Good morning…Staying home is so surreal…it’s getting weird and unsettling…I am seeing rising figures of infected and people dying around the world and it breaks my heart…I can only watch and wait and pray that all this will soon end…I also know that the consequences of all this in most areas of our daily life will be far-reaching…Schools here are closed now through to July, hotels are closed to new customers, a nightly curfew is in place and it seems there are more restrictions to come…

l will endeavour to keep my blog a happy place and not because I don’t care about what is going on and I am worried that the British PM, Boris Johnson is in intensive care and wish him a full and speedy recovery but because we all need to find some solace, peace and some joy just for our sanity where we can…

Here is one example of that…

Did you know?

To the world of scientists, Thomas Johnson is known as “the father of British field botany”. He had many strings to his bow and was also a merchant trader thus England got its first glimpse of the banana when Thomas Johnson displayed a bunch in his shop in Holborn, in the City of London, on April 10, 1633.

In his Herball” reference book they were described as Plantain fruit…although no one knows what variety these banana/plantain fruits were… today bananas sold in English supermarkets are of the Cavendish variety.

Each year on April 8th, National Empanada Day recognizes a delicious pastry that comes in several different forms. The name empanada comes from the Galician, Portuguese and Spanish verb em pandar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread.

Empanadas are made by folding the dough or bread around a seasoned stuffing. The stuffed dough is then baked or fried. Very much like hand pies, these delicious pastries offer a variety of choices. You can make your empanadas with meat, cheese, vegetables or fruit fillings. However, they may be made with other ingredients, too.

A cookbook published in 1520 in Catalan, the Libre del Coch by Ruperto de Nola, mentions empanadas filled with seafood…Yummy…

It is also National Zoo day but as I am not in favour of keeping animals in captivity I will be saying no more…

Back to National Enchiladas Day in Jeanne’s kitchen the Enchiladas are cooking…

https://ajeanneinthekitchen.com/2020/03/03/smoked-pork-and-vegetable-enchiladas-with-roasted-tomatillo-salsa/

Time for some music…

Vera Lynn know for her wartime classic “We’ll Meet Again”  first released in 1939 ..This song became an anthem for  Britons during the Second World War.  Katherine Jenkins is teaming up with Dame Vera Lynn and a new version is being released on Saturday 11th of April with the proceeds going to the NHS …This song will once again speak of the hope we should have in these troubling times.

I wonder how much the new version will differ from this …

Did you know?

April 8th 1992 The satirical British magazine Punch publishes its final issue.

 

April 8th also marks the start of The Passover…it starts on the evening of the 8th…

What is Passover? Passover is a springtime festival. The annual dates are based on the Hebrew calendar, from the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan through the 22nd day.

The holiday of Pesach, or Passover, is an annual weeklong festival commemorating the emancipation of Jewish peoples from slavery (in ancient Egypt). The Hebrew name, “Pesach,” means “to passover” because the plague in Egypt that killed all firstborns passed over the Israelites’ homes, sparing the lives of their children.

Passover Recipes…Perhaps the most well-known of Passover foods is the matzah (flat, crackerlike unleavened bread), which is a reminder of the haste with which the slaves left Egypt because they did not even have time for the bread to rise.

Traditionally, the matzah is served with a sweet condiment called charoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, and wine.

The basic recipe (though it varies) is:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 3 apples, unpeeled, cored and cut into about 8 pieces
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or to taste
• 1 tablespoon sugar or to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons grape juice or sweet Passover wine

April was always a special month for me as a child it was generally warm and sunny, of course, we had Easter Eggs and a new outfit…But there was a lot of activity going on at church making the palm crosses, hot cross buns, fish on Good Friday…I guess all the Easter celebrations will be very muted this year…

The animals around the world are loving the lockdowns and the fact there are fewer people and cars around…

That’s all for today …Thank you for joining me on my whimsical ramblings I do hope you have enjoyed this post…Please stay safe and well…many high profile people have tested positive for COVID-19…It looks like no-one is immune…this includes the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson…Get well soon Boris England needs you back at the helm 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.

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!

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a fabulous week and stay safe these are troubling times xx