Saturday Snippets…22nd May 2021…

Welcome back to Saturday Snippets where I indulge my whimsy and my passions… maybe a tune or two…something which has caught my eye this last week…just anything out of the ordinary or extraordinary…

May is National Inventors Month,  a month-long event celebrating invention and creativity.

Let’s have a look at some of these inventions and creations:-

The first of my great inventions…I mean when it involves ice has to be classed as great…

1851 – John Gorrie received the ice-making machine patent…Dr. John Gorrie (1803 – 1855), an early pioneer in the invention of the artificial manufacture of ice, refrigeration, and air conditioning, was granted the first U.S. Patent for mechanical refrigeration in 1851. Dr Gorrie’s basic principle is the one most often used in refrigeration today; namely, cooling caused by the rapid expansion of gases…initially designed to treat yellow fever patients,

1853 – Gail Borden invented his process for condensed milk.

1931 Canned rattlesnake goes on sale. Packed by George K. End of Arcadia, Florida. Not quite as big a hit as Spam…according to Amazon…” A tin of Canned Rattlesnake is a gift worth a thousand words. … Smoked Rattlesnake is something you have to try to believe”

I don’t mind snakes as my son always had snakes as pets…But you would need suitable attire to catch that bad boy unless of course, they breed them for food…But back in the 1930’s, I’m guessing they were caught the hard way.

Let’s have a tune…From Rattlesnakes to White Snake Band…

How about a Snakebite?…No… you don’t need a shot of anti-venom but you may need a lift home if you drink too many of these…

A snakebite is an alcoholic drink from the United Kingdom. Traditionally, it is made with equal parts of lager and cider. If a dash of blackcurrant cordial is added, it is known as a “snakebite & black” or a “diesel”.

Different regional recipes and names exist. Stout may be used instead of lager in the United States.

Did you know?

Snake venom kills but it also saves lives?

Although the toxins in snake venom can hurt humans, they can also be used as medicine. For example, some snake venom affects blood pressure and blood clotting. Scientists can use this snake venom to develop new drugs to treat illnesses. In fact, the proteins in snake venom have been used to treat many conditions.

Some examples are cancer, pain, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. The venom of other animals, such as spiders and scorpions, has also been used to develop important drug treatments.

In the culinary world, Snake soup or stew is a popular Cantonese delicacy and health supplement in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand we have Snake Beans, Snake gourds, Snake melons, snakebite and snake is also good on the BBQ…Snake meat is light pink in colour. Similar to fish, but snake meat tastes much richer and is chewier than fish.

As a child, I was a Brownie, a girl Guide and also belonged to the Woodland Folk this meant that quite often camping was on the agenda …we used to cook on an open fire and also wind dough around a stick and cook over the fire which we called dampers in Switzerland however they are called Schlangenbrot (snake bread)…bread baked on a stick over a fire is always a firm favourite with kids and adults.

Recipe for 6 small breads

  • 250g plain flour or a mix of plain and brown flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried active yeast
  • half a cup water plus 3 tsp if required  lukewarm water
  • 1.5 tbsps olive oil

Let’s Cook!

Mix the flour and salt. Add the yeast, water and oil and mix until it resembles a dough. Knead the dough for 7 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a kitchen machine.

Place dough into a plastic container and cover with the lid and let it prove for at least 30 minutes and a maximum of 2 hours.

Head to the woods or the BBQ, make your fire and find some fresh twigs (don’t use a too dry stick as it’ll catch fire quickly). Take 1/6th of the bread dough, make a long string and wrap it around the stick. Once the flames have disappeared, cook the bread over the fire. The bread takes between 10 and 20 minutes until fully baked. If you hold it too close to the fire, the outside will be browned and crusty quickly but they will be still doughy inside. If you hold them too far away, they don’t bake for a long time. Just give it a go and see what the ideal distance is.

Eat while still warm!

That’s all for today thank you for dropping in I hope you enjoyed my whimsy… see you tomorrow for my weekly roundup…Love Carol xx

41 thoughts on “Saturday Snippets…22nd May 2021…”

  1. Victoria Zigler

    I was in Brownies and Girl Guides too, and cooked a lot of things over a fire. Though towards the end of my time in Girl Guides we actually had a camping stove instead, which cooked the food more quickly and evenly, but wasn’t quite as fun.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. D. Wallace Peach

    A wonderful little glimpse into many things snake, Carol. I’m not afraid of snakes either (my garden is full of them), though I’m reasonably cautious. I haven’t eaten one, but I’ve heard they are full of bones, so a bit challenging. And I remember cooking dough around the campfire as a kid. I can’t remember what we called it, but what fun memories. Great post.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Yes as is our garden, Diana and it pays to be reasonably cautious and show respect as you say. We called them dampers but not sure of all the names which I am sure they have…lol…I think they might be called Johnny cakes or bush scones in some cultures …Have a great week Diana 🙂 xx

      Liked by 1 person

  5. OIKOS™-Editorial

    Thanky you very much, Carol! Had to make a recurse, because its very interesting to know about the invention of refrigeration, and the making of ice cream. I also love snakes, and in my childhood wanted to have one as a pet. But you can imagine my parents behaviour. Here the serpent is still the embodiment of evil. Lol xx Michael

    Liked by 2 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      As a parent I can relate to those fears..however, I have a sneaky son…lol…he invited his friend to our house with his pet snake I was then introduced to the said snake..a Burmese python no less and persuaded to touch him…the rest is history and a lesson in how to get around your mother…sigh …but I now have a healthy respect for my reptile friends 🙂 x

      Like

      4. CarolCooks2 Post author

        My kids did but in exchange they had to clean them out and feed them..they wanted pets they looked after them they didn’t have it easy but it taught them responsibility 🙂 x

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Pingback: CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…May 16th-22nd May 2021…#Recipes, Whimsy, Music and Lifestyle Changes | Retired? No one told me!

  9. CarolCooks2 Post author

    Yes its a cool idea….The snake theme was because I wanted to focus my mind … I couldn’t think of anything to write so I tried to find snake connections and it worked quite well …maybe I will try that again: x

    Liked by 1 person

  10. petespringerauthor

    I didn’t know there was a Character Network. I like the idea of recognizing positive traits in people. I like how you carried the snake theme in this post, Carol. Whitesnake sure had a run of hits there for a bit.

    Liked by 2 people

  11. johnrieber

    Well Carol, any post that includes the invention of refrigeration, canned Rattlesnake AND a Whitesnake music video is quite the post indeed! Hope you are having a great weekend!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, John…happy you liked it…I was stuck for what to write and homed in on the word snake after I discovered the tinned rattlesnake and thought I might be able to connect the dots…I hope you are having a great weekend 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Pingback: Saturday Snippets…22nd May 2021… – MobsterTiger

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      If you can take the next day off or just stick to a couple as they can be lethal they are worth a try ,Jim and stranger things have happened they could indeed be a distant rellie of yours 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Snake is tasty the only thing I haven’t tried here is rat I just can’t bring myself to eat it…Snakes make lovely pets although many people have a morbid fear of them like they do spiders…:) x

      Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      As my son has always kept pet snakes and lizards I have got used to them, Robbie…Snake is alright to eat it’s the rats as I said to Pete I can’t bring myself to eat them I draw the line at rodents 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.