Heston from Waitrose mashed potato.

Having been prevented from enjoying the New Year celebrations due to a rather unpleasant cold virus, I thought I would share my thoughts about Heston's mashed potato.

It seems he has now branched out further than just the Hidden Orange Christmas pud, and together with Waitrose has launched a line of ready meals.

In need of a quick side dish, I decided to buy the mashed potato.  Now, you wonder exactly what can be said about the humble mashed spud? Well, not too much really, but it certainly is jolly nice!

The spud has been mashed to perfection,  and mixed with full cream milk, double cream and jersey butter.  It is absolutely sublime, with a smooth, melt in the mouth taste.

To cook it, simply pierce the film lid, and put into the microwave for up to 4 minutes. Of course, it is aimed purely at microwave cooking and shouldn't be put into the coventional oven.

It is the perfect side dish to pretty much everything.

My score out of 5

Would be 5, buy it, cook it and enjoy!

Aldi pork loin joint.

As it's sunday, we decided to have another roast.  Today was the turn of the frozen Aldi pork loin joint.  It comes complete with it's own stuffing.

It can easily be cooked from frozen, taking roughly 2 1/2 hours.

After removing the cardboard cover, you are presented with a film wrapped foil tray, containing your joint.  The film is easily removed and you can quickly place the whole tray into the oven.  However, please remember to cover the joint with ordinary foil before you start the cooking process.

Set the oven to 180 degrees and you can leave it for an hour and a half.

After the first 90 minutes are up, take the joint out of the oven, remove the foil and then whack the heat up to 190 degrees.  The instructions on the box state to cook it for another 40 minutes, but I would recommend cooking for the full hour, just to be on the safe side.

When the joint is fully cooked, the juices should run clear.

Remove the tray from the oven and leave it to stand for a few minutes.

For those of you who like crackling, this is perfect as it comes with a generous portion.  The joint is held together by 2 elastic strings, which should be removed before carving.

Transfer the whole thing to a plate, carve; serve and enjoy!

My score out of 5 would be 3

Because I did find it rather watery, and the stuffing portion provided was not very generous.

Aldi 4 Bird Roast

As we are rapidly approaching Christmas,  I decided it would be a good time to try some festive fare.

Aldi's popularity has grown rapidly over the past 2 years or so. I believe the shop originated in Germany and now has numerous stores opened in the United Kingdom. They sell the usual supermarket food, plus unusual things such as diving gear!

Their frozen food section is extensive, and amongst this can be found the 4 bird roast.  The packaging is very colourful,  and has a festive air about it , a pre dominance of purple.

The cardboard box cover slides away to reveal the foil tray covered in cling film and underneath that, the bird (or should I say birds?) There are a few slices of bacon wrapped around the turkey. 

The 4 birds in question are, duck, goose, chicken and turkey.

I would suggest cooking it from frozen to get the full flavour of the meat. Always remember to cover the tray with foil to avoid the roast burning,

It takes around 3 hours to cook, but you must remember to remove the foil half an hour before the end of cooking, because that is when you spread the meat with the cranberry glaze. Put it back in the oven for the final 30 minutes, et voila, you have a very tasty roast to enjoy.  It would easily feed a family of four, and still have some leftovers. 

Stuffing is supplied inside the meat, so you don't even need to buy that.

The price of this dish is £9.99, and in my opinion offers very good value for money.

My score out of 5

Would be 5. Well done Aldi, a very good value meal.

Carluccio's Restaurants.

I am a big fan of Italian food, and always enjoy a visit to my local Carluccios.

Last night we decided to go and try out their festive menu.

The Reading Branch underwent a face-lift a couple of years ago, and is quite roomy and comfortable.

Like all other Carluccio’s restaurants, the Reading one offers various foodie items for sale at the entrance.  Too many   to mention here, but they range from alcohol to cakes, to pasta to antipasti.  I could buy them all if the purse allowed!

Fortunately, we had booked a table; good thing too, as it seemed very chaotic .  We were shown to our table,  handed a menu and left to choose.  It was a long wait before they took our order.  The waiter did eventually turn up, but he was rather confused by the arrangements for the starter.

We ordered a bottle of wine (as it’s Christmas)  and both of us went for the mixed antipasti (meat version).  It was delicious, but could have done with a slice more toasted ciabatta bread.

