Here we are again…I hope you all have had a productive week and are still safe and well…Time to tell you what has made me laugh, cry or cringe this week…time to tell you what I have been cooking…of course…

Yesterday was a marathon cook in…I had made bread the day before yesterday it was mango chutney and the tomatoes, garlic and peppers in the oven for the tomato and red pepper soup more coconut ice was requested and I also made a strawberry mousse using my mum’s recipe that was as well as brunch and making flatbreads for the Indian curry.

Today is also National Cucumber Day and National Kitchen Klutzes Day…

Cucumbers …well I always thought of cucumber as a vegetable it is, however, a fruit…low in calories and cucumbers are great pickled...they contain a good amount of water and soluble fibre…I have even seen them stir-fried here…

I didn’t get to try that one we were at a wake and the ladies were preparing mountains of food and one of dishes was a huge pot of cucumber and other vegetables with aromatics being stir-fried over a fire…I am also guessing huge amounts of chillies went into the mix as well…so much food I missed tasting that one…

Cucumbers are about 95% water and a good snack if you are counting calories and they will keep you hydrated I always keep some in the fridge as the grandson loves to snack on cucumbers they are easy to eat the cucumbers her here are small so a nice size…

I use them mainly in salads or pickle them and I don’t mind a cucumber sandwich although I haven’t had one of those for a while…sandwiches are not something eaten very much here.

As it is also kitchen klutz day I better fess up…I have burnt the eggs and the chutney and also should have used a bigger container…

Crumpet malfunction the jug runneth over …The recipe…

Kitchen Shortcuts...

No peeling potatoes…Yeah!

We all have our favourite family go to films don’t we where we open the prosecco and the chocolates and just binge-watch for a couple of hours…I didn’t realise how long ago this was…It was 1978 when the film “Grease” opened, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John it was based on the 1971 musical…

Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers, the musical is set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School.

By Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. …  its original production was in Chicago, Grease was a raunchy, raw, aggressive, vulgar show then… Subsequent productions sanitized it and toned it down. Finally in1980: The Broadway musical Grease closed after 3,883 performances.

The Grease we know and love was born…

It was hard to pick a favourite…Tell me about it Stud…Rizzo…Summer Nights…

Mother nature is awesome …Cruel, marvellous and just downright scary…

Luckily no lives were lost but homes and possessions were…just watching it was just unbelievable but it happened and there was a happy ending for one little furry pet…

I don’t think anyone is going to forget the year 2020...It has just gone from one thing to another and in quick succession, I am sure I am not alone when I wonder how it will all end…we are now in the month of June and it shows no sign of things slowing down…

Indeed you couldn’t make it up, could you?

Has it taught me anything…?… Yes, it has taught me how fragile our hold on life is…It has taught me how kind people can be…it has taught me how many things in life we rely on …it has taught me who I can rely on…it has also shown me things I really don’t wish to witness …a side where if people looked at history as a whole instead of cherry-picking the parts to fit their causes…the cancel culture has got seriously out of hand…Little Britain,The League of Gentlemen have all come under unwarranted scrutiny and have been delegated to the memory hole…The kangaroo court of correct thinking has found these to be offensive… they are comedy classics..Use the off switch…it has shown me how much is really wrong with this world and so much which is right…

I was  saddened to hear that Welsh singer Ricky Valance has died aged 84 following a battle against dementia.

An agent for the Tell Laura I Love Her star confirmed the sad news on Friday.

Ricky was born in Ynysddu, Monmouthshire, Wales in April 1939 and was named David Spencer and began a career in music after initially serving in the military.

R.I.P….Remembered through his music…

Take care all of you…xxx

That’s all for Saturday Snippets this week…Stay safe and be well…Wash your hands and please wear a mask when out in public and practise social distancing.

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