Sapodilla Seeds For Sale.

March 3, 2015 Munchkin

We are posting up our first lot of seeds for sale in The Apothecary. This is the season for Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) and so we are offering these fresh seeds as a once off for the year. until they run out.

Just out of interest, when we first moved to Belize 10 years ago, one of the first things that we did was to buy fence posts to delineate a border around our farm. In Belize, the best wooden posts, which are supposed to last a lifetime are ones cut from the sapodilla tree. We ordered quite a fair amount and we felt that, out of respect for the tree, we would plant an orchard of them on our farm.

We bought a wide variation of this fruit from Punta Gorda market; some were round-shaped, others heart-shaped and some very large like grapefruit. We planted all the seeds from the different morphological varieties and the trees started bearing within 7 years. It was a long time to wait but definitely worth it.

As you can see from our projects, it is a very good tasting fruit which is ideal for wine-making and culinary delights like curries and pasta sauces. It can also be used for sweets like fruit tarts, jams and preserves. Sapodilla has a unique sweet flavour of cinnamon and caramel; the texture is that of a grainy peach. It is also a very good timber for fence posts and carpentry. The seeds have medicinal value and can be used crushed up for insomnia and as a natural sedative. The tree is famous for chicle which can be tapped from the trunk.

To germinate, they can be placed 2 inch deep in moist soil; this will take up to 6 weeks. The other option is to carefully remove the shell from the seed (this can be a bit tricky) and then placing it in 2 inch deep soil. The second option allows faster germination …usually within 2 weeks. Keep the plant growing in a pot for a full year and once you are ready to plant, allow 10 metres (30 feet) between each sapodilla tree. They get really big!!

For our international readers, you can grow this plant in a green house or indoors and kept like a bonsai. Check out The Apothecary if you want some seeds.

Belize, Pets, Saving Money

Lime Sulfur Dip For Dogs and Cat.

March 2, 2015 Munchkin

A couple of months ago, Gnome made Lime Sulphur as a Bored-in-Belize project. One of the many uses of it is a dip for dogs and cats. It can be applied for mange, fleas and ringworm. We tested our formula on the two dogs and the cat today (not the guinea pigs!!). We poured out a quantity of the concentrated lime sulphur and diluted it with water in a bucket:

A rag was dipped into the bucket of solution and the dogs and cat were soaked with it. Prior to this, they all got a wash with our sulphur soap. There were no complaints from any any animals concerned as we sponged them copiuosly with this bright yellow fluid. They seemed to like the smell of rotten eggs!!

Sorry, no picture of the other doggie because we both had to hold her down because she is the mad one that likes to lick toads.

The cat actually stayed still and did not seem to mind the extremely pungent smell. After all that, we were both smelling of sulphur; Gnome said that he felt spiritually cleansed…I think he was referring to fire and brimstone and all that stuff!!

Belize, Food, Plants

Sapodilla and Orange Peel Curry.

March 1, 2015 Munchkin

Just catching up on some recipes that I created over the last few weeks: It is sapodilla season!! This is a sweet tasting fruit with the flavour of caramel and cinnamon. Gnome has got first dibs for making a Melomel (honey and fruit wine) but I have been sneaking some past him to create some tasty dishes..they don’t call me Ninja Munchkin for nothing!

Sapodilla fruit makes a great base for a curry especially with its aromatic cinnamon tones. I have complimented this “earthiness” with dried orange peel which I have coarsely ground with a blender:

Other spices in the curry include: cumin, mustard seeds, fresh curry leaf and fennel. Venison was cooked in the curry and then the dish was served with basmati rice.

Gnome decided to overlook the fact that I had taken some sapodillas, without his permission…since the curry was so good!!

For the full recipe, click on Sapodilla and Orange Peel Curry with Venison.

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Pigeon Pea and Green Papaya: Farm Fresh.

February 28, 2015 Munchkin

We have been podding green pigeon (cajanus cajun) peas everyday to eat:

The plants have been very generous and we have had wonderful meals with this pea. The pea tastes like a “green pea” and maintains its texture very well. It only needs a 5 minute cooking time which makes it a versatile ingredient.

Today, I cooked Pigeon Peas with Green Papaya…all fresh from the farm. Everything had the taste of vitality…something money can’t buy!! Since we started living like this and cooking our own food, we actually find that we dislike eating out because nothing seems to have the freshness and individuality of home-cooked food. Going to a restaurant just means eating something that is displayed nicely on a plate but does not necessarily have the best ingredients (ie. bulk buckets of processed material).

Check out my recipe in the Belize Wild Recipes Section. You can have this meal with a carbohydrate like bread or rice, if you like. I am on a non-carbohydrate diet since the Chinese New Year Pig Out…too many mochi balls!! So, we just ate this with by itself. Right now, my diet consists of fresh vegetables as above (one meal a day), no whites (carbs) and plenty of fresh fruit like papaya and oranges. Seems to be working out well for me.

Belize, Blog

Links Should Be Working Now.

February 26, 2015 Munchkin

Hi Everyone, just writing to let you know that we have been doing some website administration. All links should be working for About Us, Home, The Apothecary and The Library. If anyone spots any other faults, they should let us know. We are also in the process of removing the “go back” at the bottom of all the pages; they don’t seem to be very helpful.

Have a Good Evening!!

Amusing, Belize, Construction, Fiction, Pets

Paradise Piggies: Mayor Gnome Restores Confidence.

February 25, 2015 Munchkin

After last week’s tragic case in which three young guinea pigs were snatched from the gated community, life has not been the same for the citizens of Paradise Pastures.

