Corn Cous Cous with Pastrami and Olives.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.SmileAs a follow up from my previous post about Corn Cous Cous, I have yet another recipe for you to read about.  This one is cooked with onions, pastrami, olives and fresh tomatoes.

Corn Cous Cous Italian Style.
Corn Cous Cous Italian Style.

This delicious recipe is really simple to cook. It is gluten-free so it makes a great alternative to wheat cous cous.   For more details click on my link to Corn Cous Cous Italian Style.

Munchkin's Continuous Cauldron of Soup!

Munchkin.Eating.BunThis is a technique I have developed which allows you to have a continuous soup over a long period of time.  There is a daily replenishment of ingredients and flavourings to vary the taste so that you can keep on enjoying the soup for longer.  Also, this continuous method frees up your time so that you always have a healthy “ready-made” meal at home.  This is a better alternative to ordering “take-out” or micro-waving processed meals.

Continuous Cauldron of Soup.
Continuous Cauldron of Soup.

I would recommend this to my patients if I felt that they needed a “Prescription of Soup.”  This can be used for de-toxification especially in getting over an acute illness or after an intense period of rich foods and alcohol.  The ingredients in the soup can provide all the daily requirements for protein and nutrients so that it can be a complete meal in itself.  Furthermore, if there is no addition of carbohydrates into the soup, it can help in weight loss and the control of Diabetes Mellitus.

Soup: A Complete Meal.

If you want to read more on Munchkin’s Soup Technique, click on the link.

Chinese Sausage and Corn Cous Cous.

Food.MunchkinAs a continuation of the Corn Cous Cous theme, which I wrote about 2 days ago, here is another recipe.

Sausage Corn Cous Cous.
Sausage Corn Cous Cous.

This is a variation of the original recipe; this one contains Chinese Sausage and Chinese Cabbage.  I suppose you could call this one “Corn Cous Cous – Chinese Style”.

If you are in Belize, you need to befriend a Chinese person to find Chinese sausage.  I have no idea where they get it from but this is a favourite one for a local chinese person to stash in their personal pantry.  For everybody else, you can probably get it at your Chinese Grocery.

Chinese Sausage.
Chinese Sausage.

If you want the details on this recipe, click on Sausage and Corn Cous Cous.

Clays of Bladen.

I have posted up some pictures of the Bladen area in Toledo, Belize to show you where we get the clay for our products.

Bladen Clay showing orange and yellow colours.
Bladen Clay showing red, orange and yellow colours.
The Violet Coloured Clay of Bladen.
The Violet Coloured Clay of Bladen.

We usually use these clays in our soaps to add colour and exfoliating properties.  Here is one of our soaps made with clay.

Soap with Bladen Clay.
Soap with Bladen Clay.

Have a Good Evening Everyone!!

 

 

 

Corn Cous Cous Style.

Munchkin.Eating.BunHello there, it is bun-eating Munchkin again!

Today, I want to talk about how to cook Corn Grits in a different way.  This involves grinding whole corn and steaming it with a minimal amount of water which results in a cooked, gritty meal which behaves just like ordinary wheat cous cous.  This is great because it is gluten-free and you are not eating the usual gloopy consistency associated with cooked corn (hominy/polenta).

For those interested, corn is one of the cheapest carbohydrates which you can buy in Belize.  A 100lb bag of Mayan Corn (GMO-free, I might add) costs only $35 Belize Dollars (USD 17.50).

Corn Cous Cous.
Corn Cous Cous.

The trick is to thoroughly wash the starch out of coarsely ground corn.  If you want to know how to prepare this click on Corn Cous Cous.

Home-made Remedy For Eczema.

AvatarMunchkinToday, I have a Home Remedy for Eczema and other dry, irritating skin conditions.  All the ingredients can be found in your home pantry and the recipe works well to relieve the redness and itching in acute dermatitis.  If you use it on your scalp, it actually doubles up as a natural hair conditioner too.

Here are the list of ingredients:

  • Cornstarch 5 tbsp.
  • Water 500mls
  • Olive Oil 1 tbsp.
  • Glycerine 1 tbsp.
  • Optional Chamomile Teabag (one)
  • Optional Lavender Essential Oil.

