Welcome to week 8 in my kitchen…Sourdough is looking good she said in a whisper although if it goes belly up Tabula Rasa has given me some great tips…Thank you Tabula.

Before I go on just a tip about the cooking of brown/wild rice which does take longer than white rice to cook…soak it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight or a tip from Sally she cooks hers in the microwave…Thank you, Sally…

If you want to hear something funny…One of our neighbours knocked and gave us 30 eggs…Very nice of him…The other day I was cooking and took one out to use they were slightly smaller than the eggs I usually get but for my purpose it was fine… Ready for the egg I tapped it as normal with a knife and went to part the shell…It was a hard boiled egg…I now have 29 hardboiled eggs to use…Egg sarnies anyone???

This week’s Curry…Yellow curry with rambutan fruit.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast cubed or sliced or boneless thighs
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 3 red Thai chillies cut diagonally
• 1 stalk lemongrass, smashed, outer layers removed, and inner core thinly sliced
• One 2-inch piece galangal root, peeled and thinly sliced
• 8 rambutan
• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• ¹⁄₂ small pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 ¹⁄₂ cups coconut milk
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tsp. palm sugar or light brown sugar
• Coriander leaves, to garnish
• Lime wedges, for serving

• 1/2 cup of melted grass-fed butter
• 1 cup of flour
• 3/4 cup of rolled oats
• 3/4 cup of raw sugar
• A pinch of salt.

Fruit Layer.

• 2 cups of blackberries, blueberries or fruit of your choice.
• 1/3 cup raw sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice ( I also grated the skin)
• 2 tsp tapioca powder/cornflour

Heat the oven to 350 F/176C and grease an 8-inch square oven dish.

Add the flour, oats, sugar and salt to the melted butter, stir to combine well and set aside 1 cup of the mixture for the topping.

Put the rest of the mix in the greased pan and flatten down well.

Mix the lime juice with the tapioca powder then add to the fruit and sugar stir well to combine.

Pour the mix over the mixture in the baking tin and then scatter the reserved mix over the top of the fruit.

Bake for about 55 mins until golden if you are using fresh berries then reduce the cooking time. Cool completely and cut into pieces.

Next time I would double the recipe as it was very nice but didn’t make many squares.

Fruit just coming into season this week is the lovely Mangosteen…

Once you get through its hard outer shell you find a white juicy fruit…

About the Mangosteen…

The Mangosteen Garcinia Mangostana has a very hard outer shell and is a widely eaten and available fruit here in Thailand.

When open it is similar with its segments to an Orange. It has a thick outer skin which is about 1/4 of an inch thick. If picked straight from the tree it is easier to open because as the fruit ages it dries and loses water thus the outer shell quickly hardens.

Keeping it in a bag in the fridge slows down the moisture loss.

It grows naturally in South East Asia and is known for its sweet peachy tasting flesh. Its seeds are bitter and should not be eaten.

When young ..freshly picked from the tree the seeds are white but turn brown as the fruit ages so it is a good indication of how fresh your Mangosteen is.

To open the fruit using a thin sharp serrated knife carefully cut around the circumference of the fruit. Then twist to open.

Warning: Be very careful not to cut yourself as the shell is very hard which may cause the knife to slip.

Low in calories and high in fibre with a high Potassium content the Mangosteen also has healthy amounts of manganese and magnesium which is good for intestinal health.

It is known as one of the 5 not so typical fruits noted for its life-changing potential. Scientists believe that an antioxidant in Mangosteen can cause cell death in cancer.

But as with everything we consume moderation is key. Its high fructose levels can be harmful to humans.

You have probably noticed that my recipes are all cooked from scratch contain healthy ingredients which have proven health benefits…I am trying to break the mould or the myths that healthy food is bland and/or boring…There seems to be a barrier to me… we just need to know our food and what the benefits to our health is and cook accordingly.

I don’t spend hours in the kitchen and I don’t think that I buy special foods or expensive foods and I certainly don’t feel deprived in any way at all…It is also foods which we all eat ..grandkids included although we limit the heat for little Lily or take her portion out before we add all the chilli.

That’s all for today I am now off to collect my big boy from the airport I haven’t seen him for 3 years so I am super excited and won’t be around much online this weekend we are off to Nong Khai tomorrow to show him a few sights and how beautiful the Mekong is at sunset  and enjoy some lovely food hopefully I will get to have my favourite egg drop soup….Bye for now xxx

About Carol Taylor.

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
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great weekend xx