Tag Archives: Recipes

Musk Melon And Mayan Passion Fruit Agar.

June 9, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Drinking

This is an easy and delicious cooling dessert and it’s made from the bit that you usually throw away when you cut a musk melon.

This is what you do:

Scoop out the seeds of the musk melon and rub it through a sieve with a plastic spoon. You will end up with some thick sweet-tasting musk melon pulp.

Meanwhile boil 10gm of Agar in 900mls (1 quart) of water. You can buy agar from Chinese Super-markets or Health Food Shops.

Once the agar has dissolved, mix in the melon pulp. I also added passion fruit pulp with seeds. I used the wild Mayan Passion Fruit, Kun Batz…how’s that for something special!

Refrigerate for about an hour and enjoy! This is a healthy alternative to a cream bun. 😉

Amusing, Belize, Food

Banana Flour Porridge!

June 8, 2016 Munchkin

I have written about the making of banana flour in previous posts and our main reason for doing this was for preservation. From a completely practical point of view, if you are going to go through the trouble of processing (grating, drying and grinding), it is really important that you actually like eating it!

Hmmm….we were very dubious initially after making a banana flour pizza made from a recipe found on the Internet. The recipe called for 4 cups of banana flour and when I baked it in the oven, it came out like stiff card-board…let’s say that if you threw it at somebody you could cause bodily harm. We valiantly put toppings on it and ate it like a pizza.

The next morning…and a few days after…we were totally constipated…

Together.Munchkin.Annoyed

We then decided to do the math:

4 cups of flour is equal to 32 bananas

therefore, we ate the equivalent of 16 bananas each in one sitting.

Imagine eating 16 bananas all at once! And worse still, without the water content of each banana!

This of course results in constipation!

Anyway, after that escapade, I was in no mood to make anything with this flour! A few weeks later, I decided to use it up and make dog food …I didn’t even think about it…I just put a cup of flour in a pot of water and let it boil. It actually came out like a nice porridge. Much to Gnome’s dismay, the tasty looking porridge was for the dogs and not for us:

“What do you mean it’s for the dogs?!!”

Since then, I have formulated the Banana Flour Porridge as follows:

1/2 cup of banana flour

1 quart (900mls) of water

1 can of sweetcorn (optional)

1 tbsp sugar

Pinch of salt

Place ingredients in a pot and stir on medium flame ( about 7 to 10 minutes) until the porridge thickens. Can be eaten hot or cold.

This serves 2 people. Yes, 1/2 cup of flour = 8 bananas! So, each serving is four bananas. The result: tasty meal and happily non-constipated!

Belize, Food, Our Products

Green Banana and Coconut Cream Lentils.

May 16, 2016 Munchkin

Here is a recipe straight from the farm using our own green bananas and coconut cream.

Remember that you can buy our freshly squeezed cream at Green Supaul’s in Punta Gorda.

This is a wholesome vegetarian dish made from green bananas and lentils cooked in creamy coconut cream. The green bananas taste like yam and so adds an interesting texture to the taste experience. If you would like to view the recipe, click on this link to Green Banana and Coconut Cream Lentils.

Belize, Food, Plants

Let’s Do Some Foraging!

April 24, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Bossie

Do you know that you can forage for greens in Belize? This is purslane…it’s a perfectly good vegetable to eat!

If you are really looking for “organic” one of the answers is foraging. There is plenty of this around…just get your shade hat on and start walking about…

It’s got all the usual good stuff that you would expect from a green vegetable: It is rich in vitamin A and C and has a high percentage of omega 3 which is usually only found in fish oils and flax seed. You can eat it raw in salads or you can cook it anyway which you want. Taste wise, it is mildly acidic with a crunchy texture; the flowers and stems are edible.

C’mon then…get out there and start picking your greens…I’m doing it!

For more information click on Purslane.

I also have some recipes:

Coconut Purslane Salad

Purslane Chicken Chow Mein

Amusing, Belize, Food

Italian Style Fry Jack Brunch.

April 3, 2016 Munchkin

Jumping.Munchkin If you ever look through my Belize Wild Recipes section, you will know that I like “mixing it up” and revel in being non-traditional in my invention of meals. I am indeed a Rebel Cook!! ;). Anyway, I’ve cooked an Italian Style meal to eat with fry jacks. Just in case you don’t know, fry jacks are puffed up dough traditionally eaten in Belize with refried beans or eggs for breakfast. Well, I am being twice the rebel because I have modified it into Italian and Brunch!

