Tag Archives: Recipes

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Fermentation, Food, Pets, Saving Money

Tuesday Night Storm, Internet Down and Pineapple Melomel.

Together.SmilingHello There!!  I will try to catch-up with this post and bring you up to date.  On Tuesday night we had a scary, gusty storm that resulted in a power-cut for most of the night and of course, the Internet went down with it.  The storm has brought cooler weather with grey clouds and it even rained heavily this morning.  The Internet started up again today…yay…it is so insidious how we feel that “we need Internet” and life just isn’t the same without it. When I down-loaded my bunch of late emails, they weren’t all that exciting and most of them were spam, anyway!

Well, since it was a Rainy Day, we made Pineapple Melomel (mead with fruit).  Yesterday, I had bought 20 ripe pineapples from the market for BZD 30.00 (USD 15.00) in an attempt to excite Gnome into making some more booze (nice, sparkling, champagne-like stuff) for me.  After I got the pineapples loaded onto the truck, he gave me a whiny look and said that he was hoping that I had bought the plantains instead of the pineapples.  That remark got him a “Chinese Woman Look” and stopped the complaints quick smart.

This is what we did.

We removed the heads and scrubbed them in the sink:

Washing Pineapples.
Washing Pineapples.

I then started chopping up the pineapples.  Whilst I was doing this, I kindly asked Gnome to take some pictures of this process.  All the pictures were soooo baaaad!!  They were out of focus and made my hands look stumpy and small…or, are they really like that?  I had to re-take some photos:

Chopping Pineapples...Look No Hands!!
Chopping Pineapples…Look No Hands!!
Pineapple, Chopped.
Pineapple, Chopped.

Gnome put the pineapple chunks through the juicer to get the juice and the pulp:

Juicing Pineapple.
Juicing Pineapple.

We ended up processing 10 pineapples in all because it was actually a lot of work and the juicer was over-heating and complaining with the work-load.  So, we managed to get about 6 litres (1 and 1/2 gallons) of juice from it all.

Frothy Pineapple Juice.
Frothy Pineapple Juice.

We got an extra 2 litres (2 quarts) of juice from the squeezing of the pulp:

Squeezed Pineapple Fibre.
Squeezed Pineapple Fibre.

We waste nothing!!  We gave this and some pineapple peel to the duckies this morning.  It was a Pineapple Feast…look closely at silly white duck…he even has a bit of pineapple stuck to his head.

Pineapple Fest For Duckies!
Pineapple Fest For Duckies!

We have noticed that our duckies are totally neophobic with food unless it is yellow in colour.  So, I was received by joyful and frenzied quackings today when I brought out the basin of pineapple waste.

Duckie Eating Pineapple.
Duckie Eating Pineapple.

While I was out playing with the duckies, Gnome proceeded with the making of his pineapple melomel; honey and fresh Toledo rainwater (very fresh!) was added to make the batch up to 5 gallons.  Gnome will be posting up the recipe in Bored-in-Belize over the next few days.

Heating Melomel:

Heating Melomel.
Heating Melomel.

Yes, I know…it all looks very yellow (just like all the other pictures) but believe me, this will taste great!  Tomorrow, we will be processing the rest of the pineapples and adding honey and fresh ginger.  In the words of Gnome, “Make it a Metheglin.”

Belize, Food, Our Products

Coconut and Rice Flour Pizza with Sausage Topping.

Munchkin.Another.Eating.ShotHi Everyone, since we are selling our farm-fresh Coconut Flour and Rice Flour in The Apothecary, I thought I would post up a recipe for pizza made with these ingredients.  There is no wheat flour added so it can be eaten as part of a gluten-free diet.  The eggs and the xanthan gum act to bind the flours giving elasticity to the dough.  You will find this pizza slightly more crusty and biscuit-like in texture…which gives a delicious nutty “bite” to the eating experience.  For the topping, I have put sliced sausage, onions, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.  Oh, and some rosemary and thyme too.

Coconut and Rice Flour Pizza.
Coconut and Rice Flour Pizza.

Enjoy…this is what we had for lunch today.

Slice of Coconut and Rice Flour Pizza.
Slice of Coconut and Rice Flour Pizza.

For the full recipe, check out this link for Coconut and Rice Flour Pizza.

Belize, Food

Hibiscus (Sorrel/ Roselle) Spring Rolls.

Munchkin.More.EatingHi Everyone!!  There was no post yesterday because we had a power-cut in the evening.  We had to rummage around in the dark for all our candles…it was most inconvenient.  We really need to get energy independent one of these days.