If you interested in reading about the different types of Eczema and in viewing the detailed recipe, click on Home Remedy For Eczema in the Doctoring in Belize section.

Maize Beer Bottling Day.

Gnome.Straight.SmileToday was supposed to be a day of hard outside work, the coconuts still need more cleaning and weeding but…the plans of mice and men aften go astray…so the rain and cold weather decreed.  The next best thing, I guess, is to bottle some of that New Year’s Eve Brown Ale I made.

It is a fair bit of work, to be honest, especially this first time that we had to wash, clean and sterilize the bottles we got from town.  They were filled with old napkins, cigarette butts and I hate to think what else…

Here two cases have been cleaned, washed and filled with some sanitizing solution.
Here two cases have been cleaned, washed and filled with some sanitizing solution.

After a few hours, they have to drip dry before they can be used…

Drip drying the bottles.
Drip drying the bottles.

In the mean time, the maize beer needs to be siphoned into a bottling bin…

Maize beer and the bottling bin/bucket.
Maize beer and the bottling bin/bucket.

…and the priming sugar needs to be boiled…

Boiling the priming sugar.
Boiling the priming sugar.

It is only after all this is done that we can start filling the bottles and placing the caps on them.

The bottles are filled and the caps are resting on top of them.
The bottles are filled and the caps are resting on top of them.

Now we can finally use the capper to seal everything up.  As a side note:  A big thank you to Speedo for bequeathing his bottle capper to us…I would have hated to do this job by hand…

Capping away...almost done...
Capping away…almost done…

And here is the finished project!!

Yey, finished!
Yey, finished!

I’ll let you know what it tastes like in a few weeks…in the mean time…may all your beer be cold and bubbly!!

Running Out of Laundry Soap!

Gnome.PerplexedThe Munchkin told me that we are running out of laundry and washing up soap…what better way to spend a Sunday messing around with soap!

I think most readers have gathered by now that we make soap.  Lots of different types of soap for every conceivable occasion.  Now, not every batch of soap turns out right and figuring out what to do with this soap is a combination of a Bored-In-Belize project, not wasting things and not wanting to buy washing-up soap and laundry detergent (because one of us is Scottish and both of us are cheap!).

First you get old soap…

Old Soap Chunks From Unsuccessful Soap Batches.
Old Soap Chunks From Unsuccessful Soap Batches.

…grate it like so…

Gnome Fingers Grating Soap.
Gnome Fingers Grating Soap.

…putting it in a pot with water to boil…

Boiling.Soap
Boiling Old Soap in a Big Pot (the camera lens steamed up!).

…and pouring it into the ubiquitous pigtail bucket for storage!

Old Soap Turned Into Laundry/Washing-up Soap by Gnome Magic!
Old Soap Turned Into Laundry/Washing-up Soap by Gnome Magic!

The moral of the story is:  keep all your old soap bits and you can do this too in the comfort of your own home by following the recipe in Bored-In-Belize Projects:  Make Your Own Laundry Soap!!!

May all your laundry always be clean!!

Beef Jerky and Wild Mushroom Soup.

Munchkin.Eating.BunHello Everyone!  Hope you are all having a relaxing Sunday.  I am sure by now whenever you see my bun-eating avatar, it means that the post is food related!  As promised, I have posted up my recipe for Beef Jerky and Wild Mushroom Soup after yesterday’s fungi foraging. This is a warm, hearty meal for winter because it also contains red kidney beans, pasta shells, onions, ginger and leafy greens.  If you haven’t been out mushroom foraging, the recipe can still be used with shop bought items (either Wood ear bought from Asian Supermarkets or Button Mushrooms bought from almost anywhere except for Belize).

Anyway, here is a picture of the dish with fried Mayan mushroom used as a garnish.

Beek Jerky and Wild Mushroom Soup Garnished with Fried Mayan Mushrooms.
Beek Jerky and Wild Mushroom Soup Garnished with Fried Mayan Mushrooms.

And, this is a picture of the Wood ear mushroom , sliced before cooking.

Wood Ear Mushroom, Finely Sliced.
Wood Ear Mushroom, Finely Sliced.

If you are interested in reading the entire recipe, just press on this link: Beef Jerky, Beans and Wild Mushroom Soup.

Everything Handmade in Belize.