Tag Archives: Rice

A Few Small Things…

Oh it’s a horrible, grey muggy day today!!

Gnome admonishes me and says, “Stop complaining, Babes…”

And I reply, “It’s not a complaint!  It’s a description!!”

It is really grey.  It is really muggy.  🙂  Ha-Ha, one must keep up the humour especially during these times and use emoticons to show that everything is really in the greatest humour possible!!  🙂

Well anyway(s), here are a few small things to show you what’s happening.

Since my Mabe cooker done broke and I don’t have an oven, we are resorting to our old “tried and tested” methods again.  Back to the Dutch oven and cooking over coals.  We had a stash of Fray Bento meat pies from British Foods Belize so we decided to cook them traditional style.  They puffed up very nicely (a lot better than the conventional oven) and they are a little burnt since we haven’t cooked like this for  a while.  These were a nice Sunday afternoon treat.  Also, the fire kept the bugs away for a while which was a welcome break.

Dutch Oven Pie.

This is a vegetable that grows on a vine which we have planted up the side fencing of the Duckie Zen coop.  The best way to describe them is that they taste like firm, little cucumbers but they have to be cooked.  They are growing prolifically with all the duckie fertilising so we are harvesting a basket of these each day.  I’ve mostly been steaming or putting them into soups and stews.  This vegetable is called tindali (a vegetable of Indian origin)and was obtained from the Spice Farms in Toledo (courtesy of Dr Mathew).

Tindali.

Oh, and it’s Mango Season again!  This is the chance to stuff yourself with Mango everyday…it’s great.  There should be a Mango Festival down here at this time of the year; it is definitely worth celebrating!

A while back I tried to make some home-made senbei (Japanese rice crackers).  I used ordinary glutinous rice flour because that was all I could find.  The final result was that they were chewy (still tasted good) but not the usual crunchiness that you would expect from these type of crackers.  After discussing with Gnome (and reading Wiki entries) we realised that the Mochiko flour that is traditionally used is cooked (not raw) rice that has been dehydrated and then ground into a fine flour which then gives the crunchy quality to the food.  So you can’t get Mochiko flour for love nor money in Belize (!) so Gnome says that when we get really bored (ie. during the rainy days when we can’t get out) he will help me make the flour.  Watch this space…it will probably take about 72 hours to make the flour by hand!

Home-made Senbei.
Home-made Senbei.

Keep well everyone and keep on going despite the weather!! Well, we’ll keep on going because we like to think that we are cool and tough…Ha-Ha!!

Mozzarella Rice Bake.

Munchkin.More.Eating

What to do with leftover rice?  Instead of the usual fried rice, I came up with this really easy recipe.  It is a bit like a rice pizza made with mozzarella and capers as topping.  You can use this concept to create a meat free dish if you are vegetarian.

Mozzarella Rice Bake.

Check out the full recipe for Mozzarella Rice Bake

in Belize Wild Recipes which has over sixty recipes which have been created with much love and gusto by Munchkin.

More Malabar Spinach!

Red.Bean.Munchkin

A Big Thank-you to everyone for all the Birthday Greetings!!  It is really nice to receive such warm wishes!

And Life Continues so here is the post of the day:

We have got tonnes of Malabar spinach (Basella alba) on the farm and so this means we are eating this mostly everyday!  You quickly have to learn different ways of eating it or else it can get very boring.

Malabar Spinach.
Malabar Spinach.
Malabar Spinach.
Malabar Spinach.

Here are a couple of ways in which we have been eating this green with imagination and innovation!

It is great uncooked as a salad accompaniment to home-cooked  Pan-Fried Chicken!

Munchkin Fried Chicken With Malabar Spinach.
Munchkin Fried Chicken With Malabar Spinach.

Easy Fried Rice with Malabar Spinach.  Simply fry the rice and towards the end of cooking (last 2 minutes) add shredded malabar spinach and mix well.

Fried Rice With Malabar Spinach.
Fried Rice With Malabar Spinach.

It is wonderful growing, harvesting and cooking our food here on the farm!!  And people ask us why we never go out for dinner…well, it’s because of this.

Saturday Night Pumpkin Bhaji.

