Category Archives: Saving Money

Amusing, Belize, Philosophy, Saving Money

Camera Problem!!

August 5, 2015 Munchkin

We are now facing a slight problem with writing our posts. Our camera has suddenly stopped working and it looks like it is going the usual way of “throw-away consumables.” Now, this is really upsetting because the camera was a gift and it was not cheap. It has only lasted 18 months. We are not the kind of people who like to throw away stuff to buy more gadgets to play with and throw again. Plus, we are in Belize!! I can not physically buy a brand new camera in Punta Gorda, I would have to drive two hours to Belmopan to get one. Anyway, we tried the camera on my crappy phone (I am still using a flip phone whilst everyone now is onto the clunky, rectangular looking things) and it does work. The only problem is that, for some unknown reason, we can not transfer pictures from the phone to the computer. Possibly because Gnome uses Linux rather than Windows?? However, it does work the other way…pictures from computer to phone…but, that is of no help to us. Arrrrghhh!!!

I don’t know if getting a new phone will change things…I loathe to buy yet another gadget. It is my philosophy to keep a mobile phone until it dies its natural death, usually a life-span of 2 years (how ridiculous). I might be trying the pawn shop for a cheap camera!!

Here are some pictures that I saved up for a rainy day:

Poor Froggy!! Must breed more in our buckets of water…

Let’s hope we come up with a solution because otherwise, you will just have to read my plain old words and imagine the pictures!

Belize, Farming, Food, Saving Money

Sun-Dried Green Bananas.

July 22, 2015 Munchkin 2 Comments

Between the two of us, 172 bananas in this huge bunch, is quite a bit to get through.

This bunch was so heavy that it broke off the tree and we found it on the ground on Saturday morning. If you want to eat green bananas, you have to start eating them quickly, or else they start ripening within 7 days.

Luckily, the weather has been hot and dry this week, so I have been able to process the bananas for sun-drying.

This is what I have been doing the last three days. I have been grating them with this neat grater that I found in the Taiwanese store near Belize City.

The grated bananas just need a full 8 hours in the sun to dry completely. I have been processing 50 bananas a day which fills up a gallon jar once dried.

So, by the end of today, I will have three gallon jars of dried banana. In my experience, each jar is equivalent to 20 meals and so in total, I have 60 meals in all. That is what I call food security!

Dried banana can be re-hydrated to make porridge, rostis, fritters, fillers for sausages, vegetarian bean burgers and much much more. Furthermore, this dehydrated stuff can be ground into fine flour for making breads, biscuits and pastries. This dry form is so versatile! I will post up recipes as I start cooking with it.

One last thing…this big bunch of bananas would retail at about $20 (USD$10) in this country. $20 gets you two meals of rice and beans with stewed chicken, which is typical Belizean food fare. To me, it really makes a lot more sense to go through the extra labour of processing the food so that I can get 60 meals out of it all. It’s also a labour of love…home-cooked food is always the best!

Belize, Our Products, Pets, Saving Money, Soap

Our Pet Dip and Pet Soap.

July 8, 2015 Munchkin

Today we were in Punta Gorda doing our delivering, “hailing” and the usual town stuff. In Punta Gorda, everyone knows you so you have to go through the custom of “hailing.” Ignore this at your peril! Basically, you need to say “Hello, how are you?” to everyone that you know…who happens to be crossing the street, sitting in their shop, driving in their car or standing in the queue in front of you. If you can handle a bit of small talk then that is an added bonus because every-one loves to stop and chat. If you ignore anyone who knows you, you are considered an “ignorant outsider” or just plain rude. These are the unspoken rules of a small community.

We delivered our Pet Products to The Farm Store in Punta Gorda. This particular shop is owned by Mennonites (Anabaptist Christian Group who emigrated originally from Germany and now settled in Belize) and run by local Mayans who have converted into this particular faith. The Farm Store sells anything to do with farming, hardware and pet supplies, basically, anything that is useful to man or beast! We delivered the following:

This is not the same as our same-name soap for people. This one has a higher percentage of active ingredients so that it is extra strong for the treatment of fleas, ticks and mites in pets (usually dogs and cats). Gentle but effective, without the use of strong chemicals.

We also took this opportunity to launch our new pet product: Lime Sulphur Pet Dip for Mange, Fleas, Ticks and Ringworm.

