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.”
I replied with a sheepish smile,
“I suppose you’re right.”
And so I sequestered myself into the kitchen and got busy with the Gnome challenge. I came up with Banana and Coconut Flour Patties:
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!!
This recipe is designed to entice our local readers to whet their appetite…and to buy our freshly squeezed coconut cream! For all our readers outside Punta Gorda, you can used canned coconut cream for this recipe…it is still delicious. We are coming up against stiff competition with the packeted dehydrated coconut powder. At this point in time, it looks like convenience is winning through. Arrrrghhh!!! What happened to all you organic farm-fresh lot out there?! 😉
Our Lovely Coconuts.
Our coconut cream is manually squeezed by yours truly on our farm. They come in 4oz bags for only a $1 each. We can deliver this fresh to anyone in Punta Gorda every Wednesday of every week.
Coconut Cream.
You definitely have to try this Coconut Cream Brownie Recipe. The coconut adds extra creaminess and decadence to the whole experience! Yum…
Hello Everyone. We have fresh produce from our farm to sell and will be in Punta Gorda tomorrow (and every Wednesday) to sell our stuff. Email or Facebook us if you are interested and we can drop it off for you in town tomorrow.
We have the Peach Palm Miso for sale. This product is made in the same traditional way as normal miso but we have used Peach Palm (Pejibaye) instead of soya bean.
Peach Palm Miso.
This is a gluten-free, vegan natural flavouring for soups, sauces and marinades. Simply use this as an alternative to a bouillon cube. You only need to use a teaspoon at a time so one bag goes a long way. Check out The Apothecary for prices.
We will also have our coconut cream for sale which can be used for curries, stews, coconut rice and smoothies.
Hello Everyone!! The tourist season is just round the corner and we are gearing up for the new season. I have added a few more additions to our product list. There are still more new products to come..how exciting!! We are now offering Copal Medicinal Oil in Vial form:
Copal Medicinal Oil Vial.
This smaller sized bottle (30ml) is an ideal size for traveling. Copal Medicinal Oil has natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties which can be used for cuts, scrapes, burns, scalds, skin infections, insect bites and fungal infections. For all our Copal fans out there, the medicinal oil is still available in the larger bottle (120ml) and ointment form.
We made this because of popular demand for a local liquid soap made from coconut oil. It is completely detergent free and contains no artificial ingredients. It is available in original (unscented), peppermint and orange citrus essential oils. It is mild enough to be used for face, body and hair. In fact, it is so mild that it can be used for sensitive skin and babies.
We also have this brand new Herbal Air Freshener; it has lovely essential oils including clove and lemongrass which act in synergy to remove odours and naturally disinfect the environment.
This nifty little sprayer is great for home use and can double up as a car freshener too. Also, it can remove pet odours without harming animals.
Check out The Apothecary for more detailed information on our products.
Yum!!! Another dessert from the Munchkin kitchen: Coconut Squares with Chocolate Drizzle. This dessert is soft and richly textured and it is so easy to make. The chocolate sauce is made from coconut cream too!
Coconut Square with Chocolate Drizzle.
Yes, you may have guessed it…torrential rain every night so that the farm is covered in puddles (getting to pools actually). So, what else can I do but sequester myself in the kitchen and cook up yummy stuff with our lovely coconuts!
Our Lovely Coconuts.Freshly Grated Coconuts.
The chocolate sauce complements the sweet very well; it is made from Cotton Tree Chocolate:
Just the other day, Gnome was asking me if I could make some sort of dessert which wasn’t heavy like cake but something light and sweet.
We have been processing a lot of coconuts lately so I tried to think up of something with this ingredient.
Our Lovely Coconuts.
Then I suddenly remembered that a long time ago (10 years to be exact) when we first came to Belize, a Hawaiin- Filipino couple had invited us to their farm and served us this delicious dessert made from coconut milk. I had forgotten about it until now and so I rummaged through my personal recipe books and found that I had written it down. I recall that my friends had mentioned that there are variations of this dessert Haupia and that some people like to add fresh fruit to it. I have opted for simple and pure coconut milk squares. They are soft, silky and melt in your mouth.
Haupia: Easy Coconut Dessert.
Gnome was very pleased with the dessert and scoffed off the whole lot in one sitting. This is very unusual for him because he does not have a sweet tooth.
Yum Yum!!
