Phew…another busy day today in town! Crazy day with patients, in between dashing into very busy shops. It was so funny, in the Chinese supermarket, waiting in line and watching everyone buy “Christmas Goodies” including Aunt Gemima’s lemon cake mix, marbles, Pringles and basically anything appearing “luxurious” and decadent.
I walked into the Chinese restaurant:
Lots of Beer.
I looked over at the wall of beer and I said to the Chinese girl:
“Are you ready for Christmas?”
And she replied with a sheepish smile:
“Yeah!”
Well, I suppose with 1898 bottles of beer she is all geared up for Christmas! Are you Ready For Christmas?? Merry Christmas Everyone!!
Yes, it was a town day with the usual madness of rushing about, delivering stuff, paying bills in between seeing patients and hailing passerbys. After all that, we sat by the sea with our Duckie Bag sipping coffee together.
Travel Bag With Thermos.
Who needs a coffee shop when you can sit out here?
Mmmmm…deep fried cassava is one of our favourites…it is really hearty and warming for colder days in Belize.
Fried Cassava with Miso Dip.
And since we are moving into winter time in Belize when the temperature can drop down to 18C (64F), this dish is perfect.
To prepare the cassava, peel and wash:
Dug Up Cassava.Peeled Cassava.
Boil the cassava in a stockpot. You will know when they are ready when they start to split length-wise. Drain the roots and once they have cooled down, slice them into 1/2 inch circular pieces. Heat up oil (I use a wok) until smoking. Fry about 10 pieces at a time, until golden brown, and drain on kitchen towel.
To make Peach Palm Miso Dip combine the following :
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Honey
1 tsp Peach Palm Miso (or Shiro Miso)
Peach Palm Miso Dip.
Enjoy!! We deliver Peach Palm Miso in Punta Gorda on Wednesdays. Contact us by email or Facebook if you are interested and we can drop it off for you.
Peach Palm Miso.
We can also send it to you via Tropic Air within Belize. Check out The Apothecary for prices.
The pet soap is made from jackass bitters and neem leaf for control of fleas, ticks and mites without the use of strong chemicals. The Lime-Sulphur Pet Dip is used for more severe infestations of mange, fleas, ticks and ringworm.
Both products are safe to use on your pets. As you can see: our pets love Sulphur Dip Time!
Washing Dog with Sulphur Dip.Clean Cat.
For anyone who lives in Belize, outside of Punta Gorda, we can have these products delivered via Tropic Air. We also ship Internationally. Check out The Apothecary for more information and prices.
We have just made a delivery of freshly made lip balms to the Cotton Tree Chocolate Factory in Punta Gorda. This is a must-have for all chocolate lovers out there! They are made from real chocolate, cacao butter for extra smoothness and honey! They are available as Chocolate Smoothie Lip Balm or Orange Chocolate Smoothie Lip Balm.
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.
Straight after the SHI Fair, we had to run up to Independence and did not get home until late. I was hoping to get these pictures up earlier but such is life!
Our table: pretty messy after rummaging through bargain boxes! Copal Medicinal Soaps in the middle and bargain tooth-powder to the left.
Vendor selling Plantains, Cho Cho and the roots, in the middle are Cocoyam.
Jars of yellow ginger (tumeric):
Toledo based business marketing and promoting a new BBQ sauce. Good Luck to them:
Overall, there was a moderate turn out and we received a lot of good responses to our products. This year, there were not so many visitors from other districts of Belize.
People sometimes ask us what kind of green vegetables we grow on the farm to eat. This is mainly because, as doctors, we are always advising people to eat green, leafy vegetables for their high vitamin and mineral content which helps maintain healthy growth of cells and promotes healing. These people in turn, go to Punta Gorda market to look for them, only to find one common type of leafy vegetable to eat which is calalloo (Amaranth sp.).
Wild Calaloo.
This is fine to eat (though they still complain about the lack of variety) but also they are not found in such great abundance that they can be eaten in substantial proportions everyday. We eat about 100 to 200 grams (1/4 to 1/2 lb) of dried leafy green vegetable a day and this is the amount that we recommend to other people to eat.
