Category Archives: Food

Belize, Food, Plants

Tropical Cranberry Jelly!

together-munchkin-eating-foodHello to y’all who are running around like headless chickens trying to find a can of cranberry jelly for Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.  I have found the perfect substitute.  It is made from a fruit that we have coined “sour peach” which grows here in the Belize.  It has a lovely peachy aroma but once you bite into it, you start pulling funny faces because it is sooooo sour!

Sour Peach aka Eugenia spicata:

Sour Peach.
Sour Peach.

The making of the jelly…Munchkin Magic…Check out the recipe…

Sour Peach Jelly.
Sour Peach Jelly.

When the yellow fruit cooks, it becomes a beautiful red colour.  There is a lot of pectin in this fruit so it sets up nicely.

Sour Peach Jam/ Jelly.
Sour Peach Jam/ Jelly.

Happy Thanksgiving Day tomorrow to y’all out there who are going to celebrate.

Belize, Farming, Food, Medical Related, Plants

Not So Good!

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Munchkin.Wailing

Oooooh!!  Arrrghhhh!  I don’t do very well when I’m sick.  I just get awfully whiny so today, Gnome had to deal with me as a patient.  I really hate to be a patient!!

Gnome: “Why are you whining more than normal, Munchkin?”

Munchkin: “Waaaaahhhh!!!  Waaahh!!”

Gnome: “Can you communicate in a more coherent way so that I could assist you in some way?”

Munchkin: “Waaahhhh!!  I have mouth ulcers and they really hurt…it really hurts even to drink a cup of tea!”

Gnome “Oh dear….”

So, I’m not that sick but sick enough to feel that my energy levels are lower than normal.  Doctor Gnome has prescribed serosi (bitter gourd) leaf tea as my treatment, three times a day for the next week.  No Munchkin fried yummies and no meat.  In Chinese medicine, mouth ulcers are considered an indication of “heatiness”…this is a condition not recognised in western medicine.  The remedy is the intake of “cooling” foods and teas.  Serosi is considered a cooling plant.

Fresh Serosi.
Fresh Serosi.

I’m also eating some of these…ear mushrooms foraged from our farm:

Ear Mushroom.
Ear Mushroom.

Oh, and if I can find enough slugs, I’ll have them too.  That’s not a joke, by the way, we are talking about raising slugs/snails for meat but no profit!

Snails.
Snails.
Amusing, Belize, Blog, Farming, Food, Plants

Unusual Edible Greens!

It’s official: The Blogging Wars have started and Man-Shack Panda is in the lead!  If this keeps up, we’ll be making Panda Appreciation Products (PAP) as an off-shoot of  Casa Mascia.

Gnome: “Dearest, there are no blogging wars…it’s all in your head!”

gnome-shiny-glasses.png

 

Munchkin: “I know…but the mere whiff of competition gets the stats up!”

Munchkin.Feeling.Rightous

Anyway, let’s not get waylaid by interpersonal blogging.  This blog is about living in the bush and the wonderful things that come with the change in lifestyle.  Here are some unusual greens from the farm.

Jute leaves are very nice to eat steamed or stir-fried.

Jute Leaves.
Jute Leaves.

Oooohhh…horse radish leaves…tastes like mustard:

Horseradish
Horseradish

We bought some chia seed from the supermarket and managed to grow them.  They have mint-like fragrance and makes a nice tasting tea:

Chia Seed Plant.
Chia Seed Plant.

C’mon then, give Munchkin some Likes!!  She is sticking to the true essence of the Blog!!

Amusing, Belize, Food

The Perfect Chips!!

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together-munchkin-eating-food

When I say Chips, I mean fried potato cut into chunks like what you get in the Fish ‘n Chip shop in Glasgow.  Some people call them french fries but that has connotations of skinny fried potatoes.  I mean chunks!

I got this idea from watching an anime about a young chef trying to create innovative meals and in one particular episode he was cooking potatoes in a bamboo steamer.  The reason behind is that you get perfectly cooked potatoes without the sogginess associated with boiling them.  So, I tried this method too but took it a step further to make chips:

Steaming Potatoes.
Steaming Potatoes.

They just need to be steamed for 15 to 20 minutes until they are tender but still firm.  Switch off the heat and allow to cool down.  At this point, they are dry and ready to be fried.  Simply fry the chips at about 400F (200C) until nicely browned.  Double fry if you want it extra crispy…this is another anime tip…just scoop the fried potato and hold it over the oil in a wire basket for 30 seconds (letting the oil drain) and then re-immerse in cooking oil for the second fry.

Ooooh…look at this:

Fried Chips.
Fried Chips.

Just like Glasgow…but serve with a wedge of lime for some Belizean flair.  Otherwise, if you want to be traditional, smothered in tomato ketchup and malted vinegar!

