Cooking Plantains

Plantain Tree

We have some beautiful plantain (prounced plann-tin) trees in our yard and Bill and I have been wanting to try some recipes with them.  Plantains are a Belizean staple and are not to be confused with bananas.  You pick them depending on what you want to make and how you want to cook them.  You can pick when they are green, yellow or black.  We picked green ones.

Green Plantain

A plantain is a fruit but is considered a vegetable.  The green ones we picked and tried were actually kind of bland and tasted a lot like a potato.  The riper they are when you pick them, the sweeter they are.

Peeling a green plantain is not so easy and they say to peel them under cold running water or your hands will become stained and black looking. 

The plantains are just beautiful the way they grow on the tree.

I decided to make Tostones or plantain chips seasoned with salt and pepper.  We dipped them in some ketchup and Marie Sharp's Hot Sauce and they were really good along with our hamburgers I made last night.  I think the next time we will pick them when they are yellow and try out this cheesy plantain recipe of Piononos or cheese filled plantain fritters.

I cooked them for 3 minutes in coconut oil.

After cooking for 3 minutes.

Then I mashed them flat with a wooden spoon.

Cooked them again until golden brown.  I did fry them this time but I think I will try to bake them next time I make them.

“Simple and Cheap”

Rice and beans, simple and cheap usually go together when you think of Belizean food. The famous Belize Rice and Beans is cooked with red beans, black pepper and coconut milk. You can find this most famous of all Belizean cuisines on most restaurants’ daily menu.

I thought ‘beans and rice’ and rice and beans’ were the same thing. But to my surprise the Belizeans have gotten me straight on my beans and rice or do you prefer rice and beans? Guess what, there is a difference in Belize. When you refer to rice and beans, the dish is cooked together in coconut milk. When you refer to beans and rice, this dish is cooked separately and served separately. Now I know everyone is glad we have that straight. So here is a recipe I found for “Belizean rice and beans”.

Belizean Rice and Beans

1 pound of red beans

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 pounds rice

1 medium onion (chopped)

6-8 cups of water

Optional – 1 small pig's tail

Directions

Wash and soak beans for 4 hours in 6-8 cups of water. Cook beans until tender with garlic, onion and pig’s tail. Season beans with black pepper, thyme and salt. Add coconut milk. Cook until boiling.  Add rice, stir and cover and cook on low heat until the water is absorbed and rice is done.

Belizean Rum Cake

Belizean Rum Cake, the original cake I made in the US back in March 2011.

Before we had even left the states I had been trying out some Belizean recipes.  I found this recipe for a Belizean Rum Cake online on the Belize News Post web site.  The cake tasted divine and was so moist and yummy. 

The Belize News Post later even contacted me and asked if they could use the photos of my cake on their web site along with their recipe.  They said they would give me photo credit and I gladly said they could use them. 

This week I had quite a few readers and followers of my facebook page that were asking for the recipe, so I thought I would re-post my original post from back in March 2011 with the recipe.  The original cake I had used rum from Jamaica in the recipe.  This week when I decided to make the cake again, I went out and purchased a small bottle of local 1 Barrel Rum.  The cake tasted even better than the first time.  Bill said it was the best cake I had ever made, of course I have not made too many cakes.   I do love this recipe though and it is pretty quick and easy.  I didn't use any nuts this time because nuts are so expensive in Belize, but it was still great without them.

Belizean Rum cake that I made this week using Belizean 1 Barrel Rum.  I am still trying to get use to cooking with a gas stove in Belize instead of an electric one that I used in the states.

Some pictures below are from my original post when I made the cake.

Belizean Rum Cake

Ingredients
1 package of Yellow Butter Cake Mix
1 package of instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Belizean Rum

Directions
Mix cake mix, pudding, eggs, water and rum in large mixing bowl and beat with mixer.
In a bundt cake pan melt 1/2 stick butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar, pour pecans in this mixture.
After this is melted, pour cake batter over top and bake for 35  minutes on 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan mix 1/2 cup of rum, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 stick butter and 1 cup brown sugar.  Bring to boil and then remove from heat.

After the cake has finished cooking, poke holes in the top and pour rum syrup over the top.  Let this sit for a few minutes before turning it over onto plate.    ENJOY.

Belizean Fudge

Belizean Chocolate Fudge

Last week I made Belizean Coconut Bread, it was really very tasty.  So this week I thought I would try making something sweet.  I was thinking something chocolate, so I made Belizean Chocolate Fudge and added some of Bill's Hot Pepper's that he grew last year to the recipe to spice it up a bit.  Bill said the fudge was the best and he loved the taste of the hot with the sweet. 

The Ingredients

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. butter

Melting the sugar

The dark chocolate has been added.

Almost done

I added pecans, coconut and lots of dried habanero pepper to spice it up.  It was really good but oh so rich.

Directions:

Mix sugar and milk in a saucepan, add butter and place over low heat, stir until sugar is dissolved.  Bring to boil until soft ball stage 257 degrees F (when dropped into cold water) on candy thermometer.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, let cool slightly, then beat until thick.  Pour into greased dish.  Cut in squares when cooled.

For chocolate fudge, add 2 tablespoons cocoa or 2 ozs. chocolate.  I used dark chocolate.  You can also add coconut, nuts, ginger or habanero pepper for an extra kick.  Enjoy.

Belizean Coconut Bread

Belizean Coconut Bread

Oh my gosh, this bread was "delish".  I decided to try out a recipe I found for Belizean Coconut Bread last night.  I really thought I was not going to like it because I do not care for the taste of coconut.  But this bread was great, it had a wonderful taste and I could barely even taste the coconut.

The ingredients and of course the glass of wine was for the cook. 

Belizean Coconut Bread Recipe

1 Pound All Purpose Flour (4 cups)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Instant Yeast
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
1/4 Cup White Sugar
3/4 Cup Dried Grated Coconut
1 1/2 Cup Coconut Milk
1 Egg Well Beaten

Directions

Combine all the ingredients and knead well.  Place the dough in a mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for one hour.  Knead bread with hands and shape bread.  Put dough on a greased baking tray and let bread rise until about double its size.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

The Coconut Milk-It did not look like milk to me. 

I dumped everything in my bread machine.

I let the bread machine do the kneading.

The bread machine did a great job.

Almost done.

It is ready to eat.