Saturday Snippets…9th January 2020…

Welcome to this weeks Saturday Snippets…in many ways my favourite post of the week as I can indulge my whimsy…Christmas and New Year are all now done and dusted…the tree and the decorations are all packed away until next year…

The healthy eating is..it is…starting slowly…I start the day with good intentions and then that dang Christmas cake calls me…saying eat me…it does it speaks to me…

This morning in my kitchen…

Morning Glory…which can mean many things to many people, in this case, it is a beautiful Water Spinach which I stir fry with garlic and chillies…

There is no second-guessing kids is there.?.. Our grandson Aston went to the local shop yesterday after school to get a treat for after his dinner…He came back with a big bunch of Morning Glory which is Thai water spinach which he had as an extra vegetable last night and requested it again today…who am I to argue with a kid who loves veggies over sweets…

morning glory fresh from the market

Stir-fried Morning Glory or Pad Pak Boon Fai Daeng is also known as water spinach…It is a very popular vegetable dish in Thailand and one I have for breakfast/brunch quite often with rice.
This is a very quick dish to cook once you have all your ingredients prepared..5 mins at the most.
Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of Morning Glory
  • 4-6 cloves of garlic
  • 3 or more Thai Chillies
  • 2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
  • 1 tbsp of Soy Sauce
  • 1/2-1 tbsp of fermented soybean paste or oil with soya beans ( optional)
  • 1/2 to 1 tbsp of oil
  • Water if req


Let’s Cook!

Wash and cut your morning-glory into 4-6 inch pieces.
Bash the chillies and garlic in a pestle and mortar
Heat the oil in a pan until very hot.
Add the garlic and chillies and stir-fry ( stirring) for 15-20 seconds being careful not to let the garlic burn.

Stirfried Morning Glory
Add morning-glory and all other ingredients except for the vegetable stock.
Stir-fry for 40 seconds and add vegetable stock and stir-fry for another 10 seconds.

That’s it…Done!

Serve with steamed rice or as a side dish.
Enjoy!

Tomorrow is Rod Stewarts Birthday he will be 76 years young…I have been a fan forever ever since those early days when he joined the Small Faces…Rod’s first single was “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”

Controversy has always lurked in the shadows of the Blues and this song courted more than most…originally recorded on 5 May 1937 at The Leland Hotel in Aurora, Illinois by the John Lee Williamson, the original “Sonny Boy”

It was Sonny Boy’s first recording session for Bluebird and he was accompanied by Big Joe Williams and Robert Lee McCoy on guitars. On this version, it was billed as ‘Good Morning, School Girl’, whereas later versions have tended to insert that word “little’ in the title to reflect the lyrics of Sonny Boy’s version.

Although I love Rod Stewart…This version is my favourite by Muddy Waters…

 

Conservation Corner:

Muddy Waters:   Clean drinking water should be a fundamental right …According to this damming report, it isn’t…I really cannot understand how man deliberately continues to pollute our beautiful world will there ever be the day when all this wanton pollution stops?

Muddy Waters: The Pollution Killing Kosovo’s Lakes and Rivers

Did you know?

1972…Rod Stewart’s 1st #1 hit (You Wear it Well)

Written by Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, performed by Stewart. It uses an arrangement markedly similar to that of “Maggie May”, one of Stewart’s hits from the previous year.

Did you know?

Back in January 1660…Samuel Pepys began his famous diary in which he chronicled life in London including the Great Plague of 1664-65 and the Great Fire of 1666.

All those years ago and what have we learnt? Health and safety and so much more was unknown back then but with the advances of science so much more is known now and yet the incidence of virus and cross-contamination seems to be on the increase with more predicted in the future.

Where will it end?

Weird Thai Fruit:

Called lamut khamen in Thai but actually, few Thais know it, and even fewer have tasted it. I suspect that the first tree grown in Thailand came from the seed of fruit taken from across the border in Cambodia, and the grower named it “lamut khamen” after the country or its people (khamen is the Thai word for Cambodian), as he did not know its proper name.

It’s commonly known also as eggfruit or Canistel fruit, because of its flesh that is bright egg yolk-yellow colour and when ripe, is smooth and custardy, similar to a hard-boiled yolk.

The sweet, mousse-like flesh of the canistel makes a great sugar substitute in many recipes.

The most popular way to use canistel is in an eggfruit nog: simply peel a ripe canistel fruit, remove the seeds and combine the flesh in a blender along with milk, sugar, a touch of vanilla extract, and a pinch of grated nutmeg. Blend until smooth.

Canistel also works great in custards, ice cream, spreads, pie fillings, and baked into bread, cakes, and pancakes. Or try it simply blended in with some almond milk, oat milk, or regular old milk for a satisfying smoothie. Lime and honey pair well with the soft notes of canistel, so add a touch according to your taste.

Canistel was also used in an incredible 71-ingredient cocktail to celebrate the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow! Each ingredient was specially selected to represent each of the competing countries in the Games. 

In China, only about two per cent of the population observes Christmas as a religious holiday, although it is gaining in popularity as a commercial event. However, the main winter festival in China is the New Year celebration that occurs at the end of January. Recently, it’s become known as the Spring Festival and is a time of gift-giving and feasting. A key aspect of the Chinese New Year is ancestor worship, and paintings and portraits are brought out and honoured in the family’s home.

For the first time, Chinese New Year has been recognised as a national public holiday here in Thailand.

red lanterns Chinese New Year

Thailand is a traditional Chinese immigration country. Chinese account for about 12% of the country’s population. About 7 million Chinese live in Thailand, which is an important part of Thailand’s multiculturalism and ethnicity.

