Tag Archives: Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen

CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…June 6th-12th June 2021…#Whiskey or Whisky, Whimsy, Music, Green Kitchen and Kintsugi…

Recipes, Whisky or Whiskey, Music, Kintsugi and Green Kitchen…

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…It is now officially rainy season here so there will definitely be some dancing in the rain…its also officially the month of June…and so far it’s very wet here…

June has both the longest and the shortest days of the year, depending on where you’re standing! If you live in the northern hemisphere, then June 21st is the longest day of the year. If you live in the southern hemisphere, then the 21st is the shortest day of the year.

Just in case you missed any posts this week or love to catch up like I do… snuggle down in your favourite place… get comfy 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 or two…Cheers!

World Ocean Week 7th-13th June…

Overfishing. Pollution. Acidification. Warming. Our precious ocean and the life that calls it home are now more at risk than ever before.

The ocean makes up 70% of the world’s surface, acts as a vital carbon sink, regulates the weather and produces half of the oxygen we breathe. 

World Ocean Day is part of the weeks activity’s during World Ocean Week…

World Ocean Week 7th-13th June…

I really do believe we should be very aware of how important the oceans are to our continued life on Mother Earth…Ocean Liners and shipping trawlers are some of the worst culprits on the seas… we are some of the worse culprits in our homes because of how we deal with our waste anything we wash down the sink or drains will end up in the sea polluting rivers along the way…we should be thinking of the end result of our actions…I don’t think we pay enough attention to the consequences of our actions the habits we have and it’s something most of us do with little thought…

I believe in inclusion… this beautiful film although about something totally different made my thoughts turn to inclusion and to human imperfections …it made me think and hope that I could live in a world where human imperfections differences are seen for what they are …that we embrace that and look at not what a person cannot do but embrace and celebrate what they can do…Our lives and theirs would be so much richer…x

Tuesday Morning Musings…A Zero Waste Life…#Kintsugi…

Welcome to my Environmental A-Z…still an A-Z but with a difference …

The idea for this series came about because as my regular followers and commenters know I am passionate about the health of the world I am living in… however often when I am researching and reading articles I come across terms and have to look them up which spawned the idea for this…two-fold… it increases my knowledge and I hope yours…

The A-Z of the environment and Climate Change… letter H.

The best way to predict your future is to create it...Abraham Lincoln.

The Environmental A-Z…the letter H…

Good morning and welcome to June’s edition of my Green Kitchen… I cannot begin to tell you how delighted I am to be back with a brand- new column at Smorgasbord Magazine… and how welcome you are making me feel.

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.

I am passionate about cooking from scratch using fresh ingredients, the environment and ensuring that the food I make for my family is clean and as chemical-free as it can possible be…I would also love to know that instead of counting calories and cost that more people counted chemicals as it is the chemicals in processed foods which affect our health and wellbeing.

Smorgasbord Food Column – Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen – June 2021 – Dutch Oven Bread, Kale, Home Grown Pea Shoots, Fishing Nets, Neighbours. Posted on June 9, 2021 by Smorgasbord – Variety is the Spice of Life.

This tiny little sweet and sour fruit  Sapindaceae is part of the soapberry family which includes lychee, longan and rambutan.

Many are lactiferous, i.e. they contain milky sap, and many contain mildly toxic saponins with soap-like qualities in either the foliage and/or the seeds, or roots.

This tiny little fruit grows wild and is often called the wild lychee the tree it comes from is enormous and the fruit so tiny it also quite rare to find… I came across this fruit quite by chance when I took a ride back from the market in a tuk-tuk. I am always being surprised at what I find on the markets and the roadsides and when I ride in a tuk-tuk…so much backyard fruit to discover and sample…

Tropical Friday’s…The Korlan Fruit…

Saturday Snippets…one of my favourite days of the week 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…

For the last two weeks, I have taken inspiration from something I have read or watched… this week it was thanx to Jim of Bordens Blather and a very interesting bather it was…Thank you for the inspiration, Jim x

My chosen theme…Whiskey or is it Whisky?

Who would have thought that one letter of the alphabet could cause such a ruckus in some circles…as indeed it can and does…to me it looks the same although I know it doesn’t always taste the same but then neither does wine and its still called wine…

It also makes a damn good sauce…X

Saturday Snippets …12th June 2021…Whiskey or Whisky?

