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.
Good morning from not so sunny Thailand(10 degrees) even hubby and it is first for him since we landed here 8 years ago(he) who has always laughed at me for donning warm clothes has succumbed and is wearing jogging pants and a jumper…
I hope you are all well and getting over the Christmas festivities it is such a busy time of year and sometimes we don’t have time to eat or eat on the run…Don’t we???
Today I am going to repost and have revamped one of my healthy eating posts from a few years ago starting with the first meal of the day… Breakfasts which I hope will help sustain you until lunch and which you can prepare really quickly… there is something for everyone…vegetarians, vegans whatever your eating plan…Breakfast is served…
Firstly…Porridge…
If you don’t know already I had six children, a dog, a cat, a snake, a parrot and a horse…Get the picture all who I had to feed and get off to school before I went to work….lol
Breakfast time was busy…My slow cooker was a lifesaver during the cold winter months …I put the porridge on at night before I went to bed and come the morning it was ready and waiting…So easy…
Hubby was first out of the door having had his bowl of porridge and as the kids appeared they could get theirs it was always fresh and hot…
You can serve porridge with honey, fruit compote, fresh fruit or even a sprinkling of brown sugar which was an occasional treat for me…a throwback to my childhood…
Other toppings:
Mango and toasted coconut
Bacon and maple syrup
Peanut Butter and grapes
I cannot pick a favourite out of these as I love them all…
How about some nice wholemeal Toast with peanut butter and sliced banana maybe a sprinkling of cinnamon and /or honey…for my US cousins it’s jam/jelly…
Or slice some strawberries..anything goes really or some mashed avocado and a hardboiled egg roughly chopped… Quick, easy and nutritious…
Love Peanut Butter then here is the link to make your own…quick and easier than anything you have ever made and no nasties.
Eggs are always a good way to start your day…
Softly scrambled or poached…they are one of my favourite things. Hubby has bread with his eggs I just eat scrambled eggs on their own sometimes I grill some tomatoes as I really love eggs and tomatoes.
Here is a lovely video on how to poach an egg something that many including me have had problems getting the perfect poached egg… And if everyone wants a poached egg this man shows you how to do six eggs at once…
A yoghurt is a great option if you don’t have time to eat it at home put it in a mason jar with a lid and eat it when you get to work…
What I love about these jars is you can take them you and any fruit of your choice you can layer it or just top the yoghurt with it.
Easy to make oats to top your yoghurt or porridge.
Quick crunchy Oats…
1 cup of uncooked oats…
1/4 cup of brown sugar…
3 tbsp butter.
1 tsp cinnamon powder ( optional)
Let’s Bake!
Mix all 3 ingredients together and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes stirring I love to add a bit of cinnamon…
Allow to cool and top your porridge or yoghurt.
Thank you for reading I hope some of these breakfast ideas has made your tastebuds zing xxx
What is your favourite breakfast?
That’s all for this morning thank you for popping in today I hope you have enjoyed this breakfast edition …as always I look forward to your comments as you all know I love to chat…Thanx Carol xx
Good morning and we have rain…Long-awaited rain…it has cleared the air and cooled it down…lovely…it has now settled into a steady rain there have been some fierce winds luckily no damage here although some of the houses in the outlying villages haven’t been so lucky…
Thank you for joining me for Whimsical Wednesdays I have no clear idea of what or where my thoughts will take me yet this post is always written on the fly I just start writing and go where my thoughts take me..maybe I should make some tea and let the thoughts flow free…
I can always remember my mum saying “Beware the Ides of March her other saying sticks in my head is ” March comes “in like a lion, out like a lamb.”…I always thought she referred to the weather…Well, not so in 1973…
March 1973 was the year my oldest son arrived into the world…March is notorious for being wed, windy and cold so my baby layette consisted of lots of hand-knitted cardigans, bonnets and blankets…Not so when Sean came into the world on the 14th of March it was hot and sunny…my mother who always came and stayed for the first 2 weeks of my confinement was drying and airing his nappies outside it was so warm…he slept in a cotton vest and a nappy it was too hot for the winter clothes we had ready for him…There was a mad dash around the shops by my sisters and friends for little cotton suits…147 hrs of sunny shine…
March -�Sunny, mild and very dry.
�Mean Temperature
� 7.3�C
�
�
�Monthly Highest
�17.4�C�
�Total Rain
� 14 mm
�Monthly Lowest
�-3.5�C
�Total Sun
�147 hrs
March 14 is also Pi Day which celebrates the annual occurrence of 3/14 with math jokes, pi-reciting competitions, and (of course) freshly baked pie.
But what does “Beware the Ides of March” actually mean?
It was Shakespeare…In Julius Caesar…Supposedly, in 44 BC, a seer told Julius Caesar that his downfall would come no later than the Ides of March. Caesar ignored him, and when the fated day rolled around he joked with the seer, “The Ides of March have come.” The seer replied, “aye, Caesar; but not gone.” Caesar continued on to a senate meeting at the Theatre of Pompey and was summarily murdered by as many as 60 conspirators. Ironically, the spot where Caesar was assassinated is protected in today’s Rome as a no-kill cat sanctuary.
