Tag Archives: Soup

Belize, Food

Chaya Onion Soup With Cassava Croutons.

Munchkin has sequestered herself in the kitchen to invent new recipes.

I said to Gnome:

“I’m not budging an inch from the kitchen!!”

He replied with:

“It’s okay my dear.  Nobody is moving you out of the kitchen.”

So everything is fine and I can go Munchkin Crazy in the kitchen spilling my creative juices and stuffing my face with fine yum-yums!!  Yay!!  The Joys of Being a Munchkin!

Anyway, today I have for you Chaya and Onion Soup with Cassava Croutons.

You’ll get the full recipe in the above link.  This is a quick walk through with nice pictures of food.

Ooooh…first of all.  Here’s a picture of my soup cauldron.  It is one of my most favourite possessions…

Clay Pot.

Chaya is a spinach which grows in Belize.  It is sometimes quite tough in texture but loaded with nutrients.  Blending chaya is a great way to get the best out of this vegetable:

Chaya.

Blending Chaya:

Blending Chaya.

Making Chaya Onion Soup:

Add Chaya to Onions.

Oh and cassava croutons are amazing.  Well, let’s face it…anything fried is rather good!!  Cut into crouton like cubes to mimic croutons:

Our Lovely Cassava:

Peeled Cassava.

Cassava Croutons:

Cassava Croutons.

Et Viola…

Chaya Onion Soup with Cassava Croutons:

Chaya Onion Soup with Cassava Croutons.

Lovely in this cooler weather!!  Have a Great Sunday!!  🙂

Belize, Food, Plants

Pacaya in Season!

Munchkin.More.Eating

Pacaya is in season right now and is being sold in bunches at Punta Gorda Market.  Don’t miss out on this delicacy because it is only harvested for a short time.  These are the male inflorescences of the palm Chamaedorea tepejilote  and are hand-picked in the wild rainforests of Toledo.

Pacaya From Market.
Pacaya From Market.

To prepare pacaya simply make a slit lengthwise (see upper picture) to reveal the flowers which are the edible part (lower picture).

Pacaya Peeled.
Pacaya Peeled.

The Mayans at the market recommend that I chop the pacaya into pieces and cook it with egg.  I haven’t tried this yet.  I actually boil the pacaya for about 5 minutes and then I drain the water.  You can boil it for up to 20 minutes if you would like to remove the bitterness.  I like the bitter taste and I think that it is part of the whole culinary experience.

Pacaya Boiling.
Pacaya Boiling.

I’ve been eating the pacaya with a dash of soya sauce served with a bowl of miso soup.  This food has a crunchy texture with a pleasant bitterness.

Pacaya and Miso Soup.
Pacaya and Miso Soup.

I am sure you will find traditional recipes for pacaya on the Internet but if you are used to reading my Blog, you will be aware that I enjoy creating my own dishes.  Next on the list is pacaya tempura…ooooh, can’t wait!!

Belize, Fermentation, Food, Our Products

Peach Palm Miso: The Basics.

Munchkin.More.Eating

We have had a great response with our Peach Palm Miso.  A Big Thank-you to all the people who bought it last week.  Their  support is much appreciated.  We even sent one packet on Tropic Air to Placencia. So, yes we can send this food product to anyone within the country via Tropic Air.  It is a fermented product so does not need special refrigeration.  Once you receive it, it should be refrigerated or stored in cool, dry place.  It is best consumed within 6 months but can be kept indefinitely…like all fermented products it actually gets more flavoursome with time.

Peach Palm Miso.
Peach Palm Miso.

To start with basics, to make a simple miso soup, dissolve one teaspoon of peach palm miso in hot water and simply enjoy!  Miso is a healthy pro-biotic food which can aid digestion and helps maintain healthy digestive flora.  Moreover, our miso, is made with peach palm and white rice koji only so it is completely gluten-free.

Miso.Soup.

Anyone interested in purchasing Peach Palm Miso, please contact us by email or Facebook.  We can deliver within Punta Gorda on Wednesdays (tomorrow) or send by Tropic Air to the destination of your choice within Belize. Check out The Apothecary for prices.

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Ora Pro Nobis Miso Soup.

Together.Munchking.PointingHello Everyone!!  I am attempting to manage Gnome in the house since his sinus problem seems to get worse every time he does some heavy work outside.  I have ordered him to make Rice Koji which takes 4 days in total; I am hoping to preoccupy him with miso making.  After all, he metered out a measly 9oz (270g) of home-made miso which we promptly finished in 48 hours and now, I have made him bring the whole gallon jar to the kitchen so I can feel comforted by the presence of a larger quantity.  Anyway, if you have read the previous blog, Gnome will have already explained that he has been bestowed the job of Miso Maker.  I just need to be patient and ration out the gallon of precious miso.

We have been eating Miso Soup with Ora-Pro-Nobis.

Ora Pro Nobis Leaves.
Ora Pro Nobis Leaves.

About a week ago, I wrote about this plant Pereskia aculeata, also known as Barbados Gooseberry.  I thought it very interesting because this is a popular vegetable in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and outside of this place, it is not known or consumed.  Well, the fact that I do not live in that state does not stop me from eating this vegetable!

I cooked it as a kombu (seaweed) substitute in miso soup and it worked a treat.  It has a degree of succulence which makes it similar in texture to seaweed.

As a result of this wonderful discovery, we have decided to grow hedges and hedges of Ora-Pro-Nobis:

Pereskia aculeata. Flowers and Fruit.
Pereskia aculeata. Flowers and Fruit.

What a lovely plant…you can eat the gooseberries too!

Belize, Food, Medical Related

Munchkin's Continuous Cauldron of Soup!

Munchkin.Eating.BunThis is a technique I have developed which allows you to have a continuous soup over a long period of time.  There is a daily replenishment of ingredients and flavourings to vary the taste so that you can keep on enjoying the soup for longer.  Also, this continuous method frees up your time so that you always have a healthy “ready-made” meal at home.  This is a better alternative to ordering “take-out” or micro-waving processed meals.

Continuous Cauldron of Soup.
Continuous Cauldron of Soup.

I would recommend this to my patients if I felt that they needed a “Prescription of Soup.”  This can be used for de-toxification especially in getting over an acute illness or after an intense period of rich foods and alcohol.  The ingredients in the soup can provide all the daily requirements for protein and nutrients so that it can be a complete meal in itself.  Furthermore, if there is no addition of carbohydrates into the soup, it can help in weight loss and the control of Diabetes Mellitus.

Soup: A Complete Meal.

If you want to read more on Munchkin’s Soup Technique, click on the link.

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.