Mayor Gnome offered his condolences for the two lost babies. A gift of fresh grass was given to the community:

This was not enough to sweeten the Piggies as all hell broke loose soon after with squabbling, squeaking, squealing and general mis-conduct. Two days ago, the surviving baby guinea pig tragically passed away:

Mayor Gnome’s attempt at a Filibuster was met by angry Piggie wild fire. The community of Paradise Piggies demanded immediate action and resolution.

Our Mayor Gnome has come good and restored confidence to the Paradise Piggies! He has built 4 new luxury condominiums and one of them is the maternity ward:

The Piggies are absolutely delighted by this new and hurried construction and they feel that they can “re-build” the community from here. There was a heart-felt gurgle of pleasure when they inspected the facility. And, in addition to this, Mayor Gnome has installed a delinquent “time out” area to house hooligan piggies. This is called Southpointe:

Hooray for Mayor Gnome!! Our Hero!!

Belize, Medical Related, Philosophy

Good Old-Fashioned Doctors.

February 23, 2015 Munchkin

Today, I will talk a bit about doctoring in Belize since we had a whole day of house-calls:

We are thankful that we are able to practice Medicine in Belize according to our philosophy. We are both House Call General Practioners and our services include chronic care, post-operative care, palliative care and minor procedures. We see people of all ages from the elderly to babies to pregnant women. These days, we find that doctors are so specialised that they are only confident with their specific field. We, on the other hand are all-encompassing doctors with knowledge in every medical specialty. Also, prior to Belize, we both already had experience in Tropical Medicine (tropical infections, land and marine envenomation and parasites) as we had worked in Northern Australia.

As doctors, we feel that one of the most important factors of proper care and management is giving time to the patient. We purposely book one hour for each patient so that we have the time to assess a patient properly and answer all their questions. In our experience, this time factor is critical for the patient to feel satisfied and get better.

I want to share with you an experience which I had in my early days as a medical doctor. I used to work under a very stern consultant and every morning, we walked through the hospital to do the ward round. He used to dictate to me what was required in terms of further investigations including blood and diagnostic tests and I would be scribbling like mad as he ran through the blood tests which he wanted,

He would say, “FBC, WCC, U+E, LFTs, etc, etc,” and then he would look me squarely in the eyes and say, slowly and deliberately, “TLC.”

Tender Loving Care. I will never forget it because he was such an old cantankerous bat who never smiled nor made a joke. But, he taught me a very special lesson in being a doctor. This story still makes me smile to this very day.

Belize, Food

Lotus Paste Doughnuts with Custard.

February 22, 2015 Munchkin

Recently, I have been having a craving for “Dunkin’ Donuts”; It may be a nostalgic feeling from my university days when I used to choose a different flavour each time to take home and enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

We managed to get a hold of a huge packet of lotus seed paste and Gnome and I have been diligently and conscientiously working through it as hard as we can. I did an Internet search on recipes with lotus paste and only two main things came up: mochi balls and mooncake. Well, we have been eating mochi balls like they have been going out of fashion (and loving it). And, I would like to make the mooncake for the Mid-Autumn Festival which is the night of the full moon between early September and Early October (celebrated by Chinese).

So, I decided to mix things around and fulfill a doughnut craving at the same time. Today. I made Lotus Paste Doughnuts:

I opted to make a yeasted dough without eggs and milk. This gives a fluffier and lighter texture. Also, I added very little sugar to the dough because I thought that the filling was sweet enough.

And, of course, we had to have ours with custard!!

Needless to say, I am no longer thinking of shop-bought doughnuts…if you are interested in my lower calorie doughnut recipe, check out Lotus Paste Doughnuts.

Amusing, Belize, Fiction, Pets

Piggie Paradise: Tragedy and Fortune in One Day.

February 21, 2015 Munchkin

In the early hours of Thursday morning, on the 19th of February, foul play was afoot and a heinous crime was committed at Paradise Pastures, the gated community for Guinea Pigs. A one foot deep hole was dug beneath the cage and three newly born piggies were snatched from their cradle.

Gnome was at the Scene of the Crime a few hours later; the scene was one of devastation and distress.

Paradise Pastures was quickly secured and placed in a protected area. Gnome and Munchkin combed the surrounding land looking for the remains of the three missing baby piggies. And, alas the diligence was paid off as one live piggie was found, unharmed and safe.

Tragedy and fortune came hand in hand on this fateful day. Meanwhile, the criminal has been apprehended and remanded to custody with bail set at $500.

The piggies at Paradise Pastures are up in arms over this crime. They have petitioned Mayor Gnome to build a secure “Mother and Baby” facility.

Mayor Gnome must concede to their demands or else he might find himself bang in the middle of a Piggy Riot. And we don’t want that, do we?!

Belize, Food, Plants

Cantonese Gibnut with Taro.

February 20, 2015 Munchkin

Good Evening Everyone. It has been a really drizzly day today so no farm things were accomplished.

We stayed indoors and continued eating left-overs from last night’s Chinese New Year extravaganza.

As promised, here are pictures of the Cantonese Gibut:

For anyone interested, the Gibnut is also known as a Paca which is a member of the genus Cuniculus of ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodents in South and Central America.

We cooked Taro, a type of ground root, as an accompaniment:

This tasty vegetable comes in different shades of purple and some are white. We have a nice variety with purple flecks; once cooked, it becomes a uniform lilac. It is an extremely glutinous vegetable which goes well with fatty meals.

This is what we had for Chinese New Year last night:

Sliced Cantonese Gibnut, Taro and Seasonal Vegetables.

The Gibnut had the texture of suckling pig and it was extremely delicate tasting. The meat was so tender that it melted in your mouth. It was well worth the preparation (6 hour marinating and 6 hours cooking time). Gnome says that he would consider it a “prized” meat like venison or wild boar.

Check out my recipe: Cantonese Gibnut. It is flavoured with Chinese five spices, crushed star anise and orange peel.

Casa Mascia Apothecary