So, if someone tells you “Beware the Ides of March,” they are probably just letting you know they’ve read Shakespeare.
March is also the second of the seven months of the year to have 31 days…
Let’s have a tune…
Born on this day 4th March 1971… Feargal Lawlor, drummer, with Irish rock band The Cranberries who had the 1994 UK No.14 single ‘Linger’. The bands 1993 album Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We spent 86 weeks on the UK chart.
86 weeks in the album charts…But who spent 18 weeks at number 1?
Frankie Lane with I Believe…
How did he manage that? American crooner Frankie scored his first ever UK Number 1 in April 1953, just after his 40th birthday and seemed reluctant to let go. Not content with notching up nine weeks at the summit, after a week at Number 2, he went back up to spend a further six at the top. But it wasn’t over yet. Famous composer Mantovani then claimed the Number 1 spot, before Frankie gave him a nudge and racked up an additional three weeks. Only five songs in history have scored three separate stints at the top! The other 4 were Bryan Adams, Wet, Wet, Wet, Drake and Queen…
My pick…not because I don’t like listening to the other tracks and not because I think this is their best track…Just because…
I also love Angel Eyes…
Did you know? on 7th March 1933, the Monopoly Game was introduced… It was originally the Landlord’s Game a board game patented in 1904 by Elizabeth Magie as U.S. Patent 748,626. It was a realty and taxation game intended to educate users about Georgism. It was the inspiration for the board game Monopoly.
I think the better question for me to ask is who hasn’t played Monopoly?
Peanut Butter and Pork crackling two of my favourite foods…It was Peanut butter day on March 1st and today is …Ta Da…drum roll, please…Crown Roast of Pork Day…
I have never cooked a crown roast of pork but after watching this I think I will be doing so…it looks awesome…Crown Pork roasts are impressive and for me, they make me picture banquets in times past with this luscious centrepiece although there are no tales of the origins of this day or its creator just mentions that today is the day and that it can only be Crown Roast of Pork nothing less…
Pigs have been around for centuries as far back as 5000BC…A relative of the wild boar it is said to be the most eaten meat in the world…I wonder if that will change in future years…
Did you know?
Today 4th March 1922 the first Vampire film Nosferatu premiered @ The Berlin Zoological Gardens, Germany an adaptation for the film of Bram Stokers, Dracula…
I loved the old Dracula movies with Christopher Lee although I am getting used to some of the newer versions…
That’s all for today …Thank you for joining me on my whimsical ramblings I do hope you have enjoyed this post…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.
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 have a fabulous week xx
Time for the next post in this series as you know over the next few months Sally and I are going to be working our way through the most essential of these nutrients and I will share the symptoms that you might experience if you are becoming deficient in the vitamin or mineral and list the foods where you can find the nutrient. We hope you both benefit nutritionally and enjoy the recipes xxx
In this series we look at cooking and your diet from a different perspective. Usually we emphasize the health benefits of food and how they can be incorporated into your diet. But, what happens if you do NOT include them in your diet.
We wanted to share with you what happens if your body is deprived of individual nutrients over an extended period of time.
Thankfully most of us eat reasonably well, with plenty of variety, but if you take a look at a week’s worth of meals, do you find that you are sticking to a handful of foods, all the time.
Variety is key to good health, to provide your body with as broad a spectrum of nutrients as possible that the body needs. Taking a supplement or relying on shakes and bars to provide your daily allowance of vitamins and nutrients is not in your body’s best…
Hello and welcome… How is your healthy eating going are you still feeling enthused after all that Christmas Fare and ready to eat healthily, have more energy and keep the advancing years at bay? Or is that old enemy Will Power creeping into your life… He creeps about silently but deadly… He just loves it when you sneak a piece or two of that cake that is saying ” Eat me”
His little face lights up and he knows he is winning…
Did you know that the more you resist the temptation that he starts to disappear…He does like a willow the wisp…
The thing is the more you give in he grows bigger and like the gremlins, he sprouts out lots of little Will Powers they are so small they can sneak in anywhere…
They are so clever they plant little ideas and feed on your thoughts…and before you know it you are back to square one…
I will now turn you over to Sally @ Smorgasbord as she has some very sensible ideas on how to find some willpower unlike my little flight of fantasy…haha…So please pop over to Sally’s and if a Gentle Detox is how you like to start your New Year then Parts 1 & 2 will tell you all you need to know …Three brilliant posts full of good ideas and sensible easy to understand information to get you up and running…
Way back in the late 1980’s to 1990″s when I followed one fad diet after another…When low fat and high carbs were one of the Die(t) trends…Rice Cakes were touted as the thing to eat…Cardboard in taste although low-calorie at 35 calories a cake…Looking back they were nothing more than a mouthful or three which had minimal vitamins and minerals, no fat, no fibre and maybe just maybe a gm of protein…Refined carbs which converted very quickly into sugar, they were sprinkled with salt and generally sprayed with artificial flavourings…Did they take my mind off food…No! They left me feeling sluggish and still craving so I demolished the whole packet…
A cup of homemade vegetable soup…When I was cold I used to keep a pot simmering and if I felt a bit peckish then I would just pour my self a mug full and it kept away the hunger pangs.