Here in Belize, there is a plethora of greens that can be easily grown with the minimum of fuss and maintenance. You just need to regularly harvest (cut back) to stimulate growth and you will have them mostly all year round. The only time there might be a problem is the 2 months of dry season but this can be overcome with daily irrigation which should be possible for a small garden.
We Collect Fresh Greens Everyday.
Malabar spinach is a climbing vine. It grows really well in wet areas. You eat the leafy parts and discard most of the fibrous stem. It can be eaten raw in salads, steamed or stir-fried.
Malabar Spinach.
Chaya plants, also known as tree spinach, needs little maintenance and even survive through drought without much irrigation. They are best chopped finely and boiled for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Chaya.
A more familiar green for people from temperate countries is kale. They need a little bit more care and raised bedding; nonetheless, they can still be cultivated in the Tropics.
Kale.
This one is called Avuvo, apparently a well-known Nigerian green. The seed was given to us by somebody who had plans to grow Nigerian vegetables in Belize for an export market in the States. It grows prolifically.
Avuvo.
Ok, guys go forth and start your own garden of fresh green leafy vegetables! You will find that they taste so much better than the bought stuff! As well as providing ingredients for a healthy diet, maintaining a garden will keep you fit (c’mon …don’t hire a gardener!) and you can save money on your grocery bill.
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!!
Munchkin and Gnome have been super cool and happen’ today chasin’ trucks through the mean streets of Punta Gorda Town in Belize. Yes, readers, you can indeed live your life vicariously through the exciting exploits of M&G!!
Mean Streets of Punta Gorda.
Munchkin and Gnome Mission of the Day:
Find an unmarked white truck driving through Punta Gorda Town between the hours of 0900 and Anytime Now (Belizean Mountain Time). Secure 6 bottles of orange oil from the truck.
Tip offs: Driver goes by the name of Eugene. Able to procure the mobile number of truck driver but here in Belize, nobody answers their phone if they do not recognise caller ID. So, no chance of him actually answering the phone.
Munchkin and Gnome at 0900 Hours:
Detective Munchkin enquired at the Chinese Supermarket “James Shop” and asked if they had seen the white truck.
Chinese Girl at Supermarket.
The Chiney Girl replied in perfect Kriol,
“Da truck no di come yet.”
Munchkin and Gnome at 0930 Hours:
Circled the mean streets of Punta Gorda in search of the white truck. No sign of any big white vehicles.
We’re Happenin’!
Munchkin and Gnome at 1000 Hours:
Watched and waited like hawks ready to pounce on their prey. Parked vehicle on the edge of town waiting for the appearance of the “white truck.”
The Edge of Town.
Munchkin and Gnome at 1030 Hours:
Munchkin: Ooohhh!! White Truck!! White Truck!!
As soon as the truck passed, Gnome trailed behind in silence and anticipation. Always keeping a distance so that the truck driver would not get wind of the quiet truck chase. Meanwhile, Munchkin was on the edge of her seat brimming with excitement at the thought of “the catch.”
The truck finally came to a stop and Gnome surreptitiously slowed down and parked quite a ways behind to avoid detection.
Oh…but lo and behold:
The Egg Truck.
Wrong one…this unmarked truck was selling eggs from Spanish Lookout. What a red herring!!
Munchkin and Gnome at 1100 Hours:
Back to the secret waiting spot.
Edge of Town.
Finally a second truck flashed by and they were hot on their heels.
Unmarked White Truck.
When the truck finally stopped, Munchkin accosted the driver and he confirmed his name as Eugene. Six bottles of orange oil were procured outside the Jose Maria Supermarket. There was a silent exchange of money and Munchkin walked away cleanly with the goods secured. Operation successful.
So you might have found this true story funny but this is the reality in Belize (at least here in Punta Gorda). Wholesale trucks from Belize City, Spanish Lookout and Stann Creek have designated days in which they bring their goods down to Punta Gorda. Organisation of delivery of products is precarious at best and for all intents and purposes, practically non-existent. So, if you want something in particular from a wholesale truck, you need to go Truck Chasin’.
