Category Archives: The Culinary Alphabet

CarolCooks2…Weekly roundup…Climate Change, Health, Recipes …Week ending 19th Oct 2019…

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Welcome to this weeks roundup…What a week …Lily is here for the school holidays so we have been baking… she loves making cakes and helping to prepare dinner she loves chopping veggies as much as she loves eating them her favourite vegetables being broccoli and cabbage she is always asking for seconds…bless her.

Aston is staying in the village with his other nan and has been busy collecting wild honey I didn’t realise he knew quite so much about bees…

I am still having laptop woes and limited to what I can do on mine but hopefully the end is in sight… in the meantime I am PC sharing where I can…good fun…not!

What has been going on this week and no I am not discussing Brexit although I was watching the House of Parliament live yesterday to the bitter end…

great reads a weekly roundup lady with electronic reader

Anyway enough of my chatter…Grab a drink it is time to settle down, relax and have a read something for everyone…Enjoy!

Monday…

I always try to bring you a mixture of the good that is happening around the world and also some of the not so good…I was concerned this week about some of the antics I saw about Extinction Rebellion…It didn’t make good reading and although I agree with some of their views I do not think the actions of some has helped their cause and in fact has probably had the opposite effect…

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/10/14/latest-recycling-and-environmental-news-14th-october-2019/

Tuesday… Healthy Eating…

Healthy - Vegetables- Fruit- Lady

Healthy Eating

I was absolutely shocked to hear that figures were out and England saw a rise for the fourth consecutive year that severe obesity in school year 6 has broken records, and it is up more than a third since 2006.
Levels of severe obesity among children in the last year of primary school have hit an all-time high, according to official figures that have dismayed public health experts…I don’t know about dismaying public health experts it is dismaying me…

Much needs to be done by parents, schools and governments to halt this epidemic once and for all….

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/10/15/healthy-eating-childhood-obesity/

Wednesday…Whimsical Wednesday to be exact…

Let the fun and nostalgia begin…I covered World Food Day, the opening of Disney and lots more…Enjoy!

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/10/16/whimsical-wednesday-with-carol-14/

It was also the day when I was over @Sally’s for  Smorgasbord Health Column – Cook from Scratch to prevent nutritional deficiencies with Sally Cronin and Carol Taylor – #Minerals – Magnesium…

tin ghee

Lots of expert advice from Sally and recipes from me…Enjoy!

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/16/smorgasbord-health-column-cook-from-scratch-to-prevent-nutritional-deficiencies-with-sally-cronin-and-carol-taylor-minerals-magnesium/

Thursday…

As you know it is National Pumpkin month with lots of recipes and Halloween tales but don’t forget the Apple as that is also being celebrated as there are so many lovely varieties …so from this week coming I will also be adding some apple recipes…Who doesn’t love Apple Pie???

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/10/17/national-pumpkin-month-facts-trivia-and-a-delicious-thai-pumpkin-soup/

Thursdays is also where once a month I can be found over at Esme’s Salon…I am nearing the end of my journey through the Culinary Alphabet and this month it is the letter U…From the Ugli Fruit to Umami…

Although I will add that the Pineapple Upside down cake was the most talked about…I am not surprised as it is delicious…

Friday…

Its store cupboard basics and this week I covered cooking oils…my most used cooking oils are olive oil, ghee and coconut oil…

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/10/18/this-week-in-my-kitchenstore-cupboard-basicspart-6cooking-oils/

Saturday…

Is a subject dear to both mine and Sally’s hearts…

Obesity…The figures out last week about childhood obesity in the UK shocked me…It should also shock you if you have a child who is obese…Of course we don’t want to give children a complex but handled correctly and by us as parents making changes to our families diets and lifestyles as a family would make a difference…It is not about shaming the individual child it is about sharing the problem and tackling it by making changes.

Sally’s posts on this subject make for good helpful reading to help tackle this epidemic…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/17/smorgasbord-health-column-the-obesity-epidemic-part-four-finding-a-point-to-intervene-in-the-life-cycle-7-14-healthy-diet-for-brain-function-and-hormon/

That’s it for this week ...Please let me have your favourite pumpkin/Halloween recipes and if you have any ideas for Christmas table decorations instead of buying crackers which invariably add to the plastic mountain…

pumpkin-ghosts-Halloween

I for one am not buying crackers this year so looking for some great ideas from you guys…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!

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

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: 

Connect to Carol

Blog:
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Pinterest: 

Email:

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

 

The Culinary Alphabet…The letter S…Salmagundi?

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Now S should be an easy one as I can think of many items which begin with S.  I do however like to throw in the odd curveball and come up with at least one which you may not have heard of or don’t know what it means…Z the last letter of the alphabet which I thought would be the shortest post ever for me is looking quite good I think honour will go to X as that is looking quite sparse at the moment…Any ideas gratefully received…The full blog post can be found over at Esme’s Salon…

Header letter S Culinary Alphabet

The first recipe today is:-

Salsa

My favourite is this one.  Mango and avocado with red onion.