Belize, Food

Thankyou For The KitKats!

munchkin-eating-bread-chair

Hello Everyone, I better keep on writing because ever since we changed hosts, our viewing stats have virtually gone to zero.  We are lucky if we even get 2 views in a day!  Just a quickie this time to thank our Singapore connection for the packages of special Asian food.  This time, we got Matcha (green tea) KitKats!!  I tell you…if you ever have one of these Japanese specialty KitKats, the ordinary milk chocolate/dark chocolate/even white chocolate do not compare!!

Matcha KitKats
Matcha KitKats

Also, a Big Thank-you for all the other wonderful stuff including the lovely mooncakes, teh tarek and sambal belachan.   What a treat!!

Belize, Food

Serosi Chinese Style!

Together.Eating.Fire.Pot

Of course, another food post from The Munchkin.  Well, when you live on a farm and you grow your own food, it seems like the next logical step is the cook the wonderful harvests.  This is bitter gourd or bitter melon and is known as serosi in Belize.  It is renowned for its distinctive bitter taste.

Fresh Serosi.
Fresh Serosi.

The variety that is found here in Belize resembles the “Indian” variety.  The Chinese type tends to be larger and smoother looking.  Serosi is used also in traditional  medicine in many cultures to lower blood sugar and to treat infections (particularly parasitic infections eg. worms).  A tea from the leaves can also be consumed for its therapeutic value.

This recipe is Serosi Chinese Style and it is a family recipe.  My Mum cooks this on special occasions…Bitter Gourd Stuffed with Minced Pork.

Stuffed Serosi Pork.
Stuffed Serosi Pork.

Thank-you Mum for teaching me to cook.  I really appreciate the fact that we can eat healthy home-cooked meals everyday.  It’s all about the love and passion that you put into it!!

Belize, Food

Mango Chicken Curry.

Munchkin.More.EatingA good old authentic curry is made from onions and Indian spices…slowly, slowly cooked…trust me, I should know this since I am Scottish!  This recipe uses the same cooking process but instead of just onions, mangoes are also used to make the curry sauce.

Mangoes.
Mangoes.

This curry recipe does not take so long (compare with 48 hour Venison Curry!).  This one is relatively fast and can be enjoyed after 2 hours cooking…yum!!  Check out the link Mango Chicken Curry for the recipe.  The mangoes add a fruitiness to the delectable taste experience…with the Indian spices tumeric (yellow ginger), cinnamon, cumin and clove you simply can’t go wrong!

Mango Curry Dish.
Mango Curry Dish.

Lovely, Lovely….can’t beat a good curry!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Mushrooms, Plants

New Pictures.

Here are some new pictures from the farm taken by Gnome!  He has made improvements in leaps and bounds in his photography…his former pictures used to be blurry and out of focus.  Hmmm…maybe it is because he changed his glasses?!

This is Redhead (Hamelia patens) which is known for its natural medicinal properties; The flowers, leaves and stems are boiled in water and skin conditions such as wounds, sores, rash and insect bites are bathed in the decoction. Furthermore, the oral consumption of the decoction of the flowers and leaves is supposed to relieve menstrual cramps.

Redhead Berries Forming.
Redhead Berries Forming.

The berries from this plant are also edible…get them before the birds!

Red Head Flower Buds.
Red Head Flower Buds.

Ear mushrooms (Auricularia auricular); these wild mushrooms are edible and much loved by Asians.  Great in stews and stir-frys.

Ear Mushroom.
Ear Mushroom.
Ear Mushrooms.
Ear Mushrooms.

A beautiful ornamental.  These produce seedpods that resemble  woody roses.

Hawaiin Baby Woodrose.
Hawaiin Baby Woodrose.
Amusing, Belize, Food

Funny Mango Story!!

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Together.Pointing

A couple of weeks ago, when we were in the height of mango season, we chanced across somebody on the street selling huge bags of these black mangoes.  They are hairy, very juicy and loved by Belizeans.  When you eat these, you are expected to eat about 10 to 20 in one sitting because they are so delicious and very messy to eat; no point in dribbling mango juice down your front and elbows for less.

Black Mangoes.
Black Mangoes.

Anyway, a while later, we met a friend and hailed him down.  We grabbed a couple of these mangoes, that we had bought, and presented them to him as a gift.

Unexpectedly, he gave us a sideways suspicious look and he said cautiously,

“Where did you get these from?”

Before we had time to answer he said,

“Did you get them for a drunk Spanish guy?”

We nodded our heads in unison…in our heads we were thinking…yeah the guy kinda couldn’t walk in a straight line and had slurred speech!

Together.Talking.Horses

The friend picked a mango and scrutinized it,

“These are my mangoes!!  That guy is selling my mangoes!!”

Then he suddenly stopped and laughed, realised the humour of the whole situation and said,

“Ha-Ha!!  You guys are giving me back my own mangoes!!  No, no take them!!  I have plenty at home!!”

We all had a good laugh about it and then we drove back home to feast on the black mangoes…guilt-free!!