Tag Archives: Olive Oil

The Culinary Alphabet …..A-Z…Series 3… the letter I…

Welcome to series 3 of the Culinary Alphabet A-Z…Where the middle letter is I…

Nothing is as it seems here…this new series is the brainchild of Chel Owens who writes at A wife, My Verse, and Every Little Thing…my followers are so good to me they think up all sorts of permutations of the Alphabet for me to blog about…not sure if they want me to call it quits or what they will come up with next…Chel like Pete was, however, will be called on to make her contribution every two weeks…they don’t get off scot-free…so I hope you have started brainstorming Chel…haha x

So what’s in store? In this series the A, B, C, etc will be the middle letter, for example, Aga, Cabbage, Fries and Yucca… how easy that will be who knows I am sure some of the letters of the alphabet could cause the grey matter to rebel or implode…haha…I also don’t want to use plurals to form a word as I may need that word for another letter and it’s sort of cheating I think…unless of course I really get stuck…which I am sure will happen…

Today it is words where the middle letter is I...fairly easy but it taxed my brain somewhat…A few Fries like Fried chips, Fried Onion with a nice Pie but I had fun…Thanx Chel xx

Let’s go and see what I have found…

Apricot…

Apricots a golden furry skinned delicious fruit…I can only get frozen or dried ones here or small greenish ones, not the golden delicious ones of my dreams they are also pickled in a salt brine..not sure why…but as of yet no beautiful fresh ones…Low in fat and high in fibre. A few years ago after a major operation, it was recommended by my doctor that I included apricots in my diet…They have multiple benefits, including improved eye, skin, and gut health.

Anise…

Also known as Aniseed the flavour and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices, such as star anise, fennel, and liquorice.

Brine…

A salt and water solution whereby a cut of meat or seafood is submerged in the solution. Brine is used for food processing and cooking (pickling and brining),

Brines are used to salt cheeses such as feta and halloumi, not only for flavour but to inhibit the growth of a variety of moulds, to preserve it and in some cases to draw out moisture, helping it to develop a rind.

Crisp…

A wafer-thin slice of potato baked or fried then seasoned with salt or other flavours…Commercially made they are sold everywhere I defy anyone to eat just one it is easy to demolish a pack without even thinking…

Nutritionally they are bad for us…I remember Walkers crisps with that bright blue packer of salt for us a rare treat…BUT this very British snack has snowballed during the pandemic…Brits have bought a veritable mountain of bagged snacks during the pandemic. They’ve tucked into almost 60,000 tonnes more than in 2019…To me, those figures are a pandemic all by themselves…

Dip…

A sherbet dip or a savoury dip…Dips are used to add flavour or texture to a food, such as pitta bread, dumplings, crackers, cut-up raw vegetables, fruits, seafood, cubed pieces of meat and cheese, potato chips, tortilla chips, falafel, and sometimes even whole sandwiches in the case of au jus…which is a French culinary term meaning “with Juice” served to enhance a dish or just to dip your bread or Yorkshire pudding in…Originally, the Yorkshire pudding was served as a first course with thick gravy to dull the appetite.

Enchilada…

An enchilada is a corn tortilla wrapped around a filling then covered with a savoury sauce…Mexican in origin Historians believe enchiladas actually date back to Aztec times when the tradition of rolling or folding food into corn tortillas is believed to have begun. The word enchilada is derived from the Spanish verb enchilar, which means to season with chilli.

Feuille…

Translated this French dessert means.. to sheet …as in Mille-Feuille which is an old-school French dessert made from layers and layers of airy, crispy flaky pastry sandwiched together with a cream or custard filling with a feathered icing top…

Fig…

There is nothing like the taste of fresh figs a unique fruit shaped like a teardrop…Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia they are a nutritious fruit with slightly crunchy edible seeds.

To learn more about the Fig and some recipes please click here

Gin…made from the Juniper Berry.

An alcoholic beverage made from the Juniper Berry…

Grill…

A culinary term that applies to dry heat applied to the surface of food…The word grill is often used for a barbecue but barbecue is not used for the grill. In other words, the barbecue which is used outside can also be called a grill. A grill can be used inside or outside.

I use the grill to brown the top of my cauliflower cheese …My American cousins use the term to broil…Both are heats that come from the top.