This is the label with the instructions. We used recycled beer bottles for this product because they are the cheapest thing to use so that we could sell the product at a rock-bottom price. Gnome created a tag to go with the product with regards to the philosophy of recycling; unfortunately, the network connection to the printer wouldn’t work so we didn’t get this part printed in time. So, this tag will be on the next order:

…Gnome Philosophy stuff in small writing for anyone who cares to read Gnome humour.

We use all our stuff on our own pets; they are very healthy and have the reassuring smell of sulphur to them:

This is a picture of the very friendly bossie of the Farm Store. He is a lovely young man:

So, you can now get our pet stuff at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda. The products will be posted up in the Apothecary soon for those of you living outside Toledo or outside of Belize.

Belize, Food, Medical Related, Plants, Saving Money

Get Bizzy With the Kola Nut.

June 22, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone. Happy Solstice to y’all!! I want to show you some pictures of the fresh kola nut…here in Belize, they call it the “bizzy nut” because it keeps you busy. The tree is of the Cola sp. and it is originally from West Africa. It really gets you moving (and buzzing) as it contains 2 to 3.5% Caffeine, 1 to 2.5% theobromine and theophylline. All of these are known stimulants and theophylline is of particular medical importance because it is used therapeutically for chronic obstructive airways disease, asthma and infant apnoea.

It is used in West African cultures in social gatherings, spiritual practice and to prevent hunger pangs. From our own observations, it is mostly the Garifuna (originally from West Africa) who chew on the bizzy nut here in Belize. They have been known to consume this nut during all night drumming sessions especially around National Garifana Day.

From our personal experience, one nut is equal to a triple espresso and it really gets you talking. It is good for social events and as a substitute for coffee or mate. It is very good for people with asthma and definitely a good drug for “where there is no doctor.” It is also a good natural diuretic. Gnome says: It is good if you like to entertain (but, are also cheap) because it gets everybody talking and at the same time, nobody eats any food because it is an appetite suppressant and so you save money! Our place is Boca-free!!

This kola nut was the original ingredient for Coca-cola although, now in present times it has apparently been omitted from this popular drink.

The dried nuts are available in Punta Gorda; I have mostly seen it stored in a jar at the local pharmacy priced at 25cents (one shilling) each. Cheaper than a coffee ($2 to 3) and twice the potency of coffee!! The other thing is to befriend someone with a kola nut tree because the trees are prolific producers and you can get bags and bags of it (to eat like a busy little squirrel). They are usually taken in the dried form and in this state, they are really hard in consistency…hard enough to break your teeth.

This is the fresh pod:

There are between 6 to 12 nuts (seeds) in each pod. We have eaten the aril around the fresh seeds and found it pleasant tasting…it is a bit like the mace in nutmeg but a bit more substantial in texture with a bland, sweet taste.

Fresh Kola Nut:

Get Bizzy tonight (or not…since there is nothing to do living in the middle of nowhere!).

Belize, Energy Saving, Farming, Saving Money

Positive Sod’s Law!

June 1, 2015 Munchkin

Gnome’s last words before he went to sleep last night were, ” I intend to work all day tomorrow.”

Activation: Positive Sod's Law. — Activation Sequence: Positive Sod’s Law.

And sure enough, it poured down today so no outside activity was possible. In a funny sort of way, we were trying out a new technique which we have coined “Positive Sod’s Law.” This utilises a statement of intention, the Sod’s Law principle and the fact that the final result is what you inadvertently wanted but managed to get through the convoluted channel of a “Sod.”

Anyway, since the well-pump has “done broke” as they would say here in Belize, we have been on water conservation “red alert.” This simply means that we are on bucket washes.

On a typical “Red Alert Day” we use the following amounts of water:

1) Bucket washes limited to 3 x day each; 30 gallons in total (120 litres).

2) Washing Clothes; 20 gallons (80 litres).

3) Washing dishes; 10 gallons (40 litres).

4) Water for consumption; 5 gallons (20 litres).

5) Miscellaneous; 5 gallons (20 litres).

Total water used up in one day is 70 gallons (about 280 litres as an over estimation).

We have two rain water tanks that store 660 gallons so that each tank gives us about 8 to 9 days of water. This means, we can last about 2 weeks of dry weather before we start on the “Positive Sod’s Law” technique. This is assuming that we get our water tanks filled right up to the top after each rain…this is not usually the case…more the case of one full tank.

Anyway, it rained lots today and the distant rumbling of thunder, grey clouds and flood flies indicate that there is more to come.

