January 2014 – Page 2 – Bangers & Mash

Food shopping: how do you do yours?

January 16, 2014January 17, 2014Posted in ReviewsTagged groceries, meal planning, mySupermarket, online shopping, shopping, supermarket21 Comments

A few years ago, I would never have thought there’d be a time when I’d find the topic of grocery shopping even remotely interesting, but these days it seems I can talk for hours on the subject.

Food and cooking have become major aspects of my life, which means by default that shopping has too. It’s intriguing to me that people tackle this task so differently. I’m endlessly curious about where people shop for food, when and how often. Do they fill their baskets online or in store? Are they loyal to one of the big supermarkets or do they try instead to support high street independents? How much do people spend, do they plan meals in advance and write shopping lists, or do they purchase on a whim or according to what looks good or is on offer?

I was asked recently by mySupermarket if I’d give their website a whirl to do my grocery shop. I had thought about giving them a try several times over the last year or so but to be honest I’d just never got around to it. I’d fallen into a routine that worked for me, and it was never the right time to try something new. So when I was asked to review what mySupermarket has to offer, I was interested in seeing if it would be enough to make me change my routine, and this seemed like a good excuse to ask others about their shopping routines.

So I posed a few questions on Twitter the other night. It would appear there are others out there who like talking about shopping as much as me.

Talking shop

Becky at The Ar-Blog does her grocery shop online “every week and a half ish”. She plans all the family’s meals and comes up with a shopping list for ingredients, after checking what they already have in the cupboard. “Plus we always have £5 for treats or posh nosh,” she adds. I do like that.

Laura from Strawberries and Facecream prefers to do her shopping online too, once a week. “Can’t bear taking the toddler to the supermarket!” My sentiments exactly. Laura’s a fan of Ocado where she says “the customer service is second to none and the food is always soopa fresh.” She also tries to meal plan to save money. “I watched some @jamieoliver Save programmes and it really inspired me.”

Likewise Emily from A Mummy Too does her shop online. “I do weekly after food planning and always from Asda as we invest in the regular delivery pass.”

But shopping online isn’t popular with everyone.

Lizzie aka @Mrs_Gaffer likes to do her shop at Tesco, or perhaps Asda if she’s nipping out to pick up extra bits in her lunch hour. She says she “tried online but prefer to choose my own veg etc. Sadly we’re creatures of habit.”

Sian from Fishfingers for Tea always used to do her food shopping online but she now finds “going to Aldi saves us so much money that I struggle to justify doing it online now!” Sian shops once a week with “milk top ups in between.” While most of the groceries comes from Aldi, she doesn’t mind a bit of shopping around, either at the market or places like Home Bargains, when she knows she can get certain things cheaper.

It sounds to me like Sian has got grocery shopping down to something of a fine art. She does her Aldi shop in about 20 minutes and the rest of her shopping takes no more than half an hour across the week. Of course, it probably helps that she produces a meal plan first, which takes around 45 minutes.

And many of us combine online with ‘real’ shopping, like The Ginger Gourmand: “Ocado for store cupboard stuff every 10-14 days. Fishmongers, markets, greengrocer etc at weekend.”

Some people are verging on the regimental when it comes to their shopping…

Ruby aka @RubyKnickers says, “Always Tesco, always online, always delivered on the same day at a similar time.”

While others are a little more laid back or, dare I say, haphazard…

Kirsty from Eeh Bah Mum says, “Ideally: weekly. Realistically: when I need stuff. In all honesty: halfway through cooking it.”

When Michelle from Utterly Scrummy Food for Families took me through her shopping routine, it sounded uncannily similar to mine. “We shop weekly with Asda, we’ve got a delivery pass,” explains Michelle. “I’ve got the menu planning and online shopping down to 1 hour maximum. I always do a stock take first too, so I don’t over-buy and look at our schedule for the week – work, school stuff, meetings etc. I dump stuff in the basket midweek to secure a slot, then amend once I have planned.” Other than the fact I tend to use Ocado or Sainsbury’s, this could be a description of how I do my weekly shop.

