Category Archives: Food

Belize, Farming, Food

Doing Stuff…

I haven’t written much at all…that usually means that we are out and about (on the farm) doing stuff.  The pond is completely dry now; this usually happens every year except for one year which was an unusually wet-dry season.  You would think that the geese would be up in arms with the loss of their swimming pond but they seem to have forgotten about it.  These days, the different goosie factions are securing and taking over designated bucket areas like a bunch of mafia geese.  It can be quite entertaining as each group guards their water stash jealously in the usual goosie-aggressive way…just don’t get caught in the cross-fire!!

Dry Season Pond.

We had to save our tilapia frys (I know…it sounds like fried fish but that’s the technical term for them according to size…just means that they are teeny weeny!!) ; we do this every year when the pond dries out.  This time, we had a tonne of them…if you look at the above picture of the pond site, there is a smaller dug out pond on the right side…this was a Gnome idea and it works really well…when the pond dries up, the last bit of water ends up in this little pond with all the fish.  When this happens, Gnome simply goes down and harvests the little fishes with a hand net.  Initially, we had made all sorts of complicated traps but we have found that this is the best hassle-free method of collecting fish.  The fish are in a big container right now being fed chopped greens:

Tilapia Fry.

The water was getting quite murky so Gnome had made a swirl filter with a bucket and bits:

Swirl Filter Top.

The fish water is pumped up through the top pipe in the swirl filter; the middle pipe is the out-flow for the filtered water and  there is a lower pipe (which you can’t see) which can be opened to release all the gunk.  Yes….you’ve got it!!  This is the start of our aqua-ponics project…:)

Swirl Filter Front.

Anyway, Gnome says there are too many fishes in the container so we have to start harvesting them.  I am thinking of making an anchovy type of thing with them…I don’t know how to do this so I will have read up on the preservation method.  Have a great weekend every-one!!

Belize, Food, Plants

Feels like a Sunday Today…

I was just about to write Happy Sunday until I realised it was Monday today.  There is no traffic on the road and it is so quiet.  I realise that it is a Holiday Monday so probably that’s why there is a “Sunday feeling.”

We are having a “funny” dry season this year; actually, every year is a “funny” dry season because they are never exactly the same.  We’ve been getting early morning showers (which ruins our Munchkin and Gnome farm schedule plans).  It’s hot like dry season but there is a wetness to it too; this helps because we have managed to keep some vegetables and greens  going despite the season.

The rocket is great and we have been able to eat this everyday:

Rocket.

This is miracle fruit; I have written about it before; in short, it contains a glycoprotein molecule that which makes sour food taste sweet.  It is a great party trick if you can’t think of anything else to talk about. 🙂

Miracle Fruit

The huckleberries are growing really well; we have saved seeds and we are going to plant a patch of this on the farm.

Huckleberries

Ooooh and look at these cute birdie nest with blue eggs.  The nest was tiny…about 3 inches across.

Birdie Nest.

Have a Happy Monday Holiday!!

Belize, Food

Mashed Potatoes…

Hello Every-one!!  The weather has been really funny….back and forth like a yo-yo…one day it is hot and blistering and the next day it is windy and rainy.  Even the days are a bit weird with scattered showers…it is supposed to be dry season!!  So when the weather can’t make up its mind it wreaks havoc on our farm schedule….such is life and we kinda have to just deal with each day as it comes.  Not so easy in real life.  😉

We have had a few incidents on the farm.  A few days ago, Gnome lit up a few fires to burn a couple of  isolated fallen trees.  I t was hot but the wind got rather gusty and feisty and spread the fire through-out the entire farm.  Arrrgghhh!!!!  We didn’t lose anything but we ended up having to stay out in the sun minding the fire.  The last time we had an uncontrollable farm fire was about 12 years ago and it spread all the way down to the neighbouring village….that one was pretty hairy and scary.  Luckily, this time, it was confined and there was no damage and we managed to “under-brush” the entire farm!!

Clearing up.

Anyway, this post is about mashed potatoes.  Every-time I tell Gnome, I am going to make mashed potatoes, he just laughs at me.  Well I know why because it’s kinda mashed with lots of lumps in it.  Anyway, I have managed to get hold of a potato ricer and hey, it actually makes great mashed potatoes.  So, here is a picture:

Mashed Potatoes.

Gnome said that he has waited 15 years for real mashed potatoes.  Gosh, how sheepish do I feel???!!!  Anyway, he can stuff himself full with as much as he wants now…what a great masher…

Oooh I can make potato croquettes….

Have a great Sunday!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Plant Pictures.