My main course was the pan fried cod with pepper and olive stew.  The cod was cooked perfectly, and the stew was superb.  My husband ordered the breaded turkey, and mentioned that it was not cooked as well as he would have liked.  He also requested a side dish of pan fried rosemary potatoes.  I must admit, that the portion size here was not great.

The dessert choice was tempting, including a trio of the festive variety; but we both went for the cheese.  This was very disappointing.  I had hoped a selection of a few cheeses would turn up, but no;  instead we were presented with 2 meagre portions of cheese plus one cat’s tongue biscuit broken in half; and a pot of honey and a wet walnut. 

The total bill was £65, but remember that within that price was an £18 bottle of wine; so I suppose it was reasonable.

My score :-

Out of 5 would be 4.    Just because of the rather disappointing dessert.  Service was ok, considering the number of large Christmas parties going on.

http://www.carluccios.com



 

The Hobbit (An unexpected journey)

(Caution - this review contains plot spoilers!!)

Having been waiting for this film to be released for what seemed like an eternity, I was delighted to be able to finally see it yesterday, and it does not disappoint.

Bearing in mind that the book of the same name is only a fairly slim volume, I could not really understand how they had managed to produce 3 films, with each one being around 3 hours in duration.

The film opens with the older Bilbo Baggins, back at Bag End; writing a letter to his nephew Frodo.  Pleased to see that Ian Holm has reprised his role from the Lord of the Rings, as well as Elijah Wood returning as Frodo.  Mind you, we don’t see too much of him; as the action centres very much on his uncle.

We are soon whisked back 60 years in time – it seems that a Hobbit’s life span is much longer than a human’s.  The scene once more is Bag End, and we now see the younger Bilbo, played by Martin Freeman.

This films deals with Bilbo’s first encounter with Gandalf, once again played by an excellent  Sir Ian McKellan.   Bilbo soon becomes an unwilling host to a party of 13 dwarves.  It seems that they are determined to recover their Castle from the evil dragon Smaug.   Gandalf is determined that Bilbo joins the party, as the ‘Burglar’ Bilbo is reluctant at first, being far too comfortable in his home.  A night to reflect on the invitation causes Bilbo to change his mind and he eagerly grabs his back pack and runs off into the woods in search of his new friends, willing to start on his adventure.

Their first encounter is with a trio of mountain trolls, who decide that 2 of the dwarves ponies would make a tasty snack.   Bilbo is ‘volunteered’ to rescue them, but of course soon becomes part of the trolls intended meal too.  A rescue attempt is launched by the dwarves, but they too are destined to go into the pot.   Of course, Gandalf saves the day by forcing the trolls to look at the sun, and we all know that this automatically turns them to stone.

We then encounter another Wizard – Radagast the Brown, played by Sylvester McCoy.  Radagast has evidence of a great disaster affecting the woodland and its animals, and he is keen to let Gandalf know about it. 

It is during this time that the group are ambushed by a party of Orcs; who are hell bent on destroying the dwarves.  Radagast acts as a decoy, whilst the others find a way down a mountain path to Rivendell.   Here Gandalf meets again with the Lady Galadriel, played as in the previous films by Cate Blanchett.  The party get much needed refreshment and advice, and are soon back on the road.

Their journey through the mountains sees in my opinion some of the best special effects of the film – 2 mountains forming themselves into the shape of men and fighting.  A great scene, and according to legend  this is what causes thunder and lightning!

The group then find shelter in a mountain cave, and fall asleep; only to be taken prisoner by Goblins.  But, Bilbo is fortunate enough to escape and it is here that he has his first encounter with Gollum!  Gollum has been concentrating so much on killing and eating his prey (an unfortunate Goblin) that he doesn’t notice his ‘precious’ fall out of his pocket.  Of course, we all know that this is the ring – and Bilbo immediately picks it up and puts it in his own pocket.  Bilbo is desperate to escape the caves, and knows that Gollum is the only one who can help him.  Gollum is not the most helpful soul, and  sees Bilbo as his next meal; he will only help if Bilbo wins a game of riddles.   Their competition ends in stalemate and Bilbo quickly realises that the ring will turn him invisible,  he slips it on his finger and escapes.

Meanwhile, his fellow travellers are rescued once more by the intrepid Gandalf.  They fight their way out of the subterranean cavern and meet again on the mountainside.

Their journey continues until they once again encounter the Orcs.  It seems that there is no way to escape other than up the nearby trees.  But, once again Gandalf proves what a useful bloke he is to have around, and uses a butterfly to summon a group of huge eagles who carry the group to safety.