Icing…

Think cupcakes and birthday cakes…Icing can be made with just icing sugar(powdered sugar) and a very little drop of water or lemon juice and maybe some food colouring and sprinkles…It can be made by creaming some butter with icing sugar(buttercream) or cocoa powder or other powder of your choice…it can be made with egg whites as in Royal Icing with which wedding cakes may be iced with…fondant icing, cream cheese frosting, meringue…depending on whether you want a hard icing for biscuits or a softer icing for cakes or maybe an icing to cover a birthday cake or celebration cake so many different types…

Olive Oil…

Olive Oil is made by pressing fresh olives and extracting the oil… liquid fat rich in healthy Monounsaturated Fats ….used to make salad dressings, mayonnaise, as a dip with some lovely balsamic vinegar…for frying food, making cakes and bread…

Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed or refined type. Extra virgin olive oil is considered to be the healthiest type of olive oil. It’s extracted using natural methods and standardized for purity and certain sensory qualities like taste and smell.

With olive oil, you get what you pay for at the cheaper end you get Olive Oil Blends and Pomace Olive Oil…Blended Olive Oils can be used at the table, in your favourite kitchen recipe, and also for sauteing, baking or broiling any meal.

Your extra virgin olive can be used for cooking and baking but be aware of the different smoking points…I save mine for salad dressing or drizzles and bread.

Onion…

The Onion family...we have the chives which can be snipped and scattered over a dish, the spring onion(green onion) or scallion which is slightly bigger with a mildly pungent flavour, shallots which have a mild delicate flavour and great in salads and sauces.

The larger red onion is lovely sliced and eaten raw in a salad or lightly pickled, the yellow onion is great for caramelising or added to soups and stews…

Did you know? The onion is also classed as a herb?

The definition of a herb: any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavouring, food, medicine or perfume. So onions qualify as a herb!

Pie…

A pie is a great British institution and many an argument has raged over the definition of a pie should it be a two-crust version or just have a top..some call them pot pies. Pies have been around since Ancient Egyptian time when anything cooked in an oven was called a pie and often the pastry which encased the filling was not eaten…The early “pyes” were predominantly meat pies and often very ornate…

Pit…

The pit is actually a large seed, found in stone fruits that can be either clingstone or freestone depending on how easily the flesh pulls away from the seed.

Ravioli…

Is a type of pasta which is filled and served in a broth or with a sauce…Ravioli are commonly square, though other forms are also used, including circular and semi-circular. My favourite ravioli is served with a burnt butter sauce simple but delicious.

Schnitzel…

A schnitzel is a thin slice of meat that has been pounded with a meat tenderiser then mostly breaded and then fried. The breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, chicken, mutton, beef, or turkey.

Vanilla…

Vanilla beans can be used in a variety of recipes as flavouring or ingredients and other uses such as homemade vanilla extract, baking, cooking, and brewing. Madagascar Vanilla Beans are the highest quality beans in the world and have an incredible flavour profile…There is nothing like the taste of fresh vanilla yes you can buy artificial vanilla extracts but there is no comparison…some things are just worth paying that extra it pays you back in taste…and you can make vanilla sugar from the pods…

That’s all for today for the letter I…

Thank you so much for your visit I hope you have enjoyed the read…See you tomorrow for another episode of made from scratch… Love Carol xxx

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Food Column – Carol Taylor – A – Z of Food – ‘O’ for Oats, Offal, Octopus, Oranges and Oysters.

Over half way through time just seems to fly…The letter O…Thank you Sally for promoting this series you are a star…Hugs xxx

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Welcome to this month’s The Culinary Alphabet beginning with the letter O bought to you by moi @CarolCooks2. It seems to me that the time is just flying by… Such a funny year so far unprecedented in so many ways…

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 children, 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…

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Just like our cars and bikes which need to be kept well oiled…Sally is on hand with her expert advice on the oils we need to keep our bods in tip-top condition and the benefits…Please pop over and have read and leave a comment on what oil you use…we would love to know there are also some tried and tested recipes for you…Everything you need at your fingertips for a healthy body …Enjoy!