Munchkin.Another.Eating.Shot

Anyone for Pumpkin Bhaji?  Whilst living in Scotland, I used to really enjoy Indian food especially the onion bhaji. Since we are still having a marathon run of pumpkins, I decided to make these Indian-style fritters.  Check out my recipe for Pumpkin Bhaji in Belize Wild Recipes.

Pumpkin Bhaji.
Pumpkin Bhaji.
Pumpkins From the Farm.
Pumpkins From the Farm.

In this recipe, I used pumpkin, onions and red jalapeños.

Chopped Vegetables.
Chopped Vegetables.

The batter is made with rice flour so it is completely gluten-free.  And of course, the most important flavouring is turmeric (yellow ginger, as they call it here in Belize).

Yellow Ginger.
Yellow Ginger.

Yummy!!

Jesus Bouillon Cubes.

Together.Eating

This one is for Jesus.  As doctors, we come across all manner of interesting folk.  We have a patient who is an elderly missionary gentleman whom we have known for years.  Throughout this time, we have enjoyed him as quite a character and he continues to bring humour and gestures of thanks into our lives.  The other day, he stopped by and gave us two packs of bouillon cubes (and a sack of oranges).

Jesus Bouillon Cubes.
Jesus Bouillon Cubes.

He instructed me that I could make the best tasting rice in the world by combining a beef and a chicken cube together.  Furthermore, he was giving me 240 cubes in total which equated to 120 days of great tasting rice!  Oh, and of course,

Praise the Lord!  Jesus loves you!”

So, now when I start to cook dinner, I ask Gnome:

“Darling, do you want the Jesus Bouillon Cubes or Miso tonight?”

Scottish Munchkin.

And Gnome replies,

“Jesus Cubes tonight, babes!”

Gnome.at.Lunch.Table

The genuine warmth and gesture behind the gifts are much appreciated.

Peach Palm Miso Tasting.

Munchkin.Eating.Bun.SmileAbout two months ago, we had so much peach palm (pejibaye) that we had to think of different preservation methods for it.

Peach Palm Fruit.
Peach Palm Fruit.

We cooked the fruit and the put it through the meat grinder with rice koji to make peach palm miso.

Ground Peach Palm with Rice Koji.
Ground Peach Palm with Rice Koji.
Rice Koji.
Rice Koji.

We placed it all in a bucket and put it away for a couple of months:

Peach Palm Miso.
Peach Palm Miso.

Just the other day, we opened up the bucket for a tasting:

Peach Palm Miso.
Peach Palm Miso.

We both concluded that it was a very nice amber-orange colour.  The taste was fruity, hearty and pleasantly sweet.

Gnome: Very good, surprisingly good.

Yum.Yum.Gnome

Munchkin: Fruity!!  Can double-up as a condiment with french fries!

Munchkin.Another.Eating.ShotPeach Palm Miso is a definite winner and the taste will get even better with time.

Brown Rice, Pineapple and Ginger Casserole.

Munchkin.More.EatingI am writing early today because it is thundery and blustery outside and I don’t know how long the Internet will hold up today (touch wood).  Today I am posting a recipe for a warming and exotic vegetarian dish made with fresh pineapple and ginger.

Fresh Pineapple.
Fresh Pineapple.
Fresh Ginger.
Fresh Ginger.

This slow cook casserole allows the spiciness of the ginger to complement the sweet taste of the pineapple and the brown rice absorbs all the flavours really well.  A dish recommended for stormy days like this one…feels like the Flood Flies might be coming out tonight!

Brown Rice, Pineapple and Ginger Casserole.
Brown Rice, Pineapple and Ginger Casserole.

Check out my recipe Brown Rice, Pineapple and Ginger Casserole in Belize Wild Recipes.

Munchkin and Gnome are Still Here!

Together.Dark.TalkingYes we are still here!!  A few people have been wondering what has happened to us so I would to reassure everyone that we are absolutely fine.  It is transition time from dry to wet season at the moment and with this change, brings early morning rains.  As a few of you will know from our previous posts, this has really messed up our farm routine.  So, instead of staying at home and feeling sorry for ourselves, we have rearranged our whole farm routine to fit with the weather change.  Changing things around a bit isn’t so bad actually as it makes life a bit less predictable.