This is where the first instalment ends.

My score :-

Out of 5 would be 4.    I did feel as though it was slightly too drawn out, it could have been about half an hour shorter in length.

Heston’s Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding

As we approach the festive season, I thought I would devote today’s review to a Christmas Pudding.

My pudding of choice is Heston Blumenthal’s Hidden Orange.

This is available exclusively at Waitrose, who following last year’s stampede , have trebled their stock in an effort to satisfy all consumers.

The pudding was launched in 2010, and rapidly sold out; in fact at the time many canny individuals were selling their’s on Ebay for anything up to £250, quite a mark up when you consider they were retailing for around £13.99.

Anyway, to return to the pudding itself....

It is presented in a large, black cardboard box – and does feel rather heavy!  An indication of the large amounts of fruit it contains.  Inside, the pudding is housed in a black; plastic microwaveable bowl with a plastic film lid.

Before the invention of microwaves, a pudding this size would have needed to be boiled for a good few hours before being ready to eat – but luckily a few minutes in the microwave is all you need these days!

This looks just like a traditional pudding, but once you cut it open; you reveal the candied orange inside, and it is the flavour of the orange that enrobes the pudding. 

The taste is sublime, and trust me; just a small slice of this will fill you up!  I would serve it with a generous dollop of brandy cream.

This year I noticed, that mini versions of the pudding have also been created.  These are perfect for one person (or maybe two with a small appetite) and instead of containing the orange, inside is a candied clementine; they retail for £3.49.

If you want to buy one, take a look at Waitrose website, and search for ‘Hidden Orange’

www.waitrose.com

My score :-

Out of 5 would be 4.   Just because I am not a fan of fruit cakes, but can see why these are so popular.

Henley on Thames

My home town since the age of 11 is Henley on Thames.  An attractive market town, on the banks of the river Thames in Oxfordshire.

Henley comes to prominence, every year at the end of June, start of July for it’s annual Royal Regatta.  But, it’s appeal endures throughout the rest of the year.

Rumour has it that Henley probably owes its existence to King Henry II.  Medieval records indicate that he had “bought land for the making of buildings.”

Approaching Henley from the Maidenhead direction, you cross over the bridge; documents from 1234 give the bridge its first mention.   Although the bridge in my photograph was not constructed until 1786.  As you sit in your car at the traffic lights, look to your left; and you will see the pub – The Angel on the Bridge, which appears in many photographs of Henley.

On your right, also just visible in the photograph is the Church of St Mary the Virgin.  Historical records indicate that a church had been established here by 1204, although it was likely that it was built before this.

Henley does suffer from a lot of traffic passing through it, as it on the main route from the M4 to either Oxford or Reading.  It does seem that problems with the roads stem from an earlier time in history, as in 1205, the settlement received a paviage grant to improve the roads and pathways.

 In 1337, Henley was gifted to John de Molyns, whose family controlled the town for the next 250 years.

Like most towns in England, Henley suffered greatly during the Black Death, probably around 60% of the population died.  This caused labour prices to rise, and landowners suddenly found it far more difficult to recruit and retain good labourers and skilled men.

Black Death marked the beginning of the end of the old feudal system that had kept the common man subservient to the rich landowners for hundreds of years.

The town had recovered by the start of 16th century and had extended along the west bank of the River Thames. Friday Street marked the boundary in the south and the Manor, now Phyllis Court, was at the northern edge of the town. The town also included Hart Street and New Street and, to the west, Bell Street and the Market Place.

A period of prosperity followed in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and the town became known for glass manufacture.  Henley became a centre for malt production, and a trade in corn and wool flourished.  Being on the river, meant that Henley supplied London with timber and grain.

Sadly, these trades diminished and Henley could have faded into obscurity.  However, at a public meeting at the town hall on 26^th March 1839, Captain Edmund Gardiner made a suggestion that would lead to the establishment of the world famous  Regatta, which became ‘Royal’ in 1851, when Prince Albert became the first Royal patron.

To this day, the town comes alive with visitors at the end of June and early July.  Brightly coloured blazers adorn the banks of the river Thames, all hoping that their crews will be successful.

A relatively recent addition to the Henley ‘scene’ is the Henley Festival, which follows one week after the Regatta.  Renowned musicians and actors perform to ticket holders from Wednesday to Sunday in the idyllic setting on the river.  What could be better for a lovely summer’s evening? (Not so good in the rain mind you!)

