Tag Archives: Elephant Yam

A Quickie!

June 28, 2018 Munchkin

Hello!! We had about two weeks of really good weather (blue skies and sunshine) and now we are back to rainy weather. Today, it looks like an all day rain so we can’t go out. It is definitely getting very wet from three days of rain; puddles (ponds) forming and geese splashing about. Lots of froggies too and frog spawn in all our buckets.

Here are a few pictures from the farm. Not really much to say except that we will probably be doing inside activities for the month of July.

I had written before that we were trying to grow a big patch of mint at the water tank area which gets really wet. The mint has taken well and is spreading with the rains:

Some birds nest cup fungus. It looks very pretty but unfortunately you can’t eat it or make birds nest soup soup out of it!

The “Brain” is flowering; just in case you don’t remember the “Brain,” here is a picture; it is also called elephant foot yam.

The flowers are very interesting; they look like mushrooms:

Okay, have a great day and stay out of the rain!!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Good Time To Harvest Roots.

May 10, 2016 Munchkin

Together.Eating.Fire.Pot The dry season in Belize is a great time to harvest roots. We have been pulling up cassava from our beds. Each plant has been giving us a generous 10lbs (5kg) of root. Cassava requires immediate processing because it tends to go off after 1 or 2 days. We usually peel a whole load of them in one go, boil them and then store them in the freezer.

This is food security:

This time we had a surprise harvest. Gnome called me out to the veranda and said,

“Surprise!! I found three brains for you!”

Gnome.Smiling

He was of course referring to these; elephant foot yam which we have humourously coined “The Brain.”

More Food!!

Belize, Food, Plants

Dissecting The Brain!

February 1, 2016 Munchkin

If you recall in a previous article, there is a certain ground root that we coined “The Brain” because well, we thought it looked like a big brain!

Kind of…you really have to be a doctor to appreciate the brain thing. Other names are Amorphophallus paeoniifolis or elephant foot yam.

This is what the plant looks like:

It has a characteristic spotting on the stem and it also produces a beautiful flower. Ours hasn’t flowered yet so sorry, no picture as yet.

The good thing about this yam is that it can be harvested and stored for about 3 months. This is great for the tropics because most ground vegetables have to be processed soon after harvest or else they go bad…take for example cassava. Anyway, I left this brain out on the veranda for months before I found the time to sort it out. This is how you prepare elephant foot yam:

Wear a pair of gloves whilst processing as the uncooked root contains oxalic crystals which can cause itchy dermatitis. Firstly pare the root with a sharp knife and then cut into uniform cubes about an inch in size. Wash thoroughly with water.

Next, place in a cooking pot with a teaspoon of salt. Bring to boil and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes. After this, add about 100g (3oz) of cream cheese to the pot and boil for another 10 minutes. Traditionally, in Indian cuisine, curds or tamarind paste are added at this point to further remove the itchy sensation caused by the oxalic acid. I had neither ingredient in my kitchen, so I opted to use Philadelphia Cream Cheese which seemed to work in the same way.

Once tender, drain off the water. You can eat it at this point or bag it into smaller portions to store in the freezer. The yam can be eaten as a substitute in any potato dish and there are numerous traditional recipes on the Internet; usually in the form of wet and dry curries.

This yam grows prolifically in the Tropics and so I recommend that every self-sufficient person should have a patch of this growing somewhere on their land. This is great survival food because there is so much of it!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

The Brain!!

November 23, 2015 Munchkin

Together.Smiling

Before I start on another hilarious story with Munchkin and Gnome (Ha-Ha), I would like to mention that you can find us on FaceBook under Mandy Tsang. We have removed the Casa Mascia Apothecary page because it has only served to confuse everyone or maybe it’s because I don’t know how to use FaceBook properly! Anyway…back to The Brain…

Every-time we harvest one of these beauties, we call out “The Brain!!” in unison. Well, it is because we think that this root resembles a brain and also, we have been living in the bush for so many years, we have developed a sense of humour to offset some of the boredom (Ha-Ha).

Hmmm…I suppose you could say that it also looked like an elephant’s foot…

“The Brain!!” is also known as elephant foot yam, white-spot giant arum and its latin name is Amorphophallus paeoniifolis. Anyone who knows a bit of latin will be wondering why this is called a misshapen (amorpho) penis (phallus). This plant actually produces a spectacular flower which is the reason for the name; unfortunately, we have not been privy to the flowering of this plant. If you do a quick Internet search, you will find pictures easily…the flowers are truly amazing.

If you look at the stem of this plant, you can see the tell-tale white-spots which lends them their popular name.

This plant is related to A. konjac which is consumed in South-East Asia and Japan. According to a Straits Chinese Gnome, this is used, amongst other things, to make Jello in Asian countries because it can remain solid in the Tropics.

The preparation and cooking will be for another post!! Watch out for the dissection of The Brain!!

Everything Handmade in Belize.