We are still going but slowly right now.  Gnome seems to have caught too much of the sun so is not feeling as feisty and fit to face the challenges of the farm (or the world).  We seem to take turns to get sick…last week, I had really bad headaches!!  Anyway, life still goes on and last night we had a huge rain that came all of a sudden; the sky turned a grey/black hue, the rain hawk went off and the geese went crazy.  So another Rain Sign is geese going off/ honking and making lots of noise…and oh yes, coming back home (from the pond) in a hurry, practically running.  They are quite funny, they are like a bunch of naughty school kids coming back home from school!

Anyway, must keep the Blog going…some pictures:

There is a Chiney in Punta Gorda that grows this on their fence.  I asked them for seeds from their Chinese winter melon and here it is.  We saw an iguana suspiciously eyeing up the winter melon and I warned him…you know, with that scary Munchkin look:

Winter Melon.

I have never seen a bath tub for sale in Belize.  Being from the UK, we grew up with baths…the showers came later.  We thought that this would make a great bath tub…especially in cool water over dry season…

Bath Tub.

Plant Pictures:

It’s getting dry so back to eating chaya again.  It’s actually quite palatable blended and mixed into soup.

Chaya Plant.

The giant granadilla has done nothing for years (remained alive but not produced fruit).  This year, we actually got fruit..

Giant Granadilla Flowers.

Flowering at the pond right now but having a tough time with the geese because its roots are edible.  Keep going…we will move you somewhere else, goosie-free.

Canna indica

Okay, let’s keep on going….

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food

Goosie News & Misc.

Our two month old goosie has reached adolescence and is starting to feather.  She has stopped calling for Mama Munchkin and is starting to make new twittering noises with the occasional Chinese goose Qwack (not quite quack, there are finer nuances to goosie language).   She is out during the day and she is back in her cage at night.

She’s bigger than this now; about 4lbs (2kg).

Growing Goosie.

I thought that she would be “lonely” but now I think that this is perhaps a human concept; she is perfectly content to sit by herself, twitter and preen…sleep…look for water, wander around at her leisure and eat grass whenever it takes her fancy.  Animals are rather resilient little things and can face the world with such braveness and independence.  It has been a great pleasure to see my goosie grow up into an adult…more so because of the short length of time!   🙂

Oh, and look at these two!!  Two more to fulfil my mothering instincts.  Double Easter Goosies…Very Auspicious…

Double Goosie.

The miscellaneous subject of today is suriname cherries.  Last year, we had an awful time with the thieving black-birds and brown jays.  Despite putting up all sorts of silvery, glittery things;  the usual Internet silliness…you know…when they say, “…here’s another great idea for old CDs and aluminium cans…recycle your garbage to scare birdies away…”

Oh, and the big eyes drawn on pieces of card-board didn’t work either…it just ended up being an arts and crafts afternoon for Munchkin and Gnome…much to Gnome’s chagrin.   A word of caution: Gnomes do not do Arts and Crafts!!  They only want to tinker around with useful things that can make life better in some way.

Anyway(s), I am collecting a pound in weight of suriname cherries each day right now.  I have started harvesting them un-ripe (yellow-reddish) EARLY morning (before the early bird) and I place the un-ripe cherries in dry season room temperature (40C/104F) during the day.  Viola…they all turn plump red and ripen up very nicely by the end of the day.  By the way, I didn’t get this information on the Internet…I just experimented since I was soooo mad at the birdies for eating up all my cherries.  🙂

Suriname Cherry.
Belize, Food, Plants

Tastes Like Apricot…

1 Comment

Can you believe it!  Our stats went through the roof with New Sexy Gnome.  Too funny.  Anyway, back to the fruit and vegetables on the farm.  This one is interesting because I’ve written a bit on it here, so click if you want to read more:

Barbados Gooseberry.

I am re-discovering this plant again (since it is fruiting season right now) and it is fascinating.  I now recall years ago (it could have been about 8 years ago) when we first saw this plant in Spice Farms in Toledo and Gnome’s eagle eyes chanced upon a single fruit that had dried on the bush.  When we both tasted this we were absolutely amazed that it had such an intense flavour of apricot.  Anyway, we saved the single  seed that was in it.  Gnome planted this seed, babied it and it has turned into the huge monster that it is now.

Barbados Gooseberry Flower.
Edible Greens!!
Barbados Gooseberry.

The main point was that I forgot about the apricot taste because I subsequently pigeon-holed it as a “gooseberry” because of its name.  When it is picked fresh, it does have the texture and acidity of a gooseberry.  In the past, I have mixed it with other fruits to make jams and preserves and not really thought that the flavour was anything exciting or different.

