Tag Archives: Banana

Banana Flour Porridge!

June 8, 2016 Munchkin

I have written about the making of banana flour in previous posts and our main reason for doing this was for preservation. From a completely practical point of view, if you are going to go through the trouble of processing (grating, drying and grinding), it is really important that you actually like eating it!

Hmmm….we were very dubious initially after making a banana flour pizza made from a recipe found on the Internet. The recipe called for 4 cups of banana flour and when I baked it in the oven, it came out like stiff card-board…let’s say that if you threw it at somebody you could cause bodily harm. We valiantly put toppings on it and ate it like a pizza.

The next morning…and a few days after…we were totally constipated…

Together.Munchkin.Annoyed

We then decided to do the math:

4 cups of flour is equal to 32 bananas

therefore, we ate the equivalent of 16 bananas each in one sitting.

Imagine eating 16 bananas all at once! And worse still, without the water content of each banana!

This of course results in constipation!

Anyway, after that escapade, I was in no mood to make anything with this flour! A few weeks later, I decided to use it up and make dog food …I didn’t even think about it…I just put a cup of flour in a pot of water and let it boil. It actually came out like a nice porridge. Much to Gnome’s dismay, the tasty looking porridge was for the dogs and not for us:

“What do you mean it’s for the dogs?!!”

Since then, I have formulated the Banana Flour Porridge as follows:

1/2 cup of banana flour

1 quart (900mls) of water

1 can of sweetcorn (optional)

1 tbsp sugar

Pinch of salt

Place ingredients in a pot and stir on medium flame ( about 7 to 10 minutes) until the porridge thickens. Can be eaten hot or cold.

This serves 2 people. Yes, 1/2 cup of flour = 8 bananas! So, each serving is four bananas. The result: tasty meal and happily non-constipated!

Belize, Food, Our Products

Green Banana and Coconut Cream Lentils.

May 16, 2016 Munchkin

Here is a recipe straight from the farm using our own green bananas and coconut cream.

Remember that you can buy our freshly squeezed cream at Green Supaul’s in Punta Gorda.

This is a wholesome vegetarian dish made from green bananas and lentils cooked in creamy coconut cream. The green bananas taste like yam and so adds an interesting texture to the taste experience. If you would like to view the recipe, click on this link to Green Banana and Coconut Cream Lentils.

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Bananas, Bamboo and More Harvests…

April 9, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Back.View After the big rain, everything has started to pick up again. We have bananas coming out of our ears; we have been making banana flour. Also, just eating them ripe and green. Dogs, cat, piggies and duckies have obligingly helped us out with the bountiful harvest.

We are going to get a ton of jackfruit this year. I can count at least 30 fruit on one tree only. These “big babies” can get to about 22lbs (10kgs) in weight; if you have never seen one before, they look like big alien pods once they ripen.

Ripe Jackfruit: Big Babies!!

We have a huge patch of Snake Plant (also known as Mother In Law’s Tongue and St. George’s Sword). I am not actually sure what they are called locally in Belize. Apparently, the plants have some traditional medicinal value; mashed up snake plant is put into chicken drinking water as a natural antibiotic. Incidentally, it is quite funny that, once upon a time, I used to buy these as pot plants from Ikea to decorate my living room!

Close Up Mother In Law's Tongue. — Close Up Mother In Law’s Tongue.

This is a slender bamboo often called “fish-pole.” The diameter of this particular type is only about 1 inch (2.5cm).

They split very easily:

We are going to dry a whole bunch of these to make tiles or blinds? Something useful anyway. I am sure that the artistic ones out there can automatically see the potential!

Belize, Food

Banana And Coconut Flour Patties.

February 23, 2016 Munchkin 2 Comments

Together.Eating We are making our own banana flour and coconut flour on the farm. Gnome had charged me with the responsibility of making something “yummy” with these ingredients. He actually scolded me and said,

“I know it is actually easier to use wheat flour because you know what to do with it. But you need to get used to using all these other flours that we make on the farm.”

Gnome.Glasses.Shot.Another

I replied with a sheepish smile,

“I suppose you’re right.”

Munchkin.Upset

And so I sequestered myself into the kitchen and got busy with the Gnome challenge. I came up with Banana and Coconut Flour Patties:

This recipe is gluten free as I used eggs and cornflour as the binding agents. These spicy patties contain tumeric (yellow ginger), chilli powder and white pepper which add a nice “kick” to the taste experience. I think they turned out rather nicely! This isn’t the end of the challenge though…I still need to come up with more recipes!!

Belize, Farming, Food

Home-Made Banana Flour.

February 18, 2016 Munchkin 4 Comments

Together.Eating.Fire.Pot

We are making our own banana flour right now. With huge bunches of green bananas, we find that the best way to preserve them is to process them into flour.

