Chemicals

Posted on July 19, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Additives, Atoms, Chemicals, Chemistry, Compounds, Elements, Food, Molecules9 Comments

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One thing I hear a lot of nowadays is, I can’t eat that it’s got chemicals in it.

I agree that some things are not good for you. But that’s not because of ‘chemicals’. Why? Because unless you try and live on sunshine (some people do, believe it or not ) everything is made of chemicals, that’s because it’s made of atoms and molecules that make up the basic building blocks of the world.

Atoms and molecules? Single chemicals are elements, and if you have more than one sort, joined together they make compounds.

Oxygen is an element, hydrogen and oxygen is water, H2O. The air we breathe is made of chemicals… Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon and other trace elements.

Food is made of chemicals, mixtures and aggregations of elements and compounds, from meat to yoghurt, lettuce to lemon merangue to coffee or tea. It’s only when things are added that food can become bad for you. Like if you treat vegetable oil (made if chemicals) to make it harder you get hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is bad for you as it can clog arteries.

We have to be aware of what is good and bad for you, but using a generic term about chemicals does not help clarify the issue.

Dinner time

Posted on July 13, 2019July 13, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cooking, Evening meal, Food, Glass noodles, Jasmine rice, Lettuce, Sawadee Thai taste, Scallops, Sea bass, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, Thai restaurant2 Comments

Scallops on lettuce with glass noodles.

Queen scallops on lettuce with glass noodles, and Seabass in a rich sauce.

We also had pork and pak choi with noodles and spicy sauce. When you are too tired to cook after a long day this is heaven. My hubby was so tired he almost fell asleep after the food, but we had a brisk walk home as there was quite a chilly breeze. For once it was great to sit down and watch some TV.

Now its three hours later and I’m off to bed for a rest. Goodnight.

Babka rose

Posted on July 12, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Babka, Bread, Bread in common, Cooking, Folded, Food, Hartshill, Poppy seed cake, Risen cake, Stoke-on trent, Tasty, YeastLeave a comment

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There is a place in Hartshill in Stoke-on-Trent that opens on a Friday and they sell Babka’s.

It’s called Bread in Common and they bake delicious bread but also babka buns, tea cakes and other delights.

I’d never tasted a babka before, they are apparently made in many places, as far apart as Poland and Israel. They are folded in layers and rise because they have yeast in them. The ones we bought have a sweet mixture including poppy seeds folded into them. They are cooked in little tin trays and when they come out of the oven they have swollen and spread out so that they are a spongy, bready consistency. They are delicious.

Cheese (chayse) Oatcakes (owtcayks)

Posted on July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bacon, Blogging, Cheese, Cooking, Food, grill, Microwave, Oatcakes, Staffordshire, Staffordshire oatcakes, Stoke-on trent, TastyLeave a comment

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Fast, old fashioned food.

The Staffordshire oatcake (words in brackets are my attempt to write it in a Stoke dialect).

Oatcakes in Staffordshire are thin, lace like and tasty. Unrolled they fit on a small dinner plate. They can be eaten with various fillings including savory ones like cheese, cheese and bacon, cheese and sausage (I feel a theme developing). Or you can have them sweet with jam or marmalade which is probably unacceptable to traditionalists. Oatcakes are food or ‘snappin’ to be eaten for breakfast with a strong cup of tea. They are tasty and if you are lucky to have an oatcake shop nearby they are delicious hot from the griddle.

They are an inexpensive meal and can be filled with your own fillings, perhaps chilli con carne or crispy duck? I guess you could even cook them with stewed apple and cream.

I cooked mine in the microwave rolled with grated cheese and added brown sauce. If you grill them you are better heating them flat to make them hot and crispy. Then sprinkle your filling all over like on toast so that the edges don’t burn. They can then be folded in half and finished under the grill. You can eat them with a salad garnish or coleslaw.

You never know you might enjoy them.

