Category Archives: Plants

The Gateway To Our Farm.

February 13, 2017 Munchkin

I thought I might share this interesting concept with you. Gnome had planted a “Kapok” tree right at our gate, when we first moved in, just as a marker. So we wouldn’t get lost??!! It is known for its seed pods which produce a cotton-like material which can be used to stuff pillows, mattresses and the like. Moreover, the material can be woven to make fibre. It sounded like a useful tree to have around. The tree was a fast grower and in about three years, it was really, really tall…sorry for not being very technical but it just appeared to stretch right up into the sky. Because it was so tall, it was definitely not hard to miss (we always found our gate…Ha-Ha) and so it was always one of the first things that Belizeans commented upon if they chanced upon seeing us at the farm.

We were then told that this tree was known locally as a “Ceiba” tree. That makes sense since the latin name is Ceiba petandra. Further enquiries reveal that this tree is actually sacred to the Mayas. It is known as a World Tree which embodies the four cardinal directions. According to Mayan Mythology, this tree also connects the centre of the earth to the sky; it is the gateway between these two worlds. This is indeed an esoteric concept that appeals to our imagination especially when it is planted right at the Gateway to our Farm.

Our Gateway:

It really does look quite magnificent in real life, like something out of a fairy tale. Every morning, we watch the toucans on the tree making their funny ribbbitting noise.

Other nice birdies on the tree:

Very popular tree all around…magical!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Mini Garden For Dry Season.

January 29, 2017 Munchkin 2 Comments

So we continue with The Chinese New Year celebrations. Yes, it can keep on going for about two weeks…yay!! To honour the new year, Gnome gave me a brand new wheelbarrow. Oooooh….and it’s red too so very, very auspicious. This is a big deal for me because I’ve been using this wheelbarrow for years when it should have been thrown out years ago.

Brand New Lucky Wheelbarrow:

Great, so now I can use this to cart veggies and greens from our new mini garden. We’ve set this up for the dry season since we don’t have huge resources to irrigate over this period of time. In years past, we’ve usually eaten chaya, which is drought resistant.

But of course, variety is the spice of life!! Now we have endives, rocket, bok choi, parsley, Krim tomatoes, bitter gourd, horseradish, eggplant and jalapeños. All set to load onto my wheelbarrow for Munchkin yummies!! All Aboard The Munchkin Express!!

Amusing, Belize, Construction, Farming, Food, Plants

Good Start to The New Year!

January 8, 2017 Munchkin

It’s been a good start to the new year because the weather has been dry and sunny (except for today, of course, there are rain clouds and it feels like it wants to rain). Anyway, with the good weather, we felt uplifted and ready to start the new year full of energy and enthusiasm. Well, it started off with Gnome fixing the washing machine! Yay, we have clean clothes now!! I’ve been doing a big spring clean inside the house and throwing all sorts of kipple and the like. It’s a lovely feeling dumping things and making a great big fire…whoopeeeeee!!

Kipple…stuff…just multiplies!!

Anyway, Gnome has been doing some manly, physical work (so, I’ve been very nice to him…bringing out cool lemonade and dainty egg sandwiches to keep him going). He is setting up the platforms for our water tanks. This time we will be ready for the dry season and we won’t be caught out. We will have our tanks lined up to catch the rains from now to April.

Water Security!!

And as usual the farm has been producing so there is the usual Munchkin harvesting….

More Sour Peach Jam to make:

These are Monkey Cap; the taste like peanut butter and have the consistency of peanut butter. They are nice but kinda get stuck in your teeth because they are gummy-like. Don’t eat them when you have guests around or you’ll get into a right old mess with orange gums and teeth…Ha-Ha! I wasn’t trying to put you off this fruit by the way!

We hope that the year is starting off well for y’all out there!!

Belize, Plants

Christmas Bobble Plant.

December 24, 2016 Munchkin

Hello Everyone. I am sure everyone is getting into The Christmas Spirit! We certainly got into it yesterday when we visited a friend in Punta Gorda and had a Scotch at 10am in the morning! Wow…my head was spinning! Nevertheless, it was a lovely gesture for this time of the year. Anyway, I wanted to squeeze in another plant post before Christmas. We call this The Christmas Bobble Plant:

Every year, at this time of the year, these plants come up around the house. I remember procuring the seeds from a friend about 10 years ago and I didn’t even plant them. I think they just fell out of my pocket. Since then, they have voluntarily come up for Christmas time. The picture really does not do it justice…if you actually saw them, the balls are about 5cm (2 inches) in diameter; they start off green and slowly turn red. These plants are from the Solanum sp. or Eggplant species. Well, who needs the sparkly lights and bobbles when you have this right at your door-step! Have Fun Everyone!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Exotics On The Farm.

December 21, 2016 Munchkin

It’s that time of the year again. The Christmasy feeling is a bit more down-to earth here in Punta Gorda, Belize. You don’t get the awful (or perhaps nostalgic for some) ’80’s Festive songs blaring out of shops…you know what I mean: “Last Christmas,” and “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” and all that. I heard them at Brodie’s (in the big city) last week and it finally clicked that it was Christmas time again. Not here, it’s pure down here with none of that manufactured, marketed stuff around. What Bliss! Anyway, let’s talk about plants because that’s what I like talking about.

About a month ago, a friend give us some seeds from Guatemala and they are coming up.

These are Santol; Sandoricum koetjape. This is a Southeast Asian fruit that looks a bit peachy and tastes a bit peachy…according to Wiki…not with these words of course…they were a bit more eloquent.

