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| Four eggs, ladies and gentleman, only four. Those are Double yolks! |
Before I get to recipes, here is a basic Belizean diet. The staples of Belize are: rice, beans, tortillas, bread, – in
short, the starch/carbohydrate food group. In the mornings, I have had
everything from beans and rice (not to be confused with Rice and Beans*) to hot tortillas to fry jacks to pancakes to
johnnycakes. Lunches are extravagant affairs. Belizeans eat the big meal of the
day at midday. At lunch, I have dined on rice and beans, salbutes, pollo con
consumme, turtle soup, gibnut, fish, and crab. Did I mention the Toledanos have
cooking down to an art form?? Yum. Dinner is a repeat meal. Either you have leftovers
from lunch or something similar to breakfast (starch). Think of it this way: the cook is
done for the night. After slaving away all morning for lunch and then cleaning
up after it all afternoon, mom is tired. Belizean women are smart; they make dinner
easy because no one wants to cook at the end of a long day.
As for the local foods found in Belize...
One common profession in Belize is farming. When the Mr.
Toledano was younger (he is 90 now!), he had a farm. Today his son has a farm, and many other
Belizeans earn their living off the land. Typical food grown in Belize are:
carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers (pronounced: coo-coom-ber), cassava, potatoes,
cilantro, limes, mangoes, plums (the same name, DIFFERENT *sour* fruit),
pineapple, papaya, oranges, grapefruit, watermelon and so much more. There are
plenty of fruits and veggies I don’t recognize at the market and this surprised
me. I figured shopping at the all-powerful Wal-mart would have exposed me to
the variety of produce in the world. Silly me. I’ve never seen Soursop or kennep in
Wal-mart, but they are very common here and so tasty!
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| Like a hairy potato, but sweeter |
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| I didn't expect kenneps to be ORANGE on the inside! |
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| Soursop - used for juicing but can be eaten as well |
Now for the recipes! Like most great cooks, the Toledanos don't really follow recipes...Therefore, some of these recipes below are from online sources. Rest assured; the essence is the same!
Tortilla de Harina (flour tortillas)
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons shortening or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water (lukewarm)
Directions:
1 Mix flour, shortening, baking powder, and salt.
3 tablespoons shortening or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water (lukewarm)
Directions:
1 Mix flour, shortening, baking powder, and salt.
2
Gradually stir in water until crumbly dough forms.
3 Work with hands until dough holds together.
4 On a floured surface, shape into a ball and knead until smooth.
5 Divide dough into 12 roughly equal parts.
6 Roll into sphere and let stand ("sleep") for 15 minutes.
7 Using either the palms of your hands or fingertips to flatten into 8 inch circles.
8 Cook on ungreased griddle on medium heat, to cook, when it starts to bubble, flip it over, when it starts to bubble, pat it down with a clean towel or spatula, when the entire tortilla starts to inflate, take it off the grill.
3 Work with hands until dough holds together.
4 On a floured surface, shape into a ball and knead until smooth.
5 Divide dough into 12 roughly equal parts.
6 Roll into sphere and let stand ("sleep") for 15 minutes.
7 Using either the palms of your hands or fingertips to flatten into 8 inch circles.
8 Cook on ungreased griddle on medium heat, to cook, when it starts to bubble, flip it over, when it starts to bubble, pat it down with a clean towel or spatula, when the entire tortilla starts to inflate, take it off the grill.
Fry Jacks
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying
Directions
Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour. Add water, a little at a time, to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Divide dough into small balls. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Lightly flour counter top or cutting board. Pat dough out with hands into circles. Cut circle in half. Heat oil and fry on each side until golden brown. Serve hot with honey, jam, sugar or refried beans and cheese.
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying
Directions
Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour. Add water, a little at a time, to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Divide dough into small balls. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Lightly flour counter top or cutting board. Pat dough out with hands into circles. Cut circle in half. Heat oil and fry on each side until golden brown. Serve hot with honey, jam, sugar or refried beans and cheese.
Beans
1 lb of beans of your choice (kidney, pinto, black etc)
1 onion, cut into rings
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
oil, I prefer coconut
salt
water
1. Clean your beans (which means picking out the rocks, dirt and no good beans). Rinse with water and pick out the ones that float.
2. Add beans to crock pot along with onion rings and garlic. Fill crock pot with enough water to cover the beans by 1-2 inches.
3. Cook on high for 3 hours or overnight on low.
4. When beans are soft, add oil and salt to taste. Enjoy!
Stewed Chicken
Ingredients
One chicken, whole or cut up
1 Packet (1 TBSP) Chicken Broth or Bouillon Granules
2 TBSP chopped Onion or more to taste
1 Ball Red Recado
1 TBSP Black Pepper
Method
Cut up and pepper the chicken well and brown it in some oil. Take out the pieces and brown the onion. Make broth with the granules, add it to everything, and bring to a boil.
In a little dish, dissolve the Recado. Take care, this can stain your clothes, fingers, towels, etc. Use your fingers to work it into a paste or soup. It will wash off your fingers eventually. Add Recado and cook chicken until it's starting to fall of the bones.
One chicken, whole or cut up
1 Packet (1 TBSP) Chicken Broth or Bouillon Granules
2 TBSP chopped Onion or more to taste
1 Ball Red Recado
1 TBSP Black Pepper
Method
Cut up and pepper the chicken well and brown it in some oil. Take out the pieces and brown the onion. Make broth with the granules, add it to everything, and bring to a boil.
In a little dish, dissolve the Recado. Take care, this can stain your clothes, fingers, towels, etc. Use your fingers to work it into a paste or soup. It will wash off your fingers eventually. Add Recado and cook chicken until it's starting to fall of the bones.
Rice and Beans
- 3 cups of beans and water from the crockpot
- 1 8oz can of coconut milk
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 5 tsp All Seasoning Salt
- Black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
- 2 lb regular long grain rice (4 cups of dry rice)
- ½ small onion diced
- 3 cloves minced garlic (or more to taste)
- 10 stands of diced fresh cilantro (separate, use some as garnish)
In a pot, mix together beans, coconut milk and coconut oil; bring to a boil.
Add seasoning salt, black pepper and salt to taste.
Mix in rice, onion, garlic, and cilantro.
Add water until level is 1-1/2 inches above the rice and bean mixture. Cook at medium heat until water disappears, set to low heat.
Add more water, if required, to completely cook the rice.
Stir frequently throughout the cooking process., approximately 30 – 45 minutes.
Mayan Eggs
Eggs (2 per person)
1 medium onion, cut into rings
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 T coconut oil
pinch of salt for flavor
Fry onion, garlic and tomato in coconut oil until tender. Add eggs and scramble. Sprinkle with salt. Serve with bread, corn tortillas and/or beans. Enjoy!
*And just what is the difference between Rice and Beans, and beans and rice? As you may have noticed from the recipe, Rice and Beans are cooked together, along with other ingredients. Beans and rice on the other hand, are the only two ingredients, cooked separated, but eaten together.
“Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
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