This is really easy:

Take the following:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped finely

1 to 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

and saute until onions are nicely browned. Add:

5 peeled plum tomatoes (fresh/tinned), finely chopped

1/2 tsp of Italian Herbs (fresh/dried)

Salt to taste

Place a tight fitting lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

Next, take the lid off and crack eggs onto the simmering dish:

These are our lovely duck eggs; allow 1 to 2 eggs per person. The timing for the eggs is crucial! Put the lid back on; for soft cooked eggs, cook for 3 minutes 45 seconds; for hard boiled eggs, cook for 5 to 6 minutes. I like them soft and gooey so I have to really quick about it!

Serve immediately. Best with Fry Jacks but you can have it with crusty bread or toast.

Belize, Food, Our Products

Coconut Cream And Haupia Recipe.

March 24, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Froggie.Jumping For the people of Punta Gorda, we have a fresh batch of coconut cream at Green Supaul’s. You can’t miss it…it’s in the same freezer as the ice cream and the almond Snickers bars. Here is a snapshot to remind you!

You can use the coconut cream for soups, stews and curries. Also try making shakes and desserts with it. Here is a recipe for a cooling coconut dessert for the hot Easter weekend (well, it’s going to be hot here). Haupia is a Hawaiian dessert; if you are using our coconut cream in this recipe, just use half a coconut cream bag mixed in water to make 1 and 1/2 cups (as a substitute for the coconut milk). This is a great recipe for gluten-free people because it is a delicious recipe made from cornstarch.

The sun is back out and we didn’t get any rains the last few days despite the great promises from weather forecasts. I did hear that Punta Gorda and a few other villages got some rains…it is interesting (and infuriating!) that the weather is so regional. Anyway, we must press on and besides, no amount of whining on my part is going to bring the rains on!

Belize, Food, Our Products

It’s Curry Night!!

March 15, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Another.Eating.Shot Tonight we have a Bengali style curry. Thank-you Rumpa for the priceless cooking lessons back in the good old days in Glasgow. This curry has our own coconut cream (which you can purchase at Green Supaul’s in Punta Gorda).

I love cooking up curries because the wonderful aromatic herbs pervade through the house. This is when the dogs and the cat start sniffing around because it smells so delicious! Even the cat gets curry sauce on his gizzard!

Herbs and Spices used; cardamom, star anise, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and bay leaves.

Plate.of.Spices

Powdered spices used; curry powder, yellow ginger (tumeric), green chili (home-made), cinnamon and clove.

Ooooh…look at this. A “quick” curry in 2 hours (most other curries take about 12 hours!) with fresh coconut cream!

Check out the recipe for Coconut Cream Chicken Curry in Belize Wild Recipes. Mmmmm…yum!!

Belize, Food

Banana And Coconut Flour Patties.

February 23, 2016 Munchkin 2 Comments

Together.Eating 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.”

Gnome.Glasses.Shot.Another

I replied with a sheepish smile,

“I suppose you’re right.”

Munchkin.Upset

And so I sequestered myself into the kitchen and got busy with the Gnome challenge. I came up with 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!!

Belize, Food, Our Products

Coconut Cream Brownies.

February 17, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Eating.Bun 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 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.

You definitely have to try this Coconut Cream Brownie Recipe. The coconut adds extra creaminess and decadence to the whole experience! Yum…

Belize, Food

Fried Bread Sticks.

February 2, 2016 Munchkin

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.Smile

This is an easy snack made from very simple ingredients. Use your favourite bread recipe to make about 1 to 2 cups of dough (depending on how much fried yum yums you desire) and roll it out on a flat surface.

Cut the dough into strips and then leave uncovered for about 2 hours if you are in the tropics. If you are in a temperate country, leave it out for about 4 to 6 hours.

When you are ready to fry, brush the surface of the strips with egg. Now, this is the inventive and exciting part and it is up to you how you flavour your breadsticks! You could try sesame seeds, anise, basil, garlic powder, Italian herbs, etc, etc. Just use your imagination!

This is what I did:

I separated the dough strips into three batches and with batch 1, I sprinkled rosemary and salt. Batch 2 had sprinkled paprika and salt and Batch 3 had brushed egg only; once fried and drained, sifted icing sugar was added.

Heat the vegetable oil to about 400F. Fry the bread sticks in the three batches. They should puff up nicely and cook within about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well.

These are great as a snack or as an accompaniment to a meal. Our favourite was the batch sprinkled with icing sugar…savoury sweet!

Casa Mascia Apothecary

Tag Archives: Recipes

Musk Melon And Mayan Passion Fruit Agar.

Banana Flour Porridge!

Green Banana and Coconut Cream Lentils.

Let’s Do Some Foraging!

Italian Style Fry Jack Brunch.

Coconut Cream And Haupia Recipe.

It’s Curry Night!!

Banana And Coconut Flour Patties.

Coconut Cream Brownies.

Fried Bread Sticks.

Everything Handmade in Belize.