Category Archives: The Culinary Alphabet

CarolCooks2…Weekly Roundup…Quinine, Quiche, Green Curry and more…

Welcome to this weeks roundup of my posts, as usual, I have a collection of posts a bit like pick and mix something for everyone a potpourri of food and ideas…And of course opinions…haha…A good mixture of posts again this week with some changes which I hope you like…If you are ready then grab a drink find your favourite spot, settle down and let’s have a read…

great reads a weekly roundup lady with electronic reader

Firstly it was Mondays posts which I have decided to intermingle with Thursday’s post as the subject of recycling and waste go hand in hand one thing affects the other or is affected by the other…

cartoon woman recycling

Recycling most of us do it some more than others but we trust that whoever collects our recycling then disposes of it correctly that does not appear to be the case…I also looked at the fact that if we recycled all our plastic and everyone done the same it would cause problems so we looked at reusing what we had with some adjustments and then when it needed replacing to find a recyclable option…

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/06/17/recycling-in-the-home-the-facts-the-truth/

It was then over to Sally’s Health Column and her factual easy to understand look at Listeria and how dangerous it can be…Definitely, a must read as it is better to be prepared which you will know if you were a girl Guide or a Scout…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/06/17/smorgasbord-health-column-food-safety-lysteria-you-cannot-see-it-but-it-sees-you-the-perfect-host-sally-cronin/

Tie for some Healthy eating which is my tried and tested way of losing weight…I know that no one size fits all but surely it is better to eat some of what you fancy but bearing moderation in mind rather than totally denying yourself anything delicious and giving up when you hit a plateau, have a holiday or night out…

Thai Green Curry

And yes, Thai Green Curry is on my menu and very good it is…I am also on track to mislay at least another pound this week…

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/06/18/eat-smart-eat-healthily-no-excuses/

Whimsical Wednesdays are a mix of anything I want to share with you …This week it was a luscious Martini Espresso, Two short stories from me and much more…You will have to click on the link to read all about it…Let me know what you think as I am having a little change about…

red-rose-1056852_640

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/06/19/whimsical-wednesday-with-carol/

Thursdays will now be Treats and traditions from my travels this week it was Thailand and sea gipsies and of course much more…

priang Prai restaurant view.jpg 1

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/06/20/thailand-travel-and-traditions/

Once a month it is when I am over @ Esme’s Salon where if you often puzzle over a culinary term then I am exploring those culinary terms which may cause you to frown and wonder what on earth it is…This month it was the letter Q which covered many terms from Quince to Quinine…

gin tonic

https://esmesalon.com/the-culinary-alphabet-the-letter-q/

Lastly, it was this week in my kitchen where it was what fruit and vegetables are in season in June, some recipes, home recycling and my homemade Chettinad Curry Powder…

curry-plants

Mt beautiful curry plants/trees when they were babies…

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/06/21/this-week-in-my-kitchen-chettinad-chicken-masala-and-more/

That’s all for this week have a great weekend…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!

MeWe

More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will on mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all are having a great weekend and have a creative week ahead xx

The Culinary Alphabet …The Letter Q…

4 Replies

The culinary alphabet 11th June 2019

It is that time of the month when I am over @Esme’s Salon for my posts on the Culinary Alphabet…Have you visited her new look blog?…. I am trawling through the Culinary Alphabet and today it is the letter Q FOR quince ( they make) lovely jelly and quadriller…Have you heard of that culinary term ???

The quince looks similar to the pear and is bright golden when it is ripe although that creamy white flesh turns into a deep, dusky red colour when it is cooked.

quince jam-276805_640

The quince is high in pectin which makes it perfect for preserves and jellies and that is what I remember my mum making with quinces a lovely jam. Raw it has a tart, astringent taste and the smell is likened to that of a tropical fruit it is also packed with Vitamin C.

Quadriller

Is a term used for crosses cut on food for food presentation.

Queso

Queso Blanco is Spanish and is unaged fresh cheeses made from cows milk although sometimes goats milk is added to the mix it is also said that it is known in some cases to be the cause of food poisoning.

Quail

The Quail is a small ground resting game bird which is very popular in French cuisine and often seen on TV cooking shows looking very fancy. Part of the peasant family the Common Quail has been replaced by the domesticated Japanese Quail as the bones in a quail are small they are commonly eaten and not removed from the carcass. The quail is very popular in Thailand and often found on the street markets here…Roasting away and very delicious.