Again, boredom and excitement (what an oxymoron) are stimulating us to run around like busy little bees.  Right now we are starting our day at 5.30am… as soon as the sun comes up.  After that, it is a race to get things done before the on-slaught of heat!  Today, Gnome was mashing and his comment of the day was, “I had good results from the Mashing today, tomorrow I will be Sparging.”  Other than that, he didn’t say much else.  He also made some nice sandal-wood scented soaps.

I have posted up a recipe for Hibiscus Spring Rolls…catching up an a back-log of old recipes. Hibiscus is also known as Roselle; here in Belize, everyone calls it Sorrel.

Sorrel Plant with Flowers.
Sorrel Plant with Flowers.
Fresh Sorrel.
Fresh Sorrel.

And these are my yummy Hibiscus spring rolls with shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots (my own, of course) and water chest-nuts.  No meat, so they are vegetarian spring rolls.  The hibiscus adds colour, crunch and a mild sourness to the whole culinary experience.  Lovely!!

Hibiscus Spring Rolls.
Hibiscus Spring Rolls.
Amusing, Belize, Food

Bean Bungle Burger!

Munchkin.UpsetJust the other day, Gnome had mentioned that we seemed to be  eating beans everyday.  Like a good Chinese woman, I blinked once and then placidly ignored his comment.  I am sure that all of you out there will understand that once in a while, especially during wild intense times of fermentation madness, one can get rather tired and have little energy left to cook fanciful foods daily.  Hence the reason why I haven’t been posting up recipes lately.

However, Gnome added insult to injury and did a big whopper of a bungle.  During Hatcho Miso preparation, he over-cooked a tonne of black beans which could not be used for miso making.  He left me with 40 cups (22 lbs or 10 kgs) of mushy black beans and urged me to “make them go away, please.”

Over-cooked Black Beans.
Over-cooked Black Beans.

And so with a teeny little ounce of creativity which I squeezed out by sheer willpower, I managed to create a recipe with the excess black beans.  They are bean burgers made with home-made coconut flour and rice flour; they are especially spicy with whole black peppers and chilli peppers.  I have called them Bean Bungle Burgers.

Bean Bungle Burgers.
Bean Bungle Burgers.

When we sat down to eat last night, Gnome rather sheepishly said, “the beans are good.”  I smiled and gave him a Chinese woman approving nod.

Another.Smiling.Gnome

 

Belize, Food

Glutinous Rice Balls: Belizean-Style.

Food.MunchkinIt was really cold today…30C which is a drop from the usual 40C so we were both seeking some warming, comforting food.  So, today I made steamed glutinous rice balls…I have deliberately not called them mochi balls because they are made Chinese-style ie. the way I watched my mum make them and she is Chinese.  I note that mochi balls are made from steamed dough which is cut into rounds, filled and then ready to eat.  My recipe uses uncooked glutinous rice flour dough, which is filled and then steamed.  Instead of the typical red bean paste, I made sweetened black bean paste and because black beans are eaten here in Belize, I have called the recipe Belizean-style!

Black Beans.
Black Beans.

Munchkin serving suggestion:

Photo Shoot.
Photo Shoot.

This is how we really ate them:

Glutinous Rice Balls and Custard.
Glutinous Rice Balls and Custard.

If you want the full recipe, please click on the link for Glutinous Rice Balls with Black Beans.

Belize, Farming, Fermentation, Food

Fried Miso and Sweet Potato Cakes.

Food.MunchkinWhat a perfect combination!  We have been harvesting sweet potatoes on the farm; a combination of pinks, reds and whites and we have been grating and drying most of them; great time to sun-dry because it is so hot and dry in Belize right now.

Sweet Potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes.

If you have read the last post, you will know that we now have our very own home-made miso, ready to eat.  We are so pleased because it has such a great taste plus, I am sure it has gathered some of own house yeasts so with time, it will a Belizean strain miso!  It is only 9 months and it tastes sooo good; it will definitely be worth making more.  Gnome and I have already discussed the urgent procurement of many 5 gallon buckets.

So, here is my recipe of the day:

Miso and Sweet Potato Cakes.
Miso and Sweet Potato Cakes.

The miso helps to round off the flavour, giving a unique floral fruitiness to the whole taste experience.

Check out Miso and Sweet Potato Cakes in Belize Wild Recipes.

We will be making Miso soup tonight, of course!!

Belize, Food

48 Hour Venison Curry.

Munchkin.Eating.BunThis is Part II from yesterday when I spoke about how I cooked up 20lbs of venison meat.  Twelve pounds of the meat was cooked up as Cantonese BBQ Venison (yesterday’s post) and the rest was made into a slow cook curry.