 

via Smorgasbord Health Column – Food Therapy – Olive Oil…keeps your body moving by Sally Cronin

Travel and Traditions…Down on the Farm…Sesame Plant(Ngaa) and Barking Deers Mango

Good morning and welcome…It was a lovely sunny one earlier and now it has clouded over…Are we in for some rain? It is rainy season but we have had a few days of sunny shine and no rain…My weather report tells me 50% chance of precipitation today with scattered thunderstorms…. the temp is hovering around 30C and set to rise a little today…No rain yet…

Today I am taking you on another trip down the farm…

The Sesame plant or Ngaa as it is known here is another plant which has popped up…I am loving it as I am constantly being surprised at what plants and fruits are appearing  Down on the  Farm...It makes it easier for the future I will know and can plan a little it will also help as I will know what and where so we can transplant and not build and destroy.

It is a beautiful and quite delicate looking plant with pretty white flowers.

Sesame seed plant

Of course, I now wanted to know what uses this plant had if any apart from producing seeds which are used mainly in desserts in Thailand. Here on the farm they are dried and used for just that really and to make the lovely sesame biscuits which we love…

The oil from the seeds is not really used in Thai cuisine like it is in Chinese cookery.

The sesame seed is one of the most ancient seeds on earth there have been remains of Sesame seeds found and dated as far back as 3500BC. It was also widely traded in parts of Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent around 2000BC.  Always highly valued in Eastern, African and Mediterranean culture it has been used for thousands of years in cooking to flavour foods. Sesame oil has one of the highest oil contents of any seed and a rich nutty flavour. Across the continent’s world-wide sesame oil, tahini and the seeds are widely used.

It is a good source of vitamins and minerals that boost nutrient absorption, it is beneficial to human metabolism and the bodies fat-burning ability.

Sesame oil is a strong antihypertensive and can also help normalize blood pressure levels.

Sesame butter or Tahini is a pretty calorific dense food with 89 calories plus 8 gm of fat per tablespoon BUT the majority of that fat comes from healthy unsaturated fat like Omega 3 oils which help lower inflammation thus lower the risk of heart attacks. However, as always I advise moderation.

How to make your very own Tahini paste/butter..it is so quick and easy and the cost of a packet of sesame seeds is virtually pennies against the cost of a store-bought jar of tahini and no nasties…

Let’s Cook! 

Into the kitchen, for a quick toasting of the Sesame Seeds, then into the mini blender, 3 tbsp Olive oil, and a quick whizz, scrape down the sides, another tbsp Olive oil and another scrape, a  bit more oil and a quick whizz and viola your  Tahini Paste is now made.

How easy is that?

Tahini Paste I have been making tahini for a couple of years…I think I need an updated image as my first batch was back in 2015…

Sesame seeds come in white or black, the white seeds having the highest iron content thus are used in food or as oil.

Black seeds are stronger, more flavorful and have 60% more calcium than white seeds and are used in medicines.

There has been some exciting news on a breakthrough in the research conducted at the Thailand Excellence Center for Tissue Engineering and Stem Cells at the Chiang Mai University  where  it was discovered that “Sesamin” extracted from black sesame seeds contains properties that hinder cancer cell growth as well as stimulate antibodies in the human body to fight cancer.

Dr Prachya stated that patents for the medical breakthrough have been filed and received for the research both in Thailand and internationally.

This is great news.

As I have said before I am always being amazed by the extraordinary benefits that so many plants and seeds are being proved to provide… so much better in many cases than prescribed medicines and supplements although if you are already on prescribed medicines PLEASE speak to your doctor and discuss what alternatives you are looking at taking and remember with plants and seeds …No one size fits all…. All of our bodies are different and react differently…..But ask! Talk to your doctor, do your own research from reputable research bodies.

Called Man Saeng this potato-like root is only found in the jungle surrounding the farm and not sold commercially…..If someone has been foraging in the jungle you may find a few being sold very locally on a market.

Thai potatoes- man saeng- down- on- the-farm

Thai Potatoes called Man Saeng

Man Saeng is not only native to Thailand but neighbouring Burma, Cambodia and Laos.

Here in the North they are often found growing by the river and the vines often attach themselves to a tree and then what I call the runners have the tubers which are light brownish and slightly hairy.

