Welcome once again to Smorgasbord Magazine where Sally is sharing one of my first A-Z’s…Today in my culinary trawl we have the letter W for Wakame, Wasabi, Walnuts, Watercress, and Wax Beans etc…so many food favourites begin with the letter W and I can’t thank Sally enough for sharing as I am loving the rewind…I haven’t made watercress rice for a while so that will be back on the menu it’s making my water just thinking about it…walnuts I munch on regularly and use in cooking the live fish I still give it a miss-smile.
To read the original post please click the highlighted link below and come and say hello the kettles on…See you there xxx
Oranges ... I’m sure all of you know what an Orange is and how good they are for you so today let’s look at the Orange, of course, they are different and sometimes the same around the world we have all enjoyed and Orange or OJ…
There are over 400 different types of Oranges in the world…however they all don’t belong to the citrus family whose Oranges are a rich source of citric Acid plus Vitamin C…
Sweet oranges (C. Sinensis) are one of the most popular oranges around the world…then we have the Common Orange these varietals make up two-thirds of the worlds Orange production and are generally what is used to make our OJ.
Blood Oranges…One of my favourite oranges and they sure make for a delicious Mojito…they are also jam-packed full of anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant. These are the pigments that give them their dark red colour.
These antioxidants are known for their anti-cancer properties. They help your body reduce damage from free radicals, decreasing the chance that cells will become cancerous.
Navel Oranges…Navel oranges are one of the healthiest fruits you can eat, filled with Vitamin C, fibre, potassium and low in calories. It is always better if you can opt for whole oranges over juice whenever possible…
Bitter Oranges…Native to eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, and Southeast Asia, bitter orange now is grown throughout the Mediterranean region and elsewhere, including California and Florida.
Bitter orange has for years been used in traditional Chinese medicine for indigestion, nausea, and constipation.
Today, various bitter orange products are promoted for heartburn, nasal congestion, weight loss, appetite stimulation or suppression, and athletic performance. Bitter orange is also applied to the skin for pain, bruises, fungal infections, and bedsores. Bitter orange is used in cooking and for adding flavour to beer and spirits.
Tangerine…The Tangerine is a type of Orange…Like all citrus fruits, tangerines have an abundance of vitamin C. They also have a moderate amount of vitamin A, with 100 grams of tangerine providing you with approximately 14% of your daily recommended vitamin A intake.
Mandarin…Mandarins belong to the Citrus genus. It’s believed they originated in ancient China, which is how they got their name. Their peel is deep-orange, loose and slightly leathery. Unlike oranges, mandarins are not round. Rather, they’re oblong, resembling a sphere with a flattened top and bottom. easy to peel.
Clementine...Tangerines and clementines are both hybrids of the small-sized mandarin. They share many of the same characteristics as other mandarins, such as a smaller size compared with navel oranges, few to no seeds, a sweet flavour, and a thin, soft skin that’s very easy to peel.
Tangerines and clementines have a similar appearance, so it’s easy to get them confused or think they’re one and the same.
Seville Orange…Seville sour orange is the variety of sour orange traditionally used to make orange marmalade. The fragrant flowers are used in China to flavour tea, and in Europe, the flowers are the source of oil of neroli, used in perfume manufacture.
Bergamot Orange…That is one strange-looking orange! Or is it lime? Meet the odd fruit that gives Earl Grey tea its signature flavour and aroma. But unlike other citrus fruits, they cannot be eaten fresh. Bergamot oranges are sour, despite the fact that the fruit is a good source of vitamin C, potassium, vitamins B1, B2, and A. In addition to being the star flavour of Earl Grey tea, the zest and flesh of the bergamot fruit are used in Europe as a flavouring in cookies, custards, marmalades, syrups, and cocktails. It is also mixed with mayonnaise or pesto and served as a condiment with fish or meat entrees.
Thai oranges… are among the juiciest of oranges with a yellowish-green peel and bright orange flesh; the segments are generally eaten fresh or squeezed for juice. The overall season for Thai oranges is September through November, although they can be enjoyed year-round.
Orange in the Thai Language is called SOM…
Did you know?
Oranges are currently the largest citrus crop in the world and actually originated from China. Now, Brazil is the leading orange producer in the world, producing about 30% of the world’s output. The United States comes in second, accounting for about 10% of the world’s production.
About 70% of the oranges grown in the United States are grown in Florida. California, Texas, and Arizona are also large producers. Orange trees, though they require tropical climates, are actually classified as evergreen trees.
