6 November 2024

Mince Pies (Birds of Derby) By @SpectreUK

Mince Pies (Birds of Derby)


I love mince pie season. The variety of mince pies on the market is astounding. There are deep pan mince pies, sugar coated ones, or icing topped, great big ones to little tiny ones. Mince pies to heat up and have with custard, cream, or with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on the side. There is such a plethora of different types of mince pies, I can't list them allI, because I'm still finding different ones out there in the shops.

Personally I like to wash my mince pies down with a couple of shots of spiced rum with lemonade. It has to be 7UP, although other lemonades are available, they just don't have the correct lemony taste to bring out all the flavours of the rum, or Southern Comfort, or Pink Schnapps, depending on what's in reach.

Mince Pies (Birds of Derby)

Cinabar works in Derby sometimes. She loves to visit Birds, which was founded in 1919. She bought back their mince pies for me to try. They are cute and pretty small mince pies. Just on biting in I felt like I was eating a really high class quality mince pie. Sugar coated, the pastry had a very soft and crumbly buttery flavour, which was really gorgeous. Some of the nicest pastry I have tried, the pastry really was heaven, buttery and light.

Although shallow, there was a good amount of filling for the size of the mince pie. The mince filling was really tasty, sweet, with some spices, and plenty of citrus. Birds' mince pies tasted handmade, but really well handmade with love, rather than a mass produced mince pie by some machine. I'd certainly recommend a visit to Birds if you're passing by Derby, or know someone who goes there.

Mince Pies (Birds of Derby)

5 November 2024

Giant Jammie Dodger (Spar) By @Cinabar

Giant Jammie Dodger


The only thing that could improve a Jammie Dodger is, naturally, more Jammie Dodger! So, when I spotted this Giant Jammie Dodger at a local Spar, I couldn’t resist picking one up for an afternoon treat with a cup of tea. Right away, it felt satisfyingly hefty, truly a supersized biscuit. Once home, I measured it and found it’s a generous 8cm in diameter.

The biscuit itself is pleasantly thick, with a decent layer of jam in the middle. The balance is spot-on, with the raspberry jam’s flavour shining through. The biscuit has an extra crunch thanks to its thickness, yet still delivers that familiar sweet, buttery taste. Although the jam might look like it should be thicker, the flavour is all there, blending perfectly with the biscuit.

This was a delightful pick-me-up for the afternoon, and since it’s a single biscuit, I didn’t even feel guilty indulging! Though it’s definitely a novelty, this Giant Jammie Dodger hit the spot perfectly.

Giant Jammie Dodger


4 November 2024

Yorkshire Parkin Cake (Morrisons) by @Cinabar

Parkin Cake (Morrisons)


If you’re from Yorkshire or a fan of The Great British Bake Off, you’ll likely know what Parkin cake is, though my spell checker doesn’t, as it keeps insisting on changing it to “parking.” Parkin is similar to a soft gingerbread cake, filled with warm spices, black treacle (which has a rich, liquorice-like flavour), and oatmeal to make it quite hearty. Traditionally enjoyed in autumn and especially around Bonfire Night, I couldn’t resist picking one up.I found this one at Morrisons, oddly placed in the fruit and veg section near the bananas. I have no idea why, but I still popped it into my basket.

At home, we opened the Parkin Cake and were greeted by a lovely aroma of spices. We sliced it up and gave it a try. Although the cake wasn’t quite as moist as I’d expected, the flavours were divine. It had plenty of ginger and dark treacle, and the sweetness was well balanced. With its wonderfully warming taste, it was a delightful treat on a cool autumn evening, perfect for enjoying while watching the fireworks.

Parkin Cake (Morrisons)

3 November 2024

Drinks in Costa Rica - functional and tasty! [@NLi10]

 In a hot climate like Costa Rica it’s important to stay hydrated - and it’s fun too!  Here we had some fresh milk-shake style drinks made with blackberries (and a chocolate based one for my partner).  Very necessary after a big walk through the cloud forest on a ‘feels like 40 degrees’ day.



There are a few good regional varieties too - the red Fanta was good as expected (we get that imported to the UK enough now that it’s not exciting!) but they did have some mandarin varieties of the orange drinks, which I guess makes sense.  Didn’t see the Mexican drinks but we were a little too far away for that.


And for people like me that maybe forget to drink as much as they should there are electrolytes and rehydration 


And boy are there more choices than in the UK! It was twice the price of the normal drinks so I only had the one on the day where I really needed it.


And if you are troubled by all the bitey insects then tonic water can help to keep them at bay - I couldn’t find my usuals so went for the Canada Dry which was a nice change.


But of course - there are plenty of fresh ingredients with electrolytes and bug repelling properties built in - so it’s much better to just keep having the smoothies and staying hydrated that way.


2 November 2024

Tipico! Costa Rica is Pura Vida Rice & Beans [@NLi10]

 Breakfast in Costa Rica, and lunch & dinner too feature one main theme - Rice & Beans!

Posters advertise it and people love it - and after the first day you will too!

Essentially it's seasoned differently for each meal, and every place has their own twist, but it's all fundamentally local stuff.



Here we have beans and plain rice, with fried plantains, lovely smashed beef, potato mix and salsa.  We cooked this one outdoors on our homestay.


This was one of the restaurants versions - I learnt to avoid the spaghetti versions quite quickly - but the beans as paste and the meaty blend were great.


Breakfast saw a more traditional Gallo Pinto where the rice and beans were mixed and we got banana and omelette too.  Result!

The coffee was universally good here too - all locally grown.


Another day, another traditional casada mix.  We helped make this one again, but only very tangentally.


For the Americans they provide Pancake options, and it'd be rude not to try these - especially as some places were from fresh batter and absolutely amazing (others you could hear the packets being opened)


And for the final meal in Costa Rica - more rice and beans! This time with some of the nicest pork I've ever had - and the minty lemonade which got us through the hotter days.

Pura Vida!