Category Archives: Food

Amusing, Food

The Trouble With Grapefruit.

I haven’t written a meal related article for a while.  Well, it is because I have been having a bit of trouble with grapefruit.  Straight after the Tangerine Marathon, the grapefruits started raining down.

Well the trouble started with trying to convert to a grapefruit only diet first of all…at the time, it seemed like a good idea (well, before we actually started).  Anyway, I maxed out at only four grapefruits a day because I was eating the skin and pith around the flesh and it turned out to give me digestive problems.  It started off with gastritis, a bit of abdominal spasm and then bountiful flatulence.  It was not very amusing…I can tell you that.

Anyway, I am not one to give up on food so then I started eating only the pulp of the grapefruit.  This meant that I had to painstakingly remove skin, pith and pips and with this tedious activity, I maxed out at two grapefruits a day.

I next tried to incoporate grapefruit pulp into all our main meals.  It is actually okay used as a side serving with the mean meal in place of the vegetables.  It is especially good with a fatty meal as the citrus helps to cut through the grease.  However, the common yellow grapefruit is not particularly photogenic and the insipid pale yellow colour really doesn’t add excitement to the overall look of a dish.

A Side Serving of Yellow Grapefruit witha Meal.
A Side Serving of Yellow Grapefruit witha Meal.

The picture is actually quite embarrassing but I assure you that the meal tasted better than it looked.  This is real home cooked food which is made for the purposes of eating and not for appearances.  Hence, sometimes colours are not correctly balanced but I suppose this is probably a better potrayal of real food.

Anyway, after a few days of that, the grapefruit citrus flavour was really getting on my nerves so I decided that some creativity was needed, on my part, to please the taste buds.

Well, I am of the opinion that any thing that is fried usually tastes good so I tried my hand at some grapefruit fritters.  I basically mixed grapefruit pulp in flour and mixed it to a custard-like state with no water added.  I added salt, pepper and chopped hot chilli peppers to the mixture.  The result was okay; well, it looked okay:

Grapefruit Fritters.
Grapefruit Fritters.

However, truth be told, the grapefruit fritters tasted quite bland and you couldn’t taste much of anything.  The only thing going for it was that it happened to be deep fried in oil!  So, sorry, this one is not going into the recipe section.

In conclusion, we all have our share of disasters and disappointments in the kitchen.  Not every meal that you eat can be a snap-shot beauty but let’s try to remember that it is the taste that matters.  Meanwhile,  I will persist valiantly with the grapefruit eating since they are still falling off the tree!

 

 

Belize, Farming, Food

Yummy Smelly White Cacao Fruit.

Balam Cacao Fruit.
Balam Cacao Fruit.

This is a picture of the Mayan Cacao which is called Balam in Toledo, Belize.  The latin name is Theobroma bicolor; it is an unusual variety because the beans are actually white (as opposed to black/purple) and its pulp has a strong, pungent smell and taste.  September to November is the usual harvest time and we are collecting them from our trees right now.  They are usually ready when they fall off the tree and the fruit starts showing a yellow tinge.  The fruit is esteemed by the Mayans here and they like to grind the fermented cacao beans to make a chocolate drink; in fact, they think the taste of this bean is better that the normal chocolate bean (theobroma cacao).

Toledo is hailed as a good cultivation area for cacao plantations; local farmers have been encouraged to plant normal cacao for international chocolate companies.  The current feeling on this “White Cacao” amongst the chocolate-making community is that it is not a variety that imparts a taste familiar to high standard chocolate.

Well, I don’t really care about what top chocolatiers think because I like to eat and experiment with everything we have on the farm and I am not swayed by fads and fashion.  Right now, we are drying and fermenting some beans out in the sun with a view to making our own home-made chocolate.  I will keep you posted on what happens to our white chocolate.  As an interesting aside, the pulp of the cacao has characteristic aromas similar to jack fruit (and durian) and because I like oriental smells, I think it is intensely fragrant and tasty.

Belize, Food

Cassava Bread Hors D’oeuvres.

