Tag Archives: Apothecary

Apothecary Pictures.

January 26, 2016 Munchkin

Odd.Together.Shot

Hello Everyone. This is a late post for me but I decided I had to keep the Blog going to bring the traffic in!! I have noticed that if I don’t write for about three days, our viewing statistics go down. Anyway, we found a whole load of missing Apothecary pictures stuck in a nameless file in the computer. We have downloaded them and I will be sticking them in the appropriate places in our website very soon. Meanwhile, enjoy our picture gallery!

Chocolate Swirl Soap. Hand-made with Toledo cacao and coconut oil.

Our Chocolate Mint Body Wash is made from coconut oil castile soap (totally detergent free) which lathers up very nicely. A must for any chocolate lover out there!

The Lemongrass Foot Spa is great for tired, achy feet. It also acts as a natural deodorant and anti-fungal so it can be used for Athlete’s Foot.

If you feel like treating yourself, why not go for a 32oz (1 litre) Elixir?

Luxury Cacao Butter Soap is one of our new offerings for 2016. Very indulgent with a creamy lather…lovely!!

If you want to see all this stuff plus lots more, please have a look at The Apothecary.

Belize, Blog, Our Products, Soap

Apothecary Administration.

September 30, 2015 Munchkin 2 Comments

Hi Everyone, every now and then we have to do the mundane work of website administration. After all, one of the reasons why we took on this Blogging was to try to make some money from the Apothecary. Having done this for almost a year, I can confidently dispel the myth that you can “quit your day job” if you have a website shop. No, people are not flocking to buy our wares on-line. We find that people just enjoy reading our posts especially for the funny stories and the recipes. In turn, we have decided that, despite the lack of monetary return, we will continue Blogging because it is an outlet of expression for both of us, especially in my case. I had aspirations of becoming a writer/ journanlist before I became a medical doctor and I find that I can re-cultivate my writing skills through this form of expression. Besides, it is a really good way of informing family and friends of what we are doing so they need not worry that we are stuck in the middle of nowhere deprived of entertainment and variety.

Apothecary tweaks include:

The Apothecary has been better organised into categories. In the soap section, we are offering soaps in plastic wrap, tin and rolls of 50 to give people more of a choice (and a better price). Also I have added the pictures of the body sprays which have been missing for a whole year. Still more pictures to come…

Also, there is a new Custom Orders page which gives information on special orders. It gives a list of possible products (anything really from hair care to nail care to foot care…you name it..and we will create it) and available Belizean raw materials that can be used to create brand new products. There is a whole list of lovely local stuff; here are some pictures to entice you:

There is still more administration to come including New Products and a full list of Elixirs.

Have a good night!!

Belize, Our Products, Soap

Neem and Jackass Bitters Soap is Ready!!

September 5, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! Our Neem and Jackass Bitters Soap is now ready and available for purchase in The Apothecary.

The neem leaves are dried in the shade and then infused in coconut oil which is used in the making of the soap.

Neem is known for its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-helminthic and anti-viral properties. In Aryuvedic medicine, neem has been used to treat skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis.

The jackass bitters plant is a well-known herb of Belize which is used in treating ulcers and cold-sores.

A perfect combination for a gentle soap with soothing properties for problem skin. It is also a wonderful “everyday” anti-bacterial coconut oil soap.

If you live in Punta Gorda or in the Toledo region of Belize, you can buy this soap at Vance Vernon Pharmacy on Front Street.

This is what the packaged soap looks like:

If you look at the packaging closely, you will notice that it only states “Neem Face and Body Soap.” This is because we are still using our old labels…we are being eco-friendly and do not want to throw out perfectly good labels!! So, I would like to assure you, despite the use of these labels, the soap is made from neem and jackass bitters!

Have a good night!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Our Products, Plants

Mayan Passion Fruit Juice.

May 28, 2015 Munchkin

The Mayan Passion Fruit (Ketchi name is Kun Batz) is still in season. It is a vine which voluntarily grows around cultivated trees and it can also exist in the rainforest of Belize.

They have beautiful flowers so can they also be grown as an ornamental:

The fruit can be eaten green like a vegetable (like cho-cho or zucchini).

If you let it ripen, you can eat the fruit pulp like a passion fruit.

The seeds and the pulp are edible and can be eaten alone or mixed with yoghurt or ice-cream. Today, I sifted out the seeds to get the pulp and the juice:

I used a total of eight fruit and towards the end, added a cup of water to the remaining seeds to try to extract the last of the pulp. I was able to make a quart of juice from this method. When I tasted it I felt that it was sweet enough that no sugar was required. Compare this with normal passion fruit which is quite acidic which requires sweetening in order to enhance the taste. This is Kun Batz juice with a sprig of mint:

The Kun Batz juice is divine!! The taste of the juice is a combination of pineapple, banana and canteloupe melon with mild exotic hints of passion fruit. It is unique in that it has a mildly sour taste but it is sweet enough that no sugar is needed.

I have a whole lot of fresh seeds to sell so check out The Apothecary. To my knowledge, nobody is cultivating this bush fruit so if you are into rare and exotic plants, then this a definitely one to add to the list!

Planting Instructions:

Passiflora seeds have a hard shell so pr-treat the seeds before planting; Soak the seeds for 24-48 hours in warm to the touch water, just prior to planting. Once pretreated, plant seeds 1/2-1″ deep in moist, sterile soil. Keep soil temperature consistent at about 70-85F. Cool soils will significantly delay seed germination time.

Estimated germination time under optimal conditions: 6 weeks to 6 months.

Plant spacing for this vine is 10 feet (3 metres) apart and can grow to about 20 feet tall. Will start fruiting in about 12 months.

Belize, Farming, Our Products, Plants

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, Blog, Our Products, Soap

On-Line Apothecary is Open For Business!

February 18, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone. The Apothecary is now open!! After a few false starts, over cogitation and Type A anxiety and jitters, we have decided just to get it up and running. The ordering and payment options are really basic right now so that we can see if there is actual interest in our products. Once we get some orders and feel confident with sales, we will look into more E-commerce options. There are a few tweaks to take care of but for all intents and purposes, The Apothecary is open.

Casa Mascia Apothecary