Check out the full recipe for Haupia: Coconut Dessert in Belize Wild Recipes. It is soooo easy to make and it is made from simple ingredients including cornstarch and sugar. If you live in Toledo, you can purchase our coconut cream from Green Supauls (Punta Gorda) to use for this recipe. Otherwise, use fresh or canned coconut milk.
Coconut Cream For Sale At Green Supauls.
You only need to use a 1/4 of this bag, diluted with water to make up the coconut milk component of the recipe.
Enjoy!!
If you haven’t already…Get Your Vote In!! C’mon guys!! We need your votes for the favourite candidate for Paradise Piggies!!
One of the Munchkin jobs on the farm is to collect coconuts which have fallen to the ground and sprouted. If I don’t keep up with this task, the coconuts form deeply embedded roots into the earth and it eventually gets really tough trying to dig them out of the soil.
Coconut Seedlings.
I have to admit that it isn’t one of my favourite jobs so I had been sadly neglecting it for a while!
Wheel-Barrowing Coconuts…What Fun!!
A few weeks ago, I received an order for a couple of hundred coconuts and I was very happy with this because it would kick start me into gathering the seedlings on a more frequent basis. And so I gathered the coconuts for the order (hot sweaty work) and alas, on the appointed day of pick-up, nobody arrived! I had no contact information and after a few more days of waiting, it did not look like the coconuts would be claimed. So I didn’t think more of it until a few days ago when we met an acquaintance in town who said that he would pick up the coconuts on behalf of this other guy. Well, I was so pleased to hear the news and I said enthusiastically,
” Yes, yes…come and get the coconuts. they’re ready and waiting…anytime!”
Famous last words….
Well anyone who reads our Blog on a regular basis will know that we get to bed by 8pm for our 4am early rise. Well, at 9pm that very night, we were all comfortable and snug in bed when we were rudely awoken by the constant honking of a car horn. We got up thinking that it was the inevitable call of duty and someone needed our doctoring. Gnome managed to get out of the house quicker and dashed through the rain. It was one of those nights that you see in movies with dark ominous signs of a storm brewing. There was thunder and lightning, a gusty wind blowing from the north and the pitter-patter of rain was just starting.
Definitely not a night that anyone in the right mind would be out unless it was of utmost importance…
Gnome talked to the guy at the gate and he then ran back to me as I stepped out of the house and said incredulously,
” He’s come to get the coconuts!”
All I could say was,
“What?!”
The storm was coming so there was no time to get angry or perplexed over the bizarre turn of events. The most sensible thing to do was to get the coconuts as quickly onto this guy’s truck and send him on his merry way. We managed in record time…trying to squeeze as many coconuts into the back pan of the truck alongside a wheelbarrow and shovel! Once we got back inside the house, we had to have a hot drink to calm ourselves down. After a period of silent contemplation, Gnome said,
“Do you think he is out there planting his coconuts tonight?”
At this point there was a loud clap of thunder and the rain came pelting down.
We both imagined this guy with a wheel-barrow of coconuts in the rain. What had possessed him to come at such an ungodly hour of the night and worse still, on a stormy night to collect coconuts? Was it whimsy? Boredom?
I just smiled back at Gnome,
” Tales of The Unexpected…in Belize!”
By the way We do have coconut seedlings for sale from our farm. Check out The Apothecary for pricing.
Last week, I wrote about making coconut milk cheese – feta style…this is the update. After the three days of dry brining, I took out the cheese and cut it into pieces like so:
Coconut Feta Cheese.
The cheese had dried to a firm consistency and so it was easy enough to cut without too much crumbling. I then placed them in 7% brine; one jar with bay leaves and the second flavoured with whole black peppers.
Flavoured Coconut Feta in Brine.
I am going to leave the jars out at room temperature so that they can ferment further for two weeks. After that, I will I will let them continue to ferment for several months in a cooler area (probably the refrigerator). Hope they taste good after all the waiting!!
Gnome Update:
Gnome has started on a project where he is digging out a small pond next to the house:
Pond Digging.
He has also started up some lotus seeds in a basin which have germinated and come up nicely:
Growing Lotus in Basin.
The plan is to have a lotus pond next to the house. Apart from the beautiful flowers, we also want to grow them for food. We would eventually like to make our own lotus paste to make Chinese sweets:
Lotus Paste.