We are anticipating the invasion of the termite queens (the nuptial flight) in the house so we are getting ready for an early night. This equates to a mass of crawling termites and wings a-plenty. Just another Manic Monday!!

Belize, Farming, Philosophy, Saving Money

Pump Versus Frog.

May 29, 2015 Munchkin

The rains have stopped and we have had some good dry days. We eventually realised that our procrastination time was coming to an end when the water was slowly going down in the tanks and the frogs had laid enough spawn in our buckets to start a frog farm.

It was time to pull up the well-pump and face reality and deal with it. So, yesterday Gnome cleared the well-pump area which was overgrown with lots of green climbing stuff.

He pulled the 50 feet of pipe to bring the submersible pump up. Hoping that the pump was just full of gunk, we ran the pump inside the water tank. It groaned and creaked with each electricity jolt but refused to start up.

On closer inspection of the one-way valve, Gnome noticed that there was a “biological black rotting that slimed out past the valve.” Those were his technical terms and he thought that it was most likely a frog, snake or bunch of slugs which had got caught and mashed up in the intake.

The next thing that we need to do is to open up the pump and clean it out and to see if there is damage to the pump mechanism. We are not sure if this can be done if the parts are all glued together. Anyway, it isn’t looking good for the pump and we are already looking for a replacement. Since we have a variable-draw pump because we have a very shallow (slow) well, the pump is extra expensive…with duty and shipping it will probably cost close to $5000 all up. Needless to say, we are now considering other less traditional types of pumps; Gnome is favouring the “air-lift” pump which will double-up as a compressed air source for the farm. Also, he is trying to save me money!!

Anyway, enough of the technical stuff. This reminds me of our good, old pioneer days when we first came to Belize….

Back in the early days, we befriended the manager at Cotton Tree Lodge who was, at that time, in the early phase of construction of the establishment. He had mentioned to us that he had bought a second-hand well-digger ( a small one which could only dig a maximum of fifty feet) but the only problem was that he could not figure out how to use it from the operating manual. Gnome was able to decipher the manual and so the manager made a proposal to us; if Gnome could dig a well for Cotton Tree Lodge then he would allow us to dig a well on our own property. We readily agreed to the exchange of services and Gnome set about digging a well at the lodge. We loved the idea of being “well-diggers”…it sounded sooo cool and appealed to our sense of adventure.

Anyway, during a short morning break, we happened to meet a visiting medical doctor from New York who was on holiday. When he found out that we were Doctors and that we were enlisted well-diggers, he was absolutely horrified. He guffawed and stammered and finally said,”Doctors, huh? Do you think this is a smart career move?” We just laughed because we were having so much fun in Belize. But all he could do was scratch his head and give us a befuddled look of dismay.

Yes, I definitely have to say that it was a smart career move. Ten years down the line, we have become independent-minded and self-sufficient. We can usually figure how to achieve a job on the farm without paying for an expert or professional. It is all about thinking out of the box and as one very well-seasoned Belizean ex-pat (a Hawaiian Gnome) once advised us,” to make it in Belize, you need to have the smarts to get ahead.”

Amusing, Belize, Food, Saving Money

How Do You Eat Your Dak?

May 10, 2015 Munchkin

The last few days, early morning rains have wreaked havoc on the plans of mice and men (and Gnome and Munchkin). So, what can mere mortals do under these circumstances when they are thwarted by the elements?

Munchkin rummaged around in the kitchen and came up with something tasty.

Dak Chopped Ham. — Dak “Chopped Ham.” Literally in Greek.

We ate Dak.

Dak is the Belize version of the familiar tinned chopped ham that you see on all supermarket shelves. I have no social qualms about broadcasting the fact that I eat this preserved flayed pork meat on occasion, as I grew up in a Chinese household where this food was seen as a legitimate food item. We used to steam it with rice and eat it with fresh green vegetables. Gnome, on the other hand, tells me that many other cultures do not deem this as a proper food. It is a food that might lurk in the back of somebody’s cupboard but most certainly, the harbouring of such an item should never be professed. It is eaten alone…in hushed tones with the lights dimmed down. Ooooh…sounds like fun…a secret society of underground Dak eaters!

Nobody is willing to openly admit that they eat Dak but those cases stacked in the back of Chinese supermarkets that we all see must be going into somebody’s belly! There are times of the year when there is not a single tin to be found on the shelf and everyone is hanging out for the Dak shipment.