We all have our own ways of filling our cupboards and fridges with food, designed around all kinds of individual factors – from work and family to the fact that the shop on the other side of town has an amazing offer on pickled herring or our heads cave in if we are forced to spend more than five minutes in a supermarket with small children. But something that seems to unite most of us is cost. We are all looking to save money and pick up a bargain.

What is mySupermarket?

The primary aim of the mySupermarket website is to help shoppers save both time and money by comparing prices from all the main supermarkets. There are three main ways people use the site: you can order your basket online, print your basket as a shopping list and take it with you to your local supermarket, or simply use it to compare different supermarket prices online. They’ve also launched a new mobile app, mySuperlist, which gives you another way to ‘shop on the go’.

I don’t really know why I hadn’t thought of trying them before because, when I think about it, the whole concept fits beautifully with how I shop already.

My routine is to do an online shop once a week, quite often with a glass of wine in hand, after first putting together a meal plan (I’m a huge advocate of the meal plan – take a look at my very first blog post), and after checking what supplies we already have in and what we’ve got coming up in the diary.

I tend to switch between Ocado and Sainsbury’s. Why? Well, because I haven’t worked out which is cheaper, and because only Ocado offers certain products we like, while other things I can only get at Sainsbury’s. Ocado, for instance, sells the perfect kabanos sausages for hiding a tablet in to feed to the cat. Don’t ask.

Switch and save

I was vaguely aware that mySupermarket allowed you to compare prices, but I assumed it would only really be helpful for comparing individual items. I didn’t fancy the idea of going to several different stores to get the cheapest deals on different products. It turns out the beauty of mySupermarket is it allows you to do an entire shop, all the while providing a running total of how much your basket would cost at both your chosen store and each of the others available in your area.

The price comparison above was from our Christmas shop. I’d never spend this much normally, but it was to last us nearly a fortnight and there were a fair few luxury items in there.

I was worried it would prove difficult learning my way around a new site, but I was pleased to find mySupermarket is extremely easy to use.

I started off by importing all my favourites from my Sainbury’s online account. Discovering I could do this was a huge relief, as I really couldn’t face the idea of starting over again from scratch. I then did my shopping as I usually would; first of all going through the things I needed for the meal plan I’d prepared for the Christmas and New Year period, and then going through my list of favourites for all the usual household items we get through, such as loo paper and washing up liquid.

And all the time, the tally in the right sidebar was showing me the total cost at Sainsbury’s compared with the other stores. I found it quite exciting to see how the totals varied – the store in ‘first place’ switched frequently between Sainsbury’s and Asda. Ocado (my other usual online store) sat resolutely in bottom position pretty much from the start. The final difference between Sainsbury’s and Asda wasn’t huge, but I was shocked at the difference between Sainsbury’s and Ocado which was almost £30. I’m now not sure if those kabanos sausages are special enough to persuade me to do my entire shop there in future.

Swap and save

The other element I was rather impressed by was the way in which mySupermarket suggests smart swaps and replacements while you shop to help you save even more money – either by trading down or buying more to make a bulk saving.

Finding the best deals can take a lot of time and effort when you are shopping online normally, and so I found I used this function quite a bit. There were times though when I didn’t like the cheaper alternatives provided, generally when I was looking at meat for instance and the swap and save items would not be free range. But probably seven times out of ten, I went with the cheaper option and ended up saving a fair whack.

Shopping list

I also liked the shopping list function. Rather than searching for items individually, one after the other, you can simply type in a long list – ideal when you’re going through the ingredients needed for your meal plan or a particular dish, and then mySupermarket searches for them all at once.

Savvy buys

‘Savvy Buys’ is another useful offering from mySupermarket. This brings up any products that are more than 30% off their average price at that store. You’ll never find this kind of information promoted by individual supermarkets. Quite often I discovered they’re not actually promoted by the supermarket as special offers, so they would otherwise be incredibly easy to miss.

All in all I was extremely impressed with mySupermarket. I successfully saved £34 on my first shop, which is definitely not a sum to be sniffed at. I have since shopped using mySupermarket again; the next time I saved £13 but this was a much smaller shop, and again Sainsbury’s came out cheapest and Ocado most expensive.

