Tag Archives: boquerones

Week 12…In my kitchen…Durian Chocolate…Boquerones…

Welcome to week 12 in my kitchen and it has been a reasonably quiet week in the kitchen this week as I have little Lily staying for the next 6 weeks ish I think she means until she goes back to school…Aston has gone to his Thai nannies until the end of the month he tells me… He has been busy catching Lizards for dinner…Not our dinner but his and his Thia family’s dinner…I will share the recipe when I get it…

But I will share the pictures he sent me…I hope you are not squeamish…If so scroll down quick…

At the market this week I found some lovely small fish..beautifully fresh I just couldn’t resist so although they are fiddly to bone they are worth the effort and always invoke memories of our holidays in Spain.

Ingredients: For boquerones ( as they are called in Spain) 

  • 2Ib.( 1 kilo) Anchovies or other small fish.
  • 250-500ml White Vinegar.
  • 4-5 cloves Garlic.
  • 25ml.Virgin Olive Oil.
  • 4 Sprigs Italian Parsley.
  • Salt to taste.

 

SAM_6906

Let’s Cook!

Remove heads. Using your thumb remove innards and spine.

Rinse. Lay flat in a glass dish and freeze for 3 hrs.(Freezing the anchovies to -20C or -4F can prevent illness from parasites found in raw fish.)

Remove from freezer pour in vinegar to cover.

Finely chop garlic add parsley. Sprinkle over fish.

Pour Olive Oil in dish and salt if required.

Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

They are now ready to eat.

Enjoy!

Durian fruit is in season at the moment and yes I know it is one of those fruits that you either love or hate…It is also banned in certain places…I myself don’t mind the smell it is like other certain flower smells which get into everything and I think that is why some people don’t like it…A cloying smell…Well, I was given a bar of Durian Chocolate…

Durian chocolate bar

Although I Like Durian I am not a fan of fruits when they are made in crisps and other things so was a bit hesitant to try it…But I did and it was very nice for a bar of dark chocolate the Durian added a really creamy taste to it. I also had to make sure kit was well wrapped as the smell would have taken over the fridge …But it set me thinking that it would make a lovely chocolate mousse or brownies which will be my next experiment methinks…

This week’s Curry…Kohzhi Milagu ( Pepper Chicken Curry)

The recipe was courtesy of my friend Mamik who provides me with authentic Indonesian Recipes….. Thank you Mamik another Cracker of a recipe but a scorcher or as my son put it he gets ring burn the next morning……. But a curry we have quite often now as it is so tasty…

Ingredients:

  • 500 gm chicken, thighs or breast cut into pieces.
  • 1 chopped Onion.
  • 1 cup chopped Tomatoes.
  • 2cm cinnamon stick.
  • 2tbsp ginger garlic paste..can use store bought, I just blitz tbsp garlic and tbsp ginger to paste.
  • 1/2 tbsp ground chilli…You may want to adjust the amount.
  • 1tbsp ground coriander.
  • 1 tbsp ground white pepper.
  • 1 tbsp Fennel Seeds.
  • 1 sprig Curry leaves.
  • Salt to season.

Let’s Cook!

Heat the tbsp oil in a wok and saute onion.

Add garlic and ginger paste mix well and cook 30 seconds. Add dry spices and stir to release the aroma. Add chopped tomato, stir and add chicken…….N.B. if too dry add some water.

Add salt and curry leaves.

Cook on low heat until chicken cooked if using thighs then these will take slightly longer.

Kozhi Milagu (Pepper Chicken Curry)

Serve with steamed rice and Raita and some homemade nan or flatbread.

For Raita I grate or chop finely a small cucumber, put in clean t/towel and squeeze out excess liquid…I was surprised at how much liquid there actually was.

Add to 8oz Natural yoghurt and a large handful of chopped mint and mix together. Serve chilled.

If you like you can add 1/2-1 finely chopped green chilli.

Warning: This is one hot mama of a curry.

Desserts are something which I don’t make very often but the hubby likes one now and again so to compensate for when I have made one to many curries or spicy Thai Stirfries I make him a pudding… This treacle Tart is one of his favourites…

Ingredients:

For pastry:

  • 225 gm Plain Flour.
  • 115 gm butter.
  • 55 gm Sugar.
  • 1 egg yolk.
  • Chilled water to mix.

For Filling:

  • 450 gm  Golden Syrup.
  • 85 gm Breadcrumbs.
  • Pinch ground ginger( optional)
  • Zest of 1 lemon plus 2 tbsp juice.

Let’s Bake!

