Category Archives: Food

Belize, Food, Plants

Pacaya in Season!

Munchkin.More.Eating

Pacaya is in season right now and is being sold in bunches at Punta Gorda Market.  Don’t miss out on this delicacy because it is only harvested for a short time.  These are the male inflorescences of the palm Chamaedorea tepejilote  and are hand-picked in the wild rainforests of Toledo.

Pacaya From Market.
Pacaya From Market.

To prepare pacaya simply make a slit lengthwise (see upper picture) to reveal the flowers which are the edible part (lower picture).

Pacaya Peeled.
Pacaya Peeled.

The Mayans at the market recommend that I chop the pacaya into pieces and cook it with egg.  I haven’t tried this yet.  I actually boil the pacaya for about 5 minutes and then I drain the water.  You can boil it for up to 20 minutes if you would like to remove the bitterness.  I like the bitter taste and I think that it is part of the whole culinary experience.

Pacaya Boiling.
Pacaya Boiling.

I’ve been eating the pacaya with a dash of soya sauce served with a bowl of miso soup.  This food has a crunchy texture with a pleasant bitterness.

Pacaya and Miso Soup.
Pacaya and Miso Soup.

I am sure you will find traditional recipes for pacaya on the Internet but if you are used to reading my Blog, you will be aware that I enjoy creating my own dishes.  Next on the list is pacaya tempura…ooooh, can’t wait!!

Amusing, Belize, Food, Mushrooms

On Eating Hericium Erinaceus…

Red.Bean.MunchkinI wasn’t sure how to title this post because this particular mushroom has so many names including: Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Bearded Tooth Mushroom, Satyr’s Beard, Bearded Hedgehog Mushroom and Pom Pom mushroom.  In Asian cuisine, it is known as Monkey Head Mushroom.  I have never found this particular mushroom in the wild but luckily for us you can obtain it in the dried form from the Taiwanese Supermarket in Belize City.    For a long time I had avoided these mushrooms because I did not know how to prepare them for cooking.  The Chinese person at the supermarket would look about me dubiously (because I kinda look like a Chinese person but act like a “white person”) and shake her head at me,

“…you know how to cook?  If you don’t do it right, it taste bitter…”

Well, this time, the Chinese person in me broke through and I was determined to try these tasty treats!

This is what it looks like  once it is soaked in water.

Soaking.Lion.Manes.Mushroom

I did some research on the preparation and basically you just need to soak the dried mushroom in water for about an hour until it gets soft.  During this time, you keep on changing the water until it turns clear.

After that you can cut it up into pieces and cook it anyway which way you want…sauted in butter, Chinese-style, in soups and stews, etc, etc.

I’ll be posting up some new recipes with Hericium erinaceus over the next few weeks so watch this space.  I did my first test cook by sautéing it in cacao butter with onions and garlic:

Sauted Lion's Mane.
Sauted Lion’s Mane.

The verdict:

“It’s tasty!  It tastes like chicken!!”

Yum.Yum.Gnome

I replied by saying,

“Oh, but…on the Internet, they say it tastes like “beef!”

Does It Taste Like Chicken or Beef?
Does It Taste Like Chicken or Beef?
Belize, Farming, Fermentation, Food, Plants

Sapodillas In Season!

Together.Tank.Top

Sapodillas (Manilkara zapote) are in season again and this year we have a bumper harvest.  The fruit has a very sweet caramel-honey taste.  We have been picking them every morning.  For an inexperienced picker, the ripe fruit forms a taut and shiny appearance.  At first it is difficult to spot but after picking hundreds of them you can get the hang of it.  Here is a picture of Gnome ready for action on the farm!

Gnome Armed With Fruit Picker.
Gnome Armed With Fruit Picker.
Picking Sapodilla.
Picking Sapodilla.
Picking Sapodilla!
Picking Sapodilla!

This year, we are going to sun-dry some of them.  We like to eat them with beef jerky!

Dried Sapodilla.
Dried Sapodilla.

Some more sapodilla melomel would go down nicely!

Sapodilla Melomel.
Sapodilla Melomel.

Oooooh, so many to pick and so much to make!!  We will of course eat some of them too…

Sapodilla Fruit, Ready To Eat.
Sapodilla Fruit, Ready To Eat.
Belize, Farming, Food, Mushrooms, Pets, Philosophy

Wee Wee Ant Fungus.

Munchkin.Hair.Flowing

The Wee Wee ants (or leaf cutter ants) are one of the most annoying things to any person wishing to grow their own plants and trees in Belize.  These pesky ants come out in formidable numbers harvesting vegetation (leaves, flowers and cut grass) as a nutritional substrate for their fungus.  They come out in such huge numbers, they are even capable of defoliating a tree in one night.  We know this because it happens on our farm!  One day, our tree is looking magnificent…the next day, it is totally destroyed!!

