Tag Archives: Banana bread

CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…September 5th-September 11th 2021…Culinary A-Z, Coconut Cookies, Ants, Neem Oil and Banana Flowers…

Culinary A-Z, Coconut Cookies, The Ants and the Grasshopper, Neem Oil, Lemongrass Oil and Music…

Welcome to this week’s edition of my weekly roundup of posts…Especially for you just in case you missed a few posts during this last week…Time is marching on…

 We are now just into the month of September time just flies…Yesterday was a sad day of remembrance around the world, particularly in the USA…my thoughts and prayers were with you yesterday as was the rest of the world…for those who lost their lives and for those left behind with memories of the horror…God bless you all xx

Last week started with No not a Disney film…but a serious look at how some countries in the world are suffering from lack of water while others have more than their fair share..there is still so much inequality in the world.

Not Disney! The Ants and the Grasshopper…

Imagine living where your village receives an average of 3 Days of rain PER YEAR.

That’s correct ..it’s not a typo…3 Days of rain PER YEAR…

Then you find out that it stems from the burning of Fossil Fuels in countries like the USA…Today I was reading an article on “What’s a Fair Share of Energy?”

Equitable resource distribution requires the world’s affluent countries to reduce their ecological impact while low-income nations gain greater access to resources until there is convergence…it was an interesting read, well researched by a group with leanings towards the left however nothing was found when they were fact-checked and their research is sound…I like to think I have moderate views  I don’t lean too far left or right…but the article was interesting and highlighted differences that western worlds could and should make to help the low-income nations after all the world is all of our homes whatever our circumstances, religion, gender or social standing…

Not Disney!…The Ants and the Grasshopper…

The manufacture of plastics and plastic, when exposed to the elements, releases methane and ethylene – two powerful greenhouse gases that can intensify climate change…

Plastic…The Latest News…Week 6…Plastic releases Greenhouse Gases…

Wednesday I was over at Smorgasbord with Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen…

Just to recap for those who are new here…This monthly post will cover sustainability, news on food production…changes for the better and maybe a villain or three…haha, a recipe or two including some plant-based recipes, hints and tips on making my household a little greener…aka recycling and composting.

This Month’s Recipe…Banana Bread with Passionfruit Curd/Butter…

To read the original post please click the link below…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2021/09/08/smorgasbord-food-column-carol-taylors-green-kitchen-september-2021-banana-bread-neem-oil-homemade-beehive-lemongrass-snail-mail-ci

I am loving this series and discovering much…I don’t think you can ever know everything about the culinary world there are surprises to come across…Bunny Chow was mine this month a delicious sounding dish of comfort food…It is a South African fast food often shortened to bunny … it is a hollowed-out white loaf filled with curry…A popular street food…

The Culinary Alphabet…A-Z…The Letter N…

It seems that Coconut Cookies are a favourite with everyone..they are very moreish fresh from the oven…

CarolCooks2…In my kitchen…Coconut Biscuits/Cookies…

Tropical Friday…Banana Flowers…

A familiar sight in Asia either hanging off the tree or found on all the market stalls ..elsewhere in the world they can be found in Asian stores dried and Tori found some tinned ones… on checking online I found Asda in the UK sell tinned Banana Flowers…

Tropical Friday…Banana Flower…

Saturday Snippets…

Welcome 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…I am enjoying just taking a prompt from one word it opens up a whole world and never ceases to surprise me as I hope it does you too…

Come with me and see what I discovered…my word today is…Darling!

The prompt was a suggestion on a post I wrote about varieties of Oranges…’ My Darling Clementine”…clever to make the connection, Clive...I was a tad slower…sigh

Let’s see what I found…

Saturday Snippets…11th September 2021…Darling…

Once again I would like to extend my thanks for the emails, messages and calls of support for our dear daughter and for us stuck here at the moment so far away…it helps enormously…Lauren now knows what lies ahead for her going forward it will be a long road ahead starting with 6 months of aggressive chemotheraphy but we hope with support and her fighting spirit she will get through this…on the plus side, her consultant has said she can attend a family wedding in a Cyprus before her treatment starts this cheered her up and she is busy sorting out her wardrobe…Thank you once again I do appreciate all the support…Much love and Hugs xxx

