M&S Hocus Croakus - Chocolate Toad [@NLi10]

When I wrote the original batch of Halloween things up I kept one back for the actual day.  Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to review it in the UK and took it with me.

The Toadness of the situation did not survive the heat...

Ah! True Horror!!

This said, it tasted as expected (M&S has had a few Aero versions over the years) but I paid extra for it's shape and didn't get to enjoy it.

So here is a picture I took in Costa Rica of a real frog.  But hang on - they actually did a chocolate Toad to be more Macbeth and less Harry Potter.

But fortunately I got a picture of one of those too! This is easily fist sized and well positioned to eat all of the small birds and lizards - and perfect for witchy brews.  We decided to let it escape instead of popping it in the cauldron. 

Happy Haloween!

 

Limited Edition Swizzels Squashies Squeletons (Asda) By @SpectreUK

It's nearly Halloween and I'm in a spooky mood for some squidgy snack food. First of all I'd like to point out that I'm obsessed with little pots of ice cream for pudding whilst I watch a movie on the box. I love to put small chocolate biscuits, Skittles or fruit gummies on top of my ice cream for a fairly low calorie naughty flavoursome dessert. I do the same thing with grapes on top of my high protein yoghurt at lunchtime. My mom does the same thing too with yoghurt and fruit, which I didn't know until recently, and now you know too. Although, you might not be all that interested, I'd recommend giving it a try if you don't already do it.

 

These creepy Limited Edition Swizzels Squashies Squeletons should be perfect on top of my Jude's Strawberry ice cream tonight. There are three sour flavours to choose from; Apple, Strawberry and Orange flavours. On opening the packet I noticed these Squashies Squeletons had a nice squidgy texture, with no sour sugar coating. The Sour Strawberry had a good strawberry flavour, but wasn't all that sour. The Sour Orange had a nice strong orange flavour, with a bit of an orange tang at the end. The Sour Apple was a nice fruity apple flavour, not extremely sour, just a little towards the back of the flavour into the aftertaste.

Not all that sour, but I liked the skull faces, and the squidgy texture of these Limited Edition Swizzels Squashies Squeletons. They were all really nice and had distinctive flavours. Better still, they went very well on top of my strawberry ice cream, whilst watching Sleepy Hollow.

Happy Halloween…. Mwah, hah, hah, haaaaa…!

Information on the packet: The 120g contained 356 calories per 100g, with 0g of fat, 63g of sugar, and 0.07g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Beetlejuice Popcorn Bar (Home Bargains) By @Cinabar

Do not say it three times. It is amazing how I watched the original film over a decade ago but still remember the line about not saying Beetlejuice three times in case he appears. Some things just stick, and particularly in a legendary Halloween film such as this one. I guess it is about time they brought out a new film in the series, and although I haven’t seen it yet, I’m very much looking forward to it.

So this bar is themed on Beetlejuice; we have a slab of popcorn held together by purple white chocolate. It is very nicely packaged, and the bar looks bright and fabulous. The main thing is though that the purple drizzle is just white chocolate coloured purple and not any crazy flavour. It is very pretty and exciting to look at, but the content is popcorn and white chocolate. The popcorn is lovely and big and crispy but soft, and the chocolate is creamy and thick. This is a tasty bar; I just wish they had added a little blackcurrant into the Beetlejuice Popcorn Bar just to have given it a reason to be purple. It looks lovely, it tastes lovely, but it could have been a bit more creative on the flavour.

Gingerbread Pumpkins (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

I’m officially in the Halloween spirit, and I have been searching for Halloween snacks. I manage to find these Gingerbread Pumpkins in Morrisons; they are an own brand product, and they are not just biscuits; they are decorate your own biscuits. Awesome. I say awesome; I am the least artistic person I know, but I still like the idea of trying.

 

The box was sealed with just a bit of tape, and the cookies were loose inside without being in a bag. The best before was December, but I don’t really get how those biscuits can last out until then without having been sealed in a bag, but I guess the reduction in non-recyclable plastic packaging is a good thing. There are four biscuits, some black icing, and some orange sugar sprinkles. 

I opened the icing tube and started to draw with the black icing. I’m not going to win awards, but it was fun. I added some facial features and a few sprinkles. It was nice to do, and it did make me smile. I tried the biscuit, and the taste was good. There was lots of spice, ginger, and sweetness; these have a lovely autumnal taste. The texture was firm but soft. They don't have a snap; these are not hard Gingerbread Pumpkins, but I’m okay with that. I dunk anyway, so everything goes soft in my coffee. 