However, this time I tried to make a “jam” out of the fruit by itself.  This is what I did:

  • I picked 2lbs of the fruit and washed them removing any spiky bits.
  • The fruits contain black seeds that are edible.  I felt that sifting the seeds out was too labour intensive so I opted to buzz the whole lot fruit in a blender.  The crushed seeds blend into the fruit.
  • I added equal parts sugar to the fruit and  placed all of this in a stainless steel stock-pot and proceeded to make jam.

This is what happened:

  • The jam did not set.  That means that the fruit does not have natural pectin.  I didn’t have any pectin so I couldn’t do anything about it so it ended up being a syrup (sauce) type of thing.
  • When I tasted the cooked fruit with sugar, it tasted of nothing.  Quite disappointing…a great looking orangey fruit cooked with sugar.
  • When cooked, the fruit takes on a gloopy (slimy) texture.  It’s not as bad as it sounds.
  • I thought that the flavour was so bland that I chucked in  about 4 Tbsp of ground black pepper.

I canned the “sauce” in glass jars and had some on the same day to try it out.  I didn’t think much of it so I planned to re-dump the the sauce into the stainless steel pot and add some kick-ass habanero peepers to it.

Time passed (a week) and I didn’t do anything with the sauce.  We were having oatmeal (we ran out of honey) and decided to put some of this sauce on top.  Wow was it good!!  It just needed time to work the magic…synergise…what-ever but it now tastes like apricots.  The black pepper compliments the sauce very well.  I am very pleased with it!!  I now have 6 jars of Barbados Gooseberry and Black pepper sauce sitting proudly in my pantry.  This one is so good I will save it for special occasions.

Gooseberry and Blackpepper Sauce.

Definitely worth picking:

More Barbados Gooseberry.

Okay have a great weekend!!

Belize, Food, Plants

Interesting Garden Plants.

Wow…Munchkin is really balancing on the precipice of excitement with her innovative titles.  🙂

This is a red spinach called orach (Atriplex hortensis).  It has a mildly bitter taste which makes a good salad leaf.  When cooked, it still preserves its lovely red colour (compare with red okra that unfortunately turns green with heat).  According to Wiki, it has a “salty taste” which I don’t taste at all (warning: not everything that you read on the Internet is for real!!).   It is a member of the amaranth family so you can some resemblance to callaloo which is a well-known green leafy vegetable here in Belize.

Orach.

This is called Wonderberry (Solanum retroflexum) and produces tiny purple berries (like a huckleberry).  The berries are good for making jam and preserves.  We have a whole bunch of these growing on our beds and we can’t get a single berry because the early bird gets them.  We are considering re-location of these plants to a more secluded area…not going to say where in case a little birdie is reading this!

Wonderberry.

The other day when we were walking together hand in hand through our messy, shrubby overgrown garden (aaarrrrghhh…need a brush-mower, a cow or sheep or somethin’), Gnome suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked upwards saying’ “…thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!”  I thought that he was in the throes of rapture but then I looked up too and saw these flowers peaking out at us; our first kola nut (bizzy nut) flowers.  I have written about this tree here if interested in reading more.

Kola Nut Flowering.

This is lantana; it is a plant that comes up as a weed everywhere here.  It is a honey plant for butterflies.  We have decided that we rather like looking at butterflies and are leaving these flowers around our yard.

Lantana.

Have a good evening!!

Amusing, Belize, Food, Plants

Vegetable Pictures!

It is still really cold at about 20C/68F; you know when it gets to this temperature because the coconut oil in the bottles solidify!  Anyway, still hats, woolly scarves and home-made charcoal burner at our feet in the morning and at night.   So glad Gnome is making charcoal!

Making Charcoal.

We are still taming the chaos…does not happen over-night and I suspect it might take us a while to get back on top of things.  The other thing is that the geese are getting badder (I like baaad english!!  Pushing passed the barriers of expression) and I got  a huge bruise on my thigh from a full throttle head-on attack.  I had to sumo wrestle the head goosie and boy, did he have fun!  When I let him win, he was honking like crazy and puffing out his chest as he weaved in and out of his goosie crowd, doing the goosie dance (a bit like a chicken dancing but with no head bobbing…head up in the air in the splendour of victory).  I let him win, of course, since I have the unfair advantage of being bigger and cleverer and being human.  🙂

Head Goosie Richard II

Anyway, back to the serious Munchkin and Gnome stuff.  Growing vegetables, ogling at our vegetables, eating them and (taking pictures when we remember).  We don’t grow vegetables or do our lifestyle in order to Blog about it!!  Somebody asked us if we chose our lifestyle in order to talk (Blog) about it…what a very weird way of looking at things!!

To clarify: we grow vegetables to eat them because they taste good.

Vegetable and Fruit Gallery:

Endives grow very well; they are quite drought resistant so we might be able to take them through the dry season.