Sift flour into a bowl and rub in butter to resemble fine breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar. Add egg yolk and chilled water a tbsp at a time until mixture comes together to form a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill 20/30 mins in the fridge.

Gently roll out pastry and line 9 inch tin or dish, lightly prick bottom of pastry with a fork, line with baking parchment and baking beans. Put in preheated oven 180 degrees/gas 6 and bake 15 mins remove baking parchment and beans and bake for further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Make the filling by gently warming syrup in a saucepan with fresh breadcrumbs, ginger, lemon zest and juice. When mixed together pour into baked case .NB. The mixture should be fairly thick consistency but pourable …..if required add more breadcrumbs.

Put into oven at 190 degrees and bake for further 25 minutes.

A slice of treacle Tart with custard

Serve with cream or hot custard.

Enjoy!

Thank you for joining me this week in my kitchen…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 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 weekend xx

We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box. ~Robert Fulghum

Crayons! They caused a few comments and who would have thought but I suppose life is like a box of crayons and we all certainly have to learn to live together in that same box…don’t we? Well, ideal world and all that but if we all work towards that then maybe this old world would be a much better place for us and our children and grand children.

You can just tell I’m maudlin, can’t you? Been a busy week ..lots of writing and cooking and thoughtfulness at life in general. Read some great blogs and some not so great but all thought-provoking in their own way so keep on blogging guys.This week I have been experimenting once again and marinaded some fish in Garlic, Olive Oil, and Vinegar but they came out great and got the thumbs up from our Polish visitor yesterday who went home with his goody bag of fish and pickled cucumber. Very easy once you have filleted the little fish.

Ingredients: For boquerones ( as they are called in Spain) 

  • 2Ib.( 1 kilo) Anchovies or other small fish.
  • 250-500ml White Vinegar.
  • 4-5 cloves Garlic.
  • 25ml.Virgin Olive Oil.
  • 4 Sprigs Italian Parsley.
  • Salt to taste.

SAM_6906

Let’s Cook!:

Remove heads. Using your thumb remove innards and spine.

Rinse. Lay flat in a glass dish and freeze for 3 hrs. (Freezing the anchovies to -20C or -4F can prevent illness from parasites found in raw fish.)

Remove from the freezer pour in vinegar to cover.

Finely chop garlic add parsley. Sprinkle over fish.

Pour Olive Oil in dish and salt if required.

Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

They are now ready to eat.

I will now ( hopefully) treat you to another of my short stories and not a dark one as one of my friends and critics commented on some of mine. She said ” for such a sunny, happy lady  you sure have some dark thoughts and she thought this one was much better..haha

Attending a writers retreat we were taken to this shop and given a set time to pen a story all I will say is that it shows how my brain goes off on a tangent at times 🙂

The Junk Shop by Carol Taylor.

Off we set, some in the Tuk, Tuk, one fulfilling the dream by hanging off the back and the remainder of our intrepid little band of writers elected for shank’s pony.

“Rather you than me in this heat,” I thought.

We set off down the hill, around the corner and within minutes pulled up outside this virtual Aladdin’s Cave. Yippee!  Who knows what goodies and treasures lurk within?

The little wizened Thai man sitting somewhere in the middle like a jewel in a crown looked somewhat amused at all these farangs who were coming from all directions. I wandered along those dusty isles looking, searching for that special find.

Suddenly, the clumsy klutz that I am tripped and went flying through the gap that had appeared before me. Landing on my butt the freezing wet, cold snow hit me!

Looking around all I could see was snow. Snow!  Must have hit my head I thought. I know I was sweating buckets and wished I was cooler. But This!

I gingerly stood and looked around in amazement all I could see was white, white and more white.

snow covered treesI must be dreaming. But No. Here I was standing in the snow in my flip flops. Noticing a beautiful white flower. I bent to smell it, the perfume wafting upwards invading my senses, conjuring up pictures of pine trees and Christmas.  Plucking one of the flowers I straightened up.

This was eerie.

“Hello?” “Anyone there?”

Silence. I began to panic. Then the blackness engulfed me.

“Carol, Carol are you ok?” Someone was slapping the side of my face. I opened my eyes to see Anne looking down at me.  A worried expression on her face. I gingerly moved my legs, my arms; everything seemed to be in working order.

I was back.

Anne and Jason helped me to my feet and walked me slowly to the waiting Tuk Tuk. I must have been dreaming. Feeling something in my hand I slowly opened it and my eyes widened.

Nestled in the palm of my hand was a beautiful white flower.

I hope you enjoy the  fish recipe and my scribblings until next time stay safe and enjoy life xx