This article is mainly aimed for the reader in Belize who thinks that it is so difficult to find something yummy and convenient to make. Here in Belize (at least in the Southern Region), the Garifuna people make cassava bread which is a flattened, unleavened bread which they traditionally eat with fish.  It is not even something that is found on eating out and in fact, to get your paws on traditionally made cassava bread, you really have to befriend a Garifuna, stay in their village, and then you may be fortunate enough to have some of this cuisine.  Traditionally, cassava bread in Belize, is made manually and this involves a long, intensive process of grating cassava by hand (lots and lots of it…sacks and sacks), a system of poles and tree limbs (even with women standing on poles) and the eventual flattening and cooking of the bread on comals.  This is a project which my partner and I have long held off since it is a lot of work and you need people power.

Shop-bought Cassava Bread in Punta Gorda.
Shop-bought Cassava Bread in Punta Gorda.

So, you will realise my glee and absolute wonder to discover shop-bought Cassava Bread here in Punta Gorda, Toledo, Belize!  It is found in all the Chinese Supermarkets sold at approximately $6.75 Bz for just under a pound.  If you understand the effort and sheer man-power required in this bread, it is a snap at this price.  A quick look at Amazon.com shows that our international readers can buy cassava bread on-line (mostly imported from French Caribbean countries) if they are interested in trying out my suggestions.

Cassava Bread is sold in square packets and when you open up the pack, you will notice that they are scored into smaller squares. Ideally, you should be able to snap off these portions but I have found that, with its bendy-like consistency, it is actually easier to cut the squares out with scissors.

Here are some pictures of serving suggestions for shop-bought cassava bread.  You can basically use it as a base for hors d’oeuvres…with a difference since it is cassava bread.  Think of some important people paying you an impromptu visit in Belize and you whip this up in 5 minutes for them!  Its not your ubiquitous cracker…it is cassava bread, indigenous to Belize and it is also gluten-free.  I have used it also as a pizza base and as a quick snack.  The possibilities are endless.

Cassava.Bread.Snacks1
Cassava Bread Hors D’oeuvre with Tuna, Tomato, Olives and Basil.

 

Cassava Bread Snack with Mozzarella and Onions.
Cassava Bread Snack with Mozzarella and Onions.

The cassava bread can be eaten straight out of the packet or if you want to crisp it up a bit, it can placed in the oven for about 5 minutes.  This bread is a great discovery for me because it is only made with raw materials and no additives.  Since its original use was as a preservation method for cassava, you can stash lots of this at home as emergency food or for the impromptu visitor.

 

Belize, Food

We are Mostly Eating Tangerines.

When you live on a farm, there is a time of the year for different fruits and vegetables and when there is a bountiful crop, it requires inventiveness on my part to think of as many ways to eat the same thing without getting tired of it.  It is Tangerine Time right now in Southern Belize and basically we have lots of it.  Here in Toledo, anything that is citrus but is not an orange, grapefruit or lime is grouped under the category of “tangerine”.  See below the many faces of the Tangerine:

"Tangerines" of Belize.
“Tangerines” of Belize.

Now, I am sure there are proper names for each of these including mandarin, tangelo and satsuma but for all intents and purposes it really does not matter, because my exploration on this matter is on the eating of it.  In this blog, I would like to share with you what we have actually been eating in the last 24 hours which have been tangerine-related. Firstly, I would like to introduce the concept of attempting to use the whole fruit for culinary purposes and in this example, the wonders of the zest.  All you need is a sharp knife (we have no zesters in Belize) to get the zest off the citrus.  Try to only get the coloured part off without the pith (the white part) which imparts a bitter taste to the palate.  The zest gives a wonderful, fresh citrus flavour to food.

Tangerine Zest with Peel.
Tangerine Zest with Peel.

Last night, we had a meal of venison marinated in tangerine zest (and other things) with sliced tangerine.  Frankly, I don’t have a problem mixing fruit with the main meal because it is a great substitute for carbohydrate.  Plus, you spice up a fruit by adding a bit of black pepper to it.

