Last week I was in Bangkok and what a lovely weekend it was…I am now back home..refreshed as I didn’t take my laptop so had a few days break which did me good…I came back renewed and invigorated…The weather here is typical rainy season lots of tropical storms and is that thunder loud…Still warm but the rain takes that edge off the searing heat…29C feels like 34C…Cloudy interspersed with tropical showers…Looks like it is set in for the day…

For a change, I thought I would make fajitas and my grandson has decided that it is his new favourite dinner…It is not very often that I make this sort of dinner I normally cook Thai, Indian or a good roast dinner…

Aston, of course, being a young foodie and a good little cook wanted guacamole, salsa, sour cream to go with his fully stuffed fajitas of which he ate 3 to my one…A growing lad with hollow legs as my mum used to say to us…

Guacamole.

• I avocado
• 1 ripe tomato
•  1 finely chopped shallot or green onion…I prefer shallots
• I  birds eye chilli finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of fresh coriander
• Salt and black pepper for seasoning
• Lime juice

Let’s Cook!

Peel and roughly chop the avocado stir in the chopped onion, chilli, tomatoes and the coriander. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and a generous squeeze of lime juice.

Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill before serving.

Tomato Salsa.

Ingredients.

• 1 med red onion finely chopped
• 2 small cloves garlic (minced)
• 3 large ripe tomatoes (peeled, chopped)
• 1-2 red chilli peppers (hot or mild)
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro.
• 1 1/2-2 tbsp lime juice.
• salt and pepper, to taste.

Let’s Cook!

Combine all the ingredients and season well…

Salsa is also Aston and Lily’s favourite snack so I think I have made it 3 nights out of 4 for the last week or two…Kids!

All of these dips are really quick to put together sometimes I use my little blender with the guacamole but am careful not to make it too smooth.

They can be served with my saltine crackers, pitta bread, Doritos, Fajitas or anything else of your choice…

Fajita mix.

• 3 tbsp Cornstarch…I use rice flour
• 2 tbsp Chilli Powder. ( I use dried chillies ground to a powder)
• 1 tbsp Salt.
• 1/2 tbsp Sugar.(optional)
• 1 tbsp Red Smoked Paprika
• 2 1/2 tsp Powdered chicken stock/seasoning.
• 1 1/2 tsp Onion Powder.
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder.
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper.
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder.

I always make my own mixes as I find that I can save money by buying larger packs of spices and also I have a quicker rotation so the spices stay fresh and not linger in the cupboard forever.

Chicken Fajitas.

2 chicken breast sliced into about 3 in pieces.

2/3 cloves of garlic crushed

1 onion chopped or sliced

1-2 tbsp Fajita mix

Half a red and yellow sweet bell pepper finely sliced…( optional)

I don’t cook them with my fajita mix as my family like their peppers uncooked in Fajitas this is purely personal taste and if you like yours in your mix then add near the end of cooking.

Let’s Cook!

Heat a glug of olive oil in your pan and add your onions and after a couple mins, the garlic then add your fajita mix and stir well then add your chicken, Cook for about 5-6 minutes until chicken is cooked. Add a little water if required.

 

To serve spread some sour cream on your wrap add some chicken, salsa, guacamole, raw bell peppers, grated cheese ( optional) then roll and enjoy!

 

Mackerel and green mango salad.

Ingredients:

• 2 small mackerel or mackerel fillets
• 1 green mango, julienned
• 3 shallots finely sliced
• 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 tbsp Lime Juice
• 2 -4 fresh red chillies sliced
• 1 tsp red chilli flakes ( optional)
• 1 handful of fresh mint picked and chopped
• 1 handful coriander chopped
• 2 tbsp unsalted roasted nuts.

Grill the mackerel unless you buy ready smoked mackerel and in that case break it into flakes.

Julienne your mango, slice your shallots and chop your herbs. Put all your chopped ingredients and the fish into a serving bowl and add your chillies, fish sauce and Lime Juice…Taste and if you wish to add a little sugar to balance the flavour or suit your palate then add it now.

Serve with noodles or some steamed plain potatoes.

N.B.

If you can’t get green mango then this salad would be lovely with mango which is just ripe but still firm which I think you could get almost anywhere in the world now…Or try a green apple which I think would be equally as good.

I hope you all enjoy these recipes until next time…Have a great weekend 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!

More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will on  mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3 

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