Category Archives: Plants

Spicy Sapodilla Sauce.

February 9, 2015 Munchkin

It is the beginning of harvest time for Sapodilla fruit here in Belize. We planted a whole orchard of this delectable fruit so we are expecting a bountiful crop this year.

The Sapodilla tree is widely known for the gummy latex which is obtained from the bark to make chicle. The fruit have the texture of rough peaches and have a distinctive cinnamon taste. Since we have so much of it, I have started to experiment with it. So far, I have found that they have a similar consistency to tomatoes, so I am using them as a substitute. Today I made Spicy Sapodilla Sauce with Pasta:

I used Seed Amaranth as a garnish because I thought that the sauce was a tad pale looking. Don’t worry if you don’t have that…it was just to add a bit of colour.

I spiced up the sweet sauce with chilli peppers, onion and spring onions. The result was a thumbs up from Munchkin and Gnome! Watch out for more Sapodilla recipes…might try pizza next!

Belize, Food, Plants

Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce.

January 21, 2015 Munchkin

The Roselle plant (known as Sorrel in Belize) can keep on producing fruit if you pick it regularly. I am on my third picking and still drying the sepals for tea.

In my research, I have not seen much culinary use for this hibiscus except for teas, drinks and jams. Because of this, I have decided to come up with a few ideas of my own.

My first invention is Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites:

Serving Suggestion 2: Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.

The chicken is seasoned with cinnamon and cumin which compliments the subtle berry-tones in the sweet and sour sauce. Wow…look at the colour…it is such a gorgeous red!!

If you are interested, read my full recipe in Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.

Belize, Farming, Mushrooms, Plants

Cleaning up the Coconuts.

January 9, 2015 Munchkin

We were both cleaning up our coconut plantation today. I had to collect the coconuts and pile them all in a specific area. Gnome had to clean up the coconut palms by cutting down the old leaves and mulching them around each tree. We made it a bit more fun by admiring (and taking pictures) of beautiful bush plants and mushrooms as we went along. Here are the pics:

Of course, real life is better than the actual pictures but I hope that we have captured the essence of the simplicity of our lives through them.

Cheers and have a good evening!

Belize, Food, Plants

Christmas Fruit Leather Yule Log.

December 24, 2014 Munchkin

Here’s one for the Festive Season. I have taken a Tropical Fruit called “Sour Peach” and made a Christmas Fruit Leather with raisins, cinnamon and cloves. Here in Belize, the days are hot and dry so it is the perfect time for sun-drying food outside.

Sour Peach imparts a tanginess to the taste of the leather which gives a “sweet and sour” taste. It takes about 2 to 3 days for it to completely dry. After this, it is dusted with cornstarch, cut into lengths and then rolled into Yule Logs.

These Yule Logs are very versatile and make a great garnish for desserts and puddings. The rolls can be sliced and used as a topping:

They can also be served whole with turkey or ham as an interesting, tropical accompaniment to traditional Christmas fair.

Read my full recipe: Fruit Leather Yule Logs.

Bees, Belize, Fermentation, Plants

Curing Tobacco With Pressure (and a Little More on Bees)!

December 22, 2014 Munchkin

Let’s start with the bees since I’m really excited about them. Looks like they have been busy little…well, bees…they’ve started building their entrance tube…

Sorry about the pics, you can tell I really can’t take pictures to save my life!

Anyway, about tobacco. Last I talked about it, I didn’t know whether it was going to dry properly but fortunately the weather has cooperated and I managed to get almost all of it in a condition to proceed with curing.

After it turns brown, I make a mixture of honey, water and my chocolate essential oil which is then put into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the dried leaves. I had a photo of this but all you could see was my big hands…The sugar in the honey helps the leaves stay moist but allows them to dry without being brittle (in the finished product).

What I do next is stuff everything into a three inch PVC pipe fitted with wooden blocks and use a stick to stomp all the leaves in, like so…

After all this has been done, I get my 20 ton jack, go under the house and do this…

Applying Pressure to the Tobacco Leaves.

Everyday, I increase the pressure until the leaves cannot be compressed anymore. The leaves will continue to ferment and develop all of those wonderful aromas that nicotine addicts love, especially since extra chocolate oil was added.

And then…you keep this whole setup going for six months to a year before it is done…it turns out to be a very good way to stop smoking tobacco, afterall, surely you can’t still be physically addicted to nicotine after six months to a year!!

Cheers!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Black Pepper Galore!

December 22, 2014 Munchkin

This year, our black pepper plants started bearing well. The last few years, we have just had a few minor fruits but not much to speak of.

The picture above shows picked peppercorns from two plants only. The green drupes started in September and I had actually been watching them all this time waiting for them to mature to red peppercorns. At that stage, white pepper can be made through a process of retting and fermentation. But, alas I have grown impatient and decided to have black peppercorns this year. So, for the last few days, the pepper has been spread out to dry in the sun. It took 3 days for the pepper to dry completely to its black state. I managed to get two quart jars of dried black peppercorns…not bad from just two plants.

Just out of interest, to keep the green colour of the pepper they have to go through a preservation process (using sulphur dioxide like in dried fruit) before drying. Similarly, to get red peppercorns, preservation of colour with a chemical is used before drying.

Our black pepper plants were grown from cuttings about 2 to 3 years ago. This perennial woody vine prefers shade and so we planted ours next to coconut trees so that the vine would grow up the trunks. This was a great combination because the fallen coconut leaves produced humus and leaf litter which set up perfect growing conditions for the pepper. Piper nigrum are known to produce fruit for up to 7 years after the first flowering. I found some pepper seedlings in the leaf litter and I have potted these so that we never have to buy black pepper again!

Belize, Fermentation, Plants

Anyone for a Shoot of Tequila!

December 21, 2014 Munchkin

Our Agave plant has shot up a massive flower stem which is 20 feet in height! This is an extra-ordinary plant because it only flowers once at the end of its long life (10 to 30 years) and then the plant dies.

At this point, before the stem actually flowers, the stem can be cut to collect a sweet liquid known as “aguamiel” or “honey water”. This liquid can be further fermented to produce a traditional Mexican drink called Pulque.

Agave americana, also called Century Plant.

Agave americana is one of the Agave plants used in the production of Tequila. This involves extraction of the plant sugars by heating the heart of the plant in an oven. Tequila is made by a distillation process there-after.

Anyone for Tequila or Pulque?!

Casa Mascia Apothecary