The only slight issue I have with mySupermarket is that you must complete your full shop when you book a delivery slot. What I usually do, just like Michelle from Utterly Scrummy above, is to grab the slot I want and bung any old items in the basket to secure it. I then come back nearer to the delivery date, once I’ve prepared my meal plan, to do the shop properly. You can’t do this with mySupermarket at the moment, but when I mentioned this they said they’re aware that many people shop like this and their developers are working on ways to incorporate this functionality in the future. So that sounds promising.

I plan on sticking with mySupermarket for my weekly online shop. It turns out that what they have to offer is enough to make me change my usual routine, but to be honest that really isn’t a massive change as it fits so neatly. I genuinely look forward to using mySupermarket so that I can continue to find the best deals easily and saving lots of lovely dosh.

Have you used mySupermarket? Has it saved you money on your grocery shopping?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. mySupermarket paid £50 towards my first shop using their website in return for a review. All views expressed are completely my own and are 100% honest.

Roast cauliflower cheese soup

January 15, 2014January 16, 2014Posted in Recipes, VegetarianTagged cauliflower, cauliflower cheese, paprika, roast cauliflower, soup, the spice trail18 Comments

Everyone seems to be roasting their cauliflowers at the moment, so here I am getting in on the act. Roasting cauliflower gives it the most beautifully deep flavour, which works a treat with the smoky paprika and tasty cheeses I’ve used in this soup. I opted for a couple of different cheeses; a mature Cheddar and a tangy Lancashire cheese – two of my favourites, but you can experiment with any strong, hard cheese.

It might not be the prettiest bowlful, but all my family love this soup. The ingredients are simple yet it tastes rich and luxurious. And it’s an ideal way of encouraging people who don’t usually appreciate cauliflower to give it a try.

Roast cauliflower cheese soup

1 small onion, peeled and quartered
1 cauliflower, trimmed and broken into florets
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
500ml hot vegetable stock
200g hard cheese (I used Cheddar and Lancashire), grated
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C / gas mark 6

Place the onion quarters and cauliflower florets into a roasting tin. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle over the paprika. Mix with your hands to make sure the onion and cauliflower are well covered. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is browned.

Pour the hot stock into a large pan and add the cauliflower and onion. Bring to a simmer and cook for around 10 minutes.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the grated cheese. Use a hand blender to puree until smooth. Taste and season if required.

I am entering this soup into the following challenges: The Spice Trail (hosted by me), where the theme this month is paprika; Family Foodies (hosted by me and Eat Your Veg) where the theme is hidden goodies; No Croutons Required (hosted by Lisa’s Kitchen and Tinned Tomatoes); Cheese Please! (hosted by Fromage Homage) where it’s all about Comfort Food & Winter Warmers; and Simple and in Season (hosted by Ren Behan).

Sweet and sour winter salad

January 11, 2014January 16, 2014Posted in Recipes, VegetarianTagged celericac, coriander, mint, ottolenghi, parsnip, red cabbage, root vegetables, salad, swede21 Comments

This article first appeared in the Wells Journal on 9 January 2014.

In the deepest, darkest days of winter, it is not uncommon to crave large helpings of a warming slow-cooked casserole, a rich, meaty pie or a satisfying steamed pudding smothered in hot custard.

There are times though when it’s not heavy, stodgy comfort food my body yearns for. Instead I need something light, crunchy and zingy; a fresh and healthy dish to transport my head to more sunshiny climes.

While this salad is comprised for the main part of seasonal winter produce, it successfully delivers a taste of summer, as well as providing a much-needed alternative use for those seemingly uninspiring ingredients filling our veggie boxes week after week at this time of year.

Based on a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe, this salad is extremely versatile and can be used with just about any root vegetable or cabbage. All the vegetables are served raw, either grated or finely shredded, so it is very much like a winter coleslaw or remoulade. But it is the dressing that really elevates this salad, featuring generous handfuls of fresh herbs, lemon juice, salty capers, mustard, sour cherries, sultanas and a little sugar, for a superbly vibrant sweet and sour kick.

I served it alongside a baked ham for our Boxing Day gathering and it went down a storm with family and friends. It’s also a very good accompaniment to simple grilled fish or chicken, or include it as part of a mezze.