 

That’s it for today…Thank you so much for dropping by I always look forward to your visits and comments…Hope to see you here next week xx

CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…11th April-17th April 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…we are now into April…Time is marching on…thus far we had some humdingers of storms and the wind certainly hammered one of my curry trees luckily it didn’t break the branches just stretched but like a piece of elastic 2 days later the tree is nearly back to its original glory …isn’t nature wonderful?

Just in case you missed any or love to catch up like I do… snuggle deep be kind to yourselves …I think we all need to do that… get comfy 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 or two…Cheers!

Meatless Monday’s…

Took a break this week…I haven’t cooked much…eaten much of what I shouldn’t…spent time with my plants and my thoughts and for the first time in all the time I have been blogging just couldn’t be bothered to write..no energy…no thoughts worthy of putting on paper…just a combination of a bad few months or the start of the year however you wish to put it…many lives lost and anniversaries of lives lost…just a culmination which frankly stopped me in my tracks…

Tuesday…Songkran…Thai New Year…

A post from my archives with a little update here and there…a picture of my beloved grandson getting into the spirit of Thai New Year which this year didn’t happen due to Covid restrictions…

Songkran…Thai New Year …13th April 2021…

Wednesday…Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen…

Today saw me over at Smorgasbord Magazine for this month’s Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen where Pretzel Bread, Tomato Ketchup, Onions and Japanese Wood Production were some of the items on the menu…

To see what else was on the menu please pop over to Smorgasbord Magazine…

Smorgasbord Food Column – Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen -April 2021 – #Pretzel Bread, #Onions, #TomatoKetchup, #Japanese Wood Production.

The Environmental A-Z…The letter D.

My new series…still an A-Z but with a difference …it’s not food-related!

In the meantime, the idea for this series came about because yes as my regular followers and commenters know I am passionate about the health of the world I am living in… however often when I am researching and reading articles I come across terms and have to look them up which spawned the idea for this…two-fold… it increases my knowledge and I hope yours…

The Environmental A-Z…the letter D

Thursday...another post from my archives but updated…

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CarolCooks2…Week 9…in my Kitchen…made from scratch…Homemade Sausages and Sausage Spice mixes…

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine…Health Column…Rheumatoid Arthritis…

A debilitating disease that causes anguish to many…either sufferers or carers…

There is no quick fix but sometimes a change in diet and habits can give relief so please head over and give Sally’s post a read…#recommened read

Smorgasbord Health Column – Family Health A-Z – Arthritis (Rheumatoid) by Sally Cronin

Fruity Friday’s…The Cotton Candy Berry.

A beautiful spreading tree with deliciously sweet fruit…

Fruity Friday…#fruits…The Cotton Candy Berry…

Saturday Snippets…

I will be back next week with Saturday Snippets I just didn’t feel it was appropriate for the last 2 weeks…Yesterday was the Royal Ceremonial Funeral of His Royal Highness, Prince Phillip, The Duke of Edinburgh…

I know it was streamed around the world but just in case you missed it or want to recap…it was a beautiful funeral and music which celebrated the Prince’s life and work…

I also know that it was protocol(Covid) that The Queen sat alone but my tears flowed and my heart broke for her…

Rest in peace your Royal Highness, Prince Phillip…The Duke of Edinburgh 1921 – 2021…

Well, that’s it for today…Thank you so much for dropping by…see you next week …Love Carol xx

Smorgasbord Food Column – Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen – Bread, Homemade Peanut Butter and Home Grown Vegetables and Herbs.

Hello and welcome to Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen I cannot begin to tell you how delighted I am to be back with a brand- new column at Smorgasbord Magazine… and how welcome you made me feel last month for my first post of the year you are all-stars as is Sally for inviting me back x

I am passionate about cooking from scratch using fresh ingredients, the environment and ensuring that the food I make for my family is clean and as chemical-free as it can possible be…I would also love to know that instead of counting calories that more people counted chemicals as it is the chemicals in processed foods which affect our health and wellbeing.

Just to recap for those who missed the first post…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.

It isn’t easy …in theory we know what we should do …THEREFORE I have looked at what I can do gradually…every small change is a bonus.

Positive signs from 2020 are it seems we are becoming a nation of cooks again we are baking bread, cooking from scratch, making small changes to how we live our live…A reset…
I now bake bread every other day… Sandwich Loaf…an update… (The original recipe was in last month’s post)

The only change I have made so far is to substitute stone ground wholewheat flour for some of the white bread flour…everything else is exactly the same…

The original recipe used 500 gm Bread Flour…

I now use 300gm stone ground wholewheat flour and 200gm Bread Flour.

