Tag Archives: Mango

Belize, Farming, Food, Mushrooms, Plants

Plants and Mushrooms On The Farm.

New.Munchkin.Gnome.Yellow.Boots

The morning started off with a torrential rain which filled up our tanks.  Yay…this means that we can continue to have long hot showers and keep on using the washing machine.  We are thankful for small blessings!  After the rains, we walked together with a wheel-barrow of seedlings to plant out (gosh…this is Munchkin and Gnome romancing!).

We planted out Carob seedlings.  We are especially excited about these because these can be a nutritional chocolate alternative and the seeds are a source of guar gum.  We planted these on high ground because they are not supposed to like “wet feet.”

Carob Seedling.
Carob Seedling.

We also planted some good varieties of mangoes…I know that this sounds rather mundane for the tropics but on our farm we have NO mango trees!   This also happens to be our favourite fruit so we are trying to catch up.  When we first came to Belize ten years we spent all our time planting unusual edible tropical fruits and forgot about the ubiquitous mango.

Freshly Mowed Field Ready For Mango Planting.
Freshly Mowed Field Ready For Mango Planting.

We have found from our own personal experience as wannabee farmers that the best way to plant a seedling is to cut the bottom off the plant pot and set it in a shallow (6 inches) hole.  This ensures that the roots are not disturbed and also you can weed-wack around it without damaging the plant.

Planted Mango.
Planted Mango.

Ooooh look our betel nut is flowering…not sure what to do with it so we will have to do some research on that one…

Betel Palm Flower.
Betel Palm Flower.

And, last but not least, the mushrooms are coming out with the rains.  This is Turkey Tail mushroom which can be boiled up for a tea and is rich in anti-oxidants.

Turkey Tale Mushroom.
Turkey Tale Mushroom.

This is Chicken of The Woods.  We are waiting for them to get bigger so that we can harvest them to eat.  When you cook them up, they taste just like chicken.  Yummy…can’t wait!!

Chicken Of The Woods.
Chicken Of The Woods.

What exciting things on the farm!!

Amusing, Belize, Food

Shepherd’s Pork and Mango Pie (a la Munchkin).

Together.Eating.Fire.PotI told Gnome that I had a new recipe called “Shepherd’s Pork and Mango Pie.”

Shepherd's Pie.
Shepherd’s Pie.

Gnome: Is there any “Shepherd’s Pie” to this meal?

(Gnome is referring to the well-known dish of baked minced beef topped with mashed potato).

Munchkin: Yes, the mashed potato on top.

Gnome: Well, there you go.  One can not go against the word of a Munchkin!  Shepherd’s Pie, it is…a la Munchkin!

(Gnome distinctly dislikes using French terms…I think he was being facetious, if you ask me).

Munchkin.Funny.Look.Yet.AnotherSo, here we go:  This dish is made with minced (ground) pork (instead of beef) and mango (instead of the tomatoes in Shepherd’s Pie) and shiitake mushrooms (instead of button mushrooms).  This gives it a sweet, tangy exotic taste.  It is baked and topped with mashed potato with coconut cream (instead of butter).

The authentic part of the recipe is the potato!

I used these little wild mangoes for this recipe; as they say here in Belize they are Sweet Sweet Sweet!

Little Wild Mangoes.
Little Wild Mangoes.

A bit like Shepherd’s Pie, don’t you think?

Belize, Food, Medical Related, Philosophy

Busy Being Doctors!

Together.Sitting.HandrailHi Everyone.  Our Internet just came back on…it has been really erratic lately and some days we only have it come on for about 5 minutes at a time when some emails download but  no connection to write back.  Such is life in Belize.  Well, we’ve been busy with medical calls of late.  So, all farm and business stuff has been pushed to a minimum until things go back to normal.  The rains don’t help either…and, I should also throw in the unhelpful conjunction of the stars for extra measure!  Anyone waiting for coconut products is waiting for all our patients to get better, sunnier days and of course, the big stick (for knocking down the coconuts).

Of course, being doctors always comes first and we really don’t mind seeing patients.  We just have so many other things that we like to do that it is sometimes hard to fit everything into our lives.  For us, seeing patients is our gesture to people, the community and the universe, at large because we put such a huge effort into this work.  Not only are our call-outs one hour, they sometimes extend to two hours and we don’t ask for extra money for this.  The money that we receive from patients is what we like to view as a “gesture in kind.”

During these hectic, stressful and tiring days, I think to myself that we are so lucky that we can work together as doctors (and in everything else).  Due to patient confidentiality, doctors should never talk about their patients to anyone else except to other medical colleagues.  In our line of work, this is called “sharing the anxiety” or in more professional terms “de-briefing.”  I am really glad that we can share the anxiety together!

It is nice when some acknowledgement comes our way.  The last week or so, we have received gifts of fruit from patients’ relatives.

A gift of mangoes.  This is great because we have no mangoes growing on our farm.

Mangoes.
Mangoes.

A gift of kenip fruit.  These are fruit with a sweet and acidic flesh…you gnaw on the fruit around the seeds and then the seeds can be kept, boiled up and then roasted to make a nut snack. Gnome really likes this fruit!

Kenip Fruit.
Kenip Fruit.

Have a good night!!

Belize, Farming, Food, Mushrooms, Plants

Fruits in Season.

TogetherHi There! Just something short and sweet…pictures from the farm. We find that the farm just keeps on producing and doing its own thing. Even although we have taken a few days from farm work it doesn’t stop it all from growing up…aagghhh…the bush and the grass are all coming back with the rains!  Anyway, here are some things that make us feel that it is all worth it in the end.

Mulberry is in season; you would naturally consider this as a temperate fruit but it actually grows in Belize very well. The yields are very high…the only thing is that you have to pick them early morning before all the birds get them.

Mulberry.

The bees are polinating the African oil palm. Again, this is a favourite with wild animals so you have to grab them while you can. The palm nuts are actually really nice boiled in soups and stews. Oh, and another thing, the dog likes them too. So much competition…we don’t mind sharing but the problem is that the rest of the other critters have no concept of leaving a few behind for us!

African Oil Palm Flowers.
African Oil Palm Flowers.

This is a nice specimen of wild mushroom. They are Lepiota sp. unfortunately, not edible.

Lepiota Mushrooms.
Lepiota Mushrooms.

These yellow fruit are called abiu. They have a clear, whitish pulp with some similarity to the texture of persimmon. A tasty fruit which can only be picked once there is a tinge of yellow on the outer shell. The birds seem to be able to eat them green so we tend to lose a lot of them to our little friends. Here is a nice picture of two surprisingly intact specimens:

Abiu Fruit.
Abiu Fruit.

It is mango season and the trees in Toledo are totally loaded. We are lamenting over this because when we initially started planting fruit trees on our farm, ten years ago, we were so excited about planting weird and exotic trees that we completely overlooked the common back-yard mango. So, now we have no mangoes on our farm and they are actually our favourite fruit. We are making up for it this year by planting seedlings but it is going to be quite a wait to have our own farm-fresh mango…about 5 years! Here is a picture of mangoes on a tree (not on our farm).

Mangoes!!
Mangoes!!

Oh, and this is an unusual fruit called velvet apple. They are furry red balls with a yellow/orange pulp which we have actually never tasted before. They have a very nice peachy smell to them. This picture was taken from a friend’s farm; they look like Christmas decorations:

Velvet Apple.
Velvet Apple.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Now is the time to stuff yourself silly with mangoes until July…then it will be avocado season! Lots of wonderful fruit to look forward to.