So next time you pull up yet another swede or parsnip from you veg box or allotment, don’t automatically boil it up or roast it. Instead, give this sweet and sour salad a go and bring your taste buds out of hibernation.

Sweet and sour winter salad

Serves 4-6

500g winter vegetables, shredded or grated
(I used red cabbage, celeriac, parsnip and swede)
handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
handful fresh mint, roughly chopped
50g capers
juice of 1 large lemon
1 tsp cider vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tsp wholegrain mustard
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp caster sugar
50g dried sour cherries
50g raisins
salt and pepper

Place all the shredded or grated vegetables in a large mixing bowl and simply add the rest of the ingredients. Use your hands to thoroughly combine everything to make sure the vegetables absorb all those flavours.

Add salt and pepper to taste, and possibly a little more vinegar or sugar depending on how sweet or sour you like it.

Leave the salad for an hour or so before serving to allow the flavours to develop. I always intentionally make too much, as I think it tastes even better the next day.

As this salad features both fresh herbs and zingy lemon, I’m entering it into this month’s Cooking with Herbs hosted by Karen at Lavender & Lovage where the theme for January is Herbs & Citrus Fruits.

It is also my offering for Extra Veg, a new challenge hosted by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy, encouraging us all to eat an extra portion of vegetables each day. With a big bowl of this in your fridge, there’s no excuse to snack on the bad stuff when you get the munchies.

Since it’s such an unbelievably healthy bowful of goodness, I’ve got to share it with Four Seasons Food (hosted by Eat Your Veg and Delicieux), where the theme this month is Virtuous Food.

And finally I’m also entering this salad into the Fabulous Fusion Food challenge, hosted by by the very talented Deena Kakaya.

Banana eggy bread

January 8, 2014January 8, 2014Posted in Bread, Recipes, VegetarianTagged banana, breakfast, brunch, egg, eggy bread, Family Foodies, french toast5 Comments

Eggy bread (otherwise known as French toast) is a popular lazy day breakfast in the Bangers & Mash house. Actually, pretty much anything to do with eggs is popular here. But eggy bread in particular takes me back to my own childhood, as I have very fond memories of my Mum making this for me, which I’d sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper and eagerly wolf down while it was still piping hot, serving after serving. And so I rather like making it now for my own daughters.

Making eggy bread with mashed banana sandwiches is perfect for anyone with a bit of a sweet tooth, and yes I’m thinking primarily of little ones here. It’s an easy way to get some extra fruit into them too.

Banana eggy bread

Serves 4

2 ripe bananas
4 slices of fresh, white bread
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 tbsp sunflower oil

Peel the bananas and mash roughly with the back of a fork. Spread the mashed banana onto two of the slices of bread, cover with the remaining slices to make sandwiches, and cut each one in half.

Crack the eggs into a shallow dish, add the milk and gently whisk together with a fork. Place the banana sandwiches into the eggy mixture, and turn a few times to allow the bread to soak up egg like a sponge.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Carefully lift the eggy sandwiches from the dish, allowing the excess egg to run off, and pop them into the frying pan.

Fry for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden and crispy. Allow the banana to cool a little before eating. For a treat, you might like to serve with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

As this banana eggy bread is a delicious way to encourage your children to eat more fruit, I am entering it into this month’s Family Foodies. This is a challenge run by Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash, and it is my turn to host. January’s theme is Hidden Goodies.

I think it would be also rather nice to serve up this banana eggy bread at tea time, so I am also entering it into January’s Tea Time Treats, hosted by The Hedge Combers and Lavender & Lovage. The theme this months is Eggs.

January’s Family Foodies challenge: hidden goodies

January 3, 2014January 28, 2014Posted in Competitions and challengesTagged challenge, children, Eat Your Veg, family food, Family Foodies, hidden goodies, recipes27 Comments

We all want to feed our little ones good, healthy food, and yet that isn’t always as easy as it sounds. As parents and carers, we play a huge role in shaping our children’s attitudes towards food but the individual child’s tastes and character play a big part too.