Quail’s Eggs

Quails eggs are something of a delicacy and often made into small scotch eggs on posh menus. Here they are classed as street food and sold fried and served with fish sauce and are one of my favourite snacks.

To read the rest of the post Click Here

Thank you so much for reading my posts. I do hope you have enjoyed them if you have please share on your favourite social media and thank you to Esme who hosts me every month. xxx

About Carol Taylor:

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

MeWe

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all are having a great weekend and have a creative week ahead xx

The Culinary Alphabet…The letter O…

3 Replies

Welcome to this month’s The Culinary Alphabet beginning with the letter O bought to you by moi @ CarolCooks2…I can be found over at Esme’s every month come see what interesting ingredients I find as I saunter through the Culinary Alphabet...

It seems to me that the time is just flying by… Thai New Year celebrations finished yesterday and it is Easter this weekend in many cultures…Spring is here and I am seeing lots of pictures of lovely spring flowers which I love.

The letter O…Not as many culinary terms or fruits or vegetables beginning with O but I have a few for you, I hope you enjoy!

Oats

As kids in the winter months, my mum always started our day with a bowl of oats and when it is cold there is no better start to the day…Oats are whole grain, meaning the grain is intact and the kernel is composed of three distinct parts: the bran, endosperm, and germ. Because they are whole grain, they have more nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and fibre, than other processed grains. Oats also have more soluble fibre than most grains, much of which is beta-glucan, thought to be beneficial for cholesterol.

Oats are naturally gluten-free, however, many oats get introduced to gluten-containing grains, like wheat, rye, barley, and spelt during farming, transportation, and storage. They become contaminated with gluten and therefore are no longer considered gluten-free. If you are looking for 100% gluten-free oats, they must be labelled, gluten-free, so don’t assume any oat is gluten-free.

As a child, my porridge was served with brown sugar or salt now it now is served with all manner of toppings my favourite being a fruit compote or maple syrup (as) a treat…How do you like your oats?

Easy to make oats to top your yoghurt or porridge.

Quick crunchy Oats

1 cup of uncooked oats
1/4 cup of brown sugar
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon powder ( optional)

Let’s Bake!

Mix all 3 ingredients together and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes stirring I love to add a bit of cinnamon

Allow to cool and top your porridge or yoghurt.

O’Brien Potatoes

A dish of pan-fried potatoes with red and green bell papers and onions said to originates in The US in the 1900s although no one can agree on which state and another pool of thought is that it was an Irish militant named William Smith O’Brien 1803-1864 who was the only person with that name who had an association with potatoes.

Ocean Pout

ocean pout congo eel

Photo credit: Neil DeMaster on VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-ND

Is an eelpout found in the NorthWest Atlantic ocean off the coast of New Zealand and eastern Canada…It has antifreeze proteins in its blood, giving it the ability to survive in near-freezing waters. The ocean pout is an eel-like fish that grows in very cold waters of the North Atlantic. Said to have very sweet meat and it has few bones but is not a popular commercial fish. This is partly because of its appearance and also due to parasitic outbreaks in the mid-twentieth century. Not a fish I have tried but often little known fish are very tasty…Below is a recipe I found for eelpout.

http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/recipes/display/bycategory.php/recipe_id/568/id/34/

Other names: Pout, Eelpout; Congo Eel; Muttonfish

To enjoy the rest of this post and discover what else I have found please follow this link…

About Carol Taylor:

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 I bid you 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!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

MeWe is a new social media and one which many of us are turning to mainly migrating over to as FB has banned many of my friends and for what seems no good reason that we can see I hope you will join us there.

MeWe: mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all having a great week xx

The Culinary Alphabet…The letter N…Nutmeg, Nettles and Noodles…

Nage

In French, “a la nage” means “in the swim”. The classic definition of nage is a stock typically used to poach seafood, especially fish. Traditionally, nage is a broth flavoured with vegetables, white wine as well as herbs. However, nage is also the cooking technique of simmering something gently in a flavourful broth. This broth can be served as a light sauce at the same time to accompany the main dish.

This was also one of the cooking terms that I didn’t know in fact I don’t recall hearing it before so a learning curve for me…

Nicoise Salad

A descriptive term for dishes served with particular foods used by the chefs of the City of Nice, France. This garnish usually includes garlic, tomatoes, anchovies, black olive, capers, and lemon juice. Salad Nicoise is the most famous of all these dishes, consisting of potatoes, olives, green beans, and vinaigrette dressing.

