Duckanoo...or Duckayes!

Here is a recipe for Duckanoo. This tasty snack makes a great filler to accompany lunch.

Duckanoo 1 pound cornmeal
2 ounces flour
1/2 pound sugar or brown sugar
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups milk or coconut milk

Mix all dry ingredients and the grated coconut. In a separate bowl, mix together all wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until all sugar has dissolved. Lay out pieces of banana leaf or Corn Husks(cleaned). Drop 1/2 cup
of mixture into center of each leaf, flatten into candy bar shapes; fold and tie with a string (or a piece of banana bark for real authentic touch). Drop each parcel into a large pot of boiling water and simmer for 40 minutes. Serve warm.

For @getonding RE: BELIZE

Twitter be damned there is a time and place for the verbose culinarian. And that is why I have a blog!

This is for my friends at @getondining. If you have the good fortune to travel to Belize, you will no doubt be looking for the best food around. I could direct you to a hundred small family owned places which would undoubtedly do the job for a few bucks. Belize can be a tough place to get really great food and especially service as the culinary scene is fairly young. However, there are a few places that do it well and I thought I could consolidate it for you.

Meat Pies: This delicious delicacy is an even tie between two vendors(any local can direct you) Pao and Dario. These two drive up vendors have slightly different recipes but essentially the same design. Both sell out by around 11 AM each day so come early and with an appetite. With the recent introduction of the Chicken Curry eat Pie you can hardly go wrong, but you need to try them for yourself. Trust me.

Riverside Tavern: By and far the nicest restaurant in Belize City with the most consistant food quality. Owned by the son of Barry Bowen, the Beer and Soft Drink mogul, this tavern barely qualifies as Indy in Belize terms, but in this case it is run with the same care and precision. The owner is kind, the beer is fresh and cold, the bar is fully stocked(for non beer drinkers) and the Burgers are absolutely delicious. Try the Blue Cheese burger. They tell me the fresh fish is amazing as well.

Other Belizean Dishes to try: Saturday Morning Roadside BBQ Chicken, Duckanoo(steamed cornmeal patty), Grilled corn w/chili and lime salt, Tamales, a sweet bread called"BUN", grilled rock lobster or curried lobster, etc etc etc.

Belikin: In a category of its own. This delicious beverage officially is my second favorite Beer, right behind my trusty Yeungling. Barry Bowen has lovingly crafted the fine line of choices including, Belikin Mayan Temple(Longneck or regular) Lighthouse(light), Stout, Septemberfest, and Premium. All are unique, all are German Style beers with plenty of flavor. All of them will satisfy the itch.....
Bowen and Bowen also carry Bottled Water, Fanta, Guiness, Coca Cola and a line of fruit beverages and malt beverages for any occasion. Truly the beverage purveyor of choice in Belize.

Grab a Fromers or Lonely Planet Guide, catch a flight and revel in the unique geographic and culinary destination that is the lovely Belize.....

Papatzul - Mexican/Mayan Pumpkin Seed Dip

A delicious edition to a party that is sure to leave your guests wondering how you did it. By my understanding this dish originated on the Yucatan Peninsula in Southern Mexico and may have been originally a fusion of Mexican and Mayan Cooking created by a Mexican Master Chef and her Mayan kitchen Assistant. The assistant was the grandmother of the man that taught me how to prepare this dish. Either way it is relatively simple, delicious and unique.

PAPATZUL (Pumpkin Seed Dip) pronounced Pah Pah Tzool

Ingredients:

3 fresh ripe vine grown tomatoes

1 medium onion

1 hot chili pepper (habanero, etc to your heat preference)

1 bunch of cilantro chopped

1/2 to 1 lb of Pepitas Flour(Ground toasted pumpkin seeds) Check Latin Groceries or make your own by toasting in toaster oven for 15 minutes stirring to avoid burning then lightly grinding the seeds to make a flour)

1 tsp Kosher or Sea Salt

1 large bag of Corn Tortilla Chips


Begin by boiling 1-2 gallons water in a large pot
Add tomatoes, onion, and chilis til the tomatoes begin to soften and the skins split (approx 15-25 mins).
Remove the skins and centers from the tomatoes, then blend all three ingredients on a rough blend with a handful of the chopped cilantro.
Incorporate the Pepitas Flour and the rest of the cilantro till you have achieved the consistency of a chunky peanut butter or a thick hummus more or less.
Season with the salt to taste
Serve with Corn Tortilla Chips

Should serve approximately 6 people. Can be served either warm or cold and will hold well in a plastic container.

Voila!

A place to Paste

Hello foodies. I'm hungry. Are you? This may turn into something (unlike the last 4 blogs I started) or it might not.

Either way it will at least be a place with a fresh blackboard upon which I can place recipes photos thoughts blithering etc.

Since this is food focused, the first entry will be a recipe.....enjoy it, cause I dont spend the time to type these things if it is not warranted.