These ants usually form mounds above ground which lead down to their underground cities.  I call them “cities” because these nests can grow to 100 ft (30m) across with smaller radiating mounds growing to about 260ft (80m) and can house eight million ants.  Amazing!!

These wee wee  ants cultivate a fungus by feeding it with fresh cut plant material (ie. all our lovely plants and trees).  Furthermore, these ants carry a bacterium which protects the fungi from pests and molds.  This is a really nice symbiotic relationship…sometimes you wish that us humans could form a better mutualistic relatiionship with the planet in the same way as these ants!  The fungus is used to feed the ant larvae.

I asked Gnome,

“Why can’t humans behave properly like the ants and live in balance with the Earth?”

Gnome was in no mood for “love and light” and said:

Gnome.Angry.Look

“…because most of them are idiots!!”

Even though these ants are a real pest on our farm, I can’t help but admire them for their diligent activities.

The other day, we actually found a leaf-cutter colony above ground because it was hidden in a particularly overgrown area.

Above Ground Wee Wee Ant Nest.
Above Ground Wee Wee Ant Nest.

This is the fungus.  We tasted a bit of it and it was quite sweet and mushroom-like.  We are thinking of cultivating it to eat and like all this stuff, it probably has medicinal properties.  The duckies certainly liked the mushroom as you can see them chomping it down:

Duckies Eating Wee Wee Ant Fungus.
Duckies Eating Wee Wee Ant Fungus.

Another Gnome project to add to the never-ending list!!

Amusing, Belize, Food

Novelty Jesus Packets.

Together.Eating

Another gift from our missionary friend which we have coined Novelty Jesus Packets.  On one hand, we are always grateful for the gifts bestowed on behalf of Jesus.  On the other hand, we are aghast at this type of processed food in a packet.  Each pack is supposed to hold one meal of pasta or rice.  We found out that you can buy these rinky-dink things for $5.00 Belize Dollars.  Do you know you can buy 5lbs of rice with that money?  Or, five packets of pasta?  Scary!!

Novelty Packets.
Novelty Packets.

We tried the Chicken rice one…apparently you have to add your own half chicken and 1/2 lb slab of Monterey cheese to complete the meal.  Am I missing something then?  What is the point in buying the packet when you have to buy all the ingredients for it?  Might as-well just buy rice, right?

We did attempt to cook it as a meal.  However, I did not have the chicken and cheese to go with it:

Packeted Meal.
Packeted Meal.

The original meal was supposed to be the rice portion on the upper left side.  I had to add the rest because it looked rather pale, anaemic and sorry-looking.  I added the greens to the rice to give it a bit of colour.  The eggs and bread were a “last minute” make-over because the rice meal lacked ooomph!!  Our verdict of the packeted rice:  very, very salty and no interesting or pleasing flavour.  Rather mundane.  Nonetheless, the gift still provided an experience that we would otherwise not have and so I can now be certain that we are not missing out!

Belize, Food

Fried Bread Sticks.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.Smile

This is an easy snack made from very simple ingredients.  Use your favourite bread recipe to make about 1 to 2 cups of dough (depending on how much fried yum yums you desire) and roll it out on a flat surface.

Mixing Dough.
Mixing Dough.

Cut the dough into strips and then leave uncovered for about 2 hours if you are in the tropics.  If you are in a temperate country, leave it out for about 4 to 6 hours.

When you are ready to fry, brush the surface of the strips with egg.  Now, this is the inventive and exciting part and it is up to you how you flavour your breadsticks!  You could try sesame seeds, anise, basil, garlic powder, Italian herbs, etc, etc.  Just use your imagination!

This is what I did:

I separated the dough strips into three batches and with batch 1, I sprinkled rosemary and salt.  Batch 2 had sprinkled paprika and salt and Batch 3 had brushed egg only; once fried and drained, sifted icing sugar was added.

Heat the vegetable oil to about 400F.  Fry the bread sticks in the three batches.  They should puff up nicely and cook within about 2 to 3 minutes.  Drain well.

Fried Bread Sticks.
Fried Bread Sticks.

These are great as a snack or as an accompaniment to a meal.  Our favourite was the batch sprinkled with icing sugar…savoury sweet!

Fried Bread Sticks With Icing Sugar.
Fried Bread Sticks With Icing Sugar.
Belize, Food, Plants

Dissecting The Brain!

The Brain!!
The Brain!!

If you recall in a previous article, there is a certain ground root that we coined “The Brain” because well, we thought it looked like a big brain!

Elephant Foot Yam.
Elephant Foot Yam.

Kind of…you really have to be a doctor to appreciate the brain thing.  Other names are Amorphophallus paeoniifolis or elephant foot yam.

This is what the plant looks like:

The Brain.
The Brain.

It has a characteristic spotting on the stem and it also produces a beautiful flower.  Ours hasn’t flowered yet so sorry, no picture as yet.

