Tag Archives: Tomatoes

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

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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!

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Carol Taylor will be back in the New Year with the Food and Cookery Column after a well earned Christmas break.

In the meantime I will be sharing the Cook from Scratch series from two years ago which combined the health benefits of specific key ingredients followed by Carol’s recipes for cook from scratch dishes.

To kick that series off, I am sharing a breakfast that I was introduced to when we lived in Madrid. I love tomatoes and they were always readily available all year round. With some other simple ingredients, tomatoes provide a wonderful start to the day that keeps you going until lunchtime.

I would love to invite any of you who have favourite recipes that use fresh ingredients, to get in touch at the email at the bottom of the post. And of course another chance to promote your work.

Most of us associate a  breakfast…

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Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Carol Taylor’s Food Column – Introduction and Egg Drop Soup.

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My very first Food Column over on Smorgasbord which is hosted by the wonderful Sally Cronin… I do hope you enjoy my first post 🙂 Enjoy!

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

I am so pleased that Carol Taylor has joined the blog in a new capacity as the food columnist. I will leave Carol to introduce the topics that she is going to be sharing each week and also a delicious recipe for

Carol Taylor’s Food Column – Introduction and Egg Drop Soup.

Hello, I am beyond excited to be asked by Sally to host a cookery column in her new magazine…Thank you Sally x

Many of you know me by now but for this first post on the cookery column I thought I would set up my stall and tell you a little more about myself.

My passion for cooking and writing is all consuming, I love to cook, find new recipes, unusual foods and living here in Thailand I am discovering foods I haven’t seen before, tasted or even heard of.

The world of blogging has also opened up…

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Fish Friday…Tom Yum Soup with Prawns( Tom Yum Goong)

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This is one of my favourite Thai soups and the first time I have made it from scratch. It also brings back memories of a certain lady..Keeleigh who when she visited us could not get enough of this fabulous soup.

Ingredients:

  • 2 litres of water
  • 4 stalks of lemongrass
  • 1-inch chunk of galangal
  • 10 kaffir lime leaves
  • 10 Thai chillies
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 500 gm Prawns
  • 300 grams of oyster mushrooms
  • 2 medium tomatoes cut into quarters.
  • 2 white onions (medium-sized) cut into large chunks.
  • 1 and a half tsp of sugar
  • 7 – 10 tbsp of fish sauce (depending on your taste)
  • Juice of 5 -8 limes.
  • Handful of cilantro ( Coriander)

N.B Next time I will use shallots instead of white onions and I recommend using the lowest amount of limes and fish sauce and Taste! Adjust if necessary as everyone’s taste varies.

Let’s Cook!

The first thing to do is put about 2 litres of water in a large pot to boil.

Then I like to start by squeezing my limes. This is not the first step of the recipe, but it’s best to have your limes squeezed so when you need them later, you don’t need to rush to squeeze them all.

Take your stalks of lemongrass, and first tear off the outermost leaf and throw it out. Then, I like to use a rolling-pin or the handle end of a knife to lightly pound the lemongrass to release the flavours. Then just slice it diagonally into 1-inch strips or so.

Take about 1 thumb-sized chunk of the root part of galangal, and chop it into slices.

Coarsely break about 10 kaffir lime leaves – no need to cut them, just tear them – which is going to help release their flavour.

Peel about 5 cloves of garlic.

I used about 10 Thai birds eye chillies for this recipe, but you can use however many you’d like. First, take off the stem, and then you can either just slice them in two pieces, or give them a little pound on your cutting board like I did (just be careful of flying seeds). You can also remove the seeds if you’d still like the chilli flavor but not as much heat.

Throw the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, garlic and chillies into the water.

You can put the lid on just so it starts to boil which releases the herb flavours quicker.

Now prepare your prawns I remove everything except for the tail…..others put in whole prawns…personal preference.

Boil your soup with all the herbs in it for about 10 minutes.

Then add your mushrooms, which you should pre rinse beforehand.