From our observation, the rains start around 7am and then by 11am, the sun starts coming out…this is horrible because the atmosphere is heavy with humidity and you can’t sweat to cool down.  Anyway, by about 3pm, the ground has nicely dried up again and so we have moved our farm work to late afternoon.  Gnome is still able to clean up and continue with the brush-mowing while I keep up with maintenance.  This work then runs into animal feeding time and so by the time I get into the house, I don’t feel like writing a chronicle of the day.  Just to change the routine a bit, we have been  going to bed even earlier…about 7pm because we have both been in the mood for reading before sleeping.  I am reading Mark Twain and Gnome is reading C.S. Lewis (the lesser known science fiction novels).  We both like to read the Classics though I have caught Gnome on occasion reading trashy novels…he just laughs and calls me a literary snob!

Munchkin and Gnome are still doing their stuff…

We made another batch of Chocolate Artisan Soap:

Mixing Chocolate Soap.
Mixing Chocolate Soap.

We also prepared Chinese Fermented Black Beans; Needs to get more smelly and fermented…we will give it 12 months to do its thing:

Fermenting Black Beans.
Fermenting Black Beans.

Gnome is making brown rice koji for brewing and miso-making:

Mixing Brown Rice Koji.
Mixing Brown Rice Koji.

And here is a Toledo Firefly…you usually just see a mass of green lights in the dark:

Toledo Firefly.
Toledo Firefly.

And the cat is up to his usual tricks again, running after lizards in the house.  The is a savvy lizard hiding on Gnome’s foot…this one got away:

Slinky on Gnome's Foot.
Slinky on Gnome’s Foot.

Ok everyone, have a good night and hopefully I can be more organised with writing the daily posts!

Flood Flies, Full Moon and Roasting Rice.

Together.PerspectiveLast night, the first of the “flood flies” came. These are termite queens and fertile male termites on their “nuptial flight,” triggered by the first rains after the dry season.  The purpose of this flight is to mate and form more termite colonies; these critters digest cellulose…in order words, they like to eat wooden structures including buildings and decaying wooden matter.  So, you could consider them a pest or just part of the eco-system.

Flood Flies.
Flood Flies.

These flood flies start swarming in the evening, mostly around houses. They are attracted to light and will get into every nook and cranny of your house, shedding their wings as they come in. They do no bite but have a habit of crawling all over everything, including people and they just get really annoying. Before we sealed up our bedroom, we would have the flood flies crawling on us all night in bed. In the morning, the inside of the house would always be a scene of devastation with literally thousands of wings everywhere. It is a huge cleaning job; in earlier years when I was armed with only a mere broom, it would take me at least 2 weeks to clean up the whole mess. But now, I have my Eureka…thank God for that!

Eureka.  The Cat Also Eats Flood Flies!
Eureka. The Cat Also Eats Flood Flies!

Anyway, I referred to them as the “First” flood flies; usually there is a test run with the first May rains before they come out en masse. Gnome says there should be a lottery for guessing the Flood Fly Day because it can happen anywhere from the the 1st of May to the 31st of May, but always in May! I am waiting with great trepidation, armed and dangerous with my trusty yellow vacuum cleaner! Gnome does not feel so negatively towards these blighters and in fact views them as a potential source of food. He says that one of these days (this means NEXT year…he does not procrastinate) he will make special nets to catch the flood flies, pack them all in a bucket and make miso out of them.

Potential Food?!
Potential Food?!

Today we were anticipating another rainy day which meant staying indoors. Gnome had already warned me to keep out of trouble since it was also the full moon and from our experience as medical doctors, the full moon was always a day for complete and utter chaos in hospital. So, Gnome urged me to keep busy and I tried…it was touch and go a few times with mood swings and chaos but we managed to get through it. By the way…we try to avoid making soap on the full moon because it never turns out right. One time, the soap over-heated and exploded into a foaming mess over the counter-top! What a clean-up…never again!

Today, in an effort to keep busy, I roasted brown rice in the oven for 3 hours….every 15 to 20 minutes I had to bring out the rice to stir it around. The brown rice was roasted to a “chocolate malt” and will be used in the flavouring of beer.  This will give a chocolatey, maltiness and caramel-like taste to beer…Mmmm…yum!

Chocolate Roast Brown Rice.
Chocolate Roast Brown Rice.

So far, so good.  The internet just went down for 4 hours this afternoon which isn’t too wildly chaotic!  We are going to bed early!!

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.