Tomorrow is the start of a new week I hope you will join me for next weeks posts…Have a lovely Sunday…after a  wet and windy week here today it’s sunny and bright xxx

 

Smorgasbord Food Column – Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen – September 2021 – Banana Bread, Neem Oil, Homemade Beehive, Lemongrass, Snail Mail, Cider Vinegar and Reef Shampoo

Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen.
September 2021

Good morning and welcome to the September edition of my Green Kitchen… Just to recap for those who are new here…This monthly post will cover sustainability, news on food production…changes for the better and maybe a villain or three…haha, a recipe or two including some plant-based recipes, hints and tips on making my household a little greener…aka recycling and composting.

This Month’s Recipe…Banana Bread with Passionfruit Curd/Butter…For the original post and the recipes please head over to Smorgasbord Magazine by clicking the link below where Sally very kindly has hosted me again this month…See you on the side…xx

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2021/09/08/smorgasbord-food-column-carol-taylors-green-kitchen-september-2021-banana-bread-neem-oil-homemade-beehive-lemongrass-snail

CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…21st February-28th February 2021…#Recipes, Whimsy, Music and Lifestyle Changes

Recipes, Whimsy, Music and Lifestyle Changes…

Welcome to this week’s edition of my weekly roundup of posts…Especially for you just in case you missed a few posts during this last week…it’s also the last day of the month and then we will be in March… the time just flies…

Let’s go and see what goodies I had for you last week…so snuggle up in your favourite corner with your favourite drink tea/coffee or hot chocolate although depending on where in the world you live it could be a glass of wine…Cheers!

Meatless Monday’s…is going well…personally I prefer either just vegetables as in a vegetable curry, I love anything mushroom-based, made with beans, I don’t mind lentils I am getting better at cooking them…practise makes perfect I guess…We all loved those pancakes with mushrooms and leeks and will definitely make them again…

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/02/22/meatless-mondays-week-7/

Tuesday was National Banana Bread Day as well as National Dog Biscuit Day and while I think some of these days are just silly…I had so many bananas to use don’t they just all ripen at once and it gave me the opportunity to post about bananas and dogs always love a treat and a healthy recipe for your beloved pooch is good…

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/02/23/national-banana-bread-day-and-national-dog-biscuit-day/

Wednesday’s are my Alphabet Day and this one was the last in this series which means a new one starting next week …I would like to thank everyone who commented and contributed over the weeks it’s been fun…Thank you and I hope you enjoy the next series…

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/02/24/the-culinary-alphabet-with-a-little-twistthe-last-in-this-series-y-and-z/

It was then over to Sally’s for her Turning back the clock series…I mean who doesn’t want to turn back the clock even just a few years is good…we both did agree though that shouting at the screen does relieve stress and it’s unlikely that we will stop that habit…lol

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2021/02/25/smorgasbord-health-column-turning-back-the-clock-2021-part-seven-anti-aging-and-attitude-of-mind-by-sally-cronin/

CarolCooks2…Week 2…in my Kitchen……Made from scratch…Fajita Mix…

I hope you are enjoying this series as some mixes and sauces are really so easy to make… you wonder why you haven’t made them before as they are always cheaper, no nasties …give you a quicker turnover of spices and larger quantities… so many reasons to make your own…

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/02/25/carolcooks2week-2in-my-kitchenmade-from-scratchfajita-mix/

Fruity Friday’s…This week it was a fruit that tastes like chocolate mousse…how often do you get to say fruit and chocolate in the same healthy mouthful?

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/02/26/fruity-friday-sapote-chocolate-pudding-fruit/

Saturday Snippets rounds of the week nicely…If you love Prince Harry and James Corden then you are in for a treat…some great music and more…

Do you know where your loofah comes from?

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/02/27/saturday-snippets-27th-february-2021/

Well, that’s it for today…Thank you so much for dropping by…I hope you have enjoyed the read…if you have please head over and leave a comment it makes my day to hear from you …Love Carol xx

National Banana Bread Day and National Dog Biscuit Day…

 

Who doesn’t love Banana Bread?