Cook for 4-5 minutes.

.Add tomatoes and onions.

Tom Yum Goon 3

Cook for further 6-8 minutes.

Now add prepared prawns and cook for 2-3 mins max( if overcooked the prawns will sink to the bottom of the pan. If you get any scum on the surface of soup it’s from the prawns then just skim off with a spoon.

Remove from heat and stir in fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and cilantro.

Taste and adjust if necessary.

This delicious soup is now ready to serve.

Tom Yum Goon

You will notice that this soup does not have the bright orange colour of many of the Tom Yum soups which you have in restaurants it is because either a Tom Yum paste or stock cube is used and it is not made from scratch.

This soup can also be made with chicken and coconut milk which is also a popular variation and known as Tom Ka Gai (Coconut Chicken Soup)

J

 

 

It is easier to get older than wiser!

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I am in the process of updating my older posts… spellcheck was definitely required… lol…This one gives you an insight into my daily life and my favourite salad and the first one I was taught to make…The jewellery making now is on the back burner for the moment… So much to do and so little time… 30 hour days would be nice at the moment…Only kidding about the days xx

Retired? No one told me!

Well, that’s true… am I wiser…Depends…lol……….TIT ( This is Thailand )
TIT ONLY IN THAILAND……..I  never cease to be amazed at how much or how many people you can get on a bike a or in car or lorry.

Do you know if I could have just 1 wish ……it would be to pick this up and drop it smack in the middle of the M25…Ha Ha and watch the reaction……..For anyone who hasn’t experienced the M25 car park, it’s in the UK.

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It’s  Thai lesson time soon, my young grandson is helping me with my pronunciation and tones and I am feeling quite pleased so far…..but long way to go…..the teller is when you go out and ask for something in what you think is brilliant Thai and you get that blank look that says ..what!…..but hey ho will keep trying…..

It’s 86 degrees and rising..lovely……but no snow…xmas trees up and decorated, looks lovely…..but…

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Greek Chicken and Artichoke Pasta.

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Just for Andria…I hope you like this, I know how you feel all that Christmas fare and we want something different don’t we and a little of what we fancy does us good….. Doesn’t it girls???

So let’s go Greek….

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16 ounces of Linguine or pasta of your choice.

1 kilo of chicken meat, breast or thighs, chopped into bite-size pieces

A can of marinated Artichoke hearts drained and chopped.

Med red onion, chopped.

1 large tomato, chopped.

A half cup of feta cheese, crumbled.

1 tbsp Olive Oil.

2tbsp lemon juice.

3 tbsp chopped parsley and a little extra for garnish.

3 cloves of garlic crushed.

2tsp oregano

Salt and Pepper to season.

Lemon wedges to serve.

Let’s Cook!

Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al-dente. About 8 mins.

Heat oil in a pan, add onion and garlic and cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken and then cook for 5-6 mins until juices run clear and chicken is cooked, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat, add artichoke hearts, feta, tomato, parsley, oregano and lemon juice, warm through and then add pasta and stir gently to combine. Remove from heat and check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed to taste.

5

Garnish with lemon wedges and a little parsley.

Sometimes I use basil(instead of parsley) and a few olives for a change.

Enjoy!

Image Pixabay 

 

 

 

It is easier to get older than wiser!

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Well, that’s true… am I wiser…Depends…lol……….TIT ( This is Thailand )
TIT ONLY IN THAILANDI  never cease to be amazed at how much or how many people you can get on a bike a or in car or lorry.

Do you know if I could have just 1 wish …...it would be to pick this up and drop it smack in the middle of the M25…Ha Ha and watch the reaction……..For anyone who hasn’t experienced the M25 car park, it’s in the UK.

traffic-Jam

It’s  Thai lesson time soon, my young grandson is helping me with my pronunciation and tones and I am feeling quite pleased so far…..but long way to go…..the teller is when you go out and ask for something in what you think is brilliant Thai and you get that blank look that says ..what!…..but hey ho will keep trying…..