Take my two daughters, for instance. Our first daughter Jess is nearly nine, and will eat practically everything you put in front of her. Everything that is, except mushrooms for some reason. But overall she is an absolute joy to feed and cook for and she’s always been this way, ever since weaning. She has an adventurous and curious approach towards food and is always eager to try new things. A lover of strong, bold flavours, Jess delights in being able to eat chillies almost as hot as those my husband and I can eat.

So my husband and I were rather proud about this little foodie we assumed we had created. And then our second daughter comes along; Mia, who is now nearly six. While she will eat quite a varied diet, it is only after a great deal of coaxing and cajoling. And disguising. Mia likes meat and plain foods. Bangers and mash is one of her favourites, or a straightforward roast dinner; sweet puddings and chocolate. You can see the look of suspicion instantly appear in her eyes when I serve up anything different, or smelling of spices, or containing a heavy quota of vegetables.

Yet our children have had exactly the same influences, have grown up being fed the same foods and tasting the same tastes and yet their whole response to food is at such polar opposites.

That’s why I’m thrilled to be hosting this month’s Family Foodies challenge, calling for your favourite family recipes featuring Hidden Goodies.

While I’m not a big believer of making special food for children and would much rather they ate the same good food as the rest of us, we do need to acknowledge that sometimes children need a little extra persuasion to enjoy new foods, tastes and flavours. And yes sometimes, at the end of the day, all we care about is making sure our kids get something nutritious inside them, whether they realise it or not.

So that’s this month challenge. What are your cunning ploys and devious devices for getting some of the good stuff into your kids – be it fruit, vegetables, fibre, nuts or pulses? What are your favourite recipes containing hidden goodies? At the end of this month’s challenge, it would be fantastic to have a store of ideas to share with other parents looking for creative ideas on how to tackle this age old problem.

Win a delicious juice and smoothie recipe book

At the end of the Hidden Goodies Family Foodies challenge, one lucky winner will receive a recipe book from Passion 4 Juice, featuring an inspiring collection of tempting juice and smoothie recipes created by Trish Tucker May. Trish launched her mobile juice bar at the Glastonbury Festival back in 2003 and since then thousands of festival goers have experienced her amazing taste sensations, both here in the UK and in her native Australia.

Family Foodie Entry Guidelines:

You may submit any recipe on your blog that fits this month’s theme, new or from the archive, and feel free to enter as many times as you wish. You’re also welcome to submit the post to other challenges too. If the recipe is not your own, please give the appropriate credit.
Send your recipe URL to me at vanesther-at-reescommunications-dot-co-dot-uk, including your own email address and the title of your recipe or post. The closing date this month is Tuesday 28 January 2014.
Display the Family Foodies badge (below) on your recipe post, with a link back to both Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash, as well as details of this month’s challenge.
If you’re on Twitter, then please tweet your post to myself @BangerMashChatand Lou @Eat_Your_Veg and include the hashtag #FamilyFoodies. We’ll retweet all that we see.
You may enter from anywhere in the blogosphere, and we’ll happily post out any prizes.
At the end of the month a guest judge will choose a winning recipe. The winner will be announced in a monthly round-up of all the entries. Winners will get to display a Family Foodie Winner annotated badge on their blog if they wish and their recipe will go through to the Family Foodies Hall of Fame on each of our sites.
All entries will be added to the Family Foodies Pinterest Group Board.

I’m really looking forward to seeing your Hidden Goodies entries!