Cooking with Oranges…Orange zest added to baking or savoury dishes always adds that zing…Duck A La Orange is a classic French recipe featuring a whole roasted duck with crispy, crackling skin along with an aromatic sweet-sour sauce known as sauce bigarade. The original sauce bigarade is made with bitter oranges (sometimes called bigarade oranges, sour oranges, or Seville oranges), and it’s finely balanced, with just enough sweetness to offset the intensity of those oranges. One of my favourites…
Segmented and added to a salad…oranges and Mozzarella make a good pair…add the juice when you are cooking couscous…roasted carrots with orange juice taste sublime…Candied Orange Peel…Sticky Jerk Chicken with Blood Oranges, Beetroot and Orange smoothie is one of my favourites…Orange and Mint…think Mojitos…Marmalade Muffins…Gluten-Free Orange and Almond Cake, a lovely shredded duck, watercress and Orange salad..delicious…Orange Pork with Watercress Rice…
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of rice
1 ¼ lb Pork tenderloin cut into cubes
3 cups of coarsely chopped watercress reserving a few sprigs for garnish.
4-6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp of oil
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2/3 cup Orange marmalade
A ½ cup of finely julienned ginger
Salt and pepper to season
Cook the rice and toss in the watercress with ½ to 1 tbsp oil, cover and leave to stand for at least 10 minutes.
Season the pork and with the pan on medium heat add the oil and add half of the ginger and cook until the ginger is golden, drain and set to one side.
Add the pork and brown for 3-4 minutes and then remove from the pan. Add the remainder of the ginger and the garlic and cook for 30 seconds add the marmalade, fish sauce and lime juice bring to a slow rolling boil stirring until it is syrupy then return the pork to the pan simmer for 1 minute and serve over the rice.
Garnish with the crispy ginger and watercress sprigs.
This was very nice I wasn’t sure about the watercress but the heat of the rice just wilted the watercress and it was very nice even hubby liked it….Me, I might add some chilli flakes next time…Just saying…
Those are some of my favourites ...what is your favourite dish with Oranges?…
Thank you for joining me today I hope you have enjoyed this post on Oranges and I look forward to your comments and hearing what you make with Oranges…
See you tomorrow for Saturday Snippets I invite any of you to give me one word as I am running out of ideas…Last weeks word was Rainbow and I had fun with that without the unicorns…x
Welcome to series 3 of the Culinary Alphabet…WHERE the middle letter is E…
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…not sure if they want me to call it quits or what they will come up with next…Chel like Pete, 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, Brawn, Cabbage, 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 its 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 E... vinegar on your chips … with a nice slice of homemade bread or maybe you are having pizza with extra pepperoni …spoilt for choice it seems…How about a cup of tea to help you make up your mind.
Bream:
Bream, is a common European food and game fish belonging to the carp family, Cyprinidae, found in lakes and slow rivers. This delicate white fish can be baked, fried, grilled or steamed.
Bread:
Eaten around the world it comes in many forms…Arepa Bread is a flat, round, cornmeal patty that is eaten in Venezuela and Colombia. It can be baked, fried or cooked on a charcoal grill, with fillings like grated cheese, ham, black beans, chicken salad and avocado, shredded beef or Perico (Venezuelan-style scrambled eggs). I will be sharing the recipe at a later date x
Wholemeal Bread made with whole flour has nothing taken out…the flour is coarser in texture than white flour, brown wholemeal flour is the finely ground meal of whole wheat berries. Bran and germ are retained during processing, making wholemeal flour higher in fibre and more nutritious than white flour.
Casserole:
Getting down to the basics, a casserole is any food that is cooked and served in the same dish. They are typically baked and can consist of proteins like beef, chicken, or fish, a variety of vegetables, or almost anything else you can think of. … Then, it is cooked uncovered in an oven.
Cream:
Think strawberries and cream or scones with jam and clotted cream…A versatile cooking ingredient it comes in many forms…It can be a rich dairy product or if made with coconut cream it is vegan and dairy-free…
Crepe:
A version of a pancake my pancakes are similar to crepes as I make mine very thin…They can be sweet or savoury and in my book always a delightful treat.
Cress:
Egg and cress sandwiches are my favourites since childhood…made with garden cress we used to grow it on the window sill or you can get the peppery watercress which is grown in water…both are delightful in a sandwich or a salad…the watercress is lovely wilted in rice it just gives the rice that peppery taste and is lovely with chicken or pork in an orange-based sauce…with watercress rice...Delicious.
