I love Saturdays as the small traders come with their produce from their little bit of land this is where I find the unusual the fruits or vegetables which are not raised commercially but just local grown like they have been for centuries…I am also pleased to see how many of the stalls now are ditching the plastic and using banana leaves to wrap foods…

Lively and bustling the markets here sell everything from meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, curry pastes, rice, clothing, garden pots and knives you name it it is sold here…On a Saturday I will share with you what I have found…

My very first taste of really fresh honey when I came here was from a seller on the beach…we were sitting on the beach having a sundowner…..fending off the ever-present sellers of touristy bits and bobs…….When a man appeared carrying a very heavy-looking bucket ….what did he have…I couldn’t resist I had to look and what a surprise…it was fresh, very fresh honeycomb..and he strained into a bottle…it was the most glorious bottle of fresh honey…just had to purchase..it tastes so fresh and very lightly scented with floral notes and a beautiful golden colour…

The lovely honeycomb pictured is what Lily brought with her from the farm…she loves honey as much as I do…especially when it is as fresh as this is…she knows how much Nannie loves it as well…

I love Apricots and have only been able to purchase them here brined in salt which are ok they take a little getting used to until now that is and I spied these much smaller than the Apricots I have eaten in the UK but the same furry skins and taste just smaller. I think maybe I will do some in syrup or a light juice not sure I am looking at recipes at the moment…They are not big enough to stuff but maybe I can use in rice for a change or maybe a chutney or stuffing…Has anyone got any ideas?

The pineapple season is in full swing so much fruit at the moment as it is our high season and hot it topped 40C today…I love pineapple shakes and just eating the lovely sweet fruit it seems so much juicier here…I also love pickled pineapple …pickled with jala[eno peppers they are perfect with cheese…

• 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.

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.

N.B Some recipes say use pickled jalapenos and some say to use fresh Jalapenos… I use either …

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

If you enjoy pickles what unusual pickles do you make????? Please let me know in the comments…I would love to know 🙂 x

Mangoes...again so many at the moment ours are not ripe yet to eat but the markets are full of them…I for one cannot resist I buy mine from a little old lady she doesn’t many like the others just s few and often I have to give her a gentle shake as she is dozing they have a very early start probably about 4 in the morning and are there most of the day so it is a common sight to see stallholders dozing off in a corner…today I spied the lovely Majong fruit which is now in season, green mango, lots of herbs and some fish.

Majong fruit is the smallish lemon coloured fruit on the left-hand side of the image…This lovely fruit has a very short season and is likened to the mango but the taste is nothing like a mango…Also called the Marian Plum by some this small, oval-shaped fruit, small enough to fit wholly within the palm of your hand, is green when young, but will turn a deep yellow-orange when ripe.

Many Thais prefer to eat this fruit before it is fully ripened…a cross between mango and plum, with just a hint of sour flavour on the surface right under the skin which gives way to a sweet fruit beneath.  It’s a lovely combination of sweet and sour, which many look forward to eating each year! In fact, the entire fruit is edible, from the skin to seed, however, the seed is quite bitter, so not many will eat them.  The leaves are used cut up in salads or cooked.

Due to its short season, it is one of the more expensive fruits ..it is high in Vitamin C, fibre and has quite a high water content…I like this fruit very much.

That’s all for this weeks Saturday Market…

Thank you for reading this post I hope you have enjoyed xxx

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 weekend xxx