The town offers many interesting and unusual shops, such as the wonderful chocolates on offer at Gorvett and Stone:-

  

 www.gorvettandstone.com

 There are some independent clothes shops, and a well known supermarket!

Henley is also not short of a restaurant or two!  My personal favourite however is the Catherine Wheel, which is supposedly haunted by the ghost of Mary Blandy

 
Not really much more that I can say, other than go and visit it and see for yourselves:-

 www.henleyonthames.org

My score :-

Out of 5 would be 5.  Just perfect to me, no complaints whatsoever!

A little gem! (The Hyundai i10)

I recently purchased the baby of the Hyundai family – the I10, and it is a great little car.

Having been a very happy owner of the Volkswagon Lupo for over 10 years, when choosing it’s replacement, I was faced with a difficult task.

My wish list was simple, a small car, reasonably priced and one that offered excellent fuel economy, was cheap to insure, and little or no road tax.

These days, there are many small cars available on the market – the Citroen C1, the Aygo, the Peugeot 107 – although these 3 are basically the same car, just different manufacturers.  Having test driven the C1, I quickly ruled that out as the road handling was not great, and as the car was so low on the road, I also found it very noisy .

I then read some reports on the i10, each one suggesting that it was a car I should certainly take a look at.

I’m not much of a believer in buying a brand new car, it depreciates in value as soon as you drive it off the forecourt.  So, that meant looking at the second hand market.  

I trawled through various listings, and came across one of interest at Car Giant in London.  They were offering a March 2011 Hyundai i10 with just over 2,000 miles on the clock for a shade over £5,000.  I was sceptical about this, as it did seem too good to be true, so decided it needed a closer inspection.

My husband drove me to Car Giant, and we eventually located the little car in a distant corner of an unbelievably large forecourt.  

First impressions were mixed, it was a tiny little car, with an very small bonnet ; but it did have 4 doors – which was 2 better than my last car!  We sat inside it, trying out the front and the back seats.  As a fairly tall lady, I was also anxious that it should offer decent head room; and was pleased to see that it most certainly did.

Overall it had promise, so I arranged a test drive; it was love at first drive.  I knew this was the one for me, so I went to the office and put down a deposit.

One week later, the car was mine.

I have now been driving it for around 6 months.  For a small car, the road handling is excellent – tight bends are no problem ; the car feels stable.  Parking it is a joy, no problems slotting it into a small spot.  Turning the car round is a doddle, you could turn it on a postage stamp!  The boot is relatively spacious for something so small.

I drive the Active 1.2 model, which has a fuel economy of 61.4 mpg; and £20 per year road tax.

I should also add that all Hyundai’s come with a 5 year manufacturer’s warranty, so I am able to take advantage of the remaining time on that.

My score :-

Out of 5 would be 5.  Just perfect to me, no complaints whatsoever!

The Quince Tree, Stonor, nr Henley on Thames, Oxon.

In my opinion, there is nothing bad to say about this place!  The perfect shop, restaurant and pub.

Most of my friends and family will be aware that there is nothing I like more than a good cup of tea, and a nice cake!  When my Mum started to mention to me about a new tea shop that had opened in Stonor, I began to take notice and became keen to visit it myself.

What is the The Quince Tree?  Well, as mentioned above, it is a pub, restaurant, cafe and deli all under the one roof. 

I visited it for the first time last Wednesday. 

As Stonor is some way out in the country (approx 2 miles from Henley on Thames) it is more than likely that you will be arriving by car.  There is ample car parking, although be careful if visiting in the winter as the car park does get rather slippery and icy.

The large glass fronted building is accessed directly from the car park.  Upon entering, you are greeted by a wonderful smell of fresh bread, cakes and deli produce.  To your left you will see the deli counter, offering tempting morsels.  It took me quite some time to decide that I must try their sausage rolls.  Lovely pork and cranberry stuffing enrobed in a light flaky pastry.  Even more delightful when heated in the oven for a few minutes.

The vegetable counter is next to the deli area, and again offers a lovely variety of fruit and veg.  I was particularly taken by the mini pineapples, perfect miniature versions of the full sized ones.

The bread display was equally as tempting, although I did think that the price of an ordinary loaf was quite high.  But, as there does seem to be a trend these days for ‘posh bread’ I suppose it doesn’t surprise me.