Watercress is also packed with nutrients and often called a superfood.
Goosefish:
The monkfish, or goosefish which is its official name, is a type of anglerfish that lives on the bottom of the ocean throughout the Atlantic.
Grapevine:
No! not a record by Marvin Gaye...but for you an Acappella version…
it is however a vine that grows the grapes that your favourite vino is made from…
Knead:
The best thing to relieve stress is to get kneading that bread…in breadmaking, kneading is a process used to mix the ingredients and add strength to the final product…Your beautiful homemade bread.
Nigella Seeds:
One of the oldest spices known to be used, nigella seeds were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb and are mentioned in the Bible’s Old Testament. The tiny black seeds have a slightly bitter taste with some of the pungency of onion, but also offer many other subtle nuances of flavour.
Their appearance means they are commonly called black onion seed, but they have nothing to do with the onion family.
Pepperoni:
I love Pepperoni on pizza and in paella…a variety of salami, made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chilli pepper.
Polenta:
Polenta is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. It may be served as a hot porridge, or it may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled…it seems that polenta chips are quite popular on the cooking programmes.
Ramekin:
A small glazed ceramic dish used in cooking and for serving dishes like a souffle or a creme caramel…sometimes made from other materials.
Rosella:
A pretty fruit with fleshy flowers…The Rosella fruit One of my favourite flowers that I use for jam/jelly/chutney or dried I make a nice tea from it which is reminiscent of blackberry tea for me or Ribena.
When I first saw this beautiful fruit I had only ever seen them dried before not fresh…it was something new to try… I just love it when I come across something I have not used or seen before…I get so excited.
Rosella grows easily here as it loves a tropical climate it is also a very pretty plant the species grown here in Thailand has broader leaves and pink rather than cream flowers and the leaves are used more than the fruits.
Sauternes:
Are a French sweet wine…a golden wine which can be very expensive and is often sold in half bottles…From the Graves region in Bordeaux sweet wines are not my favourite…but they are a very popular dessert wine around the world.
Sieve:
A metal or nylon kitchen utensil held in a frame…used for straining solids from liquids and reducing to a pulp also for separating coarser from fine particles from flour or other dried goods.
Speck:
Speck is a type of cured, lightly smoked ham. It’s typically made in South Tyrol, a province in northeast Italy known for its snow-capped Dolomite mountains and strong German-Austrian influence. Although a close cousin to prosciutto Crudo, speck is worthy of its own distinction when it comes to cured hams.
Spelt:
Is an ancient grain…also known as hulled wheat or Dinkel wheat. Nutritionally, it is very similar to wheat. However, comparisons have shown it to be slightly higher in zinc and protein.
Tangerine:
Is a type of mandarin orange…The difference is in the skin The tangerine has a darker orange skin the mandarin skin is a lighter orange.
Tea:
Is an aromatic beverage made by pouring boiling or hot water over cured or fresh leaves…it is said there are over 20,000 different teas in the world…it can be broken down to black, white, green, yellow and oolong…
A Britsh tradition …the kettle goes on for many occasions, funerals, divorces, births, happy news, sad news or just because…Black tea has always been the most popular but other teas are now slowly gaining ground…my favourite is Oolong…What’s Yours?
Vinegar:
Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace chemicals that may include flavourings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, acetic acid is produced by the fermentation of ethanol or sugars by acetic acid bacteria.
That said my abiding memory is eating freshly cooked fish and chips out of newspaper sitting beside the sea…
Vinegar of course now comes in so many types and I use some of them quite regularly in my kitchen those being Apple Cider Vinegar. Balsamic Vinegar, Red Wine Vinegar, Black Vinegar, White Vinegar and fruit Vinegar…Vinegar deserves a whole post, not just a few lines but for today…that’s what it is…What’s your favourite vinegar?
That’s all for today for the letter E…
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
Welcome to this week’s edition of my weekly roundup of posts…I hope you are all staying safe and well…and social distancing…Let’s take a pew and have a read… I hope you enjoy it!
