Tag Archives: Vegetarian

Belize, Fermentation, Food, Saving Money

Miso Madness II.

March 24, 2015 Munchkin

Cor blimey it’s a scorcher today! I suddenly feel very relieved that I am on restricted duties. The sun is blazing down, the earth is developing big cracks and the ducks, who normally can’t be bothered to walk the two hundred metres to the pond actually went for a dip to cool off and clean up.

Hard core miso purists will probably look at this post and scoff at me for trying to make miso in “summer,” so to speak (dry season here is like summer), since you are supposed to make it in winter because …….. (fill in blank with the usual stuff that poncy, purist, fundamentalists say when they are trying to put you down and show how much smarter they are than you but I digress…). So, anyway, this is day two of Miso Madness (made in the summer, ha, ha, ha!):

Yesterday’s rice was soaked, drained and steamed.

Overnight-soaked rice being drained thoroughly.

Then the cooked rice had to be spread out and cooled before inoculating with the right Aspergillus mold.

The most pleasurable part of the process is making the final bundle to incubate the rice and get one step closer to rice koji.

Tune in tomorrow for the next stage in making rice koji…

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Ora Pro Nobis Miso Soup.

March 23, 2015 Munchkin

Hello 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.

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:

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

Belize, Fermentation, Food, Saving Money

Gnome and Miso Madness!

March 23, 2015 Munchkin

It is day three of the enforced ban on heavy work. Very bad headache yesterday (Tumulkin Day) but fortunately today there have been no problems…just a gnawing inner feeling that the brush really, really does need to be cleared since it is perfect dry season weather for it. Munchkin won’t budge and won’t even allow an elixir tasting to happen (The irony of life: when I want to sit around and do F-all, she can’t wait for me to work…when I’m dying to get off my butt and do something, I’m not allowed…).

So, I’ve permitted myself to be overwhelmed by Miso Madness: I just realized that the test gallon we made is only going to last 28 days!!! That means we have to make at least three pig-tail buckets a year in order to eat miso every day. The frenzy that this knowledge engendered inside my gnomish heart (the Munchkin’s too but she won’t admit it!) got us into town at 0800 on a non-town day to purchase 50 pounds of rice and 50 pounds of black beans…to find out that the Chinese wholesaler was still closed!! We ended up going to Quality Chicken instead and thankfully they were open…BZ$72.50 for 50 pounds of black beans and BZ$44.00 for 50 pounds of rice later, our happy humanoids were rushing home (BTW no diesel in town today)…

We’re going to start with some shinshu miso first and that means making rice koji. Time to wash some rice:

Washing.Rice — Washing all the dirt and starch from the rice (Can you see the gnome foot?).

Have to get all the starch off of the rice so it doesn’t get gummy and sticky at steaming time tomorrow when we enter day 2 of making rice koji…

Belize, Farming, Fermentation, Food

Fried Miso and Sweet Potato Cakes.

March 21, 2015 Munchkin

What 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.

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:

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, Farming, Food, Plants

Pigeon Pea and Green Papaya: Farm Fresh.

February 28, 2015 Munchkin

We have been podding green pigeon (cajanus cajun) peas everyday to eat:

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).

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.

Belize, Food, Plants

Spicy Sapodilla Sauce.

February 9, 2015 Munchkin

It is the beginning of harvest time for Sapodilla fruit here in Belize. We planted a whole orchard of this delectable fruit so we are expecting a bountiful crop this year.

The Sapodilla tree is widely known for the gummy latex which is obtained from the bark to make chicle. The fruit have the texture of rough peaches and have a distinctive cinnamon taste. Since we have so much of it, I have started to experiment with it. So far, I have found that they have a similar consistency to tomatoes, so I am using them as a substitute. Today I made Spicy Sapodilla Sauce with Pasta:

I used Seed Amaranth as a garnish because I thought that the sauce was a tad pale looking. Don’t worry if you don’t have that…it was just to add a bit of colour.

I spiced up the sweet sauce with chilli peppers, onion and spring onions. The result was a thumbs up from Munchkin and Gnome! Watch out for more Sapodilla recipes…might try pizza next!

Belize, Food

Tropical Italian Sauce with Roselle and Star Fruit.

January 26, 2015 Munchkin

Since we are in the Tropics it is great idea to use exotic fruits and vegetables in an Italian sauce. In this recipe, I have added starfruit, roselle (sorrel) and malabar spinach.

Here is the yummy Tropical Italian Sauce with Pasta…

It tastes great and is really easy to make. For the full recipe click on this link: Tropical Italian Pasta.

Ok guys, have a great Monday and hope you are all eating something yummy for dinner!!

Casa Mascia Apothecary