Tag Archives: Recipes

Belize, Food, Mushrooms

Beef Jerky and Wild Mushroom Soup.

Munchkin.Eating.BunHello Everyone!  Hope you are all having a relaxing Sunday.  I am sure by now whenever you see my bun-eating avatar, it means that the post is food related!  As promised, I have posted up my recipe for Beef Jerky and Wild Mushroom Soup after yesterday’s fungi foraging. This is a warm, hearty meal for winter because it also contains red kidney beans, pasta shells, onions, ginger and leafy greens.  If you haven’t been out mushroom foraging, the recipe can still be used with shop bought items (either Wood ear bought from Asian Supermarkets or Button Mushrooms bought from almost anywhere except for Belize).

Anyway, here is a picture of the dish with fried Mayan mushroom used as a garnish.

Beek Jerky and Wild Mushroom Soup Garnished with Fried Mayan Mushrooms.
Beek Jerky and Wild Mushroom Soup Garnished with Fried Mayan Mushrooms.

And, this is a picture of the Wood ear mushroom , sliced before cooking.

Wood Ear Mushroom, Finely Sliced.
Wood Ear Mushroom, Finely Sliced.

If you are interested in reading the entire recipe, just press on this link: Beef Jerky, Beans and Wild Mushroom Soup.

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Pets

The Joys of Brimstone and Lime.

Gnome.Looking.Serious

Today was a good day to make some lime sulphur, a smelly concoction that has multiple uses as a fruit tree anti-fungal and as a pet dip for things like mange and ringworm.

One of my friends is trying to grow grapes, which in this climate are very susceptible to a plethora of fungal diseases; he asked me to make some lime sulphur for him since I am a Gnome and Gnomes like messing around with smelly stuff.  Also, I am a Catholic Gnome, and obviously Brimstone, Smelliness, Catholic and Gnome are a match made in Heaven (hee, hee, hee…)!

Anyway, you need sulphur or brimstone…

Flowers of Sulphur.
Flowers of Sulphur.

And you need white lime…

White Lime.
White Lime.

And you boil them together…

Boiling Sulphur and Lime together.
Boiling Sulphur and Lime together.

…to get Lime Sulphur.

It is dirty, smelly work and you need to be careful as it is quite poisonous and caustic though the sulphurous fumes of brimstone are very soul-cleansing!!

After boiling for a while it looks like this…

Lime Sulphur Transformation Complete.
Lime Sulphur Transformation Complete.

…a dark red-brown-rotten-egg-smelling liquid…

If you want to make your own…look at my recipe in Bored-In-Belize:  Making Lime Sulphur.

Until later, take care!

Belize, Food

Guinea Pigs Cooked in Mead.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.SmileHello Everyone.  This is a fantastic recipe to start the New Year.  This is Guinea Pigs stuffed with Pork and Passion Fruit and cooked in Mead.  The Mead is wine made from honey and is of course home-made by Gnome.  The passion-fruit adds a tropical twist and the passion-fruit seeds lends a nutty crunch to the entire gastronomic experience.

In keeping with the self-sustainable philosophy on our farm, we do have to face the practical reality of eating the animals which we look after.  The best way to show our appreciation for the food on our plates and honouring our piggies is by cooking a scrumptious meal with them!

Here are some pictures:

Three Stuffed Piggies. Raw.
Three Stuffed Piggies. Raw.
Three Piggies Cooking in Mead.
Three Piggies Cooking in Mead.
Stuffed Guinea Pig Parcel with Passion Fruit.
Stuffed Guinea Pig Parcel with Passion Fruit.

For a detailed recipe with more pictures, check out the link on Piggies Cooked in Mead. If you don’t have Guinea Pigs, try Goose Neck instead.  And if you don’t have Mead, I guess White Wine will do.  Guinea Pigs taste like miniature suckling pig and duck rolled into one…wonderful!

Belize, Food, Plants

Christmas Fruit Leather Yule Log.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun

Here’s one for the Festive Season.  I have taken a Tropical Fruit called “Sour Peach” and made a Christmas Fruit Leather with raisins, cinnamon and cloves.  Here in Belize, the days are hot and dry so it is the perfect time for sun-drying food outside.

Christmas Fruit Leather.

Sour Peach imparts a tanginess to the taste of the leather which gives a “sweet and sour” taste.  It takes about 2 to 3 days for it to completely dry.  After this, it is dusted with cornstarch, cut into lengths and then rolled into Yule Logs.

Fruit Leather Yule Logs.

These Yule Logs are very versatile and make a great garnish for desserts and puddings.  The rolls can be sliced and used as a topping:

Fruit Leather Garnish.

They can also be served whole with turkey or ham as an interesting, tropical accompaniment to traditional Christmas fair.

Read my full recipe: Fruit Leather Yule Logs.

 

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Farm Fresh Cassava Hash Browns.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.SmileThis one is truly farm fresh from digging in the dirt to the dining room table!  This morning, Gnome dug up 5kgs (10lbs) of cassava on our farm (about 3 plants only) and afterwards we both set about to wash and peel our freshly acquired roots.