Salsa with baked tortilla chips or veggies.
To bake your own using corn or flour tortillas, a light brushing of oil or a spritz of cooking spray and a bit of salt, you can bake tortilla chips in your own oven and enjoy them while they are still warm.
Peanut Butter and a banana wrapped in a whole grain wrap.
To make your own Peanut Butter couldn’t be easier…
Rather than buying store-bought peanut butter which is full of nasties, it is easier and it is very quick to make your own.
It is the quickest easiest recipe to make ever, the kids can help blitz it and as well as being tasty it has no nasties.
Let’s Cook!
Take 500 gm raw peanuts. Put in oven on tray and cook on high for 10 mins. Take out of oven and reserve a few (if you like crunchy peanut butter) like me. Put the remainder of nuts in a food processor and blitz at 1 min intervals scrapping down the sides. Do this for 4 mins or until smooth.
Add 1 tsp of salt,1 tbsp oil and remainder of reserved nuts if using.
Blitz again for 1 min and put in a suitable container. Stores in fridge for 3/4 weeks…….IT’S DELISH!
Just a few snack ideas to keep you going… What is your favourite snack ???
We all know that to enable us to get healthy we need to up our exercise…
Exercise…That has always filled me with horror…I have braved the gym in the past but no more…I think that with exercise it needs to be something which you enjoy doing and I enjoy walking and at my age, I think that is enough I have also and I think it is the time of year…I am a tidy person…A neat freak…I feel the need to clean out drawers and cupboards…So each morning I tackle one or two and it is surprising how all that up and down and cleaning out the cupboards is a good little workout…No cupboards today…It was my bathroom cleaning day my ensuite walls and floors and my grandson’s bathroom…What is so difficult about screwing back toothpaste tops, shower gel and shampoo lids etc …
After cleaning 3 bathrooms and that is no mean feat…I went for my morning walk so I feel quite energised at the moment…
Tomorrow I tackle another cupboard…
What is your favourite exercise???
Thank you for reading and please keep the comments coming I love to hear from you it makes my day 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 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!
Good morning from sunny Thailand and I hope you are all well and getting in the Christmas spirit it is such a busy time of year coming up and sometimes we don’t have time to eat or eat on the run…Don’t we???
Today I am going to post some breakfasts which I hope will help sustain you until lunch and which you can prepare really quickly…
Firstly…Porridge…
If you don’t know already I had six children and a dog and a snake and a parrot and a horse…Get the picture….lol
So breakfast time was busy…My slow cooker was a lifesaver during the cold winter months …I put the porridge on at night before I went to bed and come the morning it was ready and waiting…So easy…Hubby was first out of the door having had his bowl of porridge and as the kids appeared they could get theirs as it was always fresh and hot…
You can serve porridge with honey, fruit compote, fresh fruit or even a sprinkling of brown sugar which was an occasional treat for me…
Other toppings:
Mango and toasted coconut
Bacon and maple syrup
Peanut Butter and grapes
I cannot pick a favourite out of these as I love them all…
How about some nice wholemeal Toast with peanut butter and sliced banana maybe a sprinkling of cinnamon and /or honey.
Or slice some strawberries..anything goes really or some mashed avocado and a hardboiled egg roughly chopped… Quick, easy and nutritious…
Love Peanut Butter then here is the link to make your own…quick and easier and no nasties.
Eggs are always a good way to start your day…
Softly scrambled or poached…they are one of my favourite things. Hubby has bread with his eggs I just eat scrambled eggs on their own sometimes I grill some tomatoes as I really love eggs and tomatoes.
Here is a lovely video on how to poach an egg something that many including me have had problems getting the perfect poached egg… And if everyone wants a poached egg this man shows you how to do six eggs at once…
A yoghurt is a great option if you don’t have time to eat it at home put it in a mason jar with a lid and eat it when you get to work…
What I love about these jars is you can take them you and any fruit of your choice you can layer it or just top the yoghurt with it.
Easy to make oats to top your yoghurt or porridge.
Quick crunchy Oats…
1 cup of uncooked oats…
1/4 cup of brown sugar…
3 tbsp butter.
1 tsp cinnamon powder ( optional)
Let’s Bake!
Mix all 3 ingredients together and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes stirring I love to add a bit of cinnamon…
Allow to cool and top your porridge or yoghurt.
What is your favourite breakfast?
Thank you for reading I hope some of these breakfast ideas has made your tastebuds zing xxx
This post from Christine is a response to a prompt and I loved it …A post on Christine’s body and food…I hope you enjoy it as much as I did… We all view food in different ways depending on our circumstances and health conditions … I know I go on about eating healthy but we also have to be happy in our skin and do what we can when we can as life can throw us curved balls …Can’t it???
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 you will be made welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!
A lifestyle blog based on all things natural and plant-based whilst looking after the pennies. 'Be the change you wish to see in the world.' Be The Humble Avocado.