As different brands of flour do vary it can affect the liquid used up until now, I have not had to change the volume of my liquid. Personally, my family prefer this percentage and is how I will make this sandwich loaf in future it has a nice texture and a nuttier taste.

Did you know?

It’s a given that processed foods can save you a little time. But what you gain in convenience, you lose in money, environmental impact and maybe even health.
That’s because processed foods require more labour to convert them from their natural state to something that fits in a box, bag or tub.

You’re also paying for the chemicals added to the processed food to keep them fresh.
You’re paying for the packaging, too, which is totally worthless once you get it home. Indeed, $1 out of every $11 you spend at the grocery store you spend on the packaging you throw away.

I will give you a simple example…Peanut Butter…

One of the quickest and simplest, things to make…

To carry on reading please click Original Post:

CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…17th January-23rd January 2021…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 is a lovely sunny and still morning here…a tad warmer just by a whisper and I am contemplating my day while I sip my delicious and healthy Coconut Water…

Meatless Mondays …are going well and proving quite popular… I am enjoying my meatless meals and I wish to thank everyone who has sent me tips and recipes to try you are all awesome… I will also credit back to you once I have made them and my taste testers have given their verdict…

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/01/18/meatless-monday-week-2/

I am gradually getting back into my healthy eating after the excesses of the festive season coupled with quarantine and as it looks like it is not going to ease at the moment I have decided that rather than have a lot to lose… I’ll start now …it’s far easier to shift a few kilos than a lot…

One thing that has amazed me is the number of new names for eating plans…so many tarians…Please!

  • Pescatarians – people who do not eat meat, but eat fish.
  • Lacto-ovo-vegetarians – eat no meat, including seafood, but do eat dairy products and eggs.
  • Lacto-vegetarians – eat dairy products but avoid eggs.
  • Ovo-vegetarians – eat eggs but not dairy products

Why can’t we just say we eat a healthy varied diet? No fads and no avoiding of various food groups(unless) of course we have a diagnosed medical condition as to why we can’t eat a specific food item…Just sensible eating with some moderation applied to certain foods …I mean who wants to live on chocolate alone???…

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/01/19/eat-smart-eat-healthy-dinner/

 

Wednesday I was back over at Smorgasbord Magazine for my new column…Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen where I talk about how we can take tiny steps to make our kitchens a little greener coupled with a recipe…This week it was my favourite Sandwich Loaf Recipe which I am tweaking to make it healthier by adding stoneground Wholewheat Flour so far I added 200gms of wholewheat flour with no other changes to the recipe apart from the fact the taste has improved…Thank you to Sally for inviting me back and to everyone who has supported my new column you all rock xx

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2021/01/20/smorgasbord-food-column-carol-taylors-green-kitchen-homemade-bread-plastic-alternatives-grated-cheese/

Wednesday is also the day for my Culinary Alphabet with A twist and this week it was foods and culinary terms ENDING in the letter S

The letter S…this letter is different in so much that you can add an S too so many words…Which meant I could choose words which had a plural or not…I have mixed and matched…all good fun!

It also meant that I could leave many for Pete and he didn’t disappoint I think S is the easiest to date…

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/01/20/the-culinary-alphabet-with-a-little-twistfood-terms-ending-in-the-letter-s-asparagus/

Thursday: Healthy Eating …Snacking is it good for you?

Snacking can be an important part of your diet if you stick to a few simple rules…It is healthy to snack if you have a long time between the next meal…sticking it out generally doesn’t work..you will either head for the biscuit tin or the fridge and have just one…?

It can also help stop you overeating at meal times because you are just soooo hungry…

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/01/21/healthy-eating-snacking-is-it-good-for-you/

Smorgasbord Health Column – Turning Back the Clock 2021 -Anti-Aging and the correct pH balance by Sally Cronin…

I think most of us would like to turn the clock back just a few years here Sally tells you how you can stop the march of time showing on your face and body by watching what you eat…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2021/01/21/smorgasbord-health-column-turning-back-the-clock-2021-anti-aging-and-the-correct-ph-balance-by-sally-cronin/

Coconut Water is one of natures natural cleaners drunk regularly it can improve our health…it can help rid the body of accumulated irritants, waste products and toxins.

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/01/22/natural-cleansers-green-coconuts-water/

Saturday Snippets:

Dumplings and Joan and the Jetts with I love Rock n Roll…it woke the neighbours up…lol…Rabbie Burns, Haggis, neeps and Tatties…all this week’s whimsey …Enjoy!

https://carolcooks2.com/2021/01/23/saturday-snippets-23rd-january-2020/

Well, that’s it for today…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