To read the remainder of the post and discover what else I have found beginning with N you will need to head over to Esme’s Salon…her site has had a makeover and it looks very nice now..Look forward to seeing you there…

https://esmesalon.com/the-culinary-alphabet-the-letter-n/

About Carol Taylor:

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology

Connect with Carol
Blog: https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

CarolCooks2…Weekly Roundup…The sourdough saga continues…

12 Replies

Welcome to my weekly roundup of posts I hope you have all had a productive week with lots of creative thoughts, no kitchen disasters and if you have please tell…haha

My week started with sourdough starter Take 3…I also found new Green Tea and some beautiful wild rice as I am making adjustments to my eating habits …Day 12 and no sundowners( daily tipple aka booze…Go ME!…being more vigilant on the added sugars and getting really excited as my big boy (son) Numero 1 is visiting next weekend…Yes, I will shed a tear as it has been nearly 3 years although Lily told me I was too old to cry…haha…

Weekly roundup…Let’s begin!

You know the routine by now…Settle down in your favourite chair, grab a drink and enjoy!

great reads a weekly roundup lady with electronic reader

Let’s Begin…

Valentines Day Roses, hearts and flowers and maybe a cuddly toy… I hope you all had a lovely Valentines day with your sweethearts…The cuddly toys and flowers were lining every street and corner here…Outside the schools…Isn’t young love grand???

My darling grandson came home with a bunch of flowers for me…Bless him… I am guessing bought from his lunch money which made them all the more special.

lilac and white flowers wrapped in brown paper

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/02/12/be-my-valentine-13th-february/

The subject of fibre in our diets was the subject of my Healthy Eating post and how most of us fall short of the daily recommended guidelines. Processed foods lack fibre having generally been stripped of all their goodness…white rice, pasta and bread all are low on fibre…Fibre keeps us fuller for longer…so we are less likely to snack…I know it is hard to introduce brown rice, wholemeal pasta and better bread to ourselves and our families…Many kids and adults are resistant to change…Introduce it slowly as the saying goes…Slowly, Slowly catchee monkey…I wrote a post on the subject and the origins of the phrase…Truly…haha

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/02/12/healthy-eating-no-more-diets-fibre-are-you-getting-enough/

Still, on the Valentines theme, my weekly food column over at Sally’s was a valentines menu …Sally picked some of my recipes and collated them and very nice choices she made…Thank you, Sally x

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/02/13/smorgasbord-blog-magazine-food-and-cookery-column-with-carol-taylor-st-valentines-day-thai-three-course-dinner/

Time for my weekly Waste Not! Want Not! The subject was plastic and cigarette butts…

Did you know? For 32 consecutive years, cigarette butts have been the single most collected item on the world’s beaches, with a total of more than 60 million collected over that time. That amounts to about one-third of all collected items and more than plastic wrappers, containers, bottle caps, eating utensils and bottles, combined.

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/02/14/waste-not-want-not-week-11/

It was then over to Esme’s for my monthly column on the Culinary Alphabet…Please head over and check it out the letter this month is M … Mango, Miso, Mirepoix and more…

mango sticky coconut rice Thai dessert

How many culinary terms /food items can you think of beginning with M? I challenge you!

https://esmesalon.com/the-culinary-alphabet-the-letter-m/

Next, I take you through my week in my kitchen ..triumphs and disasters…Oh Yes! I have them…haha

I am trying to show you that my recipes are all cooked from scratch contain healthy ingredients which have proven health benefits…I am trying to break the mould or the myths that healthy food is bland and/or boring…There seems to be a barrier to me… we just need to know our food and what the benefits to our health is and cook accordingly.

I don’t spend hours in the kitchen and I don’t think that I buy special foods or expensive foods and I certainly don’t feel deprived in any way at all…It is also foods which we all eat ..grandkids included although we limit the heat for little Lily or take her portion out before we add all the chilli.