January’s entries…

Turkey Sliders from Mamacook
Spinach and Potato Bites from Mamacook
Broccoli Frittata from Mamacook
Chocolate and Beetroot Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting from Selma’s Table
Spicy Chicken Burgers from Caroline Makes
Chicken Cutlets with Veggies from Happiness is Homemade
Chorizo and Vegetable Stromboli from Utterly Scrummy Food for Families
Smoked Mackerel Fish Cakes from Mamacook
Broccoli, Courgette and Stilton Soup from Caroline Makes
Veggie Sausageless Rolls from The Crazy Kitchen
Chicken, Pearl Barley and Veggie Stew from Eat Your Veg
Slow Cooker Turkey Supreme from JibberJabberUK
Chocolate Avocado Mousse from Eat Your Veg
Mini Calzones with Asparagus from My Tasty Adventures
Avocado Oat Cookies with Raisins and Chocolate from Veggie Desserts
Creamy Green Chicken Curry from Dip’s Diner
Roast Cauliflower Cheese Soup from Bangers & Mash
Lamb & Potato Bake from JibberJabberUK
Green Olive & Date Breadsticks from How to Cook Good Food
Parsnip, Carrot & Lentil Soup from Tinned Tomatoes
Beef Pie with Hidden Carrot (and Other Vegetables) from Gluten Free Alchemist
Apricot, Coconut & Plain Chocolate Cookies from Eat Your Veg
Carrot & Courgette Fritters from The Spicy Pear
Jerusalem Artichoke Cake from Chocolate Log Blog
Jerusalem Artichoke and Rosemary Soup with Jerusalem Artichoke Crisps from Allotment 2 Kitchen
Leftover Rice Balls from My Tasty Adventures
Roast Vegetable Sauce for Pasta from Bangers & Mash
Slow Cooker Carrot & Coriander Soup from JibberJabberUK
Vegetarian Canneloni from Spurs Cook
Fig and Honey Smoothie from Bangers & Mash
Beef Ragu from Feed My Family!

The Spice Trail: cooking with paprika

January 2, 2014December 14, 2018Posted in Competitions and challengesTagged challenge, cool chile co, paprika, recipes, the spice trail23 Comments

Share your paprika recipes to win a Cool Chile Co gift box

Here we are in a brand new year, and so The Spice Trail is taking us to a brand new spice destination. In January our challenge is to cook with paprika. Hopefully though it won’t prove too much of a challenge. I for one use paprika quite a bit in my cooking. It’s a favourite ingredient in warming sausage casseroles or for adding a spicy kick to a simple tomato sauce for pasta. It’s also great sprinkled over potato wedges and other root vegetables before roasting. But I want to know how you use paprika in your cooking? We had such a fantastic response to the chilli and cinnamon recipes at the end of last year, I can’t wait to see what paprika dishes you come up with.

A little bit about paprika

Paprika is a ground powder of dried sweet red peppers (seeds out first), which were said to have been taken to their spiritual home (Hungary) by the Turks, though as with all peppers they came originally from the New World. True Hungarian paprika is divided into different echelons of quality: noble sweet, semi-sweet, rose, strong and commercial. The Spanish make a wood-smoked (pimenton) that you can buy either sweet or hot. Indispensable in goulash, chorizo, devilling and fish dishes. Taken from Leon: Ingredient & Recipes by Allegra McEvedy

Win a Cool Chile Co gift box

At the end of the paprika challenge, one lucky winner will receive a super cool gift box from the Cool Chile Co, featuring a range of Mexican herbs and spices, including their delicious smoked paprika from Spain and of course a selection of fantastic Mexican chillies.

The Cool Chile Co started in 1993, and the idea was simple: to import a wide variety of the best dried chillies, direct from Mexico, providing the UK with an exciting new range of flavours and heat sensations for real Mexican and home cooking. They have gone on to produce their own salsas, sauces and pastes, faithfully using traditional Mexican recipes and their delicious imported chillies. Personally, I’m a massive fan of their dried Ancho chilli and Mexican oregano.

How to enter The Spice Trail

Display the The Spice Trail badge on your recipe post, and link back to this challenge post. You may enter as many recipe links as you like, so long as they feature this month’s key ingredient, paprika. Send your recipe URL to me at vanesther-at-reescommunications-dot-co-dot-uk, including your own email address and the title of your recipe or post. The closing date this month is Tuesday 28 January 2014. If you tweet your post, please mention #TheSpiceTrail and me @BangerMashChat in your tweet and I’ll retweet each one I see. Feel free to republish old recipe posts, but please add the information about this challenge and The Spice Trail badge. As entries come in, links to these will be added to the bottom of this page. At the end of the month a guest judge will choose a winning recipe and the winner this month will receive a tasty gift box from the Cool Chile Co. The winner will be announced in a monthly round-up of all the entries. All entries will be added to The Spice Trail Pinterest Board. I can’t wait to see what paprika dishes you come up with this month for The Spice Trail. Any questions, please tweet or email me.