Country Profile

Population 366,000
Area 22,965 sq km (8,867 sq miles)
Major languages English (official), Spanish, Belizean Creole, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib)
Major religions Christianity
Life expectancy 75 years (men), 78 years (women)
Currency Belizean dollar
Head of state Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, represented by a Governor GeneralPrime minister Dean Barrow

A Brief Overview

Originally called British Honduras, Belize is a small country in Central America that is situated with the Caribbean Sea to it’s east, Mexico touching its northern border and Guatemala surrounding it’s western and southern border. Belize is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy whose head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, officially holds the title of The Queen of Belize. Belize was first inhabited by the Mayan Civilization, and is believed to have controlled the area from 1500 BC to 900 AD. Spanish conquistadors first explored the area in the 16th century, and even declared it Spanish territory, but ultimately decided not to settle there and develop the land because of poor resources and hostility from the Indian tribes that currently inhabited the land. Later on in the 17th century English and Scottish settlers came to Belize and settled in the land. Belize remained a British colony until it gained it’s independence in 1981. Belizean culture is largely influenced by a unique blend of other cultures and backgrounds, from Kriol, Maya, Garinagu (also known as Garifuna), Mestizo (a mixture of Spanish and Native American Mennonites who are of German descent, with a blend of many other cultures from Chinese to Lebanese. [1]

A Few Fun Facts

1. Many Belizeans avoid swimming in the ocean or rivers on Good Friday; it is viewed as bad luck. Local Mothers can often be heard telling their kids they “will turn fish!” if they swim on this day! [2]

2. Belize is the only Central American country where English is the official language. However, you will still hear a mixture of Creole, Spanish, Garifuna and Mayan languages being spoken on the street. [2]

3. The tallest building in Belize is a Mayan temple! [2]

Conchinita Pibil

The Dish of the Week

The Ingredients [3]

*this serves 6, we cut the recipe in half

1 small red onion sliced thin

3 habanero peppers

10 limes, juiced

Salt to taste

3 ounces of dried guajillo chile peppers, seeded and deveined

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 pounds of boneless pork shoulder, cut in cubes

3 cups fresh orange juice

1 Cup white vinegar

1 bulb garlic peeled

7 1/2 ounces of achiote paste

The Instructions

Combine the red onion, lime juice, habanero peppers, and salt in a bowl. Cover and place in the fridge.Put the guajillo peppers in a bowl and cover them with hot water, allow them to soak and soften for about 10 minutes.

Heat your oil on medium high. Season your pork with salt and pepper, cook until completely brown about 15-20 minutes.

Transfer the pork to a slow cooker.

Combine the guajillo peppers, orange juice, vinegar, garlic, and achiote paste in a blender; blend until smooth. Pour that sauce over the pork.Cook on high until the pork falls apart easily, about 6-8 hrs.

Once cooked remove from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks, pour the sauce over the pork. Serve with the habanero-onion salsa.

**we served ours in a corn tortillaI would recommend a flour tortilla, the corn tortilla fell apart very easily!

Jeremiah’s Rating 8 out of 10

“This one is probably my favorite so far. The pork was good and the juice it marinaded in gave it a great taste. I’d recommend not pouring the lime juice/habanero sauce on until you’ve tasted the meat first. I put way too much of it on my first serving and it made it taste far too tangy, so I’d recommend serving it on the side. The one big thing that I didn’t like about this recipe was that the corn tortilla shells we used were very thin and fell apart very easily after we put the meat in them.”

Stacie’s rating 3 out of 10

“I really thought I would like this a whole lot, and I was really excited to make it, but I actually didn’t really like it at all. I think the flavor of the orange juice just came out too strong for me, because I hate orange juice! So if I made it again I would probably use way less orange juice than it said.”

[1] Wikipedia contributors. “Belize.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Jan. 2018. Web. 27 Jan. 2018.[2] “10 interesting and quirky facts about Belize.” ReefCI. 24 July. 2013. Web. 26 January. 2018. [3] Original Recipe found on, http://allrecipes.com/recipe/213709/authentic-cochinita-pibil-spicy-mexican-pulled-pork/