Ingredients:

  • 1 mango, diced
  • 1 medium avocado, diced
  • ½ medium red onion, finely chopped
  • ½ bunch fresh coriander (about 1/2 cup chopped)
  • Juice of 1 medium lime (about 2tbsp)
  • 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper, to taste

Let’s Cook!

In a medium bowl, combine diced mango, avocado, finely chopped red onion, and chopped coriander. If you like a hint of spice like me then add chopped chili.

Squeeze 2tbsp of fresh lime juice over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently to combine and serve. If not serving right away, cover and refrigerate.

Sage

Is one of my most used herbs in my cookery I love sage. Sage is probably most well known as one of the main ingredients of sage and onion stuffing, which is traditionally served on Christmas Day with roast turkey or roast goose.

Sage is another herb that has been around for thousands of years and which was not only used in cooking but also as a popular medicine. In fact, the word sage derives from the Latin “salvare”, which means to heal or to save.

Culinary I use it with both chicken and pork.  Sage can be bought cut fresh or dried from your local supermarket. You can grow sage in your garden, although if you live in a cold climate, it will not grow as well as in a warm and sunny country.

Dried sage can keep for about six months but must be stored in an airtight container or glass jar.

Cut fresh sage leaves should be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or you may wrap them in a damp paper towel to maintain their freshness for as long as possible. They will usually last for three or four days.

Freshly picked sage leaves from your garden will keep for at least a week longer if stored wrapped in a damp paper towel and placed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Ideas for using sage in cooking

Sage is not only ideal for flavouring meat or poultry dishes, but it also goes well with cheese, apples, and tomatoes. Try some of the ideas below.

  • Use to make your own homemade stuffing mixed with onion.
  • Use to flavour homemade vegetable soups.
  • Add to your homemade sausage mix or sausage stew.
  • Add some chopped sage leaves to macaroni cheese or other cheese dishes.
  • Sprinkle chopped sage leaves or dried sage onto toasted rustic or French bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil.
  • Now add a fresh tomato and cheese salad.
  • Use sage to season and flavor any type of tomato sauce for pasta.
  • Add a small amount of fresh sage to a cheese omelette or frittata.

 

 

  • Sprinkle freshly cut sage leaves onto your pizza.
  • Use to flavor roast chicken or fish.
  • Fry sage leaves in butter to make a delicious sauce for pasta.
  • Use sage in your own homemade pâté recipe.
  • Add some chopped sage to your bread recipe.
  • Rub sage and garlic into pork chops before grilling.

Salmagundi

Is a mixture of foods combined with or without sauce and served cold.  It dates back to Elizabethian times and was a favourite with pirates on the high seas…A stew…A changing recipe from region to region and countries it can be anything from a dry stew to a salad where the ingredients included fruits, nuts, citrus juice, herbs and vegetables, and meats.  A showpiece sometimes or just a family favourite.

Now you have had a taster you need to head over to Esme’s lovely blog to see what other delights I have for you…See you there and please leave a comment as I get pretty lonely over there sometimes and we all know how much I love to chat…xxx Esme will also give you a very warm welcome…Thank you for hosting me again this month Esme…x

Thank you for reading this post I hope there was something that piqued your interest if you liked it please share or reblog, Thank you xx

About Carol:

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 to have 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!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology

Connect to Carol (Moi)

Blog
Twitter
Facebook 
Pinterest

Thank you once again for reading this post and if you love it please feel free to share or bookmark for later.  If you have any queries then drop me an email carolcookstwo@gmail.com  xx

 

The Culinary Alphabet…Letter R…

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Once a month I can be found over @Esme Salon where I am going through the Culinary Alphabet which this month is the letter R…Of course, @ numero one is my favourite which is of course Rice…Please pop over and have a look I get pretty lonely over there at this time of the month…It would be great to see you there…Come and say hello and see what else apart from rice begins with the Letter R…

Header for the Culinary Alphabet Letter R

Starting with my favourite carb which is?

Rice

There are several grains called rice, which have been cultivated for thousands of years. Asian rice (Oryza sativa) is most widely known and most widely grown, with two major subspecies and over 40,000 varieties. When I first came to Thailand that is when I realized just how many different rices that there were and also colours. The main kinds of rice I cook with are Jasmine Rice, Brown Rice, Black Rice and sticky rice ( glutinous rice)…Thailand is also one of the major exporters of rice and it is the staple food for many here even the dogs eat rice…Mine will not touch dog biscuits or tinned food and many dogs here are the same…

Before I came to live in Thailand I had been on a few holidays here and liked to cook Thai food at home… Mainly it was a disaster I just couldn’t cook a bowl of nice fried rice…It was absolutely awful…

Since living here I have had a few lessons from my daughter in law as to the error of my ways and now I can make a stir fry and hold my head up amongst most Thai cooks.