Reduced to clear

Posted on June 26, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Cat Food, Cats, Food, Life, Out of stock, Pets, Petshop, Reduced to clear2 Comments

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So that’s it then, no more cat food for my cats. It took me weeks when they first arrived to get food they liked. They only eat one sort, and only one flavour. So I went to get more today and its reduced to clear. Great I got lots of it, then asked at the till what does it mean? Oh we are no longer stocking it…. Bombshell, they are the only store I know that stocks it!

I asked if they would reconsider and was told it would be a buyer way above their pay grade that decided. But I said my cats will starve to death! ( You don’t know how fussy they are). Well you can buy on line. No I don’t buy anything online, how do I know it’s safe to do so?

Turns out the store might order it in for me and as long as I order over £30 they will get it for me……

I’m going to go to our local, small, petshop and see if they can help.

I think the big chain store, pet shop, has just lost a customer.

🤔

Through the window

Posted on May 1, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Atmosphere, Blogging, Cafe, Environment, Fenton, Food, Life, Lunch, Stained glass, Stoke-on trent, Taste, Window2 Comments

Sitting in the Barnicle cafe, Fenton town hall, Stoke-on-Trent. I looked up and saw the ornamental cherry tree through the window and the stained glass above. The lights were on inside the cafe because the clouds were dark and low, but it was a pleasant place to have a lunch break. Cheese oatcakes and fruit loaf toast were our delicious meal. Sometimes a simple recipe can be as effective in sating your hunger as a complicated and over fancy meal. The friendly atmosphere and warm welcome made it even more pleasant.

Mango juice

Posted on April 24, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Challenge, Drawing, Drink, Food, Life, Mango, Mango juice, North West, Sketch, Sketchfu, SouthLeave a comment

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Another challenge drawing from about 10 years ago. I think this was Mango juice over ice looking at the colour of the liquid. I never tasted Mango juice until my thirties I think. And a real Mango? Probably in my forties. They were just not sold in local shops. Its the same with figs, I never realised how delicious they are. The world has changed in my lifetime. Probably better for the majority of the North and West of the World. Not so much the southern continents. I wish life was fairer where everyone could taste Mango juice.

Buddha

Posted on April 20, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Buddha, Enjoyment, Food, Life, Possible painting, Sawadee Thai taste, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Thai2 Comments

Having a good meal at the local Thai restaurant in Stoke. Sawadee Thai taste. I noticed how the Buddha there was beautifully decorated. Such a warm friendly atmosphere. I like the coloured garlands round his neck and the shiny baubles balanced on his knees. Buddhas seem to look so relaxed, calm, kind.

The food was lovely. The owner always cooks tasty meals, we really enjoyed it. This hadn’t meant to be a restaurant review..

The Buddha might get his portrait painted!!

Pancakes

Posted on April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Food, Fun, Humour, Pancakes, Pimpin' pancakes, Poem, Poetry, TastyLeave a comment

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We found this company who cater for parties and events. They catered for my partners birthday a couple of years ago. Came up on Facebook memories. I decided to write this poem x

Found this photo

Two years old

Pimpin pancakes

Hot or cold

Super tasty

Fruit or veg

Making batter

With an edge.

Bananas, apples

Whatever you like

Add some syrup

And a flake.

Nice to eat

Good to taste

Can’t be beat

There’s no waste!

Seamus two years ago

Posted on March 19, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Food, Fun, Happy cat, Life, Love, Poem, Poetry, Shy catLeave a comment

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What a change two years make. Seamus was quite a timid cat. It took me ages to coax him out to say hello and I think you can still see caution on his face here – a couple of months after he arrived. He’s much more self assured now. He loves playing catch chase with his sister. Instead of sleeping in quiet corners or under cupboards both of them now sleep on a cat tree or on the back of the sofa in the middle of the living room.

They both will only eat one flavour of one type of cat food, but it is supplimented with treats and they know how to stare so you share food off your plate.

Cat stares

It knows what it wants

It hypnotises you

To share your breakfast

Lunch

Tea

Dinner

Supper..

How do they do it?

With love and telepathy… !

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Food