Mayan

Guanaja Mango Vinegar & Roatan Honey

May 6, 2008

Booty! I scored these exquisite locally produced goods while on The Bay Islands, Honduras.

The Springers make this delicious fruity organic vinegar from their own mango trees on the little mountainous island of Guanaja: it's like a mango version of apple cider vinegar. Awesome on salads with olive oil and a bit of sea salt.

I love tasting honey from all over the world. This fragrant honey made on the island of Roatan reminds me of Yucatan honey, as it has similar exotic floral and orange blossom aromas - likely from orchids and orange trees. I overhead someone saying that this honey was made by stingless bees - endangered native bees cultured by the Mayans.

Spicy Mayan Brownies

December 19, 2007

I came up with these super-rich fudgy spicy brownies a while back to satisfy my craving for chocolate and spice. Having a sweet spot for all things Mayan, I composed these using some traditional Mayan flavours: chocolate, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, anise, chilli, vanilla - yum! I also incorporated the healthy meso-American super-grain quinoa (I used red quinoa) as well as flax seeds - I don't think flax is Mayan, but it allowed me to avoid eggs in this recipe. I soaked my seeds to germinate/sprout them: super healthy and easier to puree. Though the high amount of cocoa, sprouted seeds, and spices would qualify these gluten-free vegan treats as healthy, the sucanat and butter (coconut oil works here for the vegan or dairy-free diets) bump these into the supremely rich and tasty side of healthy. I love these brownies + they are now officially my sweet-heart's new favorite brownies :-)

Recipe: Spicy Mayan Brownies

Food of the Gods

May 23, 2007

Mayan chocolate discs

Real Mayan chocolate from the Yukatan, Mexico.

Another great score from Mexico ~

Hand made in the Yukatan, the only ingredient in this chocolate is cacao. We spoke with the woman who made it, and she told us how to prepare Mayan-style hot chocolate:

Blend for 1 minute: 1 disc of chocolate with 1 liter of hot water (or hot milk). The hot chocolate should be nice and foamy. Serves 4.

This will produce a very bitter drink. I'll add 1 - 2 Tbsp of Mexican honey and a splash of vanilla when I make it.

Besides honey and vanilla, other ingredients traditionally included can be: cinnamon, chillies, anise seeds, sesame seeds, ground corn, allspice, achiote, and aromatic flowers.