Each year in the Chinese calendar is represented by one of twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac. 2021 will be the year of the Ox.

Here in Udon Thani where I live we have a big Chinese community..our neighbour’s are of Chinese Thai heritage…My grandson also learns Chinese as part of his school curriculum.

I love the Spring festival as it is very colourful and there is lots of lovely dim sum and other Chinese foods although I am not sure how the quarantine will affect the celebrations this year which are held on February 12th 2021.

As it is Rod’s birthday tomorrow I will finish will one of my favourite tracks …Enjoy!

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

57 thoughts on “Saturday Snippets…9th January 2020…”

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      2. CarolCooks2 Post author

        I picture that, Jennie… I know I don’t I just tell them that in jest… I always with Lily used tell her she wouldn’t like this new food and then when she did I would laugh and say do you have to like everything nannie does now I have to share with you.. 💖

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  5. OIKOS™-Editorial

    Thank you for these great snippets. Best for this Monday too. 😉 Enjoyed em very much! I hope you had a nice weekend, and will start into a sunny – and more like here (C-19 lockdown) week! Michael

    Liked by 1 person

      1. OIKOS™-Editorial

        Thank you for the great and positive news. Only coldness is not very positive this way. But i think in Thailand its only a short intermezzo. Have a great week too, Carol! Here we are again in stronger lockdown, but one can not feel any differences to the normality 😉 Michael

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      3. OIKOS™-Editorial

        Thats sadly true, Carol! Stay save and well too. Here social distancing is much more easier. We have 45 quadratkilometers for around 2700 cititzens, and most time of the year you are only able to see around 200 of them. Lol

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Victoria Zigler (@VictoriaZigler)

    Even if I don’t always comment on them, I love reading these kinds of posts. I especially love when you share information about the traditions of other places, which I really enjoy learning about. The random trivia facts are interesting too. Oh, and I just love thatyour grandkids consider fruit and veggies to be worthy of being brought when they can pick their own treat.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Tori and yes I love that they do that and pick veggies…one of our grandsons in the UK used to pick olives so we always used to take him some when we visited…Even from small babies we used to give tasters of things and I never used to buy baby food I always made my own so they were used to savoury tastes rather than sweet tastes my kids are the sameit doesn’t mean they never eat sweets just as a treat rather than all day and every day… Here fruit and vegetables are sold on every street corner all prepared or cut up while you wait …ready to eat …I hope you are enjoying your new home and are settling in nicely 🙂 x

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  14. Jim Borden

    I like how you snuck Rod in there a few times… 🙂

    I had morning glory for the first time, last year in Singapore. I thought it was quite tasty…

    I also remember the Chinese New Year being celebrated in Singapore while we were there; seemed like a pretty big deal…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      It is here, Jim…I am having morning glory again this morning it cooks really quickly and I have Aston on my case he loves it…Oh he has snuck into todays as well its his birthday today…x Have a enjoyable Sunday x

      Liked by 1 person

  15. koolkosherkitchen

    I wish we had canistel fruit here, Carol; it sounds tempting. I used to buy water spinach at my favorite farm store, now closed because of Covid. I stir-fried it, much as you do. Love Rod Stewart too!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      That’s shame Dolly hopefully once covid is over you can once again get some water spinach…It is treat here as it is a rarity like my water chestnuts I can only find them at really small very local markets and Rod he is Rod and always my favourite rocker…stay safe dear Dolly…Hugs xx

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  16. petespringerauthor

    You got a laugh out of me with the “Christmas cake calling your name.” I can picture it—”Carol, come here. Yes, I mean you, Carol. Forget all that healthy eating for one day, Carol. What harm can it do?”🤣 That troublemaker has been at our house during the pandemic.

    Isn’t it great that your grandson chose veggies over sweets? That isn’t an accident. Eating habits are learned behaviors. I’m sure your influence has a lot to do with his choice.

    I like learning about the traditions of other places, and you are always good about including that.

    Rod Stewart looks remarkably good for his age, and his voice is still strong.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Yes, Pete…Rod Stewart certainly wears it well..Haha… pleased I elicted a smile/laugh, Pete but it truly speaks to me… that’s my tale and I am sticking to it…Yes I do believe habits are learned Aston loves food and proper food as he puts it I mean god forbid that this child would eat toast or cereals for breakfast he has to have a proper brunch and the same if he was offered egg and chips that would get the thumbs down ..he has been spoilt with his meals but at least he eats proper food so that’s good …I hope all is well where you are with this covid and you and your family are staying safe, Pete 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

      1. petespringerauthor

        We’re hanging in there. I think my wife struggles with the byproducts of COVID more than I do. She is such a social person and enjoys being out and about with her friends.

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  20. beetleypete

    I have a couple of hardback versions of Pepys’ diary. I love how he buried his large parmesan cheese in case it was burned up by the Great Fire. Shows how valuable ti was back then!
    I remember Rod Stewart in The Long John Baldry Group, as long ago as 1964. But I always preferred the original Small Faces, with Steve Marriot.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  21. Darlene

    That is so great that your grandson enjoys vegetables! My sone preferred fruit over candies as a little boy and still does as an adult. Love Rod Stewart as well. Thanks!

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Regina Martins

    The Thai water spinach looks yummy. I have fond memories of my trip to Thailand and can’t wait to be able to travel there again. We went from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by road and train. Next time we will explore a different part.

    Liked by 1 person

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