While at RSPB Bempton - looking at the puffins we spotted one of the recently released Vegan Magnums. These appear to be an updated range on the previous ones.
Information on the bag: The 50g bag had 549 calories per 100g, 3g of fat, 2g of sugar, and 2.6g of salt.
We opted for these Rhubarb Tea Cakes from Marks & Spencer. They are similar to the regular tea cakes but with a generous dollop of rhubarb curd hidden inside.
I gave one a try and have to say it was a more muted experience than I'd been hoping for. The rhubarb was pleasant, but it was quite a soft, sweet flavour. I had hoped it would be much zingier and really pop, but instead it was a gentle fruity curd. The chocolate and marshmallow were lovely and sweet, and the rhubarb worked well with them, but I couldn't help feeling it could have been bolder and really stolen the show.
These were still lovely to eat while watching the tennis, but next time I think I'd probably reach for the more traditional strawberries and cream instead.
I opened the bag and was greeted by a lovely meaty aroma. We poured the crisps into a basket for sharing and I gave one a try. They really do have a distinctive sausage flavour, making for a wonderfully meaty bag of crisps. I love savoury, meaty flavours, so these were perfect for me.
They are supposed to capture the mash element too, and I think I was hoping for a stronger buttery flavour. Food critic and legend Jay Rayner has talked about mashed potato being 50% butter, and following that wonderfully indulgent philosophy, I was expecting a rich buttery hit alongside the sausage flavour. Unfortunately, it never really came through. Not to worry though, as the meaty taste was so good that these crisps still shone.
Fingers crossed England continue their World Cup journey. I hope you're raising a crisp for the team you're supporting!
The little shop at the end of our road has been getting some exciting new things in recently. We've had the Italian wafers, and the pretzels - and now the Biscuit Bites
It’s been so hot and damp over the last few days even the tiled floors have been sweating. We have had to buy a dehumidifier that we keep wheeling from one room to another. Every time I walk passed it, it goes into overdrive. Cinabar tells me I’m moist. That doesn’t seem like a compliment. I have certainly shed my quota of sweat over the passed few days, I can tell you.
The freezer truck that brought our groceries had broken down yesterday, so they had to bin all our cold stuff before it arrived. So, this afternoon we braved the local supermarket. The heat is obviously getting to people. Heat and bad tempers are like kindling ready to go up in flames. We’ve all got something on, good or bad. It’s how we act and how we don’t take it out on others that matters.
So, after some stressful parking, we managed to pick up some meat for a barbecue. The expression on the bear’s face on the front of this can of Tropical IPA, by Drop Bear Beer, reminded me how I felt in the carpark. An angry women driver got frustrated and beeped at me because I had to turn around and then wait due to a badly parked car that had blocked one side of the car park, and me trying to let another car pull out of a car park space. Forget cabin fever, she made me wish I’d stayed inside.
On pouring the can there was a herbal and tropical hop aroma from the almost bronze India Pale Ale. On taste this 0.5% in volume Tropical IPA had crisp citrus and notes of peach to begin with, followed by sweet pale malts to finish. It was very nice indeed and cheered me up a little whilst I set the barbeque. I hope you all have a cooler and more cheerful weekend. Cheers.
When I opened the pack, the crumpets didn’t give away much visually, they look like regular crumpets in colour and appearance. However, the aroma was immediately Italian herbs, which became even stronger once they went into the toaster.
I added butter once they were hot and, as always with crumpets, it melted straight through. The taste was spot on, not too strong, but with clear hints of cheese and tomato alongside a lovely blend of Italian herbs. They made a really enjoyable lunchtime treat.
They are not quite as satisfying as a slice of pizza or a toastable pizza pocket, but they are still very tasty. At just 100 calories per crumpet, they also work well as an everyday lunch option. I would definitely be up for trying more flavoured crumpets, as these worked really well.
Way back in the Uni days of 1999 I returned after Christmas and got to my branch of GAME to pick up this weird Japanese game called Pokémon that all the Japanese magazines raved about. The store only had two copies - and one of them was my reserved one. The guy managing the store was intrigued by why I'd want an obvious kids trash game and bought the second copy - and after playing that day immediately maxed out the orders for it to his store (as did the rest of the nation). And the rest is history! I picked Pokémon Blue (still got it) - and this week my partner surprised me with the same but in cereal form.
Don’t get me wrong, Popa Boba Bubble Tea Peach Iced Tea + Strawberry Popping Boba sounds good. Peach flavour is good. Not sure about the cold tea part. Strawberries are good though, and apparently they pop.
There was certainly a strong smell of peaches and black tea on opening the 320ml can. The pink strawberry Boba sank to the bottom of my glass like throwing pink pebbles into a brown pond of despair. Okay, so I may be exaggerating there.
On taste this Popa Boba Bubble Tea Peach Iced Tea + Strawberry Popping Boba soft drink was actually quite nice. It’s sweet, and tastes of peaches mixed with sugary cold tea. The popping Boba tasted slightly of strawberries and popped in my mouth like a soft grape. I didn’t hate it like I thought I would. In fact, I’d say it’s easily the best bubble tea I’ve tried.
Here we have a new chicken crisp available, Seabrook Waffle Bites Chicken Shop. The “Chicken Shop” name makes me assume these are going for a fried chicken flavour, despite the crisps only coming in at 77kcal per bag.
I opened up the bag and found cute square shaped, thick, aerated potato snacks with a waffle pattern. The aroma was very herby. These felt more like a chicken dinner with stuffing than a chicken shop takeaway, despite KFC claiming to use 11 secret herbs and spices in their recipe.