Made with fully ripe or overripe bananas banana bread is a moist, sweet cake-like bread…sometimes made with yeast and in the West Indies the age-old tradition is to sun dry banana slices and then grind into a powder…Banana Flour…

Banana bread made with yeast had a denser texture and is usually sliced, toasted and spread with butter…my taste buds are zinging as I type…

In Hawaii during World War I, a surplus of bananas resulted from very few ships available to export the fruit.  To prevent waste, alternative uses for bananas were developed. For example, bakeries started incorporating the fruit into their bread.

This recipe was printed in The Maui News on April 12, 1918, for banana bread:

2/3 banana
1/3 flour
Yeast, coconut milk or water

There was also rationing of staple food items such as flour.  Banana flour was a suggested substitute.  It was recommended as a health food and suitable for a vegetarian diet.

The Big Island is the largest domestic producer of bananas in the United States. The Tarring’s Ohana Banana Farm is one of the largest suppliers of fresh apple bananas in Hawaii – and the world’s only supplier of Hawaiian Candy Apple Bananas.

Nutrition Facts.

There’s a lot of variation in the nutrition info for banana bread recipes. Those made with butter and eggs come out higher in unhealthy saturated fat and cholesterol, while those made with vegetable oils are still high in fat and calories, but contain more heart-healthy fats.

The best bananas for banana bread aren’t yellow; they’re black. Or they’re at least streaked with black/brown, with just the barest hint of green at the stem. And again, the darker the better: there’s no such thing as a too-ripe banana when you’re making banana bread.

My Banana Bread recipe has been tried and tested many, many times eb=ven more today as I had only a little cake flour…more than little ripe bananas and had started mashing them before I realised…so I improvised which you cannot always do with cakes and bread but on this occasion, it worked…I used mainly bread flour added a tsp ob baking powder and some coconut milk…The result a nice banana bread…I was more than a little amazed as I thought it might be heavy and it wasn’t…The only reason I added coconut milk as earlier recipes used coconut milk or water…

How to Observe #NationalBananaBreadDay

Bake your favourite version of banana bread to celebrate. With so many varieties to try – banana nut, chocolate banana and more – you can make more than one! Invite someone to join you or give a loaf or two away. The celebration is just too good not to share!

Examples are Buttermilk Banana Bread, Banana Sour Cream Bread, Apple sauce Banana Bread, Banana Chocolate Chip Bread or Peanut Butter Chocolate chip Banana Bread…or as I did today add coconut milk…You can also top the banana bread with some cream cheese icing and a few walnuts…so many different combinations…Enjoy!

What is your favourite banana bread recipe do you use yeast or make quick banana bread…Pls share your tried and tested recipe…

Use #NationalBananaBreadDay to post on social media.

Just a piece of trivia...did you know? That more songs have been written about the Banana than any other fruit.

NATIONAL DOG BISCUIT DAY

All dog owners, remember that February 23rd is National Dog Biscuit Day! This day is also observed around the world as International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.

Dog biscuits come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and flavours. They serve to reward a man’s best friend for good behaviour as part of their training.

Dog owners may also give a biscuit to show their canine companions just how much they love them, too. Sometimes, dog biscuits serve to deliver vitamins and medicines we may have difficulty getting our pooches to take otherwise.

Speciality treats offer dogs and their owners so much to chews from! Even dogs on restricted diets won’t have trouble finding a dog biscuit that’s gentle on their tummy. Others help keep teeth healthy and fresh, too! What better reward could you ask for?

That’s it for today…

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week and please tell me in the comments what your favourite Banana Bread recipe is…I just love to chat and swap recipes xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

CarolCooks2…weekly roundup 16th -22nd February 2020…

Welcome it is a lovely sunny morning here…listening to the sound of drilling…Everyone around here is in D.I.Y mode methinks…I thought Sunday mornings were a quiet time so that one could reflect on the past week and what was planned for the coming week…Earplugs where are you???