These are Langsat; Lansium parasiticum. Another Southeast Asian fruit that looks a bit like a lychee but tastes like grapefruit/grape. I never believe these taste quantifying reports by the way. They might as-well say that they taste like chicken. I’m going to wait until I get the fruit bearing in 5 years and see if it’s grapefruit or grape or something else!!

These ones are from a different friend and very, very much appreciated too!

Oooooh Durian; if you have been in Asia, you would have smelt the lovely aroma of durian. We managed to sprout 3 out of 4 of these seeds. So excited because these are “The King of Fruit” in Asia. We’ve got to wait 5 to 10 years for the fruit!!

Galangal root; this is an Indonesian rhizome from the Ginger Family. It has more of a camphor-like taste. Great for teas and curries.

Have a Wonderful Festive Season!!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food, Mushrooms, Plants

Everything But The Cat!

December 8, 2016 Munchkin

Every morning, one of the first things that I do is to harvest food for the day and usually just enough for the day so it stays fresh…no need to be shoving anything in the fridge. Actually we only have a tiny fridge for pharmaceuticals…no veggies, fruit and condiments allowed! Morning harvest:

The leafy greens are chaya and to the front are some carambola (starfruit). The round yellow fruit, at the back are sour peach. The banana leaf has some wild mushroom (Schiziphylum commune). So, Gnome asked me:

“What do we have to eat?”

I replied and pointed to the table of offerings:

“Everything but the cat!”

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Another Edible Ornamental.

December 4, 2016 Munchkin 4 Comments

munchkin-eating-bread-chair

Hello Munchkin here and I am still munching through the edible ornamentals. This one is Pereskia aculeata also known as Barbados Gooseberry. In a specific area of Brazil, Minas Gerais, it is known as ora-pro-nobis; here, the plant is cultivated for its edible leaves. The leafy green is high in vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Because of its high nutritional value, there has been research into using the dried leaf in bread and sausage making. I like to put this in our miso soup.

The fruit is round, orange in colour and has the taste and consistency of a gooseberry. It looks like an orange gooseberry actually!

You can eat them as they are or use them in jams and preserves. They have a fruity tartness. Oh, but last but not least, the flowers are really pretty on this cactus:

Anyone interested in buying a plant? Let me know and I will bag some in the new year. Cheers!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Edible Ornamentals.

November 30, 2016 Munchkin

Hello!! This is Munchkin and yes, I logged in right this time. I am still pulling this face…so, I still feel like I’m holding the fort up on this blog. Munchkin Power!!

Just to let you know, in case you haven’t guessed already, the only plants that we like to have on our farm are edible or useful plants. Sorry, not just into pretty ornamentals that you can’t eat. But here’s a plant that serves many purposes and is also nice to look at. This is Canna indica (aka achira):

There are a whole host of other names including Indian arrowroot, African arrowroot and edible canna. We first read about this plant when we were looking into the possibility of using plants as a sewage filtration system …this has been characterised by the use of reeds…reed bed system. When we considered reeds, Gnome had said:’‘Mmmmm…you can’t really eat reeds….is there something else that can be more useful?”

After some more research, we discovered that this beautiful ornamental has been used for the treatment of industrial waste waters and has proven to remove high organic loads from waste water. Wow!! What a useful plant…one that we can incorporate into an organic waste disposal system!

And another wonderful thing is that you can eat the root of this plant raw, baked or cooked. I haven’t tried it yet but I assure you that it is one of the “must-eat”foods on the Munchkin list. Does anyone want to buy a plant? If you do, let me know and I will have some bagged in the new year! Cheers!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Stories of Sorghum.

November 29, 2016 Gnome

munchking-burger-side-smile

Hello!! If you follow the adventures of Munchkin and Gnome, you will know that we are keen foragers and planters. We also like to cook food in unusual and interesting ways…Munchkin Magic or Cookery Sans Fontiers. Firstly, let’s tell you how we found our sorghum seeds. We were driving on the Highway out of Belize City and Gnome all of a sudden screeched to a halt. Luckily, there were no cars about. He quickly ran out of the car and jumped up and down with glee when he found this growing by the side of the road:

We took the seeds and planted them:

Sorghum is generally considered an animal feed in Belize and in most other countries. It is however seen as a human staple in some parts of Africa and India. It has a protein content of 11% (corn has 9%) with B Vitamins, Niacin, B6 and manganese.

Anyway, Gnome charged me with the cooking of these grains. He basically said:

“Do something tasty with this, my dear…”

Food.Gnome

So I did. And WE LOVE SORGHUM!! It’s tasty, yummy, versatile, has a nutty flavour and can be eaten in lots of different ways. It tastes a bit like risotto but with more bite to it. Here is a picture gallery of some of our sorghum meals; recipes will come later. Ooooh….we are so pleased with this great foraging find which has allowed us to experience such a delicious food. Ahhhh….we feel blessed with our farm.

Yes, we are eating sorghum everyday and not getting bored with it!

Belize, Food, Plants

Tropical Cranberry Jelly!

November 23, 2016 Munchkin

together-munchkin-eating-food Hello 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:

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

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.

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

Casa Mascia Apothecary

Category Archives: Plants

The Gateway To Our Farm.

Mini Garden For Dry Season.

Good Start to The New Year!

Christmas Bobble Plant.

Exotics On The Farm.

Everything But The Cat!

Another Edible Ornamental.

Edible Ornamentals.

Stories of Sorghum.

Tropical Cranberry Jelly!

Everything Handmade in Belize.