Terry’s Chocolate Orange Muffin (Costa) By @Cinabar

As we were in the town centre this weekend we deiced to visit Costa for lunch and some hot drinks. I spotted these new muffins in the cabinet when I was queuing and decided I would add them to our order, I can’t resist something new and it sounds like such a lovely combination. The man in front of me in the queue said he had heard about the new Terry’s Chocolate Orange Muffin but that he had asked in several stores and not found them until now, he also ordered two.
The Terry’s Chocolate Orange Muffin consists of a chocolate orange flavoured sponge, a chocolate orange filling, a dollop of chocolate icing (no orange) and of course a slice of Terry’s Chocolate Orange. They look lovely, and are in a blue and orange Terry’s branded wrapper too.
I started by plucking off the Terry’s Chocolate Orange and starting with that, for me Terry’s chocolate Orange has a strong association with Christmas, they are a proper stocking filler. The chocolate orange sponge was lovely and moist and very flavoursome, the balance of orange was perfect, sweet and fruit and lots of mellow creamy chocolate. The two flavours go together very well and I would happily have this again. The only thing I would have changed is the filling inside the muffin had a mild chocolate orange flavour and it was begging to be replaced with a strong zingy orange jelly flavour. This might not have been completely in keeping with the original Terry’s Chocolate Orange but it would have been yum!

Hang On - This Isn't Chicken! Plant based tikka pieces (from @Ocado) by @NLi10

So - we've established that This Isn't Bacon, but what about Chicken?  Is this close enough to pass for chicken?

They've been smarter with this - it's not plain old chicken in chicken shaped bits - it's all cubed and ready for the BBQ (which is totally happening in the future with this).

Luna wanted me to prove that it wasn't for her - and was satisfied that it wasn't chicken.

A box is two portions - but really you could sit and eat a whole box without effort.  But what's it like.

Arty food shot! Definitely not my TV unit at all...

It looks more like meat than the typical Quorn versions, and it certainly has the good texture and flavour that you'd expect.  It's not going to fool many people though - but I do think it's probably a step too meaty for my partner to consider eating.

Give the choice I'd have the not bacon, but the not chicken is probably a lot more versatile so I'd get through more of that.

And as both are still on special offer at Ocado (at least they are when I write this) I'm already making plans for more.

Hook Island Red Beer (DiscoverBrew) By @SpectreUK

A little while ago I was sent a box of beer from DiscoverBrew after Cinabar had won a competition. As far as I'm aware this Hook Island Red is the last of the beers in that box. Not that I've avoided it, as I have a special love for spicy red rye beer. This 6% volume Hook Island Red was produced by the Five Points Brewing Company, in London. It was brewed with Chinook, Columbus and Simcoe hops, as well as malted barley and my much desired rye. We have an estate called Ryefields nearby, and whenever I pass it, it makes my heart sink a little as there must have been rye some time ago instead of houses there.

Anyway, on opening this Hook Island Red, there was the expected spicy aroma from the deep red beer inside the bottle. There was also something else though, I could swear there is some chocolate malt in there too. There must be chocolate malt in there, because right at the back of the smell there are lightly roasted coffee undertones. The sweet chocolate malt flavour is predominant from the first taste and then the spiciness from the rye kicks in, which mixes with the three herbal hops and is finally followed by roasted coffee into the aftertaste. This is a very complex beer indeed. I just expected a spicy red rye beer, which of course I would love, but the chocolate malts ensure that this beer is definitely a pudding beer to be enjoyed on its own or with a good chocolatey after dinner treat.

Fry’s Raspberry Cream (B&M) By @Cinabar

This is another of the interesting Foodstuff Finds I had at the new branch of B&M which has opened up locally to me. This follows on from the re-release of the classic Fry’s Orange Cream, which came back without too much fuss from the brand but lots of excitement from chocoholics that liked the retro bar. I had searched for this Fry’s Raspberry Cream bar in Poundland where I had been told it was an exclusive, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it in B&M instead. Perhaps the exclusivity was time limited.
The bar looks bright in its dark pink multipack and maintains the classic style retro branding from Fry’s. Inside there are three bars, again in style with the brand. I think the original Fry’s Raspberry Cream bars were pink inside but there ones, like the Orange, have a white filling surrounded by dark chocolate.

I think I had been expecting an overly sweet and fruity flavour, and although this bar is sweet, with plenty of berry taste, it was subtler than I thought it would be and there was even a hint of floral to the taste. The flavour was far more grown up than I thought it would be, and the chocolate worked like a treat with it. I loved this bar, I don’t remember the original well enough to compare the flavour but this version was perfect for me. The raspberry was yummy, the delicate flavour was much appreciated and the chocolate flavour blended perfectly with it. I wonder if they will bring back the Five Centres back?

Wait - This isn't Bacon?! Plant-Based Rashers - Vegan (from @Ocado) by @NLi10

I like to try things that bridge the gap between carnivores and plant eaters, and the one thing that no one can get right is bacon.  Proper bacon has to have so many different properties - including it's crispiness and smell that it's almost impossible to nail.  The closest i've had before was basically spam fritters (but vegan).

This isn't bacon aims to take the prize.  The fact that they put a window on the packet and it looks like something from a museum biology section is not a good first take.

These guys decided that what vegans actually want is pretend meat, then they admit that what they want is stuff that is like meat, but not sliced pig.  This is a good sign.

The fact it needs oil is a bad sign - the marbling of the 'meat' should provide that.

It looks like pickled herring or some other odd fish.

Yup - this is kippers.  Smells like bacon though.

And it goes quite crispy (note I added another one) but ends up basically like jerky.

My review in balanced meal shocker (yup - that's a chicken Pieminister as a side dish)!

And it's great.  Not 'oh this is all they had', but genuinely great!  It's not bacon, but if you had a slightly tougher salted fish in mind then this is basically the vegan version of that.  And I can fritz one or two up and add it to any meal I'm cooking for my veggie partner and have a guilt free meat-like experience while still secretly hugging the pigs.

I don't think it passes for meat (but in the same way the stuff off the Vegan Grindhouse food truck doesn't but no one actually minds), but I think it's something that has flavours that even the most blood-thirsty carnivore would enjoy.  Especially if it's next to a lovely pie.