Welcome to Week 3 in my kitchen and has it had a spring clean this last week…Still, one big cupboard to go…I tackled the kitchen gadget draw yesterday you know the one which has the bottle openers, measuring cups and other bit and pieces…Yes, that one!

Let’s just say with the bits that crept in somehow by those who shall remain nameless…I have halved the contents…Some were just binned and the rest I put in a little box and left outside the gate…Thais are great @ recycling they were gone in a flash…

My culinary prowess reached new levels this week… I was so excited that my big boy, my eldest son is coming for a quick visit in Feb..only 4 weeks time…I just popped my banana bread in the new oven and it wasn’t until I smelt the burning that I realised I had forgotten to put the dish in a baking tin which was in a bigger tin which was stood on a little rack…

By now you are probably thinking that I have totally lost the plot…

Not quite…Thais don’t do oven as I have told you before and this has a bottom burner and is run on calor gas as there is no mains gas in Thailand at all I believe…Coupled with no numbers on the thermostat…I have bought an internal thermostat it takes a while to regulate the heat and if I don’t stand my dish in a tin which is in a tin on a rack…which diffuses the heat and I don’t get a burnt bottom…

That was my kitchen disaster of the week…But one’s grandson cut the burnt bottom off and declared the banana bread was my best one yet! Who would have thought?

Not my prettiest attempt but tasty…The recipe was from my dear blogging friend a lovely lady who herself says she has too much time on her hands … The lovely Lisa an ALS sufferer who could teach us, able-bodied peeps, a lot…She is an amazing lady…If you get a chance do pop over and say hello to her and if you take an ice cream recipe she will love you forever as she loves ice cream which is the only food she can eat…

https://lisasalsworld.ca/2019/01/11/heres-to-a-happy-new-year-some-recipes-and-some-small-talk/

Banana Bread

• 5 small ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp of melted butter
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of raw cane sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts ( optional)
• 1 tsp mixed spice ( optional)

Let’s Cook!

Mash the bananas and add the eggs…I put mine in the food processor. Then add all the other ingredients except for the nuts if using and then stir in the chopped nuts.

Cook in a prepared dish or loaf tin on 180F/350C degrees for 50-60 mins.

A quick and easy all in one recipe for banana bread…I did make a few tweaks as the original recipe said 4 bananas what size I don’t know but mine were small ones so added 5 and as I always use raw cane sugar or banana sugar you could use brown or sugar of your choice likewise with flour …

Pigs trotters...Still no pictures… the lady sort of persuaded me to buy the ones she had pre-cut …Which I cooked… the sauce was awesome..not much meat…So the dog struck lucky…The stock was so gelatinous and the penny dropped that she probably meant me to make stock and what a great pork stock they would make…This is my work in progress…Soz Adele x

My other WIP is Chicken Passandra a dish I first ate many moons ago in an Indian Restaurant and have never cooked…I followed the recipe exactly and I think I told you that it was ok for me..not great although the men ..loved it! Although sometimes I do think men rather than offend just say it was good.

Take two…I won’t be beaten…With more than a few changes made from the first attempt and the first time I have used Greek Yoghurt in an Indian Curry it was by far a much better curry…

Chicken  Pasanda

• 2 chicken breasts cut into cubes
• 3 tbsp Ghee
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 1.5 piece of cinnamon
• 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp good chilli powder I used my homemade curry powder
• 5 tbsp of Greek Yoghurt
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds
• Fresh coriander chopped

Let’s Cook!

Heat 2 tbsp of the ghee and add the onions cook stirring for 1-2 mins and then add the cinnamon and cardamon pods cook for about 5-6 mins to release the flavours stirring so as not to colour the onions.

Add ginger and garlic and cook for a further 5-6 mins, stirring. Then add turmeric, coriander powder and chilli cook for a further 1 minutes.

Now turn up the heat and start to stir in yoghurt 1 tbsp at a time mixing properly before adding the next tbsp until all the yoghurt is added you will now have quite a thick roux type sauce. Add the tomato puree. The sauce should now be quite a bright orange colour.

Now add hot water to make a thinner sauce, stirring and adding gradually. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

The taste and add salt to season.

Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a pan and set to one side.

Heat the remainder of the ghee and cook the chicken until it just turns white. Add the chicken and almonds to the sauce and cook until the chicken is cooked. The sauce should now be thick and creamy with patches of that lovely orange oil on the top.

Remove the cinnamon and the cardamon and garnish with coriander to serve.

Cooks Note: Rather than reduce the sauce, even more, I added some ground almonds to thicken the sauce which also enhanced the almond flavour which is what Passandra is renowned for.

This second Passandra was much like I remembered it to be …I also forgot to take a final picture…Next time as I will be making it again I will try to remember… Although it isn’t the spiciest of curries and quite mild it is tasty and ideal for those who prefer a milder curry.

What is on the agenda in my kitchen for next week…A mushroom larb which is a Thai dish normally made with ground pork or chicken…A new recipe for me and I am looking forward to tasting it and maybe some stuffed peppers which will make a change …Also, Darlene Foster very kindly sent me a recipe for a lovely lentil dish called Yakhmat ‘Adas (from Syria and Lebanon) which I will be making on Monday…Darlene is the author of the very popular Amanda Books and has been a follower of my blog since I first started blogging so she must be in line for a long service medal soon…lol…

Thank you, Darlene x

Until next Friday…Thank you for reading this I hope you are enjoying an insight into my kitchen here…Today it is mega  HOT again and having had a Tom Yum with salmon and ramen noodles I am full and want something easy to make,  as we have little Lily and her friend from the village it will be spag bol as it is not something they get to eat in the village so a treat for them and a straightforward dish for me.

Have a great weekend and please share with us anything you have made this week or even any kitchen disasters all your comments make my day xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
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Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great weekend xx