So, today we ate Dak chopped ham cooked in onions, tomatoes and Italian herbs with cassava hash browns. Munch away quietly with dimmed lights:

We also had a nice dipping sauce which is so easy to make:

Munchkin’s Dango Dip:

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp soya sauce

Mix well and use as a dip.

You may have already surmised from the name “Dak” that this is Danish in origin. There is also a Chinese version available in Belize called Zwan; the label is written only in Chinese and to be honest, I am a bit wary of it! The name Zwan does not somehow hit the spot and cause me to salivate with hunger. This one definitely has to be hidden in the dark depths of the kitchen cupboard away from prying eyes!

A few years back, I tasted some Belizean food which incorporated this chopped ham. I was at a hospital medical meeting and we were given a buffet of sandwiches for lunch. All the sandwiches were one variety…they were white slices of bread with a filling of margarine and a whiff of pig. At the time, I didn’t say anything and just politely ate the food with no questions asked. The Belizeans were chomping happily away while the Nigerian medical staff had very dubious looks on their faces. Sometime afterwards, I enquired into the nature of these sandwiches whilst I was in the company of well-seasoned ex-pats (they had been around for about 20 years) and they explained that these were called “ham sandwiches” or even “Dak sandwiches.” The filling is made by pulverising the piece of chopped ham into a paste. Margarine is then spread on white soft bread and on top of this, a smear of Dak paste. Therefore, one tin of Dak (200g or 1/2lb) can go a long way and can economically feed a whole party of hungry people. Talk about Homeopathic Ham!

So there you go. How do you eat your Dak? Don’t be shy…we can form a secret society for eaters of forbidden Dak!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Fermentation, Food, Pets, Saving Money

Tuesday Night Storm, Internet Down and Pineapple Melomel.

April 30, 2015 Munchkin

Hello There!! I will try to catch-up with this post and bring you up to date. On Tuesday night we had a scary, gusty storm that resulted in a power-cut for most of the night and of course, the Internet went down with it. The storm has brought cooler weather with grey clouds and it even rained heavily this morning. The Internet started up again today…yay…it is so insidious how we feel that “we need Internet” and life just isn’t the same without it. When I down-loaded my bunch of late emails, they weren’t all that exciting and most of them were spam, anyway!

Well, since it was a Rainy Day, we made Pineapple Melomel (mead with fruit). Yesterday, I had bought 20 ripe pineapples from the market for BZD 30.00 (USD 15.00) in an attempt to excite Gnome into making some more booze (nice, sparkling, champagne-like stuff) for me. After I got the pineapples loaded onto the truck, he gave me a whiny look and said that he was hoping that I had bought the plantains instead of the pineapples. That remark got him a “Chinese Woman Look” and stopped the complaints quick smart.

This is what we did.

We removed the heads and scrubbed them in the sink:

I then started chopping up the pineapples. Whilst I was doing this, I kindly asked Gnome to take some pictures of this process. All the pictures were soooo baaaad!! They were out of focus and made my hands look stumpy and small…or, are they really like that? I had to re-take some photos:

Chopping Pineapples...Look No Hands!! — Chopping Pineapples…Look No Hands!!

Gnome put the pineapple chunks through the juicer to get the juice and the pulp:

We ended up processing 10 pineapples in all because it was actually a lot of work and the juicer was over-heating and complaining with the work-load. So, we managed to get about 6 litres (1 and 1/2 gallons) of juice from it all.

We got an extra 2 litres (2 quarts) of juice from the squeezing of the pulp:

We waste nothing!! We gave this and some pineapple peel to the duckies this morning. It was a Pineapple Feast…look closely at silly white duck…he even has a bit of pineapple stuck to his head.

We have noticed that our duckies are totally neophobic with food unless it is yellow in colour. So, I was received by joyful and frenzied quackings today when I brought out the basin of pineapple waste.

While I was out playing with the duckies, Gnome proceeded with the making of his pineapple melomel; honey and fresh Toledo rainwater (very fresh!) was added to make the batch up to 5 gallons. Gnome will be posting up the recipe in Bored-in-Belize over the next few days.

Heating Melomel:

Yes, I know…it all looks very yellow (just like all the other pictures) but believe me, this will taste great! Tomorrow, we will be processing the rest of the pineapples and adding honey and fresh ginger. In the words of Gnome, “Make it a Metheglin.”

Belize, Medical Related, Saving Money

Keep Your Skin Scrubbed!

