Bottle or Bag?

I missed a week.

It feels that way, too.

I've been a touch busy.

Along with moving in to a new place and suddenly having a packed schedule,

I've also had a few misadventures:

nearly blowing myself up,

and the cat attempting suicide - or trying to get high; I'm not sure which.

I've been in Belize for about a month and 10 days.

Slowly, I'm adapting and learning how not to look like an idiot.

It's going to be a while...

On Sunday, my roommate and I went to get some pop from the store.

As I was buying mine, she passed me a small plastic bag that was hanging beside the counter.

I found it a bit odd –

I hardly need a bag.

It costs $1.25 to buy a pop in a glass bottle, but there is a money saving trick:

if you return the empty glass bottle to the store right away, then it only costs $1.00.

The cashier only charged $1.00, 

but she had never asked if I was going to give the bottle back or not,

so I didn't think about it.

My roommate opened her pop, and proceeded to pour it into the plastic bag.

What are you doing?

A bit confused, and very clueless, I proceed to leave the store.

She reminds me that I need to return the bottle, and I finally clue in -

Wow, I'm an idiot.

“Have you ever drank pop from a bag before?”

“Nope, this is my first time.”

I'd like to say that I'm normally sharper, but I can't promise you.

What I can say is that

when the cat licks a poisonous frog and starts drooling,

I'm handy to have around.

I'll save that story for next week – The Cat and The Frog.

Food Creations

Living on a tight budget can present different challenges...

Eating, for example.

I love food, and tend to get a bit ravenous when there's not much to be had.

The best money saving tip, which a few people have told me, is to eat the way the locals do.

They don't have a lot of money either.

My new friends are rice and beans.

This is a typical Belizean meal.

In a small pot with a bit of oil, I'll heat up some re-fried beans,

adding a bit of water, salt and pepper, and some BBQ sauce.

This is actually very tasty.

I'm doing my best to stay Gluten-Free,

and so far I've succeeded (despite temptation)!

I finally got around to buying some corn flour.

Since then, I've been able to make pancakes

and attempted making tortilla's.
Afterwards, I learned the secret ingredient that makes all the difference:
Lard.
They turn out much better!

I gathered some recipes specifically for corn flour.
I've tried a few,

and am looking forward to trying the others out!

Here's some pictures and recipe links of my creations so far  ^_^

My awesome room mate made this, actually.
Re-fried beans, rice, very tasty chicken, and excellent corn tortillas.

Tortilla FAIL! I followed a recipe, but all it called for was flour, salt and water.
I've since learned the key ingredient: Lard! 

This is a really simple, easy recipe: Garlic Chicken.
The baking dish I used must have had a defect, though, because it cracked in two :/

A easy and inexpensive lunch: Tuna spread on tortillas,
with BBQ sauce for extra flavour.

Some friends very kindly gave me their stash of  TruRoots Gluten-Free Penne Pasta,
which they weren't using. Score!

The pasta turned out great,
and I attempted to make a "garlic bread" tortilla.
It would have been fine, but I burned the garlic...

Gluten-Free Corn Flour Pancakes.
Really easy, and very good!
That's mango on the side.