This actually involves quite a lengthy process but hey…that’s why we have chosen to live like this. The green bananas are peeled and then grated like so (by Munchkin of course):

The shredded bananas are then dried out in the sun. Once dehydrated, they are crushed by hand into crumbs and then milled (Gnome Job):

And this is what you get:

Eighty green bananas fills roughly half a gallon jar and weighs about 2lbs (1kg). And now Gnome has presented me with a challenge:

“Munchkin, cook something yummy with it!”

By the way, this product is not for sale because it contains too much blood and sweat! 😉

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

The Fate of the Banana Blossom.

October 25, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! For our dedicated followers out there, you may remember that about a week a ago, Gnome gave me two banana blossoms (flowers) to give to the guinea pigs. I promptly refused because I was determined to make yum-yums out of them.

Well, I did some research on preparation of the banana blossom for cooking and this is what I did.

I took off the outer petals (bracts) of the banana flower, layer after layer, until I got to the inner piece which looked like a little cabbage.

While taking off each petal, there was a layer of florets in between the bracts, which are pictured below.

According to my research, you can eat these florets by painstakingly going through each one of these to remove the outer calyx and the pistil. I did one for the picture and then thought to myself that it was extremely tedious and I wasn’t bored and hungry enough to do the rest.

I finally got to the heart of the flower.

I cut it into pieces, as instructed, and placed them in vinegar water to remove the tannic properties.

After, a couple of hours, the tannin was partially removed to leave edible parts that tasted like cabbage. They didn’t taste that great and I didn’t think that it was worth all the trouble of preparation and soaking time to get something so bland and uninteresting.

I decided to give the rest to the piggies after-all.

In conclusion, I am glad that I tried to prepare the banana blossom so that I could make up my own mind as to whether it was worth it or not. Outside the cultural context of eating banana flowers in India and South East Asia, I can only view this as a poor cabbage substitute. For the amount of energy, time and effort required in preparation, I would rather give these flowers to the piggies to enjoy.

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

New Harvests.

October 19, 2015 Munchkin

Hello Everyone!! All of a sudden, it is very, very wet. The air feels really damp and muggy. Still no need to complain; we are getting bountiful water to wash clothes to my heart’s content and I can have plentiful hot showers through-out the day!

The farm continues to give generously and there is always stuff to harvest everyday. The carambola (or starfruit) are bearing; I have to pick them partially green before the birds and the bees get to them.

These are the rogue pumpkins that were missed in “The Hidden Pumpkin Technique” which I described a few weeks ago. The pumpkin patch is still going strong and with these new rains, we are getting a second round of flowering.

In this technique, the pumpkins grow and sink into the tall grass; whilst hidden from the hungry eyes of critters and bugs, they can be left to grow flawlessly without a single burrowed hole or bite-mark.

Oh, and last but not least…banana flowers…

This morning, Gnome cut these down and instructed me to give them to the guinea pigs. I gave him a funny look and said,

“I heard that humans can eat them too!”

Gnome said that he had heard about people eating them in India but he wasn’t convinced about the potential tastiness of the banana flower.

Well, I looked at them and convinced myself that they looked a bit like artichokes and therefore there could be some potential for yumminess. Well, let’s see…tomorrow, I am going to try cooking them. Watch this space for the results!!

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, Farming, Food

Pan-Fried Green Bananas.

July 21, 2015 Munchkin 4 Comments

We have got a lovely big bunch of green bananas. I counted…172 bananas in this bunch!! Wow, what a lot of food!!

I have been cooking up Pan-Fried Green Bananas:

I used the local spices Tumeric and Chilli Powder (bought from Punta Gorda market, Toledo) to flavour the dish.

We had a yummy Sunday Brunch with these bananas:

Tuna and Avocado with Pan-Fried Green Banana.

This is a great way to eat unripe bananas; they make a hearty and satisfying food. Definitely a tasty way to chomp your way through bananas especially when you have 172 of them!!

Belize, Fermentation

Rice-Banana-Coffee Beer Tasting.

April 9, 2015 Munchkin

Do you remember the Mystery Beer which was made about 2 months ago? Yes, the one that involved lilac sheets! This was bottled last Wednesday and at that time, I had a quick taste and I have to admit that I just noted the “burnt” flavour from the coffee but nothing to get overly excited about.

Well, here is the tasting after one week of bottling:

Colour is red amber and very effervescent; small sized bubbles with moderate fizz. Clear with good head.

Smells like strawberries! Lovely fresh strawberry smell, like walking through a strawberry field. There is a lingering berry sweetness.

With the first sip, there is an immediate delicate and distinct taste of strawberries! There is a mild sourness and the last flavour component is the coffee taste which compliments the whole experience.

Wow, this tasting is truly amazing! I can not believe that a beer can develop such complex taste components in just 7 days. It has captured the taste of delectable strawberries even although this fruit is not an ingredient. The rice and banana combined has given this unique and fruity taste.

After this tasting, I thanked Gnome for his love and discipline in making beer (and his general practices in life). It is quite interesting to note that Gnome does not drink much and in fact, makes fermented beverages because he actually enjoys the whole making process.

Thank-you Gnome For Your Fermentation Magic!

Casa Mascia Apothecary