I will now show you how to make the perfect fried rice

Rice must be cooked and cold so generally, if you have had rice the night before and have leftovers then it is a way to use it up.

That was my first big mistake and why I had clumpy rice which stuck to the pan and why I didn’t ever get that nice dry fried rice.

However, if you must use freshly steamed rice, just try to make sure your bowl of rice has cooled off and that it’s somewhat dried out before you get started.

Fried rice can be anything any vegetables or little bits of leftover chicken or shrimp (prawns) and you can have a bowl of lovely fried rice to go with many a meal.  Traditionally served here with sliced cucumber, spring (green) onions and a chilli dip it is a dish many young children eat or maybe something eaten for a quick lunch or as an accompaniment to other dishes.

Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups cooked cold rice
• 3/4 Spring Onions
• ¼ of white onion chopped
• 2/3 cloves of garlic chopped
• ½ leaves of Chinese cabbage or other cabbage ( optional)
• 1 Egg
• ½ tbsp Oyster Sauce
• ½ tbsp Soy Sauce

For chilli Sauce

Ingredients:

• 5 Thai chillies finely sliced
• 3 tbsp Fish Sauce
• ½ a fresh lime

If you are using shrimp( prawns) then start with the whole fresh shrimp, pinch of the head and de-shell the body leaving the tail on ( Thai style) at the same time try to retain that lovely shrimp oil from inside the head this is what gives your fried rice a wonderful red colour and a nice rich flavour.

Let’s Cook!

Chilli and fish sauce aka prik nam pla

This little dish is always served alongside your Fried rice whenever you eat it in a restaurant…

Just finely chop the chillies and add the fish sauce and a squeeze of lime. That’s it!

Making fried rice only takes about 15 minutes or less to make and this recipe serves ones.

All you need is a wok and a spatula.  Serving more than 1 person just double up.  The more you make this dish you will get a feel for it and will instinctively know how much of this and that you need just by taste.

  1. Firstly peel and finely chop your garlic.
  2. Slice about a quarter of your white onion
  3. Finely slice 3-4 green onions
  4. If you are using Chinese cabbage slice in half along the spine and then slice into 1 cm strips.
  5. Heat your wok or suitable pan and add about a tbsp of oil once your oil is hot add your garlic and stir fry continuously for about 15 seconds we don’t want burnt garlic do we?
  6. Throw in the shrimp and fry for about 30 seconds. Your shrimp should just start to turn pink then add just about less than half of your rice which will soak up all those lovely juices stir fry for about 10 seconds push all the rice to one side and crack the egg into the empty side swirl the egg and let it cook for a few seconds and then start to mix with the rice and shrimp.
  7. This was my second big mistake I used to just pour the egg straight over the rice hence a claggy, clumpy mess which no one wanted to eat.
  8. Then stir in the remainder of your rice and you should have a lovely dry fried rice with separate grains
  9. Now add your soy sauce and oyster sauce and stir, some people add a little sugar at this point. I don’t
  10. Now add your chopped Chinese cabbage and white onions and stir fry for about 30 seconds and then toss in your spring onions and stir for a few seconds a little longer if you like your vegetables a little softer.

Place on a plate with a slice of lime and spring onion and your little bowl of chili dip. If you want it to look extra special put it in a little bowl and turn out on the plate as pictured.

A little sprinkle of fish sauce and some fresh chillies on top of your fried rice with and an extra squeeze of lime just elevates your fried rice to another level.

Younger children, here are generally given just fried rice with egg and a little spring onion and maybe some very finely diced carrot. Fried rice is one of those dishes where anything goes.  As little or as much as you like.

Sometimes if I have a few shrimp (prawns) or half a breast of chicken or a thigh leftover I bag them and they are ideal for 1 serving of fried rice. We all have leftover vegetables chop them and put in your fried rice. For one all you need is a small piece of carrot maybe a couple of peas or a floret of broccoli cut small and bobs your uncle and you have fried rice.

Truly anything goes it is one of those dishes where you really can add almost anything I suppose a bit like you would do when topping your pizza.

To continue reading please click this link…

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

If you missed any of the previous installments, please hop over and enjoy the previous posts

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

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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:

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 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:

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 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…

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Welcome to this month’s The Culinary Alphabet beginning with the letter N. I can be found over @ Emes’s Salon once a month where I am posting articles based on the Culinary Alphabet which has been a revelation to me as I have discovered a few things which I either didn’t know or didn’t know that I knew.. I also can’t believe how quickly the time is going it seems to me that it is just flying by we are in the month of March already.

nutmeg nettles and noodles blog header

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:

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 that I cook with have 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!

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/