Easter in the Shadow of the Mayan Temple
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Banque Viejo In a 75-year-old church, in a 100-year-old parish, in a town that has every right to despise the Catholic Church, wearing a recently purchased Mayan amulet in the shape of the glyph Mol which depicts the constellation Orion, I sat through a beautiful, emotional Easter service celebrating the […]
Chocolate, cacao, and white truffles
“White Truffle Cappuccino courtesy Chef Colicchio.”The waiter gently placed a delicate bowl in front of me then silently made way for another gentleman with something more modern, more clever than the teapot it resembled. He poured out the contents of this teapot, an opaque, caramel-colored liquid, with a luscious, luxurious texture. Its aromas reached up, […]
Lima Beans and Cacao Pods
It’s cantaloupe. No wait, lemons, and is that guava, and oof! The sting of vinegar tickles the insides of my nose. Cacao beans, an entire Igloo ice chest full of them are right in front of me and they’re almost vibrating with life. When the beans went in 24 hours ago, they were so fruity […]
The Mayan PB & J
Her wood fire crackled, radiating heat into the center of her already 80+ degree home. In this part of Belize, everyone sweats. There’s little electricity, air-conditioning is a very rare luxury, and there’s work to be done. Work for Mrs. Bo is making tortillas, by hand, sometimes 200 or more per day. Mrs. Bo is […]
Escape to Belize…NOW
Ready to Visit Belize? We arrived here on November 2nd, 2020 for a year-long adventure. And I believe that qualifies us to answer your questions about your desire to visit Belize. Vaccines are being administered, travelers are making plans and Belize hasn’t been affected by the pandemic like some other countries you’ve read about. Now […]
Chocolate Cake with a Belizean Twist
This cake involves several steps, but the beauty of it is you do not need a mixer and each part can be made ahead of time. The candied cacao nibs can be made a few days ahead of time and kept in an airtight container as can the cake and chocolate syrup. The nibs, when […]
On the Passing of Chef Curtis Wolf
February 18th At 6:00 am this morning I learned a good friend of mine had passed away. And I’m heartbroken. For 17 years Curtis Wolf was the executive chef of a luxurious hotel in downtown Greenville. In my world chefs are prone to jump back and forth between jobs searching for just the right circumstances, […]
The Best Bites of San Pedro’s DFC
After seeking out the best eats of DFC, the working-class neighborhood of San Pedro, Belize, I believe I’ve been humbled thanks to a young lady from Honduras and the green bananas she cooked for us. Recently we joined culinary forces with Rebecca Coutant, the force behind San Pedro Scoop, the most widely read and followed […]
Mayan Chocolate and Cotton Trees
Juan offers me the cacao pod. About the size of a Nerf football, its color is deep orangish yellow with a few tiny dark brown spots and it’s textured, with deep ridges running horizontally. It’s also light, the whole thing weighs less than a pound. I run my knife into its outer hull, which is […]
Mangroves and Howlers
Raymond is slapping his four-foot-long machete on the Cohune Palm then he barks to the tribe of Howler Monkeys racing across the treetops. His command was a husky “AhhRoof!” that he repeated six or seven times over. Imagine our surprise when one of the young males clambered down to within twenty feet of us, easily […]