It’s 86 degrees and rising..lovely……but no snow…xmas trees up and decorated, looks lovely…..but no snow……apparently the Uk is going to get some ferocious weather soon and when I see the pics and hear the moans bet I will be glad I have no snow.

The recipe for this week is Squid Salad. ( Yam pra muek ) which is one of my favourites and also one of the first Thai dishes I ever tried or have made.

Ingredients: 

  • 400 gm(14oz) baby squid.
  • 5 Spring Onion. (sliced)
  • 5 sm shallots. ( thinly sliced)
  • 20 cherry tomatoes. ( halved)
  • half sm cucumber sliced and quartered.
  • Coriander big bunch or again to taste…I like lots…(chop)
  • Mint. ( optional)
  • 3 birds Eye Chillies chopped( seeds optional)
  • 2 tbsp Fish Sauce.
  • Half lime juice.
  • Palm Sugar ( up to 2 tbsp ) again optional I don’t use but depends on personal preference.

Let’s Cook!

Clean Squid.Getting all membrane off and remember to pull out the plastic quill.

Cut head/parrots beak of tentacles(the best bit)

Slice into 3/4 to inch slices.

Combine all ingredients.

Heat a small amount of water in a pan and add squid cook until opaque less than a minute, Drain on kitchen paper and combine with other ingredients.

SAM_6224Again taste and check the seasoning. You cannot taste too much.

I just love Thai food one because of the taste and also because of the ease of preparation. It takes longer to chop ingredients than to cook the dish the majority of the time.  And as long as you remember to taste, taste and adjust seasoning to your personal taste and as you know by now I love chillies, fish sauce, coriander and mint in abundance.

Enjoy!

Oh and serve with  Sticky/ Steamed Rice or noodles.

Yesterday was our Craft Groups Xmas Lunch at a local Thai  Restaurant, I had one of my favourites…Massaman Gai and Keow Suey ( Steamed Rice ). Oh…and I think a copious amount of vino…Massaman is quite a mild Thai   Curry with potatoes ( Man Farang) and what I always have if I am not sure about the other food on the menu…… somehow most restaurants get Massaman right……haha…..

The New Year sees me giving a demo on how I make my jewellery..not sure about this as it comes from within…how do you demonstrate that?……. I just take my materials, cotton, string, beads in my chosen colours and twist and knot as I go …all very individual but no pattern and no two alike so think I will just take my box of goodies, choose my colours and away we go..wish me luck….. If you fancy looking at my creations I have a FB page…Taylor Originals……Don’t quite know why I did that as I don’t sell them just make them for gifts…..just a means of showing my friends and family what I get up to as I am so far away from them.

Very excited as some friends are over from the Uk….meeting them Monday and so looking forward to it……..

Tchau…..anyone guess correct? it’s goodbye in Germanic.

Not long now folks 13 days…don’t know about you but I still have lots of shopping to do……So if you have to brave the hoards of shoppers this weekend…Good Luck…..Or are you an armchair shopper?……I’m a bit of both…..Have a great weekend all of you and Happy  Shopping, Cooking or Partying.

Until next time Joigin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass……It’s about learning to dance in the rain!

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What a thunder-storm it was…..it’s one of the things I love. What is Thunder? It is the sound that accompanies lightning during a thunderstorm. Does lightening make a sound? Yes, because any sound you hear is made up of vibrations….so as electricity passes through the air it causes air particles to vibrate and heard as sound. Lightning is also very hot so it expands and in this case, it expands very quickly pushing apart those particles of air with such a force thus creating more vibrations and the very,  room shakes with the thunder we get here….. it just booms out….. Here endeth the lesson………

Haha …..love it and it’s why it is so lush and green here….hot and steamy…. warm rain…..most of the year I love it..dancing in the rain and soaking up the sun…but it’s nearly Christmas….and I want….. cold, frost, snow even cos without all or any of those it just isn’t the same……or just some Christmas Carol’s……..so up will go the Christmas decorations of which I have copious amounts collected from far and wide over the years…some made by the children or grandchildren, lots and lots of twinkly fairy lights….but no snow………

The Ham is brining nicely…….Xmas puds made……mincemeat for mince pies made….still no snow…..