April 23, 2015 Munchkin

In the humid hot climate of the dry season, it is really important to keep the skin cleaned and well scrubbed. Lack of scrubbing can lead to blocked pores and in-grown hairs which can lead to pimple formation. In this hot environment, this could easily lead to skin infections. Moreover, a routine skin scrub helps with the circulation and stimulates healthy skin formation. And so the first rule is prevention with a good shower scrubber used on a daily basis. Salt and sugar scrubs can be used on a weekly basis as an addition to the bathing regime.

This year our loofah crop failed because it got taken over by other creeping vines. And so we have been using an old pathetic little loofah to death and not actually getting much satisfactory scrubbing out of it.

Today, I found Gnome at 5.30 in the morning looking longingly at a whole array of shower brushes on Amazon. Now, when we buy anything from the States and bring it in to the country, we always have to consider transportation fees, import tax and duty. From past experience we have calculated that all these expenses usually end up quadrupling the original price of the item. And so when Gnome spied a rather nice looking bamboo shower brush for $20US that meant $80 to me. I kind of gave him the “Chinese woman don’t waste money look.” That put an abrupt end to his perusing and so Gnome tried to find a positive solution.

And here they are:

This one is a bargain at BZD 1.75 (USD 0.88) for four.

Pack of 10 for BZD 4.75 (USD 2.38).

Yay…Gnome is helping me Save Money!!

I tried both scrubbers in the shower and found that the “Jia Ju Yong Pin” was gentle but invigorating; it worked well also as a facial scrub. The other kitchen scrubber had its merits because it has a sponge side which allows for easy application of soap and the scouring end was also very effective. Overall, they did the job!

So, anyone in Punta Gorda who is in need of a scrub can buy “Jia Ju Yong Pin” at Lily’s Supermart on Main Street and the second one can be purchased at Vance Vernon Pharmacy (in the kitchen section).

Happy Scrubbing and may we all have smooth and silky skin!

Belize, Food, Our Products, Plants, Saving Money

Sticky Rice, Nori Flakes, Kun Batz and Stinky Tofu.

April 17, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! I am back in top form and promise that there will be no complaints today! Many thanks to the readers (namely, Erin and Adriana) who wrote back with a positive word and encouragement. Thanks to Gnome’s Mum for looking at 9 pages and the flurry of visitors after last night’s post. We indeed felt that life was worth living again. 😉

In a bid to increase our Stats, Gnome kindly wrote a post earlier on Ballistics…Hmmm…I am sure everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at this must-read! Gnome reveals all in his mind-blowing revelations on pellets! Just out of interest, I don’t give Gnome any pocket money for his pellets and so he funds his pass-time through coconut products. So, if you have bought any coconut cream, water or flour, you have helped Gnome out.

Gnome says, “Buy more of my coconuts!!”

Because it is a lot hotter, we have not been feeling so hungry hence the reason for less recipe posts. However, I thought it would interesting to let you know what we had for lunch today. In our last trip to Belize City, we stopped by the Taiwanese store to buy some goodies…interesting that when we think of buying yummy treats we always go for Chinese or Japanese food. We found some short grain rice (the kind that you use to make sushi), nori seaweed and stinky tofu.

Today, I boiled the sticky rice in our coconut cream…yes, the one that we sell in little bags! I also added whole black peppercorns to spice it up a bit. I toasted the nori flakes in a skillet and I brought out the stinky tofu.

The vegetable featured on the top right is Kun Batz. This is a wild passiflora vine which grows voluntarily in cleared areas. This plant produces fruit which can be eaten green like a vegetable; here I have cut it into pieces, steamed it and added soya sauce.

With plenty of vitamins and minerals from the sea-weed and B Vitamins from the stinky tofu, there was no need to include meat into the meal today. It was yummy!! Hooray for smelly (sorry, I mean fragrant) Chinese food!

Some pictures of Kun Batz (This is the Ketchi Mayan name):

Kun.Batz.Green.Fruit — Kun Batz Green Fruit.

Here in Belize, the Mayans prize this fruit considerably and like to eat it in its ripe form. Once ripe, the flesh turns yellow, spongy and inedible. The pulp around the seeds is eaten and has a fruity floral taste which is esteemed by the people here. It can eaten out of hand or used to flavour cool drinks. It is very similar to the giant granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis).

Good Evening everyone!! May all our lives become so simple that Blog Stats become the most important thing!!

Casa Mascia Apothecary