The many colours of Costa Rica (black & purple ice-cream?!) [@NLi10]

 We've been in Costa Rica for 3 weeks which meant it was very hard to blog (I didn't take my mini keyboard) but I ate a lot of odd and fantastic things - and many of them were very vividly coloured! 

A lot of the food colours are banned by the EU because they send some kids a bit wild - so when a European visits the Americas they see some new sights.

Here we have the Black & Purple ice-cream - and the flavours were listed as Cahuita Special (black) and Exotic (Purple) which doesn't explain much.

They were both sorbets - so dairy free - so I figured it was worth the risk.

And they were both essentially fruitiness.  The black had a deep fruity flavour, with the exotic having a familiar blend of dragon-fruit and maybe Lychee in there which actually balanced it out nicely.

My partner had the traditional dairy versions - which melted a lot faster and was funny to watch - she had coconut & chocolate.

Lovely little place - right outside a national park - and frankly the ices didn't need to be anywhere near as high quality or decent taste as they were - and the prices were fair too!

As a contrast I saw these iced teas at a nature reserve and had the black one to try

It was just very expensive, weak black tea! Can't win them all.

Voodoo Beer (Glastonbury Craft) By @SpectreUK

One of my favourite James Bond films is Live and Let Die. I also love the theme tune by Wings. I love all the creepy elements of Voodoo throughout the movie, and of course, there are so many awesome moments, such as Bond jumping from crocodile to crocodile on the lake, and the speedboat chase. So, this Voodoo IPA by Glastonbury Craft seems a perfect beer to write about for Halloween, especially as the bottle has a skull faced man on the side.

At 4.8% in volume, Voodoo IPA was a live beer with active sediment, and was unfiltered and unpasteurised for maximum flavour. Brewed in small batches, "Beer With Spirit", was stated below the skull faced man on the side of the bottle, but unfortunately there were no spirits in this India Pale Ale, and it was not aged in a whisky or rum barrel.

Voodoo had a strong biscuit and amber malt smell, with sweet caramel malt at the back of the aroma. Poured with a luscious amber colour and a good head, this IPA made me make an " Mmmm…" noise on first tasting. There was a herbal hoppy bite to begin, followed by sweet amber malt and caramel malts into aftertaste. It was gorgeous, I really liked it. It went perfectly with my rotisserie chicken and colds meats meal, and as I gorged on thickly buttered French bread. Mmmm…

Not so spooky, but have a happy a Halloween anyway.

Robinson’s Wicked Amazafying Citrus Twist (Ocado) By @Cinabar

How cool is this bottle of Robinson's new drink? It celebrates the new Wicked movie and, of course, is perfectly timed for a Halloween brew. I might be one of the few people who haven’t seen the musical Wicked, so I am very much looking forward to watching the film. Here we have Robinson’s Wicked Amazafying Citrus Twist.

The drink looks very green in the bottle, a proper Wicked shade of green. The colour remains when it is poured out too. Thankfully this is a double strength drink, so when I added the water, it went much paler and palatable in colour to a light shade of pale green. 

The flavour is lovely; it is a mix of lemon and lime and is sweet and refreshing. The citrus is well balanced, and the drink is easy to sip on and very tasty. They balanced the colour really well, in my opinion. The fab bright green draws attention in the bottle and when you pour it, but thankfully when you dilute it looks much nicer. This Robinson’s Wicked Amazafying Citrus Twist will be perfect as a soft drink for Halloween and something I would buy again. 

Mr. Kipling Caramelised Biscuit Whirls (Iceland) By @Cinabar

Imagine the combination of Caramelised Biscuits and Viennese Whirls – and you’ve got the perfect match in Mr Kipling’s Caramelised Biscuit Whirls. As a fan of both original varieties, I was excited to try these, and they did not disappoint. Upon opening the box, I noticed the wonderful aroma of warming spices, instantly setting a cosy, autumnal mood. The biscuits, more golden than the usual Viennese Whirls, are finished with a light dusting of icing sugar that adds an extra touch of indulgence.

Taking that first bite was a real treat. The biscuits are firm but soft enough to melt in your mouth, with flavours that are rich, comforting, and full of autumn spices like cinnamon and caramel. As someone who adores cinnamon, I may be a little biased, but I honestly think this edition surpasses the original. It’s the perfect blend of sweetness and spice, and I found them almost too easy to eat, a box won’t last long in my house!

If you're looking for a new favourite biscuit this season, these Mr Kipling’s Caramelised Biscuit Whirls are well worth trying. I’m already planning to buy another box!

