Dinner: Celeste's Marinara Sauce with Spaghetti

Dinner: Celeste's Marinara Sauce with Spaghetti

1 lb. Wheat Spaghetti
5 cups ripe tomatoes
Olive oil
Morton's Nature
1 1/2 to 2 heads of garlic
3-4 basil leaves
1 whole onion diced
1 green pepper diced
(lots) Parsley Flakes
(lots) Basil
(lots) Garlic Powder
Oregano (sprinkle)
Garlic Bread/Toast

Directions: 
First prepare the homemade Italian sauce by placing tomatoes in boiling water for 5-8 minutes.  Remove and place in cold water.  Peel off the skin.  Cut out the core.  Cut tomatoes into pieces and place back in large pot.  Pour in some olive oil.  Add a half of a head of garlic (cut into halves).  Add 3-4 bay leaves.  1/2 CAP full of Morton Seasoning ( make sure it's not a 1/2 CUP; just half of the cap).  Turn on medium/high heat.

In sauce pan/skillet, pour olive oil to cover the skillet.  Mince a head of garlic, green pepper, and onion.  Sautee on low/medium heat until soft.  Add to sauce.  Finish with seasons:  lots of parsely flakes, lots of basil, lots of garlic powder, sprinkle Mortons (as needed), and a couple sprinkles of oregano.

Taste to see what else you might need to add as it simmers.  After sauce has cooked for 3-5 hours (or longer), cook pasta al dente and serve with garlic bread. 

Lessons in Living:
The longer the sauce simmers, the more flavorful. Surprisingly, this sauce taste better with "lots of" parsley, basil and garlic powder (oregano is not the main herb).  "Lots of" is a cooking term, right?!  - Okay, "use quite a bit of" was what the recipe called for from the Italian cousin.  "Al dente" is an Italian term for pasta when cooked as to be still firm when bitten.  Wheat or angel hair pasta can be substituted (whatever is available in San Pedro).  We did find whole wheat pasta at the Greenhouse Store.  This meal feed 4-6.  Extra sauce can be frozen in freezer bags and used for another time.

Needed Items for Our Meals

Needed Items for Our Meals:

Peanut Butter (all natural) - Kroger has a great brand, but anything is appreciated.
Turkey Pepperoni
Wild Rice (mixture of brown rice, etc)
salt free tomatoes and/or tomato paste
Whole Wheat Pasta
Quinoa

Spices:
Bragg's Organic Sprinke
Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Spike (Gourmet Natural Seasoning)
Mrs. Dash (all varieties)

Dinner: Belizean Grilled Pizza

Dinner: Belizean Grilled Pizza
14 slices (7 sandwiches)
2 can low sodium tomato paste (US)
2 cups Mozzarella cheese
turkey pepperoni (US)
Italian seasoning

Directions:
Butter bread on both sides.  Add sauce to both sides of bread.  Place cheese and pepperoni on one slice.  Season both sides before putting second slice of bread on top of sandwich. Place the buttered sandwich in a hot skillet.  Brown sandwich on both sides to desired state. 

Lessons in Living:
This meal is prepared like "grilled cheese sandwiches" (buttered with Blue Bonnet and fried).  We haven't found a good way to prepare this meal without oil. Breads are made fresh in Belize so bread is generally abundant to purchase for a reasonable price.  Tomato sauce is available in San Pedro but we brought low sodium paste from the States.  Although we had some frozen, cheese is expensive on the island but worth the cost of this meal.  Turkey pepperoni from the States topped off this meal.  (The turkey pepperoni was great to season several other meals too.  Just be sure to refrigerate after opening; things spoil quickly on the island because of the warm temperatures.)  Prepare as many grilled sandwiches as people or two each depending on the appetite.  This meal was prepared for 7 sandwiches.  This was everyone's favorite meal :)>

Dinner: Connie's Rice Burrito

Dinner:  Connie's Rice Burrito
wild rice (1 pkg)
2 cans beans
1 can corn (no salt added)
1 small Parmesan cheese (BZ)
1 can rotel (lime and cilantro)
Bragg's seasoning
with tortilla


Directions:  Cook wild rice until fluffy.  Add all other ingredients to rice and warm over stove top until desired temperature is met.  Serve tortillas to make burritos.

