Saturday Snippets… 2nd January 2021…

Good morning and it is a cold one here…I have sox on for the first time in 8 years, leggings, a t/shirt and a sloppy jumper…My hands were cold but between typing and kneading the bread they have warmed up somewhat…

I am seeing beautiful images of newly laid snow and I know for many of you it is much colder but I am used to warmth and 11 degrees is cold for me…hence the sox…

Show business and the music industry is well known for being fickle…such is life you could say…it was back on the 1st January 1962 and the Fab Four aka The Beatles travelled all the way from Liverpool to the Decca Studios in London for a recording audition.

Being nervous, the audition didn’t go too well and a few weeks later their manager Brian Epstein was told ” they didn’t have a future in the show business”

As it is debatable who made that decision I am sure they lived to regret that error of judgement or maybe it spurred the band members to step it up a notch…The rest is history…

Subsequent signings, among others, included the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Moody Blues, the Small Faces and Tom Jones all who all had/have long careers in the industry…

Did you know?

J.R.R. Tolkien Day on January 3 is “The Lord of the Rings” author’s birthday and you’re encouraged to toast him in celebration. You may remember from the story that Frodo toasts his Uncle Bilbo on Bilbo’s birthday every year. Now, over sixty years after the trilogy’s original publication, The Tolkien Society asks fans to honour Tolkien’s birth, which itself was January 3, 1892.

Conservation Corner:

A hundred years ago, cargo bikes were the standard vehicle for many trades and deliveries. In actual fact, cargo bikes are still the norm here in Thailand and even hand-pushed carts are still used…Whether its to bring round brushes and brooms or to sharpen knives and garden tools or to collect bottles and cardboard a hand cart is still in daily use…

It seems like Copenhagen are calling themselves the cargo bike capital of the world…

Did you know?

The arrival of liquid soap and its wasteful packaging has caused a downturn in the sales of bar soap…The arrival of covid-19 has seen a surge in sales all these adverts promoting washing your hands properly with bar soap has helped …both the sales and the environment.

Between 2014-15, sales of bar soap fell 2.2 per cent compared to overall market growth of 2.7 per cent. But now, following decades of decline, bar soap appears to be back in the game. Sales of bar soap have climbed by nearly 3 per cent over the past year, according to data research by Kantar Worldpanel. And sales of bar soap grew faster than both liquid soaps and shower products over the period. “For the first time this century,” Kantar Worldpanel’s strategic insight director, Tim Nancholas, said, “barred soap is making a return.” Seriously, this really is cause for celebration.

Going from despairing at the waste in the world I am now becoming optimistic and although Covid-19 is scaring me with increased infections it is also giving me hope for a less wasteful future when I see changes like this…

Bloggers Corner:

This is one of(so) many of my favourite tunes…Here the old and the new have been remixed…

I love it! First seen (by) me over @ Smorgasbord Magazine...

National Soup Month:

I love a bowl of soup my favourite since I was a child has been tomato soup and although here we have beautiful soups like Tom Yum Goong…I still love a bowl of tomato soup…

Ingredients:

  • 8 or 9 tomatoes, cored and quartered
  • 3 red bell peppers, seeded and quartered
  • 2 small yellow onions, cut into wedges
  • 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 5 cups homemade vegetable broth
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  • olive oil

Let’s Cook!

Tomato and Red Pepper Soup.

Preheat the oven 375F/190C

Grease two baking sheets and place tomatoes skin side down on one, then lightly coat the peppers and onions in olive oil and place on the other baking tray also throw the unpeeled garlic into the tray…Pop it in your preheated oven for about 45 minutes.

When the tomatoes and peppers are roasted heat your vegetable stock in a pan big enough to take the tomatoes and peppers. Add your roasted tomatoes and peppers to the vegetable stock and simmer for 15 minutes.

Tomato and red pepper Soup.

 

Allow your soup to cool slightly and then either using a stick blender or your liquidiser blend to your desired consistency…Taste and season.

Serve with a swirl of cream or natural yoghurt if liked…

Enjoy!

I love Christmas Carol’s and New Year Songs…I heard this version of Auld Lang Syne on Songs for the New Year/cliveblogs…by Mindy Smith.

Pop over to Clive’s as he has a few other New Year songs which I hadn’t heard and some Abba if they are your choice…something for all tastes…

New Year Resolutions:

I gave up making them years ago as I never kept them and many things like if you smoke pledging to give up ..you don’t as something like that you have to really want to give up so a new year pledge to me is pointless…

Most New Year’s resolutions fail. A study from the United Kingdom’s Royal Society of Public Health found that “quitting smoking is the most difficult resolution to keep.” Only 4 % of those who attempt to quit smoking unaided remain smoke-free one year later. Another study, from the University of Scranton, found only 8 % of people who make resolutions meet their goal. This is known as “false hope syndrome.”

However…Coronavirus: Smokers quit in highest numbers in a decade.

Myself, I completed a dry November and intend to complete a dry January…December was not dry…I am also committing to Meat-free Mondays and cooking more plant-based meals…I have gradually been cutting down..not out …meat… part of my personal drive to reduce my carbon footprint and take another step forward in my pledge to be more environmentally friendly…read my story in my new column over at Smorgasbord Magazine starting on Wednesday, January  20th 2021.

