Whimsical Wednesday..with CarolCooks2…

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Good morning it is a lovely day here the birds are singing quite loudly today although the squirrels were licking up a fine racket with their antics so I think the birds are joining in…

We have had two uninvited guests over the last two days…the snake shows no sign of wanting to move but as long as he stays away from the house we are happy…The spider was trying to get in…

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Both are harmless of left to their own devices…

Did you know?

Anna Maria “Marie” Tussaud, the woman behind one of London’s most famous tourist attractions, died on this day at the age of 89. She had spent a lifetime creating lifelike waxworks of the famous and the infamous from murderers to monarchs; from pop stars to politicians; from the beautiful to the beastly.

Today Madame Tussauds – there is no longer an apostrophe – has branches around the world and is now owned by the Merlin Entertainments group, which also runs Legoland and other theme parks.

For those of you who are cocooned at home and confined to the house and garden someone has been inventive…

Weatherwise in the Northern Hemisphere April can be a mixed month. Rainy and wet one day and sunny and warm the next. Sunshine and showers can be the norm.

It also brings the flowers the daisy and the sweetpea are the flowers of April…The daisy symbolises innocence, loyal love and purity…Who remembers making daisy chains and plucking the petals? He loves me, he loves me not…

daisy heart ribbons-3392654_640

The sweetpea is a flower I was never very successful at growing when I lived in the UK it was also a flower I loved such a pretty flower…however although it signifies blissful pleasure they were used to say goodbye…The pea is also one of the oldest food crops on the planet domesticated by humans some 11,000 years ago. The earliest human consumption of wild peas was at least 23,000 years ago, and perhaps by our Neanderthal cousins as long ago as 46,000 years ago.

sweetpea in vase

Photo credit: hehaden on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC

That said… Only vegetable pea flowers can be eaten, not sweet pea flowers which are toxic.

Flowers are slightly sweet and, surprisingly enough, taste like young peas. Delicious added to salads. Use candied flowers to decorate fish dishes or cakes. The shoots and vine tendrils are also edible and have the same delicate, pea-like flavour.

I love pea shoots I also love tea made from the beautiful butterfly pea flowers…

Butterfly pea tea in a pot

Hot or cold it is a lovely tea…These pea flowers are so pretty…

To make the tea…

First, rinse the tea with hot water and warm the pot and cups.

You will require about 2 tsp of Butterfly Pea flowers to every 500 ml of hot water (90c-95c) the water should be just under the boiling point.

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Infuse the Butterfly pea flowers for 2-4 minutes for the 1st and 2nd brew gradually increase the brewing time for subsequent brews…I use my tea generally 3 times sometimes 4 depending on the tea and your taste.

Did you know?

In 1923 in the month of April Insulin became readily available to diabetics…

diabetes-528678_640

In 1923, Frederick Banting and his team won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of insulin. … Discovering insulin could have made Banting very rich, but he decided to give the patent away for free. He wanted insulin to be available to everyone, not held out of reach at exorbitant prices…What a great man…

Let’s have a tune…some music…

Yes, folks heed the end…and to the stupid individual whose comment I saw on a friends post…Tell all the relatives of the people who have succumbed to the disease…Whose immune system couldn’t fight it what to…I am sure you must have thoughts on that…

That’s all for today …Well, it should have been yesterday but I had some sad news my brother- in- law in the UK passed away…Please stay safe and well…SO many are dying or are sick with Covid-19…It is real…Be safe 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

41 thoughts on “Whimsical Wednesday..with CarolCooks2…”

  1. Jennie

    I’m so sorry to hear of your relative. Love the takeoff of My Favorite Things! The spider is really creepy! Stay well and stay safe, Carol.

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  2. Pingback: CarolCooks2…weekly roundup 12th April-18th April 2020… | Retired? No one told me!

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Colleen.. It has certainly made it real… I am so sad, shocked and most if all very sad for Jan… She can’t even be given a hug it must be such a sad and lonely place to be in… my heart breaks for her 💔Hugs back at you dear Colleen xx

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  5. amreade

    Very sorry to hear about your brother-in-law’s passing. I hope his wife stays well. To be grieving while in quarantine, so you can’t reach out and hug someone, has to be one of the cruelest circumstances.

    What an amazing act of altruism by the man who discovered the miraculous use of insulin. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. dgkaye

    I always love your uplifting posts Carol. Pea tea who knew! And I’m so sorry for your loss. This scary shyte! Please stay safe – gloved and masked when out of your home. ❤

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Scary isn’t the word… Try it it is lovely makes a nice refreshing cold drink on a sunny day I sometimes keep a jug in the fridge… ❤️… Scary has just hit home I fear for his wife I just hope she was taking the right precautions… I am playing safe but so are the shops I go to.. hopefully all good we have no new cases here for 14 days… Please stay safe dear Debby ❤️

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I liked that video.. Clever… I know Darlene 73 is no age today is it and Robin still worked he had a little job I am just shocked.. It brings this thing home makes it real xxx

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  11. Pingback: Whimsical Wednesday..with CarolCooks2… — Retired? No one told me! – yazım'yazgısı (typography)

  12. OIKOS™-Publishing

    Thank you for the very informative posting, Carol. Looking at such a spider I would run away immediately, or get the vacuum cleaner. 😉
    With a snake, I would be gone immediately. You are very brave.;-) Great information about the inventor of insulin. To renounce the patent was a generic act.That with the tea sounds wonderful too.. Thank you, and best wishes for the day. Michael

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Jaye… Sad and tragic as it is I was raised to keep a stiff upper lip… I do have my moments though… But my aim is to keep things upbeat Hugs xxx

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  14. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

    Reblogged this on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine and commented:
    Carol had posted her regular Whimsical Wednesday slightly later than usual, due to some sad family news. As Covid-19 spreads it is touching on all our lives and that of family and friends. Carol however lifts our spirits including sharing what we are missing by not living in Thailand… giant spiders trying to gain entry to the house and a snake going into its own isolation in her garden… happy with my field mice thank you…. some recipes and the usual whimsy to enjoy when you head over… thanks Sally

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  15. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

    I am sorry about the news of your brother-in-law Carol it is hitting home hard now and even more reals with friends and family suffering from the virus. As to your spider and snake… thank goodness our spiders are smaller and St. Patrick did his stuff long before I came to live here…thanks for another terrific post..♥

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Sally.. It was quick.. 5 days from start to finish and temp not high enough to be admitted to hosp but as I am typing I am asking was it his age(73)…I am stunned at the speed Robin was healthy. Thank you for the reblog, Sally.. Please stay safe xxx… The snake has now been deposited back into the jungle Alan moved him this morning as he seemed settled and I didn’t want Saangchai to worry him… As for spiders he is somewhere outside… Xxx

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      1. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

        Tragic and that was quick Carol and perhaps his age or undiagnosed underlying condition. To be honest men seem to be taking the brunt of this, and they are saying that apart from apparently healthy, most men don’t go to the doctor unless last resort! And as to the snake..good job Alan…and keep that spider out!! ♥

        Liked by 1 person

      2. CarolCooks2 Post author

        Yes they do don’t they? Jan phoned 111 and followed their advice..
        I am worried about her now… Yes he managed that rather well.. Although the kids had snakes as pets when young and at home so we don’t fear them… Unless they are poisonous and then we call the snake catcher…. ❤️

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  16. petespringerauthor

    I’m sorry about the news of your brother-in-law. I read a poll recently that said 23% of us know someone who has passed from the virus.

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I am now one of them and wish I wasn’t, Pete…Thank you I am just shocked at the speed from start to finish 5 days..so quick it has scared me for my family in the UK…

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