This was sent to us as a gift all the way from Singapore; I am saving it to make moon cake this year. Also, lotus seeds are really tasty in Chinese soups…yes, you can actually buy these in Belize!
Dried Lotus Seeds.
Lotus root is also quite a treat and I would love to grow some of our own because I haven’t eaten it for over a decade since I came to Belize. It will probably take over a year before we can harvest any to eat.
About a month ago, we received a wonderful package of treats from Singapore. There was a plethora of exotic foods and since the gifts are so special to us, we usually make an occasion out of each item. Today, Gnome really felt like eating some kaya, which is a sweet spread made from coconut milk, eggs and sugar with the addition of pandan leaf as flavouring.
Kaya Spread From Sinapore.
Previously, I used to know very little about Straits Chinese food but slowly Gnome has introduced me into this colourful culinary world. Anyway, the kaya is traditionally eaten on white bread and we did not have any in the house. And so we decided to mix things up a bit, since we are in Central America, and have them with corn tortillas.
Stack of Corn Tortillas.Tortillas and Kaya.
Kaya has a very wholesome and well-rounded taste; the coconut and the eggs give richness to the spread. We had a veritable feast with the tortillas and coconut spread…to put it in Gnome’s words, ” It hits the spot!”
Apparently the traditional way of eating this coconut spread in Singapore and Malaysia is to spread it on toast with butter. Also, you can dip this in soft boiled egg with some soya sauce. Sounds lovely!
Also, I was thinking that since we have so many coconuts on the farm, I should experiment with making our own Belizean Kaya.
Our Coconuts.
Obviously since I can not flavour it with pandan leaf, which gives it a distinct aromatic aroma, I could try using something indigenous to this country like all-spice or even spice it up with black pepper! Watch this space for more Munchkin experimentation!
Hello!! We are back in action with more interesting things to show you because we have procured a camera. I finally bit the bullet and bought a new android phone…one of those blocky looking things with a camera (of course) and many things that do not concern me like the Android and the numerous applications. Gnome is messing around with it in his Gnomish way and actually having a lot of fun with the gadget!
Anyway, we have been making cheese out of coconut milk. Coconut milk, along with the cream, can be hand-squeezed out of grated coconut.
Grated Coconut.
This liquid eventually separates into the thick, white cream at the top and the coconut milk at the bottom. We sell off our coconut cream to the local market as Belizeans like to cook their rice and beans in this. For the Toledo readers, you can buy this from Green Supaul’s in Punta Gorda.
Coconut Cream For Sale.
We kept the coconut milk until we had acquired a volume of about 2 gallons (8 litres) which was roughly equivalent to about 100 coconuts in total. The coconut milk is high in protein (similar to milk) and so we decided to try to make “cheese” out of it.
Coconut Milk in Pot.
First of all, we placed the coconut milk in a stainless steel pot and boiled the milk until it produced curds which floated up to the surface. This takes about 30 minutes and you have to keep on stirring to prevent the curds from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Coconut Curds on Surface of Boiled Coconut Milk.
We allowed this to cool down for about two hours and then drained the curds into a cotton towel on a sieve (you can use cheese cloth…we just didn’t have any).
Draining Coconut Curd.
This was left to drain overnight and the liquid part, the whey, was collected in a basin under the dripping curds. At this point, it looks and tastes very similar to ricotta cheese and you can eat it at this point if you prefer. We gave the whey to our animals to drink.
Coconut Ricotta.
The next morning, we wrapped the drained curd in a towel and placed it between two clean blocks of wood and applied a weight on it (5 gallon carboy containing wine). After 24 hours, we removed the weight.
Pressing Coconut Cheese.
To make this into feta-style cheese, we removed the coconut cheese from the cloth and placed it in a clean glass container. Next, we added about 1 cup of salt to dry salt it.
This was done this morning and we will leave it to salt for three days. After that, we will cut the cheese into cubes and store them in brine. We will let you know what it tastes like…so far so good.
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,
This recipe is designed to entice our local readers to whet their appetite…and to buy our freshly squeezed coconut cream! For all our readers outside Punta Gorda, you can used canned coconut cream for this recipe…it is still delicious. We are coming up against stiff competition with the packeted dehydrated coconut powder. At this point in time, it looks like convenience is winning through. Arrrrghhh!!! What happened to all you organic farm-fresh lot out there?! 😉
