Tag Archives: Peppercorn

Belize, Food, Mushrooms

Chili Con Carne Munchkin Style

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.Smile

I am not a Texan Munchkin so I like to show my cheeky nature by embellishing Chili Con Carne.  It sounds like when it comes to the truly authentic Chili Con Carne, people have many different ideas about it.  The only idea that I have in mind is to “spice” it up “Munchkin Style” which basically means looking for anything growing on the farm and chucking it into the pot with Chili and Carne.

These are things I found to throw into the Chili Con Carne:

Split Gill Growing on a Log of Cashew.
Split Gill Growing on a Log of Cashew.

 

Green Peppercorns.
Green Peppercorns.

Wild Split Gill Mushrooms are found growing everywhere in the Toledo region of Belize and like to grow on old logs.  They are actually an esteemed Mayan mushroom which is traditionally cooked in the “Caldo” or Chicken Soup.  These mushrooms are chewy in texture so they need a longer cooking time (about 30 to 60 minutes) in a stew or soup.  Today, I deep-fried these mushrooms as an addition to the chili dish.  My Chili Con Carne had lots of green peppercorns (as well as chili) to add to the overall spiciness.

Other spices I added to the Chili Con Carne Munchkin Style were: cinnamon, allspice, clove and cumin.  My version had kidney beans and I served it with pasta twirls.  How is that for total lack of authenticity?!  I am sure some people would shudder at the thought of my gross deviation!

Chili Con Carne with Pasta Twirls and Wild Split Gill Mushrooms.
Chili Con Carne with Pasta Twirls and Wild Split Gill Mushrooms.

Needless to say it was very, very spicy and very flavoursome.  The deep-fried split gill mushrooms added a crunchy texture to the dish.

This time, I will not furnish you with my recipe as I am aware that there is a plethora of authentic chili con carne recipes out there for everyone to choose from.

Gnome has written about Split Gill Mushrooms, click on the link if you want to read more!

Belize, Farming, Food

New Yummies on our Farm.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.Smile

Today I did not know what to write about so Gnome suggested that I walk around our farm and take pictures of new yummies to harvest.

Big Bunch of Bananas.
Big Bunch of Bananas.

When these bananas are ready for harvest, we will probably do many different things with them since it is a huge bunch.  Deep-fried thinly sliced green bananas are a must!  I will also sun-dry some of the bananas, grind them up and make flour out of it.  We will, of course, enjoy some of the bananas ripe.

Sapodilla Fruit.
Sapodilla Fruit.

Sapodilla fruit have a soft flesh similar to a peach but not as smooth in texture.  There is a strong cinnammon-like flavour and they are very sweet.  Gnome has called first dibs to make sapodilla wine and we will probably eat the rest as fruit.  When they are sun-dried, they make a very good substitute for dates.  Incidentally, sapodilla trees were once cultivated in Belize for its sap which was used for the original chewing gum (or chicle).  Our trees are still too young to be tapped but watch this space in a few years for a post on home-made chewing gum!

Green Peppercorns.
Green Peppercorns.

I am waiting for the green peppercorns to turn red (have been waiting 2 months and still no colour change).  Once they change colour then they can be harvested and then processed into white pepper.  I am getting impatient so I am actually starting to pick some green peppers to add to my meals.  They are really hot at this stage.  The green peppercorns can be harvested at this time and dried into black peppercorns.

I am so pleased with the produce on our farm; it changes from week to week and I love thinking of all the exciting yummy things I can do with all this food.