This past week we have seen a few Remembrance services to the fallen of Armed Forces around the world…Brave men and women who fought without a thought for their safety for me and you…For their brave actions, I salute you and remember with pride your sacrifice.

I also saw a disturbing video of white flags depicting all those who have died due to the Covid-19 virus and this was just in the US…the figures are utterly horrific…

How anyone can say it is fake, false I don’t know…I am sure figures aren’t totally accurate how could they be every country has a different method of counting but it doesn’t alter the fact that all those flags in this video represent a life lost and not lost for the service of their country but lost by an uncontrolled virus…

I saw this video first on a fellow bloggers post and it shocked me to the core…which is why I have been moved to share it…I can look at numbers but those flags just brought it home to me…

Today is National Pickle Appreciation Day…I love pickles and pickle almost everything…Pickles are also very popular at Christmas time..they can be eaten as an appetiser with some drinks or with some lovely fresh baked bread, cheese and pickles or with cold cuts of meat…we also eat pickled cabbage with crispy pork, rice and pickled cabbage plus a bowl of miso soup…Thais add pickled cabbage as a side to many dishes.

Today I will share a couple of my favourite pickles recipes …

Christmas Pickles…

I pickle anything… we love pickles and since living here have found different ideas for pickling…

Ingredients…

• 2 lb Pickling Onions, peeled.
• 11/2 pints pickling vinegar…I use white vinegar or a mix of apple cider and white vinegar.
• 2tbsp Pickling spices or your mix…again I mix black, white peppercorns, coriander seeds.

Method…2 days before mixing 2pts water with 4 oz salt pour over onions, cover and keep in a cool place. I keep in the fridge due to the heat here.

Then drain the onions and pat dry. Pack into sterilised jars layering pickling spices as you go then pour vinegar over the onions making sure they are completely covered. Store for 4-6 weeks and they ready…They are the crispest onions I have eaten, far better than shop-bought and generally don’t get to 4 weeks let alone 6 weeks as they get dipped into …men!

Today I have pickled Pineapple with Jalapenos for you…We like them a lot something a little different…

Pickled Pineapple with Jalapenos…

Ingredients:

• 300 gm of fresh pineapple cut into smallish chunks
• A handful of shallots finely sliced
• 1 pickled jalapeno sliced
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 1/2 cups of white vinegar
• The juice of 2 fresh limes
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• A handful of chopped coriander

3 sterilised jars with lids.

Let’s Cook!

Heat the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, limes and Jalapenos together and bring to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat add the shallots and leave the mixture to cool down.

 

Spoon the pineapple and coriander into the prepared jars and cover with the vinegar mixture. Add the lids and leave to cool down before putting in the refrigerator.

Leave for 1-2 days before eating.

Enjoy!

N.B Some recipes say use pickled jalapenos and some say to use fresh Jalapenos… I used some I had already pickled this time …I will try fresh ones next time and compare the taste.

If you use pineapple in juice the cut down on the sugar you use.

Next something we love pickled tomatoes…

Pickled red and yellow cherry tomatoes…

Ingredients:

• 30 cherry tomatoes I mixed different colours.
• 1-2 green Thai chillies finely sliced
• 3 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sugar.

 

Let’s get pickled!

Mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Take a cocktail stick and prick the tomatoes a few times this allows the brine to infuse nicely.

Put the tomatoes in a sterilised jar or a Tupperware container and cover with the marinade mix.

Put in the refrigerator …these can be eaten after one day and within 4 days. The juice can then be used as a marinade for fish or added to salads.

I hope you have enjoyed these 3 pickle recipes if you try then please let me know …I like some of these as they don’t have to be left too long and can be eaten almost immediately unlike some pickles like onions which need time to mature..xx

It’s also National Split Pea Soup Week…

“We lived very simply – but with all the essentials of a life well understood and provided for – hot baths, cold champagne, new peas and old brandy.”
Winston Churchill.

No champagne served with my split pea soup…I have made this soup forever and my children all grown up still refer back to it from time to time…A delicious soup with vegetables, a ham hock and lovely homemade fresh bread straight from the oven…

With a soup like this, anything goes in the post then simmered gently until the peas and the meat is tender…It is an ideal way to use up any odd little bits of vegetables…Do you have a favourite split pea soup recipe?

Wellness Corner with Sally Cronin…

I do hope you are all enjoying this series as much as I am… this week Sally is looking at Frankincense…There is also a “recipe” for toothpaste…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2020/11/12/the-medicine-womans-treasure-chest-aromatherapy-frankincense-immune-reproductive-systems-anti-aging-antiseptic-by-sally-cronin/

Watching War on plastic with Hugh and Anita who are fighting against single-use plastics, looking at tea bags and prepacked sandwiches. Then, as Covid-19 hits, they consider the problem of disposable face masks…

Facemasks came up in our house just the other day when young Lily said to me Nannie do I need to take these off before I throw this mask away…I told her I thought that was a good idea and then asked where she got the idea from…This is what the children are being made aware of here that the blue and white face masks not only contain plastic so they don’t biodegrade quickly but so many facemasks are carelessly thrown away as are plastic gloves and causing a problem with sea life…

Teabags were also on their radar as many are biodegradable and contain plastic…Polypropylene which takes thousands of years to breakdown …

Because of Covid, they reckon plastic recycling has soared…and becoming a bigger problem…

Time for some Music…

It will soon be time to bring out the Christmas tunes but I will give one more week…November over the years has been a busy month in the music industry…

November 1965...Ray Charles, I love this song…went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Georgia On My Mind‘, a No.24 hit in the UK. His cover of Hoagy Carmichael’s 1930 standard, became the first of three No.1 hits for the singer.

November 1969 who remembers The Archies? Sugar, Sugar by The Archies was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The single became the longest-running One Hit Wonder in the UK with eight weeks at the top of the charts. It was the first No.1 performed by cartoon characters.

November 1975 we had Queen who kicked off their 78 date Night at the Opera world tour with 2 nights in Liverpool, England at the Empire Theatre…

1981 we had Police with their fourth UK No.1 single with ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’, a No.3 hit in the US.

In November 1987 George Michael had his first solo album “ Faith” which went to numero 1 in the UK charts

November 1992 and 1999 we saw Bon Jovi with ” Keep the Faith” and Robbie Williams…with ” She’s the one”

So many of my favourite tracks among the aforementioned artists…Today I choose…one which is very apt given what is happening…

Did you know?

That in Nov 2015 a pair of white boots worn by Elvis Presley during his famous ’68 Comeback TV Special performance were bought by a UK collector for £29,500, ($44,500). Elvis had worn the size-11 Verde boots while singing ‘If I Can Dream’, 

That’s all for this week and Saturday Snippets…xxx

Thank you for reading….enjoy your weekend, stay safe not only from Covid-19 but the wildfires around the world…xx

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.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

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!

That’s all for today…Enjoy your weekend and stay safe and well xx