing is ready to receive them! A few days ago, Mayor Gnome presented each of them with a gift of a personal wax apple. They were very happy but somewhat confused over personal ownership and so they ended up playing a popular piggie game called “snatch and grab.”

Doing a photo shoot with guinea pigs is actually really difficult because they tend to be camera-shy. As soon as they see a camera pointing at them they usually scurry off into the corners. So, you have to realise that I took about 30 camera clicks to get these photos. I have to say that Stumpy (the Grandmother of all the piggies so-called because she has one stumped leg due to an unfortunate accident in the past) is a real champion with photos because she has bilateral cataracts so she can’t spot the camera. She’s a real natural, very photogenic:

Grandma Stumpy on the right. What a Cutey!

Another piggie picture:

This is a huge caterpillar (the size of a finger) feasting on our fig plant. We eventually had to flick it off because it ate up all the foliage.

And, last but not least. This frog jumped onto Gnome’s shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

Gnome is much loved by the frog community for continuing the breeding program in various buckets of water on the farm.

Casa Mascia Apothecary