Slow Cook Venison Curry with Pumpkin.
Slow Cook Venison Curry with Pumpkin.

The trick is to use plenty of onions to make up the base of the curry sauce (15 medium onions in this case) and to cook it in a slow cooker for 48 hours.  After this time, the meat is sooo tender and falls off the bone and the curry sauce is so aromatic.  The kitchen smells great!!

Lots of Onions with Other Fresh Ingredients.
Lots of Onions with Other Fresh Ingredients.

I learned to cook curries when I was a medical student at university; many of my friends were second generation Indians (mostly Bengali) and they taught me how to make this wonderful dish.  Besides, in Scotland, everyone eats curries…it’s the 2nd national dish after Fish and Chips!!

If you want to see the full recipe, check out Slow Cook Venison Curry.

Belize, Food

Cantonese BBQ Venison (Like Char Sui).

Together.EatingA few days ago, I sequestered myself in the kitchen for the whole day (I know…I do that a lot).  This is my usual “go-to” response when I can’t face the ongoing pressures of maintaining the farm and I just want “time-out.”  I had bought about 50lbs of venison and I set about trying to process about 20lbs of it.

So, the first thing I made was Cantonese BBQ Venison which is really Char Sui made from venison rather than the typical pork.  I am not sure what to call it since I do not know the word for venison in Chinese!  So, if there are any Real Chinese people out there…how do you say BBQ Venison?

12lbs of the venison turned into this:

Cantonese BBQ Venison.
Cantonese BBQ Venison.

I coloured it with a Central American spice called Recado since I did not have any Chinese food colouring:

Recado Powder.
Recado Powder.
Sliced.
Sliced.

Yummy…it turned out really well!! You would have thought you were in a Chinese restaurant in Singapore or Hong Kong!

The other 8lbs of venison became a slow-cook curry with lots of spices (cumin, mustard seeds, tumeric, chilli and lots more):

Venison Cooking In Curry.
Venison Ready To Cook in Curry.

You will get the Venison Curry Recipe tomorrow.  That was delicious too!!

Belize, Food, Plants

Sapodilla and Orange Peel Curry.

Just catching up on some recipes that I created over the last few weeks: Munchkin.Eating.BunIt is sapodilla season!!  This is a sweet tasting fruit with the flavour of caramel and cinnamon.  Gnome has got first dibs for making a Melomel (honey and fruit wine) but I have been sneaking some past him to create some tasty dishes..they don’t call me Ninja Munchkin for nothing!

Wheel Barrow of Sapodilla.
Wheel Barrow of Sapodilla.

Sapodilla fruit makes a great base for a curry especially with its aromatic cinnamon tones.  I have complimented this “earthiness” with dried orange peel which I have coarsely ground with a blender:

Dried Orange Peel.
Dried Orange Peel.

Other spices in the curry include: cumin, mustard seeds, fresh curry leaf and fennel.  Venison was cooked in the curry and then the dish was served with basmati rice.

Sapodilla Curry with Venison.
Sapodilla Curry with Venison.

Gnome decided to overlook the fact that I had taken some sapodillas, without his permission…since the curry was so good!!

For the full recipe, click on Sapodilla and Orange Peel Curry with Venison.

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Pigeon Pea and Green Papaya: Farm Fresh.

Munchkin.Eating.BunWe have been podding green pigeon (cajanus cajun) peas everyday to eat:

Pigeon Pea Plant with Green Pods.
Pigeon Pea Plant with Green Pods.
Podded Pigeon Peas.
Podded Pigeon Peas.

The plants have been very generous and we have had wonderful meals with this pea.  The pea tastes like a “green pea” and maintains its texture very well.  It only needs a 5 minute cooking time which makes it a versatile ingredient.

Today, I cooked Pigeon Peas with Green Papaya…all fresh from the farm.  Everything had the taste of vitality…something money can’t buy!!  Since we started living like this and cooking our own food, we actually find that we dislike eating out because nothing seems to have the freshness and individuality of home-cooked food.  Going to a restaurant just means eating something that is displayed nicely on a plate but does not necessarily have the best ingredients (ie. bulk buckets of processed material).

Pigeon Pea and Green Papaya.
Pigeon Pea and Green Papaya.

Check out my recipe in the Belize Wild Recipes Section.  You can have this meal with a carbohydrate like bread or rice, if you like.  I am on a non-carbohydrate diet since the Chinese New Year Pig Out…too many mochi balls!! So, we just ate this with by itself.  Right now, my diet consists of fresh vegetables as above (one meal a day), no whites (carbs) and plenty of fresh fruit like papaya and oranges.  Seems to be working out well for me.