Heinz (Scarily Good) Monster Munch Pickled Onion Flavour Mayo (Iceland) By @SpectreUK

Halloween is coming up and we're well into Spooky Season. Heinz have brought out this (Scarily Good) Monster Munch Pickled Onion Flavour Mayo just in time for the weird seasonal snacking to commence. I have dipped crisps in salad cream and also mayonnaise since I was young. Many a movie or gaming night in the past has been fuelled with a few bags of crisps in a bowl with dipping sauce on the side.

My favourite flavour of Monster Munch is Pickled Onion. Some strange people don't like the flavour of a Monster Munch Pickled Onion, but the crisps have been present in many of those snacking nights, as well as accompanying many a cheese, cold meats and port meal. Here, Heinz (Scarily Good) Monster a munch Pickled Onion Flavour Mayo have done most of the job for me, and of course, I have my packet of Monster Munch Pickled Onion flavour to try it with. I have a feeling this is going to be good.

So, you can see from the photographs that I decided to mix this Heinz (Scarily Good) Monster a munch Pickled Onion Flavour Mayo in my tuna sandwich I usually have after weight lifting. On first tentative taste before mixing, this Pickled Onion mayonnaise does taste like Pickled Onion flavour Monster Monster mixed with mayonnaise. Not much of a shock there, however, it tastes great. Better than great. Just like dunking Monster Munch, but without the Monster Munch. For now…

Then, of course, I opened the bag and dunked my first Monster paw. Oh yes, the ultimate Pickled Onion dipped sauce has now been invented. Not only did this Heinz (Scarily Good) Monster Munch Pickled Onion Flavour Mayo go perfectly mixed with tuna in a sandwich, but it went scarily good with my Monster Munch Pickled Onion Flavour crisps. Keep this mayo coming by the barrel please.

Mince Pies (Greggs) By @Cinabar

I know it is only October, but we were passing Greggs, and the mince pies in the cabinets caught our eyes. We are weak. I try to wait until November before I get the Christmas food out, but in the moment we just ended up buying these. If you aren’t from Britain Mince Pies contain no meat; they are filled with current and spices and are a Christmas treat. I have no idea why they are called'mince’ pies, and even more confusing, Greggs also makes a beef mince pie too; that is the usual meat and gravy but has a similar name.

These pies are wide but shallow and served in the normal silver tray. I unpeeled the foil and bit in. The pastry was buttery, light and soft, and slightly crumbly. It had a lovely, sweet, buttery taste. The filling looked more generous than the shallow appearance gave it credit. It was sweet and juicy with lots of spice. I might not be ready to put the Christmas tree up, but I might keep my eye out for more mince pies. 

Ghostbusters Doughnuts (Krispy Kreme) By @Cinabar

Halloween is very definitely on the horizon. There are a few interesting Halloween products around; there are tins of sweets for sale, and one of our neighbours has already decorated their front door and garden. I did buy some Halloween light-up plastic ghosts for the window and a tub of sweets for any callers. This is probably as far as I’ll go.

We were on our way back from a Comic Con and stopped at a service station and spotted the Krispy Kreme kiosk and these wonderful-looking Ghostbusters Doughnuts, so obviously we picked up a couple. 

We bought the Slimer and the Ghostbusters Chocolate Icing. The Slimer is a wonderful, rich, sweet, and fresh flavour. The taste is lemon, which always works well; even the filling is green in colour. I would have thought they would choose lime instead of lemon, as it is green and is part of the word slime. Oh well, either way, I love the funky purple icing and the gorgeous flavour. The chocolate one starts with an original doughnut, but it is covered with chocolate icing, cookie crumb, and of course a rather nice Ghostbuster logo. It was sweet, and there was loads of chocolate; the crumb gave it a crunch too, which gave it a bit of texture. Another yummy doughnut. 

Both of these doughnuts were just perfect after a busy day after Comic Con, but get them while you can as they are a limited edition for Halloween. 

Kallo Beetroot & Balsamic Veggie Cakes (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

In between entire packets of biscuits and gorging on beef chip-sticks, I like to try to give an air of healthiness. This is one of those moments. Whilst these Kallo Beetroot & Balsamic Veggie Cakes aren't exactly enthusing me to try them, they are new, and I haven't tried them before. We've been having problems for some time with finding new and interesting things to write about. Besides, I could probably do with a healthy kick after the entire packet of fruit shortcake biscuits I ate last night.

These Kallo Beetroot & Balsamic Veggie Cakes are high in protein and low in calories, which is great for me whilst I'm working out. The 4.9g of protein will help to fix my muscles afterwards, whilst the low calorie content at 81g per packet ensures that I can still have more bad for me stuff later for my evening dessert.