Venison and Tangerine with Peach Palm Flowers served with Sweet Potato Greens.
Venison and Tangerine with Peach Palm Flowers served with Sweet Potato Greens.

As an aside regarding venison…I am not trying to be posh about eating, I just happen to have some in the freezer.  The Mayans in the surrounding villages like to hunt game in the dense bush around here and occasionally, they turn up at our front gate with very fresh wild game.  I have no hesitation in snapping up a hind leg whenever I can get my paws on it.

Today, continuing with the same theme,  I baked bread with tangerine zest.  I love the smell of home-baked bread and this one had high notes of tangerine citrus…very aromatic!

Tangerine Zest Bread.
Tangerine Zest Bread.

For lunch, we had thickly sliced bread with tuna and grated mozzarella.  We also had lots of tangerine to eat with it!

Tuna Mozzarella Melt on Tangerine Zest Bread.
Tuna Mozzarella Melt on Tangerine Zest Bread.

Tonight, we have another tangerine meal in the making!  I am presently marinating minced pork in tangerine juice and zest (with other things) to make burgers.  And of course, we will be eating more of the tangerine zest bread with it.  I am thinking about pan frying some citrus in brown sugar as a side dish.  You will probably get the picture tomorrow.  Incidentally, I also made a tangerine zest Mojito for tonight which I am sipping in between writing this blog.

So far, so good.  We are still enjoying the tangerines!!!

Belize, Food, Mushrooms, Plants

Uploading Old Articles and the like.

Gnome:

Weather not as labile as yesterday.

General Ambient Mood (GAM):  Lunacy at full power, chaos reigns supreme.  It is a good day for soap, fermenting, doing repetitive things, mushrooms, plants and essentially staying away from trouble.

Today is good if you like reading about mushrooms and plants, uploaded many of our old published articles…enjoy if you have the time:

From me:

From Munchkin:

The amount of energy it takes is amazing to move this much information.  Did not have time to finish How to Die in Belize.

G’day.

Belize, Food

On Ramen Noodles

Munchkin:

I want to talk abour Ramen Noodles and give it the appreciation that it deserves.  Firstly, I would like to share a chidhood memory; I grew up in a Chinese family and in those days, we called them “dolly hair noodles” in Chinese.  I do not actually know when the “ramen” word became popularised by marketing but I was not aware of that name in Chinese.  I am sure some very bored people can filter through the Internet to find out the origin of this name.  I remember, in my primary school days, walking home for lunch and feeling hungry.  Lunch-time was an hour, it took about 10 minutes to walk to the house so there was not much time to fit in the cooking and eating time.  My mum would usually quickly rustle up a bowl of dolly hair noodles with boiled chinese greens.  There would be some kind of meat, fish or even egg floating about in the soup.  It took her only about five minutes to make and I had enough time to enjoy the meal slowly.  At the time, I appreciated it as a cooked meal as opposed to all my friends eating cold ham sandwiches for packed lunch.  Now, I appreciate it because it is such a quick, easy meal to make when you have no time or when you are in a rush or you are too tired to cook a proper meal.

So, I would like to give Ramen noodles an appreciative thank-you because too often, I have noticed that foodies or “gourmet wannabees” give me such derogatory side glances when I even mention that I eat Ramen noodles!  The reason why it has such a bad reputation is that most people do not know how to eat them properly.  I, too cringe at the idea of sticking it in a bowl and microwaving it for 60 seconds!  Please, let us be a bit more imaginative and civilised about a bowl of noodles.

Of course, today’s lunch of the day has to be Ramen noodles with veggies.  I did not include any meat but I will give you the full version in the recipe page.  I was in town all morning with shopping and deliveries and when I finally got home,  I was starving!  I quickly cooked up noodles with greens and I had my meal ready in five minutes.  I am writing this article whilst enjoying my post-prandial digestive phase.

Ramen with Vegetable Medley.
Ramen with Vegetable Medley.

If you are interested, here are a few hints on buying Ramen noodles since I have noticed that there are many brands in the supermarkets.  I live near a wee town called Punta Gorda which has a population of between 5000-8000.  Here, there are generally two brands to choose from:  there is one imported from the States and there is one from Guatemala.  I have tried both and I prefer the one from Guatemala because it is closer to “Chinese” noodles rather than “fast-food” noodles.