It can be added to soup or fried like the fried bananas in a batter or breadcrumbed and my son who had them boiled for his supper last night said that they tasted a little like our new potatoes and he really liked them. They can also be steamed or ground into a flour to make desserts.

They are quite fibrous and if overcooked have a sticky texture… somewhat glutinous.

This video shows them being harvested from the jungle and also where a few are being grown for the farmer’s own consumption. To me, that soil looks pretty hard and for a few tubers that is hard work…

This week we also harvested a few nuts which are now ready to eat..my nutcrackers do not work as in cracking them..my son’s partners uses a knife..mmmm…I think I will leave that to her or I  will end up minus some digits…That’s for sure…

They taste a little like a cross between a brazil nut and macadamia nuts again I will shell them all and use them in my cooking..well I won’t..lol..That shell is impervious to my nutcrackers…

These nuts are from the Irvingia Malayana, which has the marvellously fanciful English title of the Barking Deer’s Mango. According to The University of Melbourne, it also has the much more prosaic Khmer name of Cham Mo. There’s a similar tree (Irvingia gabonensis) distributed about Western tropical Africa, whose nuts are used fairly extensively as a soup thickener and bread ingredient.

The name Barking deer’s mango is a strange name I can only surmise that it originated from the Indian Muntjac also named barking deer as it was often hunted around the outskirts of agricultural areas as they are considered a nuisance for damaging crops and ripping bark from trees.

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This wild evergreen tree can grow as tall as 50 metres high the wood which is of low quality is used for general construction or fuel but is also very sought after and popular here for making charcoal.

The seeds of the tree are a source of a non-drying oil called cay-cay fat which is used in the manufacture of candles and soap making.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s little trip around the farm…there are always lots of surprises to be found and also things for me to learn..my knowledge has increased tenfold since I have lived always something to learn…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 are now regular columns on my blog this year. It is important that we are mindful of the world we live in…These honeybees dining on forget me knots say it all to me…

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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: 

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

 

Smorgasbord Health Column – Cook from Scratch – Tomatoes for Breakfast Spanish Style

I love tomatoes any which way and tomatoes on toast for breakfast or brunch sounds good to me… Healthy doesn’t have to mean tasteless and boring it can be amazing and simple like this breakfast dish …Enjoy!

Christmas Recipes…Tahini Paste and Hummus recipes.

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It’s getting closer it will soon be Christmas and it looks like the Uk may have a white Christmas they have had a bit of snow and in some areas a good few inches…Snow looks so lovely when it is fresh and untrodden..Don’t you think???

My Recipe today is for hummus. and homemade Tahini paste… I had always bought my hummus it has only been since I have lived here and not being able to buy hummus that I investigated how to make it…The other factor was the extortionate cost of Tahini paste. To say I was amazed at how easy and quick it is to make is an understatement…this picture has the date and was my very first batch…I think I  need to update my photo next time I make it…

Tahini Paste

How to make your very own Tahini paste/butter..it is so quick and easy and the cost of a packet of sesame seeds is virtually pennies against the cost of a store-bought jar of tahini and no nasties….

Let’s Cook! 

Into the kitchen, a quick toasting of the Sesame Seeds( 1 cup), then into the mini blender, 2/3 tbsp Olive oil, add the oil gradually and a few quick whizzes, scrape down the sides, another splash of Olive oil and another scrape, a  bit more oil and a quick whizz until you get your desired consistency and viola your  Tahini Paste is made.

How easy is that?

Next step…Hummus

Hummus

Combine 3tbsp Tahini Paste with 2tbsp fresh Lemon Juice and blitz in food processor.

Add 2tbsp Olive Oil,1 clove Garlic, half tsp ground Cumin and a half to one tsp salt and blitz.

Add half of drained, rinsed can of chickpeas and again blitz 1-2 mins. Add the other half of Chick Peas and blitz again 1-2 mins.

Put in a suitable container or serving bowl drizzle with tbsp Olive Oil and sprinkle with  Paprika.

Voila, it’s now ready to eat with Sliced pitta bread or cut up vegetables of your choice.

This will keep up to 1 week in the fridge.

That’s it for today…I am going to take a break now as it has gone midnight here and I am still typing away…

Until tomorrow…Nite Nite xx