I rarely have beetroot. I like it in a salad, although it has a habit of turning everything else dark red, I like it's earthy flavour. The 'cakes' part of the 'Veggie Cakes' concerns me though, if it's what I suspect it may be, those can be exceptionally dry. It's difficult to chew when whatever you're eating soaks up the moisture from your entire body, and also the surrounding area for at least ten square miles.

On opening the packet there was an aroma of beetroot and balsamic vinegar to the reddened lentil cakes, which had flakes of green peas. Very flavoursome and moreish, I was vaguely disappointed that I couldn't find anything to moan about with these healthy Kallo Beetroot & Balsamic Veggie Cakes. They certainly weren't dry and didn't suck all the moisture from my body and the surrounding area. I rather liked them, and I wouldn't mind having them again at all.

Information on the packet; The 22g bag contained 81 calories, with 1.6g of fat, 0.7g of sugar, and 0.3g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Buxton and BritHop Brewery: Girl From Mars - Session NEIPA (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I have roast lamb, roast potatoes, and mint sauce for dinner tonight. I've been known to eat my way through entire jars of mint sauce, so I need a good beer to complement the flavours. This Girl From Mars may be able to help wash down evening meal.

Produced by Buxton Brewery in collaboration with BritHop Brewing Company, a new Harlequin Hop has been used in the brewing of this Girl From Mars. It's a nod to Ash's song of the same title back in the 90s. An out there flavour with an out there title. Harlequin Hop is a British hop from the Charles Faram Hop Development Programme.

Strong for a session ale at 4.8% in volume, Girl From Mars, is a NEIPA, or New England India Pale Ale. Misty golden in colour, this NEIPA had a herbal bitter and sweet pale malt aroma on opening the can.

On taste there was a heavy herbal bite to begin with, followed closely by sweet pale malts into the aftertaste. Girl From Mars was gorgeous and washed my perfectly cooked roast Lamb meal down a treat. There was only a little mint sauce left in the jar by the end of my dinner, so I'll have to have some lamb chops at some point to finish it off.

Opal Fruits - They are back! (Iceland) By @Cinabar

Firstly, a shopping trip at Iceland brought me the wonders of Caramac (back for a short time only), and on this visit I was even more excited to find Opal Fruits. They are back! If you are over a certain age, then this is what those Starburst sweets are supposed to be called. Once a name is known in childhood, it sticks, and yes, I’m still looking for Marathon bars. 

Opal Fruits haven’t been called that since 1998, so I'm loving a few retro throwback moments and enjoying this bag. Inside there are four flavours, but part of me thought there should have been a blackcurrant too. Perhaps that was in a pack of Fruitellas; my mind was playing tricks on me?

I opened up the bag and drank in the wonderful sweet aroma. I couldn’t wait to tuck in. I unpeeled the sweets and found the wrappers were tightly packed and needed unpicking. The four flavours were:

• Lemon: super juicy and sharp
• Lime: fresh and zingy
• Orange: sweet and juicy
• Strawberry: is and always was the best, super sweet and fruity

These are a lovely blast from the past. If you grew up with them and want to relieve the retro goodness, or indeed the proper name, I would advise picking up a bag. Sadly, they are a limited edition, so another of those where you need to get them while you can. 

Takis or Taqueritos - Costa Rica Style [@nli10]

 Ola from Costa Rica!

We are over here for a few weeks trying all the local foods, but also finding familiar friends. They get original recipe Takis Fuego here! A lot of the English stores are using oddly muted imports, but here the lime and fire is in tact - and it has competition 

The biggest seems to be Taqueritos (which may even predate Takis) and it’s a fairly close contest. The flavours are similar enough, but the texture and crunch is much harder (like a Nik Nak) so some will prefer these

They appear to have a lot of the flavours here too so if I can find normal supermarkets and pay under 1000 colones per bag (£1.50) then I might try more - but it’s far too hot really!

OG on the left, crunchy versions on the right.

Jammie Dodgers Strawberry Flavour (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

The dull weather is closing in and I need something bright and cheerful to cheer me up a bit. Famed for eating entire packets of biscuits for my puddings, I'm looking forward to these Jammie Dodgers Strawberry Flavour biscuits with 'new fruitier jam'. I'm going to eat them with a pot of Strawberry Ice Cream by Jude's, which is always very nice indeed.

On opening the packet there was a decent strawberry aroma to the Jammie Dodgers inside. On taste the strawberry was pretty subtle, but the biscuits went very well with my strawberry ice cream, so I enjoyed my pudding with the combined flavours. I just would have liked a bit more umph to my Jammie Dodgers Strawberry Flavour Biscuits though.