Endive.

The fennel looks spectacular right now:

Fennel.

Kale grows well here too:

Kale.

Spring onions:

Spring Onions.

Oh had to sneak in last New Year yum-yum picture.  Smoked salmon (my favourite), prosciutto, salami and parmesan.

Yummies!

Barbados gooseberry (Ora pro nobis) time again:

Barbados Gooseberry.

Time to make more jam and preserves!

Amusing, Farming, Food, Plants

All About The Marrow.

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I know, I know…this is ground-breaking Munchkin writing, pushing the boundaries of blog content and shattering the mundane illusion of life.  Marrows; it’s all about the marrows…and if you are British (in any shape or form, even Aussie will do) you should know all about marrows.

So, this silly story all started when I stumbled across marrow seeds in the Farm Store in Punta Gorda, Toledo (Belize) of all places.  I presumed that since I had purchased these seeds here that everyone grew marrows, like we all grow the ubiquitous tomato or cucumber.  When I chanced across any British people that I knew around town, after the usual greetings, talking about the weather or Trump, I would then turn the conversation to the fact that I was growing marrows.  The usual response was, “…oh yes, but of course.”  It was a given that I was growing marrows and no explanations were required.

Anyway, when I chanced across any non-British and I steered the conversation to matters of the marrow, I received very blank stares.  Some minor blinking but nonetheless there was no-one at home and registering.  I would get usually get:  “..oh, uhu.” and then a sudden change in conversation.  Some-times I would get a perplexed, “what is a marrow?”

Well, I never!  I never thought that I would have to explain what a marrow was.  Well, you know..doesn’t every-one know?

“…it’s a big green vegetable…a bit like a pumpkin and you try to grow it as big as you can so you can enter marrow competitions…”

I did give this explanation and felt my face flush with embarrassment after-wards because I felt that I didn’t actually know what a marrow was.

After feeling like a silly sausage, I decided it best to do some research.  Okay, so now I do know what a marrow is:

A Marrow is the mature fruit of the Cucurbita pepo of the genus Cucurbita.

(This bit is only helpful if you know your latin and into botany…so, let me explain it another way…)

The immature fruit of a marrow is a courgette (or zucchini) so a marrow is an old zucchini.  Well I never!  I didn’t know that.  They are grown to a large size so that they can be stuffed with meat and other things.  Also, in temperate countries, marrows can be stored for many weeks after harvest.

If you wish to enter your marrow in competitions (as far as I know, they only do this in the UK), you are restricted to growing only the striped thick-skinned cultivar.

Growing Marrow.

Okay, so now you can ask me all about the marrows!!  Anyone for a Marrow Growing Competition in Belize??

Amusing, Belize, Food

Good Food!!

Hello Everyone!!  We made it through the Camp-fire chickens and Camp-fire turkey!!  The 8lb turkey turned out to be rather big (bigger than an 8lb chicken??) and I had to literally squeeze and squash it into the cast-iron pot.  The thighs were monster-humongous…. anyway, this one took two hours to cook under coals.  We dug up some sweet potatoes in the morning and cooked these in the coals also.  Cooked turkey  under coals was a success; the turkey was delicious and succulent.  I lined the turkey with bacon (modified Jamie Oliver recipe) which added to the juiciness of the meat.  I did not take any pictures because I thought that a squashed-up, lop-sided turkey would not be appreciated…Ha-Ha..what would the neighbours say??!

Cooking Over Coals.

Oh, but I do have other pictures to make you go Ooooh and Ahhhhh!!!

By the way, a Gnome is not just for Christmas…(sorry, couldn’t help sticking this one in…I think I am being really funny…you probably think I am just plain silly).

Christmas Gnome Fairy.

Home-made bamboo Christmas tree with decorations.  Munchkin and Gnome went all out this year:

Tropical Christmas Tree.
Christmas Tree Close-up.

Oh, and a Christmas duckie too.  How auspicious…

This one is very well-behaved and sits quietly.  No Star Trek with this one.  In fact, not much noise at all because we haven’t been watching anything.  This will be a New Zen-Christian Duckie…

New Duckie.

Christmas Duckie.

Christmas Chicken bites with citrus peel:

Christmas Chicken Bites.

Oooooh….prosciutto, salami and cheese courtesy of Gnome’s Mammy and Papa…thank-you so much:

Salami, Proscuitto and Parmesan Cheese.

Ahhhh…oh yes, I did get my salmon…at last.  I have been dying for smoked salmon.  This is a lovely Gnome display!  Salmon also a gift from Gnome’s parents!!  Oooooh and Ahhhhh!!!

Smoked Salmon.