Country 18: Belize

Belize! My first country in meso-America on the mainland.

Some fast facts about Belize:

• It is the only country in Central America without a coastline on the Pacific Ocean - it only has the Caribbean Sea to it's east.
• The official language is English, and it is the only country in Central America where this is the case. Spanish is still widely spoken though.
• The Mayans lived in parts of Belize for thousands of years, and there are ruins still standing.
• Belize independence was gained in 1981 but Guatemala refused to acknowledge it as a country until ten years later - they believed they had the claim to the land due to Spanish inheritance.

This meal came out bang on. By far it was the easiest meal I've cooked so far, all done and ready to serve in less than an hour. And that was me cooking at a leisurely pace, not stressing, not really paying attention that much... I think if I had really focused I would've probably gotten everything done in less than 30 minutes.

I'm not convinced that the garnaches should be served with the rice and beans, but everything was super tasty anyway. The garnaches in particular were, I thought, delicious. The recipe was given to me by a friend of mine who has Belizean heritage which was a double bonus - I think whenever possible, if someone I know has the recipes of a country, I would rather use those recipes than something that I find online, as I just feel like it's a bit more special.

Today on the menu we have:

• Garnaches - Belizean street food at its finest: these bad boys are tostadas topped with beans, coleslaw and cheese. 

• Rice and beans, another classic Caribbean dish, and a staple of Belizean cuisine. 

• Served with baked plantain, which I don't have a separate post for. Simply wait until your plantain is super ripe, cut it into bite sized pieces and roast for 15 minutes. Delicious!