Information on the packet; With 8 biscuits per packet, each biscuit has 78 calories, with 2.5g of fat, 5.2g of sugar, and 0.11g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Spooky Edition Oreo (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Would anyone like to guess what flavour these new Spooky Edition Oreo biscuits are? I’ll give you a clue, they have a bright orange filling. A first guess might be that they’re orange-flavoured to match the colour, but you’d be wrong. Maybe pumpkin spice, which would fit the Halloween theme perfectly? Nope, wrong again. These seasonal biscuits are, wait for it… vanilla! Yes, the same flavour as regular Oreos. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed when I found out.

On the positive side, the biscuits do feature a fun spooky pumpkin design moulded into the cookie, which adds a nice Halloween touch. The bright orange filling, though not flavoured, certainly adds to the Halloween vibes and is visually striking. And of course, the Oreo biscuit itself tastes great, it’s the classic chocolate and vanilla combo that’s always a winner, and one I buy regularly. There's even a bonus: a discount offer for Warwick Castle, which is a nice perk!

But honestly, what would have made these Spooky Edition Oreos truly special is if they had a limited-edition seasonal flavour. Oreo is known for releasing fun, unique flavours, so it feels like a missed opportunity here. Pumpkin spice, caramel apple, or even something completely unexpected could have added that extra "wow" factor to the Halloween experience. While the biscuits are still enjoyable, I can’t help but wish for something a bit more creative.

Terry’s Chocolate Milk... (Not Orange) (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

Nothing sounds more enticing than the slogan on the side of the box of this new product from Terry’s: “Milk Chocolate Flavoured Chocolate." Thats how I always like my milk chocolate, milk chocolate flavoured. Here we have the Terry’s Milk Chocolate... And that is where the name ends; the next most obvious word would be ‘orange’ but there is no orange, so the name sort of hangs. Terry’s Chocolate Milk Ball? 

This is like a chocolate orange, in that it is the same shape and has the same segments but significantly is just milk chocolate. We don’t know why. All the exciting editions they could have gone with, and they chose flavourless.Sorry, I meant milk chocolate flavoured milk chocolate. I opened up the pack; the Terry’s Chocolate Milk item (?) was in a blue wrapper. I tapped it and unwrapped it. The segments looked like pieces of chocolate orange (they had the same markings), but the flavour was just milk chocolate. It was nice too; the chocolate was good. It was sweet and creamy, with a nice cocoa taste. It was a good solid chocolate, but I just was left thinking I’m just not sure it is something I’d buy again. It turns out that I like my Terry’s chocolate flavoured, but I totally appreciate there will be fans for this. 

Mr. Kipling Terrifying Toffee Whirls (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Halloween items in the UK aren’t the most exciting things. We do celebrate it here in the UK, but it isn’t the big event that it is over in the States. There is some effort for confectionary and cake companies; we put pumpkins on packaging, but they don’t go wild with the flavours. Still, I saw this box of Terrifying Toffee Whirls from Mr. Kipling and thought they would be nice to try anyway. 

 

Inside the box are six fully loaded Mr. Kipling Terrifying Toffee Whirls. They consist of two pieces of soft, sweet biscuit filled with a toffee buttercream and a butterscotch sauce. The biscuit, although it has a much softer texture, tastes similar to a buttery shortbread. I didn’t think the toffee in the filling was very strong, but it was sweet and pleasant, and it was elevated by the rich butterscotch sauce also layered in there. 

These Mr. Kipling Terrifying Toffee Whirls are an indulgent treat; they taste yummy, and I would buy them again. They are not the most adventurous Halloween products you could hope to find, but the packing since, and they will make a lovely snack watching a Halloween movie. 

Nudge - Neon Raptor Brewing Company (The Wee Beer Shop) By @SpectreUK

I have steak and chips tonight. I do love a good meaty steak washed down with a good hearty stout. This Nudge Chocolate Fudge Stout is based on the old Cadbury's Fudge bar. I used to have one after school everyday before dinner when I was very young. I still have them now with ice cream after dinner. This Nudge stout could also be a good pudding stout, so I may save some for later.

This 6% in volume Nudge was created by Neon Raptor Brewing Company. There is liquid cocoa in the ingredients, as well as malted barley, oats and hops. On opening the can there was a big aroma of chocolate. Very sumptuous smelling indeed, Nudge stout poured almost black into my beer glass with a good creamy head.

There was an instant flavour of chocolate, like a good hot chocolate gone cold in its mug. Sweet gooey chocolate fudge flavour was followed closely by a herbal hop bite, and then a roasted coffee taste mixing with malty chocolate into the aftertaste. The oats giving this Nudge more body, this was a warming filling stout that went perfectly with my steak and chips. Cheers.