The good thing about this yam is that it can be harvested and stored for about 3 months.  This is great for the tropics because most ground vegetables have to be processed soon after harvest or else they go bad…take for example cassava.  Anyway, I left this brain out on the veranda for months before I found the time to sort it out.  This is how you prepare elephant foot yam:

Wear a pair of gloves whilst processing as the uncooked root contains oxalic crystals which can cause itchy dermatitis.  Firstly pare the root with a sharp knife and then cut into uniform cubes about an inch in size.  Wash thoroughly with water.

Pare and Wash Elephant Foot Yam.
Pare and Wash Elephant Foot Yam.

Next, place in a cooking pot with a teaspoon of salt.  Bring to boil and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes.  After this, add about 100g (3oz) of cream cheese to the pot and boil for another 10 minutes.  Traditionally, in Indian cuisine, curds or tamarind paste are added at this point to further remove the itchy sensation caused by the oxalic acid.  I had neither ingredient in my kitchen, so I opted to use Philadelphia Cream Cheese which seemed to work in the same way.

Processing The Brain.
Processing The Brain.

Once tender, drain off the water.  You can eat it at this point or bag it into smaller portions to store in the freezer.  The yam can be eaten as a substitute in any potato dish and there are numerous traditional recipes on the Internet; usually in the form of wet and dry curries.

Cooked Elephant Foot Yam.
Cooked Elephant Foot Yam.

This yam grows prolifically in the Tropics and so I recommend that every self-sufficient person should have a patch of this growing somewhere on their land.  This is great survival food because there is so much of it!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Fruits in Season.

Munchkin.Shouting

There is always something new to harvest on the farm.  Right now, the mulberries have just started.

Mulberry Tree.
Mulberry Tree.

I will be collecting this fruit to make our very popular Mulberry Elixir.  The final product is a beautiful dark purple colour and it has a lovely, rich berry taste.

This one is a local fruit called monkey cap.  It has the consistency of peanut butter and is much-loved by the birds.  For all bird-lovers out there, this is one to plant if want to attract all the birdies with pretty colours.  The toucans like this one.

Monkey Caps.
Monkey Caps.

The monkey cap tree also makes a nice ornamental for those into landscaping.

Monkey Cap Tree.
Monkey Cap Tree.

Oh, and last but not least…we got our first soursop of the year.  Everyone in Belize loves this fruit.  I can’t give it justice by describing it but it has a kind of wet cotton-like consistency with a unique tropical fruit taste.  I asked Gnome to help me describe the flavour and this is what he said:

“Well…it tastes like a soursop!”

Gnome.at.Lunch.Table

Well, Thank-you Gnome…that was extremely helpful!!

Big Soursop.
Big Soursop.

The farm keeps on producing!!

Belize, Farming, Fermentation, Food, Philosophy, Plants

Processing White Peppercorns.

Munchkin.Feeling.Rightous

This year we decided to process our pepper into white pepper.  Usually, we just pick them green…

Harvested Green Peppercorn.
Harvested Green Peppercorn.

And as they dry out in the sun, they become black peppercorns.

Black Pepper.
Black Pepper.

Because I mostly cook Chinese food, white pepper is actually more useful for me from a culinary point of view.  The preparation of white pepper requires a bit more work.  This is what you do:  Pick the peppercorns when they start turning red:

Picked Peppercorn.
Picked Peppercorn.

Then place these peppercorns in water to let them all ferment.  After a while, the water will get bubbly and murky.  Each day, dip your hands in the water and rub the peppercorns with the palms of your hand.  This “retting” procedure loosens the outer shell to release the white peppercorn.  Do this for 7 days…you can throw away the outer shells each day but leave the white peppercorns to ferment and do their magic.  It all gets rather smelly but hey, I think it is really important to understand the value of doing things yourself.  Now I know why ground white pepper costs $30 Belize Dollars per pound and I will no longer complain about the price!

On the 7th day, drain off all the water:

Processing White Pepper.
Processing White Pepper.

Separate the white peppercorns:

Sorting White Pepper.
Sorting White Pepper.

You will find that the peppercorns are at different stages.  Remove the white peppercorns and let them dry out in the sun.  The rest of the pepper (which still has the outer hard shell) can be placed back in a clean bowl of water.  At this stage, you can add newly harvested pepper to repeat the 7 day process of fermentation again.

So there you go.  You will find that when you consciously spend the time and energy in processing your own food, it becomes a matter of necessity.  It isn’t about economics anymore…it’s about eating good food that money can’t buy.

Belize, Food

Mozzarella Rice Bake.

Munchkin.More.Eating

What to do with leftover rice?  Instead of the usual fried rice, I came up with this really easy recipe.  It is a bit like a rice pizza made with mozzarella and capers as topping.  You can use this concept to create a meat free dish if you are vegetarian.

Mozzarella Rice Bake.

Check out the full recipe for Mozzarella Rice Bake

in Belize Wild Recipes which has over sixty recipes which have been created with much love and gusto by Munchkin.