Lessons in Living:
This is not a quick-fix meal if the rice and beans are not prepared ahead of time.  Rice takes about an hour.  We used canned beans (although beans are easily found in Belize - a staple of the Belizean diet).  Fresh Parmesan is ideal; we used a small container of the powered Parmesan (we were familiar with the label).  San Pedro stores have a "Rotel" equivalent with a Spanish label (don't remember the name).  Bragg's seasoning was brought from the States (other seasoning can be used but between the Parmesan and the Bragg's, it was very flavorful). Tortillas are locally made for a reasonable price.  This meal feeds 4 with leftovers and was one of our favorites.

Breakfast: Eggs in a Basket

Breakfast: Eggs in a Basket
eggs
bread
butter/oil

Directions:
Butter bread on both sides.  Use a small cup to cut out a hole in the middle of the bread.  Place the buttered bread in a hot skillet.  Add eggs in the middle of the "basket".  Cook eggs to desired state (sunny side up or well done).  Flip over the full basket carefully and cook the other side.  Season as needed.

Lessons in Living:
Eggs are generally abundant and fresh in San Pedro.  Egg cartons are not included in the price but can be purchased for a small fee.  Some grocers keep the eggs in a refrigerator section; others stack them up in large cartons on the floor.  We haven't found a good way to prepare this meal without oil. Breads are made fresh in Belize too so toast is easily made.  We brought down "Ezekiel Bread" which is fresh and usually in the freezer section of US grocery stores (all natural and the recipe is straight from the book of Ezekiel).  Prepare as many "baskets" as people or two each depending on the appetite. 

Dinner: Stove Top Tuna Noodle Casserole

Dinner:  Stove Top Tuna Noodle Casserole
1 bx Wheat Rotini noodles
3 cans tuna
1/2 onion
1 can peas
2 cans cream mushroom

Directions:  Boil water for pasta.  Dice 1/2 onion.  Throw in pasta and cook al dente.  Drain tuna and peas.  Drain water from pasta.  Add all ingredients to pasta and warm over stove top until desired temperature is met. 

Lessons in Living:
"Al dente" an Italian term for pasta when it is cooked as to be still firm when bitten.  Macaroni noodles or other noodles could be used instead (whatever is available in San Pedro).  We did find whole wheat pasta at the Greenhouse Store.  Canned tuna is a bit pricy but available (fresh tuna would probably be tasty).  This meal fed 4 with leftovers and was one of our favorites.

Breakfast: Scrambled Omelet

Breakfast:  Scrambled Omelet
1 dozen eggs (scrambled in water)
1 green pepper
1/2 white onion
1 can peeled tomato (low sodium from US)
shredded cheese
and Toast

Directions:
Fill the bottom of the skillet with water and bring to a boil.  While water is processing, prepare eggs by stirring them all together. Chop green pepper and onion.  Add eggs to boiling water.  Add vegetables.  When eggs are almost done, top off with shredded cheese.

Lessons in Living:
Eggs are generally abundant and fresh in San Pedro.  Egg cartons are not included in the price but can be purchased for a small fee.  Some grocers keep the eggs in a refrigerator section; others stack them up in large cartons on the floor.  We cooked the eggs in water to avoid using oils (including butter).  Cans of tomatoes are available but are not low sodium; fresh tomatoes could be used too.  Breads are made fresh in Belize too so toast is easily made.  We brought down "Ezekiel Bread" which is fresh and usually in the freezer section of US grocery stores (all natural and the recipe is straight from the book of Ezekiel).  Cheese is available in San Pedro but is generally more costly than in the States.  This meal fed 4 with leftovers.

Eating at the Staff House

Eating in San Pedro Belize at the Living Tree Academy staff house is an ever growing adventure. Finding local foods and nutrition sources at a good price in itself is work in progress. However, preparing and serving these meals to the guest, staff and students is key to a great experience.

With this blog, we are going to document what works for each meal that is developed. We are then going to get the dining participants to grade their experience.

So, if you have ANY suggestions for meals or ANY comments about what is posted, SPEAK UP! We want everyone to be totally satisfied with each and every dining experience every day of the year.

HAPPY EATING!