So for Xmas day, I envy all of you out there who have cold and snow……….and then it’s back to enjoying the sunshine……Oh yeah…Sorry, folks, it’s just the time of year and I get maudling……….back on track girly let’s go……..Thai Food…love it…Squid Salad.) Recipe next week.

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Papaya Salad.

Ingredients:

  • Green Papaya
  • 1 Carrot
  • A Handful Cherry Tomatoes or 2/3 med sized tomatoes.
  • Dried shrimp
  • 1 Lime
  • 4/5 birds eye chillies
  • Fish Sauce.
  • Sm amount of palm sugar about a half teaspoon.

Let’s Cook!

Shred the green Papaya and Carrot.

Cut tomatoes up roughly in smallish pieces or cherry tomatoes in half.

Put chillies and sugar and little fish sauce in pestle and mortar and pound away.

Add papaya, carrots, tomatoes and dried shrimps ( a bit at a time) and keep pounding.

Add lime juice and the lime cheeks, peel ..all of it….. a little more pounding, stir and serve.

Tip: Taste, Taste and taste again because it is about balancing those hot, salty, sweet, sour tastes of Thai Food and your personal taste.

I find that in papaya salad the heat of the chilli is more pronounced so if you only like a little heat start with half a chilli or 1….and taste……lime juice and fish sauce the same… taste……..Thai food is all about balancing the sweet, sour, spicy, salty flavours so once again taste as it’s very personal and individual…I love fish sauce so I am probably..well nought probable about it… I am….bit free and easy with it…..but that’s my taste and maybe not yours ……I am now becoming in danger of overusing a word…but TASTE…….

Tip 2: If you cannot get Green Papaya where you live then you can use shredded Cucumber or Swede as a substitute. Both are good and particularly with the swede unless you are a connoisseur of Papaya Salad then it would be hard to call.

I hope you enjoy my little recipes they are not all precisely measured just how we do it here whatever we have goes in the pot or pestle i.e the addition of crab ( in its shell) and yes you do get mucky fingers because again it’s eating with what you were born with.

Oh, and you serve Papaya Salad with Khao neow (sticky rice), Chicken or fish..fresh veggies of your choice….enjoy …

Next job on my ever-growing list of to do’s before the 24th ..lots of time…. 17 days to be precise…Decorate the outside patio area ( at the back of the house) where we will be partaking of our Christmas Lunch..because we can..because we have no snow…..one of my friends today did suggest …..artificial snow…really!

But the bright side of having zero chance of ever getting snow for Xmas while I live here .. is no slush…you know the dirty, slushy…slush..that happens……I feel better already…

Just bought a job lot of Tonic Water as we have a shortage and Gin without Tonic is a no-no. So all I have to do now is sort out what the Christmas Cocktail is going to be….. will it be Espresso Martini or Moroccan Mojitos????  mmmm choices………and if I ever needed one it’s now!…….That lady in the pink dress is around…this domestic goddess who always has a neat and tidy kitchen…….not today…I decided to make some more Peanut Butter!…..wrong decision…I burnt 1st lot of peanuts…..Then the liquidiser which I will say has travelled with me and I have had for many years gave up…the cheap Thai one I bought I transferred the peanuts to that and in my haste because by now I was frazzled…didn’t put the lid on…….result a kitchen covered in nuts…….. grrrrrr…end result daughter in law…bless her finished it off in batches in the Pestle and Mortar…. grrrrrrr …as my mantra is that I don’t drink before 5pm…it must be 5pm somewhere in the world..

So on that note Tchau.

NB: The answer to my last goodbye it’s Indonesian.