Monday always starts with Climate change as there is always something new to discover…This week was no different…Recycling and Climate Change… 29th June 2020…
In this post, I looked at factory farming and how it could if unchecked be the source of future pandemics and how by changing our meat-eating habits we could prevent this…I and my family eat meat as well as lots of fruit and vegetables both cooked and raw…I also believe we should eat a varied diet and apply moderation for certain food groups
I have made a promise with some prompting from my readers to give my opinion on them and I will when I come across one of the products…There have also been some readers comments which I will share tomorrow…Others topics discussed was the Circular Economy, solar and dirty seas…
Tuesday was the day for some recipes…Eggplant, Garlic, Horseradish and a Mai Tai…
You may think that is a strange combination however there are lots of National Days and months relating to food…There really are…Today is the last day of the National Eat your Fruit and Vegetables Month as well as the last day for the National Eggplant, Garlic and Horseradish Month…It is also National Mai Tai Day today…and why not?
Pea eggplants
Small purpleThai eggplants
Therefore I am going to share my favourite recipes using the above vegetables and fruit and after that, I will surely need a Mai Tai…Just saying…
A day where I indulge my whimsy…this week not so much I don’t know why but most roads led back to Covid-19 and I just didn’t want to go there…but I found some delightful teddy bears and some music…
Thursday…Time for some Food Therapy from Sally@Smorgasbord Health.
This week it is on the benefits of watercress…I love egg and watercress sandwiches and the childhood memories it invokes…High tea on Sunday with shellfish and crumpets and of course cake or Salmon, watercress and egg sandwiches and of course cake or scones with jam..homemade of course…It appears my mother knew the benefits of feeding us watercress.
Chicken with ginger
In this post-Sally will tell you all about the health benefits of watercress coupled with a lovely watercress soup recipe and she has kindly linked to my recipes using watercress….
Friday in my kitchen..how to reduce kitchen waste…
I was taught by my nana and my mother how to cook and to never waste food and it has stayed with me all my life I, in turn, taught my children and hope they are teaching theirs…It has many benefits as there is the knock-on effect of saving money, having tastier, healthier meals with no preservatives or fillers…Reducing food waste not only helps the environment, but it’s also an excellent way to save some extra money and time.
Coriander roots
A win, win situation…and you will always have delicious, healthy food ton your table…
This week there was some delightful wildlife ..the saga of dead man’s fingers continued but a tad more enticing as in a tipple of rum…
I also shared a recipe for a delicious, finger-licking crab curry ..you will definitely require a bib and finger bowls but enjoy the most delicious food ever…
If anyone has a weekly roundup they love or they write then please send me the link and I will share here…Happy to help spread the good news and views..x
Here is Smorgasbord Blog Magazine weekly Roundup…
Packed with music, recipes, poetry, health advice, books reviews too much to mention just a delightful jam-packed week something for everyone to enjoy…
God bless you all in these turbulent times…be safe and stay well…
My hopes…for the future…
When this is all over my hope for the future is a cleaner world… I do want to see communities, and caring for your neighbour becoming the new norm…WORKING TOGETHER INSTEAD OF WORKING AGAINST EACH OTHER…Being kind to each other…Loving someone whatever their religion or skin colour…Can we make this happen? We have to but in the right way…Are we willing to make a stand? Personally, I would love to see lessons learnt ..realistically I have my doubts…
Thank you for reading be well and stay safe 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 well being.
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 stay safe and healthy xx
Time for Sally’s Health common where she tells us all about the many benefits of Watercress.
My first memories of watercress were for Sunday afternoon tea in the summer served with Salmon, brown bread or egg and watercress sandwiches. I used to love them…
When I was reading Sally’s marvelous post on the health benefits of watercress it is certainly a most impressive little aquatic herb and packed with lots of iron….those egg and cress sandwiches were my first thought and watercress gives that wonderful distinctive peppery taste and of course if it picked while young and tender it much milder as the pungency gets stronger with age…Enjoy the post xx
My thanks to Sally for hosting me again…I do hope you all enjoy and find some new ways to spice up your food…It is nice to ring the changes isn’t it?…Enjoy!
Welcome to the Food and Cookery Column with Carol Taylor who lives in Thailand and infuses the spices of her adopted home into her recipes for all the family.
How to add fuss free flavor to your food.
To make delicious family food you don’t need to spend a fortune on fancy ingredients which cost a fortune. Most of us have access to a whole range of simple herbs, spices and aromatics which we can use to accentuate and bring maximum flavor to food.
I will tell you how to match the seasoning to the ingredient without spending a fortune…
It could be a stuffing, glazing, infusing, dry rubbing or marinating and viola it takes that simple dish to another level…
Making a bouquet Garni…
Is one of the simplest and easiest things to make…It is a classic flavouring for soups, stews and casseroles. All you need is a piece…
Retired? No one told me! 