I gave them a taste and the flavour was fab. I loved all the herbs and the meaty chicken taste. They are quite fragranced, with oregano seeming to be particularly prominent, which I really enjoyed.
The crunch is fun too. They are light, crunchy, and they melt away in the mouth. I love that texture. I thoroughly enjoyed these with my lunchtime sandwich, and I will definitely be back for more.
It arrived in a good sized bottle. The drink is fairly thick and has a lovely minty aroma. It filled my huge cup to the brim and still had enough left to go back in the fridge.
This drink is dairy free. I’m not dairy intolerant, I just wanted to try it, and the peppermint flavour sounded perfect for the sunshine. I was impressed with the first sip. Coffee, mint and chocolate could have felt like too much in one cup, but the flavours were really well balanced. It’s sweet from the chocolate with plenty of cocoa, the coffee comes through nicely, and then the peppermint adds a refreshing finish with a proper minty kick. It reminded me of melted After Eights in an iced coffee. Pure yum.
Whatever you are drinking, do remember to stay hydrated in all this heat.
We got stuck in a traffic jam, behind what looked like half a house and happened to pass a milk shed selling ice cream - the google blurb says.
Milk Shed based at Caenby Corner with self serve vending machines selling ice cream, raw milk, milkshakes and hot drinks!
Because every one had a similar idea there were some queues and confusion because of so many new people using the touch screen machines
As I’m immunocompromised from my meds I wasn’t prepared to risk ‘raw milk’ especially as we had 3 hours in a hot car to go, but I could happily justify a pasteurised ice cream from the other machine
The choice was pot of ice cream for £3 or no ice-cream, so I went for option one and added some red sauce.
And it was lovely and cold. I think it lacked a little of the sweetness of Mr Whippy, but it was a very welcome option.
The family we were dropping off had chocolate milkshake and milk, which should be fine with the little cool bag. I’m not sure why raw milk would be more appealing to people than fresh milk - I’ve drank both on my families dairy farm back in the 90s to the degree where there is sometimes grass floating in it, but that might have been Uncle Bert messing with the townies.
I could smell light crisp herbal hops and Pilsner malt on opening the can. Not too fizzy, this 0.5% in volume Bero Kingston Golden Pils lager had a sweet Pilsner malt taste to begin with, followed by a crisp herbal hop bitterness, and sweet malts into the aftertaste. Very nice indeed, and It went perfectly with my spicy chicken and chips.
First up is Galaxy Caramel Flavour Frappe. This is essentially a milkshake mix rather than a coffee drink, as it contains no coffee and is designed to be mixed with milk. The tub suggests shaking it with milk or blending it with ice. I added four heaped teaspoons to a jug of milk and stirred it with a spoon, but it wasn't dissolving very well. Spectre rescued the situation by grabbing a fork from the drawer and giving it a proper mix, which worked much better, although it was a surprising amount of effort. To be fair, it does recommend using a blender, and I own a NutriBullet, so perhaps I should have used that with a couple of ice cubes. I'll give it a go next time.
We poured the finished drink into my new adorable teddy bear-shaped cup, which was purchased specifically for milkshake and iced coffee season, or summer as some people prefer to call it. It looked fantastic, although I suspect that's more down to the cup than the drink itself. I'm getting distracted.
The drink is genuinely tasty. It's sweet, creamy and packed with caramel flavour. I also loved the amount of chocolate coming through. It feels more like a chocolate milkshake with added caramel rather than the other way around, which suited me perfectly. Next time I'll definitely blend in some ice for the full frappé experience.
Sometimes it's nice to have a quick and easy pot of food to heat. We used to call it Batchelor Chow but that reference I think it now lost to the mists of time.
I remember there was some controversy around Colin The Caterpillar and Aldi making their own version. I don’t believe Aldi have made their own mini version though. I guess time will tell.
I left Colin’s white chocolate face until last to build up the horror. Then I popped his creamy white chocolate face into my mouth screaming all the way. Yum.
Information on the box; The 52g caterpillar had 468 calories per 100g, with 22.8g of fat, 47.8g of sugar, and 0.20g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.
Inside the wrapper was a pink meringue bar coated in a thin layer of white chocolate. When I broke it in half, it snapped nicely, revealing an appealing pink centre. The flavour was sweet and pleasantly strawberry, but not overly strong or artificial like some strawberry sweets can be.
The texture was definitely the highlight. It combined a satisfying crunch with a soft, gooey centre, while the white chocolate held everything together nicely. I absolutely loved it. It was just the right treat after a long day on the road, giving me a little boost without putting me off the takeaway that was waiting for me once I got home.
I opened the bag and was pleased to see that the Choc Cone Ends contain a generous amount of chocolate filling. The packaging suggests enjoying them straight from the bag, using them to decorate an ice cream sundae, or even dipping them into sauces. I'm quite simple at times, so I opted for eating them straight from the pack. The bag is also resealable, which is always a bonus.
The texture was really enjoyable, with a crunchy waffle cone shell surrounding a sizeable chunk of smooth chocolate. They were satisfyingly crisp and packed with good-quality chocolate, making them very easy to snack on.
That said, my favourite part of a Cornetto is probably the ice cream itself, so I'm not sure I'd choose these over the real thing. Still, they're a fun novelty and I think they'd look particularly cute scattered over an ice cream sundae.
My partner got some discount squash because she'd 'never seen a grey drink before'. And she was right - this is an odd one.