This week I also tried something I never thought I would…I read about it over @ John Reiber’s blog and made my comment and forgot about it…That is until one’s grandson came in and asked for some money as 7/11 had this new wonderful drink I didn’t take much notice and he then came home with a Tea and cheese drink… Yep, all in the same cup…To read all about it…Head over to my Friday’s post…

matcha tea with cheese

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/02/15/week-7-in-my-kitchen-my-sourdough-is-alive-and-kicking/

Finally to end the week it was over to Sally’ for Size Matters…The sequel…

Sally’s posts on Health Matters are easy to read, factual and you don’t need to buy special foods it is just knowing what part the foods we eat play in our overall health…Balances and healthy…Also about our feelings and why sometimes we cannot shift that weight …This week it is looking at Candida Albicans a very informative post and it included much I didn’t know or was aware of…Sally knows her stuff xx

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/02/16/smorgasbord-health-column-size-matters-the-sequel-candida-albicans-sally-cronin/

Spoiler Alerts!

whats next post it note

Chinese New Year…Part 2 The Lantern Festival…Great new incentives to cut our carbon footprints and reduce packaging…six pack ( no ) not those…haha…although I could oblige with a pic, ladies??? Seriously six-pack rings which are food for turtles instead of killing them…

No more spoilers…You will have to wait and see…xxx

Enjoy your Sunday and thank you for reading …xx

If you liked what you read please let me know in comments I love to hear all your comments xxx

About Carol Taylor:

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

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week xx

The Culinary Alphabet: The letter M

4 Replies

carolcooks 2 culinary alphabet M

Welcome to this month’s The Culinary Alphabet my monthly guest post over @ Esme’s Salon this month it is the letter M which means I am exactly halfway through the alphabet.

Starting with Mayonnaise which is so much better made from scratch and it is also easy to do…

Mayonnaise

There is nothing like homemade mayo once you have made it you will never buy a shop made one ever again.

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks
1 tsp of mustard
240 ml of good olive oil
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp of lemon or lime juice.

Put the egg whites in a bowl with the Cider vinegar and blend gently until they are well mixed. With the blender still going slowly start to add the olive oil starting with just a drop and increasing to a steady stream as the mayo starts to thicken. Blend well until the mayo is your desired thickness and season to your taste.

How easy is that?

Mascarpone

A silky and slightly sweet Italian cheese which is made using only two ingredients whole cream and citrus which is why it is easy to make at home. Because of its high butter content, it spoils quickly so once opened it should be used quickly. It is made using no rennet so is suitable for vegetarians. It is used to make that traditional Italian dessert of Tirasamu, to thicken soups, it can be added to mac and cheeses for a creamier sauce and makes a lovely dip when herbs are added.

Now you have had a little taster…something to tickle those taste buds you will have to pop over to Esme’s to see what else begins with the letter M…x

https://esmesalon.com/the-culinary-alphabet-the-letter-m/

About Carol Taylor:

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

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great Valentines Day xx

The Culinary Alphabet…The Letter L

4 Replies

Welcome to this month’s The Culinary Alphabet beginning with the letter L, bought to you by moi @ CarolCooks2.

I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas and the New Year brings you Good Health and much happiness. I would also like to wish Esmé a Happy New Year filled with love and good health and thank her for letting me loose once again.

Starting with Lamb which is one of my favourite meats although not so easily available here. We enjoy Lamb when it is available to buy…

Egyptian Lamb Flatbreads

Ehyptian-lamb-flatbreads

Cold lamb is not very nice so we decided to make some flatbreads..a first for me I was really pleased with how they came out..very quick and easy to make and a great use for the leftover lamb they made a change to shepherds pie.

To read the rest of the post and to get the recipe then head over to Esme’s Salon…

https://esmesalon.com/the-culinary-alphabet-beginning-with-the-letter-l/

About Carol Taylor

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits, and vegetable ones 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.

I am also very much into waste and pollution both on land and the sea.

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology

Connect with Carol

Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week

Retired? No one told me!

Tonight I Dream. Tomorrow I Do!

Category Archives: The Culinary Alphabet

CarolCooks2…Weekly Roundup…Quinine, Quiche, Green Curry and more…

About Carol Taylor:

MeWe

Connect to Carol

The Culinary Alphabet …The Letter Q…

Quadriller

Queso

Quail

Quail’s Eggs

About Carol Taylor:

MeWe

Connect to Carol

The Culinary Alphabet…The letter O…

Oats

Quick crunchy Oats

O’Brien Potatoes

Ocean Pout

About Carol Taylor:

Connect to Carol

The Culinary Alphabet…The letter N…Nutmeg, Nettles and Noodles…

Nage

About Carol Taylor:

CarolCooks2…Weekly Roundup…The sourdough saga continues…

The Culinary Alphabet: The letter M

Mayonnaise