I have wrapped up this week posts for you to enjoy…Green tea called for methinks…Let’s chill out with our favourite cuppa plus(earplugs) for moi….. Pam from Butterfly Sand shared her morning tea with us…A cup of Cream of Avalon which is a blend of caramel, vanilla bergamot and citrus sounds like one I would love to try…

Monday…Recycling and Climate Change…

I try to find as much good news and practises as I can…we cannot ignore the extremes of weather that some of you are experiencing some is of course nature which is always changing as the world goes through its cycles of life however we also cannot ignore man’s contribution and of course we must address those issues as much as we can as individuals…Every little helps as they say…

https://carolcooks2.com/2020/02/17/recycling-and-climate-change17th-february-2020good-news-and-the-top-3-polluters/

Tuesday…

While I am busty researching and testing recipes I thought I would repost some of my older posts which still seem to be receiving some interest or ones which may need a little more love…Nam Pboon Sai is Slaked lime (lime + water = Ca(OH)2 ) or calcium hydroxide is traditionally made with burning shells at high heat and adding the burned shells to water. The water that you get is limewater. In  Thailand, the red lime paste is quite common because the paste is also used in making paan…To read the full post please click the link below…

https://carolcooks2.com/2020/02/18/down-on-the-farm-what-is-lime-water-nam-pboon-sai/

Wednesday…Whimsical Wednesday…

Is one of my favourite posts to write…I start with something which has piqued my curiosity or a memory and go from there …which could be anywhere given how my brain is wired…it has a life of its own at times …even my dear my mum on reading one of my short stories said quite seriously I don’t know where this comes from…how do you think of these ideas…I still think she may think I was that child found under a gooseberry bush…haha.

whimsical rabbit-542554_640

https://carolcooks2.com/2020/02/19/whimsical-wednesday-with-carol-27/

Thursday…Shopping by Nutrient…

This is a great series from Sally clearly written, easy to follow and understand …No jargon…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2020/02/20/smorgasbord-health-column-nutrients-the-body-needs-weekly-grocery-shopping-list-by-sally-cronin/

Friday…

Where I invite you to join me in my kitchen...Where I am baking far more than I normally do and also testing out new dishes…The store of frozen bananas is diminishing …today I will be baking yet another banana bread for Lily to take back to the village for her other Nannie..she loved the bread pudding I sent last time hopefully she will love my banana bread I may also send her a little bit of ginger cake for her to sample she does love a piece of cake…

https://carolcooks2.com/2020/02/21/carolcooks2this-week-in-my-kitchencornbeef-hash-thai-crispy-pork-and-kale-and-chocolate-and-blueberry-cookies/

Saturday…A Saturday Morning Market…

Who doesn’t love a market..sadly in some parts of the Uk the markets have gone or declined there has been an increase in Farmers Markets which are lovely and you get some amazing local produce but a market to me…A proper market is where you can buy anything…food for table and tools to mend a leaky tap or a puncture or some new tea towels…

I adore the markets here…Lively and bustling and they 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 some goodies or new fruit or vegetable I have found…

This week it is the Kaffir Lime...A lovely vibrant green little fruit with lots of uses…A fruit that I knew very little or had used until I landed here in Thailand where it is used in many Thai dishes…

https://carolcooks2.com/2020/02/22/saturday-morning-market-kaffir-limes/

Thank you for reading…I hope you have enjoyed this weekly roundup 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.

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 are having a great weekend xx

 

Whimsical Wednesday…with Carol…

Good morning and welcome to Whimsical Wednesday…where I indulge myself… I just go where my thoughts take me…It could be the distant past or the future…It could be serious or quirky…This week it is almost certainly revolving around Valentines Day…Over the centuries much has happened in the month of February …Here I concentrate on the happy events…

hearts-533247_640 (1)

February 14th 1984 is one such moment when Torvill and Dean bagged a Gold Medal in Sarajevo…I remember it well the dramatic music and skating toRavell’s Bolero…What a magical time…

Wow…what a lovely memory to relive…

It was also in February ...The 15th February 1971 when Britain went decimal…Everything changed measurements and coins…and of course the inevitable price rises…For many a sad day…

We did, however, at a later date resist the pressure to adopt the Euro and for that I am thankful.

Time for a Story…

This is a continuation of a short story started by author Steph Richmond with the offer to contribute …intrigued I took her up on this offer so as you will see I write the occasional chapter…Will this be finished who knows.?.. The girl as yet doesn’t have a name just an unknown past…Enjoy!