Washed Cassava.
Washed Cassava.
Cleaned and Peeled Cassava.
Cleaned and Peeled Cassava.

Next, we grated the cassava.  This was done by hand and this part took the longest length of time (about 2 hours).

Grated Cassava.
Grated Cassava.

We then washed the grated cassava once with water to remove some of the starch.  The washed water was retained so that the starch (tapioca) could be obtained from it.

We reserved some washed cassava to make Cassava Hash Browns Topped with Mozzarella which was a lovely treat after all the digging, washing and grating!

Cassava Hash Browns topped with Mozzarella.
Cassava Hash Browns topped with Mozzarella.

Next, we took the remaining grated root and reserved cassava water and laid them all out in the sun to dry.  This is to make dehydrated fufu which is an African/ Caribbean preparation of cassava in which the vegetable is boiled and then pounded with a large wooden mortar and pestle to make a dough-like food.  Traditionally fufu is eaten with soups.

So, out of our harvest of 10lbs of cassava, we obtained: 2lbs of sun-dried fufu and 2lbs of tapioca flour.  Not to mention a snack of Cassava Hash Browns!

Jar of FuFu. The Finished Product!
Jar of FuFu. The Finished Product!

Gnome said that today was a good lesson on realising the time and energy required in processing food from harvest to finished produce.

Belize, Food, Plants

Foraging Wild Greens in Belize.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.Smile

This one is about eating again!  Well, we do have to do it everyday! There is a very common green which can be foraged in Toledo, Belize.  Wild Purslane has a sour bite to it when eaten raw in a salad.  When cooked, it maintains some slight sourness and still keeps its hard texture.  It is full of vitamins and minerals and the best thing is that you can find it in the wild…so, it’s free!  Yeah, hooray for foraging fresh greens!

One very interesting thing about this plant is that it concentrates its acidity over-night so that if you pick it in the morning, it tends to be more sour.  By the evening time, the acidity goes down so that if you prefer it to be less sour, it can be best picked at this time.

Wild Purslane of Belize.
Wild Purslane of Belize.

I like Wild Purslane so much I have two recipes for it!

Coconut Purslane Salad.

Purslane Chicken Chow Mein.

Do you want to read more about this wonderful vegetable?  Read my article on Wild Edibles of Belize: Purslane.

Belize, Food, Mushrooms

Stuff Yourself with Garlic Shiitake Mushrooms!

Munchkin.Eating.Bun

Here in Belize, finding your normal ubiquitous button mushroom is quite an endeavour!  If you are lucky, there may be a meagre two punnets of mushrooms found in the whole of Toledo.  And, you won’t like the price when you see it!  The reason why button mushrooms (Agaricus sp.) are so scarce is because there is no mushroom industry within this country and so we end up with imported goods from Mexico.  Once they reach the country, they end up fetching such exorbitant prices and as a consequence of this, they cannot be eaten as normal everyday produce.

I really like mushrooms but I also do not agree with paying for over-priced goods so I have found a great alternative which is the Shiitake Mushroom.  Chinese people love their own foods and will find any way to get their own familiar food into Belize.  Lucky for us, many Oriental people own supermarkets here where they take the opportunity to sell some of these imported Chinese foods.  You will not believe it:  shiitake mushrooms are found everywhere in Toledo!  So much so, you can stuff yourself with them!

So, today’s recipe is Stuffed Garlic Shiitake Mushrooms!  Enjoy!  I certainly did.

Stuffed Shitake Mushrooms served with Lentils.
Stuffed Shitake Mushrooms served with Lentils.
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, Food, Mushrooms

Friday Lunch.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun

As promised, this is a picture of lunch.  I cooked the Paddy Straw Mushrooms with Spicy Pork Ginger Cakes.  This was served with Chaya Fritters and Grapefruit.

Spicy Pork Ginger Cakes with Paddy Straw Mushrooms. Served with Chaya Fritters and Grapefruit.
Spicy Pork Ginger Cakes with Paddy Straw Mushrooms. Served with Chaya Fritters and Grapefruit.

Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) is also called Tree Spinach and is a great source of vitamins and minerals.  It is easy to grow and does not require much maintenance.  It tastes great too…like a spinach!

Ok, Laterz…

 

Belize, Food

Cooking Chicken in Ginger Ale.

Munchkin.Eating.BunYes, this one is about eating again…I am having a good run of yummies!  This time, I am cooking chicken in ginger ale (beer).  In Belize, ginger ale is bottled in a ubiquitous glass Fanta bottle and is available in all supermarkets.  I have not seen any other ginger ale brands in Toledo but you might be able to get an imported brand up in Belize City.  The best thing is to make home-made ginger ale for this recipe but that will be a post for another day.

Ginger Ale Chicken with Rice and Greens.
Ginger Ale Chicken with Rice and Greens.

This is a really simple recipe and it tastes yummy; the chicken gently caramelises in simmering ginger ale and you eventually get a lovely thick sauce which is spicy and sweet.  Addition of lemon sauce and extra ginger to the marinade gives a tang and a tingle to the whole experience.

Look at my Ginger Ale Chicken Recipe!