These are not New Year Resolutions but lifestyle changes...helped by one’s other half who continues to astound me every day with his newfound thirst for health aided by his first electronic device…yesterday he was extolling the virtues of drinking green tea…This is a meat and two veg man who has never listened to me or tried any of my drinks he just drinks English tea and now he is exploring ginger and green tea and after years of me trying to get him to quit smoking now he has done his own research…he has said he is giving up smoking…Which proves it is never too late to learn…

Thank you for popping in today I hope you have enjoyed the first Saturday Snippets of 2021…as always I look forward to your comments as you all know I love to chat…Thanx Carol xx

45 thoughts on “Saturday Snippets… 2nd January 2021…”

  1. robbiesinspiration

    We are also having much cooler weather than is normal for this time of year. It has actually been lovely not to be uncomfortable and boiling hot but it is unusual. Thanks for all these great bits of information, Carol. Very interesting.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I have Jennie…I am pleased you have enjoyed Saturday Snippets I enjoy writing them …I hope your first days have gone well in your new classroom …Happy New Year xx

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. koolkosherkitchen

    So you had a cold morning, darling? We just came back from a New Year escape to Key Largo, where we sat on warm sand, feet in warm ocean water, drinking nice Italian Prosecco, and watched spectacular fireworks shooting from a barge no more than 50 ft away from us.
    I am making sushi and will raise a glass of sake to Tolkien – one of my favorite authors.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I did, darling but this week it has warmed up somewhat…Your little sojourn to Key Largo sounds delightful I can’t wait to wriggle my toes in the sand once again…Tolkien is one my favourites and I have raised a glass of Gaelic coffee to him something I haven’t partaken of for a while and it is my last guilty(not) enjoyable pleasure before I slip back onto the healthy eating bandwagon…Be well and stay safe Hugs xx

      Liked by 1 person

      2. CarolCooks2 Post author

        Haha…you guessed correctly dear Dolly…A shot of strong coffee, sugar, a tot of brandy was in mine but rum or whiskey has been tried and a layer of cream on the top through which you sip your coffee…I will take a picture next time I make one…The trick is to stir the coffee and pour the cream over the back of a spoon so it sits on top of the coffee…xx

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  9. Victoria Zigler (@VictoriaZigler)

    LOL! You’re wearing socks and a jumper in 11 degrees, and I was out in flipflops and a pair of cotton short-sleeved pyjamas checking out our snow in -3 degrees temperatures this morning. Can’t you tell I’m much more of a cold weather fan than you are? 😉

    Well done to your other half. Lifestyle changes are always a better idea than new year’s resolutions. I don’t make resolutions either. I do set some goals at the start of the year for things I’d like to achieve by the end of that year, but that’s it.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Jacquie Biggar

    My hubby is a smoker. He’s tried to quit a few times over the years using different methods, but until you’re ready… one day, hopefully. Meanwhile, he’s active in the garden, so that helps with his overall health.
    Hope your cold blast is a short one, Carol. Happy New Year!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Happy New Year, Jacquie.. Alan is always out side in the garden which as you say helps with overall health he hardly sits still… Cold spell will just be a few weeks… x

      Liked by 1 person

  12. petespringerauthor

    I have a personal story of a friend who smoked for decades who finally gave it up. We used to play a lot of racquetball together. It took a bit of time, but his endurance improved significantly after he gave up smoking. It is never too late. Good for your husband!

    It may seem like a subtle difference in language, but I prefer the term “lifestyle changes” far more than “New Year’s resolutions.” A New Year’s resolution for many comes with the expectation that it will be broken soon. A lifestyle change sounds and feels permanent. I made a lifestyle change to start exercising regularly over three and a half years ago. I’m still at it. I was going to the gym a lot, but when that closed due to Covid, I began walking (every day). It’s part of my life now as it seems as regular as brushing my teeth. My arthritic back makes it more challenging, but I know how important it is to remain active.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I also prefer lifestyle changes, Pete as they really are… it is or should be a better way of eating for the future…healthwise and for the planet…A shame about your back but at least you are doing something which although it might not cure it helps with your mobility which is vital as the years advance. Well done, Pete x

      Like

  13. beetleypete

    I gave up smoking in 2012 by switching to a vape. It wasn’t a new year pledge, it was because it was simply too expensive to keep buying cigarettes on a pension.
    We have chicken and garlic soup for dinner tonight, with fresh bread. A break from eating roast meats and delicacies left over from Christmas.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Well done for giving up smoking whatever your reasons it is a plus for your health as well as the pocket. The soup sounds lovely I do love a bowl of soup, in fact, I could easily live on soup for a while…Stay well and safe x

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

    Thanks for all the snippets Carol and the link… interesting about the bars of soap..in fact I bought a pack of simple soap this year for the first time.. I do use bars of teatree soap for bathing and they tend to last a lot longer than the liquid soaps.. Lovely Mindy Smith video and version… and great soup recipes.. will put in the Blogger Daily on Monday..♥

    Liked by 1 person

  17. markbierman

    An interesting factoid piece, Carol. I am glad to see that COVID is having a positive impact on the environment from the liquid to bar soap conversion. There is unfortunately, a number of people who think that parking lots and rural roads are the perfect places to drop their masks. . . why? I wish I could catch someone and ask them. On another topic, you mentioned several important dates. My daughter received a calendar for Christmas that tells what each day is celebrating . . . there is actually a date reserved for the celebration of ‘Nothing’ 🙂 All the best to you and yours in the New Year, Carol!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Wow…that had happen I suppose celebrating “Nothing”…People just astound me how they think it is ok to droptheir litter, Mark . Yes soap is one of the many positives but it is scary how fast it is now escalating that worries me …Be safe and well…Happy New year to you and yours 🙂
      .

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Darlene

    Well done to your hubby! I love hearing stories like that. I´m sure you were a big influence. Happy New Year and stay warm. It s cold here n Spain too. Not used to it!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      For the first time in 8 yrs I had sox on up until about lunch time and still have a jumper on although the sun is out now…Probably like you 11 degrees is cold to me I am acclimatised and used to the warmth… Yes, he is really getting into researching and talking about it which he never has, Darlene…makes it easier for me when I am trying to tweak his diet he is far more receptive to changes…Stay safe and warm 🙂 x

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