The Charade chapter 22

by Carol Taylor

9a15bbcccf402180463cff95a6c0a40e--amethyst-jewelry-swarovski-jewelry

Carl was panicking where was he going to take the girl?

His mind was racing he knew he shouldn’t have taken her he only meant to knock her out so he could search her room undisturbed. He also knew that Joseph Peabody was not a man to cross…He was beginning to regret taking this job it has seemed like easy money now he faced either the wrath of Peabody or the man who had employed him.

A man whose name he didn’t even know but who looked very mean and a man you didn’t want to cross.

The girl stirred…

It was getting dark outside Carl decided to wait until it was quiet and leave the girl at the bus station…Plenty of people used the bus station the girl would not remember what had happened as he had drugged her well and truly… Reaching for another vial of the drug he injected the girl before she woke that would keep her quiet for a while…

How was he going to move her without arousing suspicion?

Time to go…Carl picked up the girl supporting her Carl moved slowly out into the back alley of the building …No one was around so if anyone saw him he would say she had had too much drink…Holding the girl tightly and keeping to the shadows Carl made his way to the bus station…

Miss, Miss are you alright …The girl opened her eyes and screamed she could vaguely see a kindly face before she passed out again… Call the boys in blue Fred…I think this young lady has been drugged she doesn’t smell of drink or anything or she may be ill…I don’t want anyone dying on my watch…Can you imagine the fuss and paperwork?

Quick man…Move!

Peabody received a call…A girl answering your description has been found unconscious at the bus station the voice on the end of the phone said …Send your man to get her quick before it arouses suspicion …

T.B.C

Spoiler Alert…There will only be a few more chapters and then the plan is to add some meat to the bones and produce something you will want to read…Watch this space…

I am one of the worlds worst photographers…I try really hard and sometimes they are ok and other times well distinctly amateurish… I am in awe and love seeing great images these are no exception and just spectacular using invisible light…

So beautiful…

Time for a tune ...I love the old classics but also do like some of the new stuff …keeping with the Valentines week theme …

Did you know..?. Aretha Franklin recorded the classic soul song Respect on the 14th February 1967 …this song had also been recorded by another music great Otis Redding two years earlier…Although I love the music of both artists personally I prefer Aretha’s cover of the song…

 

Fantastic artist one of the greats in my book…Now for this week in music history…

The more I research February I realise what a fascinating month it is…So much has gone on or changed during the month of February over the centuries…

Did you know? over time the length of the month of February has changed and at one point only had 23 days…

The name of February comes from the Latin word “februum” which means purification. February was named after a purification ritual which was like an early Roman spring cleaning festival.

primrose-4124510_640

Spring also heralds the arrival of the beautiful Primrose which is the flower of February. I have many happy memories of going primrose picking and of being told never ever to pull up the plant just pick a few flowers…There is nothing nicer than seeing the primroses along the hedgerows.

Did you know? …The odds of being born on February 29th are about 1 in 1,461. Those born on a leap day can be called a leaper or leapling. They can choose which day they wish to celebrate their birthdays…However, what does the law say?… Many countries have designated the 1st March but it does vary from country to country and state to state…

There are many famous leaplings and also the man whose nemesis is kryptonite is a leap year baby…No surprises there then…It’s Superman…

Also on February 14th...1929 was the year when Penicillin was accidentally discovered by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming and even way back then he was working on an Influenza virus this way in September 1928…After leaving staphylococcus bacteria uncovered by mistake, he found that a mould had formed on the culture, which killed the bacteria.

Thus on this day February 14th 1929, he introduced penicillin to cure bacterial infections.

penicillin-2946054_640

Woo Hoo…it was on 14th February 2005 when U-Tube was founded…A video-sharing website which I use a lot …A year after its creation, the website was bought by Google for $1.65 billion… Jeez, that’s a good return after a year…

As you know it is cake month…The limit of my cake-making is banana bread and chocolate brownies although as I made sausage rolls today for the boys I made a small treacle tart…I know I shouldn’t but I did..just a little slice or two…I do love a nicely decorated cakes and these tick all the boxes so clever and most beautifully done…

Isn’t that something? There is even a red chilli and a bag of Doritos ..they are so lifelike and real looking you wouldn’t think they were cakes…

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 are having a great week xx