Guatemalan Noodles.
Guatemalan Noodles.

If you live in a more developed area, you will have your pick of brands of noodles.  One suggestion is to surreptitiously find out what Chinese people buy because they always know which one is the best.  The following is an example of a premium quality packet of noodles which was sent to us from Singapore.  The noodles are actually steamed air-dried which shows the obsessiveness of Asians in knowing their noodle quality.

Premium Singapore Noodles.

So, in conclusion, when you have been running around all morning and you are hungry and tired, try not to reach out for the cookies or the snacks.  Make a meal in five minutes, sit down and enjoy it, with-out the feeling of just grabbing the first thing you can find to stuff your face.

 

Belize, Food, Soap

November 4, 2014.

Gnome:

A day for setting things up.  The change-log for the site today would be:

  • Wrote up and set up hierarchy for pages.
  • Tried to get pictures sorted out…not quite yet.
  • Get into the habit of posting things; wrote first post.
  • Sorted out domain name.
  • Uploaded more pictures for Munchkin.
  • Added some of the links.

Not ready yet to include the day…did make a batch of soap, incidentally but will get to such things in the future.

Munchkin:

We made a batch of chocolate artisan soap together; gnome did all the mixing whilst I assisted with the weighing of chocolate powder and cut-up soap pieces.  This type of soap is what I call a “Soap Story” which includes odds and ends of old soap, cut up into pieces, which is mixed into a back-ground of opaque (in this case, chocolate) soap.  Each soap we make has a “story” or a “description” as you will see later in more detailed blogs and so the visual appearance of these soaps end up as “soaps within soaps” or metaphorically speaking: “stories within stories”.

Chocolate.Background
The final soap showing the kaleidoscope of soap “stories.”

If my shop were working…this is where I would send you.

I weeded the vegetable beds today and also took the opportunity to gather the greens for eating today.  See below, a huge basin of green leaves which are weighed exclusively for this blog: 420g ie. close to a pound in uncooked greens.  Earlier, I marinated chicken breast with soya sauce, yellow ginger, cumin and salt in preparation for an “indian-style” fried chicken on a bed of steamed greens.  No carbohydrates tonight.

Basin.of.Avuvo
Basin of cut Avuvo.

 

Avuvo in a raised bed.
Avuvo in a raised bed.

The greens which I picked today is a vegetable known as “Avuvo” in Nigeria.  The seeds were given to me a couple of years ago by a lady who wanted to start a pilot project on growing Nigerian vegetables in Belize with a view to an export market in the US.  I had been given a plethora of seeds, perhaps about a dozen including vegetable greens, many types of egg plants and hot chillies.  Since then, only two plants have survived: one is the Avuvo and the other is a domesticated type of Purslane.  I will write more about purslane another time.  Avuvo tastes like a spinach and produces a spiked “teasel-like” flower; it grows prolifically like a weed and takes over everything!  That’s why I love it so much because it requires very little maintenance and the leaves remain pristine as no bugs seem to eat it. Contrast this with the callaloo here in Belize which is usually riddled with holes.

Below is a picture of our Meal of The Day:

Fried.Chicken.With.Avuvo
Fried Chicken in a bed of Avuvo.

Contrary to popular opinion there is an art to cooking fried chicken even although it is seen as major junk-food in this country.  The chicken is removed from the marinade and dusted with white flour.  Have a heavy cast iron skillet ready with vegetable oil filled up to 3 millimeters depth; put the flame on a medium to high heat and brown each side of the chicken.  Then, turn down to the lowest flame and cook chicken for 10 minutes (may take less or more time depending on thickness of breast).  About 2 minutes prior to this, flip the chicken over so that it is evenly browned on both sides.  Drain on paper towels before serving.  Steam the greens for 1-2 minutes and arrange on plate with the fried chicken.  This goes well with a glass of mead (we make this too!!!).

If you wanted the recipe…I would send you here.