The treats don’t stop there; you are also offered a wide range of jams, preserves, biscuits, butter, eggs, cooking ingredients..... Basically everything you could possibly want. 

It did remind me somewhat of Harrods Food Hall, as it is clearly aimed at those with a more than a few pounds to spend.  I don’t think my pocket could cope with shopping there on a regular basis!

We then moved on into the cafe/restaurant.  Tables and a kitchen arranged at the other end of the building.  The upstairs mezzanine offering more comfortable seating.

You are greeted by a cake display as you pass by to your table.  I choose a chocolate biscuit, and my Mum opted for the meringue; which was served with jam and delicious clotted cream!! 

We accompanied these with a pot of tea.   If you fancy something a bit more filling, there is a wide variety of hot food available.

Oh yes, and I forgot to mention for those of you looking to buy a gift for a loved one – there is plenty to choose from.

My score :-

Out of 5 would be 5.  Just perfect to me, no complaints whatsoever!

To take a look for yourself, visit their website:-

www.thequincetree.com.

Service with a smile (most of the time!)

As someone who works full time, my evenings are sacred; and when I would prefer to stay at home rather than go out shopping in the cold - on-line grocery shopping comes in extremely useful.

I have tried out all the major retailers – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose; but the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest is Ocado. 

They have many tempting offers to reel in customers, namely money off if you spend over a certain amount on your first shop.  Their website is very good, offering pictures of all the products and detailed descriptions of them.  I particularly like the fact that the site remembers your previous shops, and from that can put together a suggested shop for you.

Ocado supply products from Waitrose and have now also started to supply their own range.  Everything they offer is fresh and well packaged.  I particularly like their organic fruit and vegetable boxes, offering more than enough for a family of three or four for at least a week.

Ocado now pledge to price match Tesco on their own range, and if they don’t you are sent a voucher for the amount you overspent.  For example, I spent £1.34 more on my last shop and was duly supplied with a voucher for this to use against my next shop.

Your shopping is packaged in colour co-ordinated bags to identify whether it is for the store cupboard, fridge or freezer.

Most of their delivery drivers are very obliging, and cheerful.  I have encountered a few exceptions to this rule recently; our last driver was rather monosyllabic!

All their delivery slots are one hour in duration, and very occasionally they will turn up earlier than scheduled, however the drivers always call you beforehand to make sure you are at home and able to accept the order.

As with all on line grocery retailers, there are occasions when mishaps occur.  Perhaps an egg will get broken, or a pint of milk will leak.  This is easily solved, contact Ocado via the website and they will refund you.  All very fair and straightforward.

All on line grocery retailers will charge you for delivery; these amounts vary according to the time of day you want your shopping.  Ocado have now come up with an innovative delivery pass which allows free delivery during the week, rather useful and can save you anything up to £7.

My score :-

Out of 5 would be 4. The loss of one point only due to the fact that my last delivery driver was a bit on the grumpy side.

                                        

Softly, softly........

As someone who suffers from sensitive skin, I relished the opportunity to try Comfort Pure fabric conditioner. 

The product is presented in a lovely white bottle, the style of which evokes simplicity and pureness. Hopefully, qualities which one would expect to obtain from the product itself.

Upon opening the bottle, you immediately notice the lovely fragrance, nothing too overpowering, just a hint of something very fresh and clean.

I usually pour the required amount of conditioner into the cap of the bottle, and then pour that into the correct compartment of the washing machine.  My only complaint would be that the conditioner does seem to be rather on the thick side, and can tend to stick to the dispenser drawer a bit too much.  Personally, I would recommend diluting it with just a dash of water before you wash.

After the usual wash cycle, I opened the door of the machine and immediately noticed the great smell.  The clothes smelt wonderful, and I noticed a big difference with my towels in particular.  They were softer and much fluffier after that wash, than previous washes using supermarket own brand conditioners.

However – the biggest improvement with my clothes seem to come after the tumble drying cycle.  They all felt so much softer, bouncy – basically brand new!

My skin has also benefited from switching to Comfort Pure.  The horrible itchy feeling I used to get after using my old fabric conditioner has now gone away, and I feel much more comfortable.

Would I recommend this product to others?  Most definitely yes.  I shall certainly be using it again (and again!). 

My score:-

 out of 5 would be 4. The loss of one point only due to the fact that I find the consistency of the product a little on the thick side.