After lamenting on the blog that the Truffled Cauliflower Cheese from M&S had disappeared, it had come back.
On a recent visit to M&S I found it again, though it has to be said it was now in their Gastropub branding. I also think there was now more crunchy topping than before, but still same great taste.
So the cauliflower dish I have been getting from Marks and Spencer seems to have been taken off the shelves.
The Truffled Cauliflower Cheese described as cauliflower in a cheddar cheese and truffle sauce, topped with acheese, mushroom and chive ciabatta crumb was rather nice, and quick and easy just needing thirty minutes in the oven.
It was a really nice dish, plenty of cauliflower, nice sauce, good flavour of truffle. Though I think it needed more topping, this was more of a personal preference than a criticism.
Alas the last few times I have been to my local M&S there is no sign of it on the shelves, which was a pity. I didn’t think it was a seasonal dish, as it was there well before Christmas. There is a normal cauliflower cheese dish, but that doesn’t look the same and I suspect I would be disappointed.
This year I have written 120 blog posts, last year I did 58 blog posts and the year before just 36.
With the lockdown I went out to eat a lot less than I have in previous years, however not going out, meant I had a little more time to play catch up finishing off reviews of meals I had eaten in 2019.
Looking over old sweet wrappers (online and for a charity quiz as it happens) I realised how much I missed out in the 1970s and 1980s on various flavours of Aero.
In ninth place, having been top for both 2018 and 2017, dropped down a place in 2019, now dropping seven places was Sirloin for Beef Wellington? This was a response to the high ranking of another post about using sirloin steak in a Beef Wellington rather than fillet steak due to the way people were (at the time) searching Google. was Sirloin for Beef Wellington? This was my version of the classic Beef Wellington.
Well after blogging about the closure of Pizza Express in Weston-super-Mare, it is now rumoured, but not confirmed, that the branch of Frankie and Benny’s in Weston-super-Mare will not be reopening after closed for lockdown.
Seventh most popular blog post was Truffled Cauliflower Cheese from Marks and Spencers which was a review of some very nice cauliflower. It’s described as cauliflower in a cheddar cheese and truffle sauce, topped with acheese, mushroom and chive ciabatta crumb.
My top post from 2019 dropped five places to sixth, Chilli Squid from Wagamama was a post reviewing some squid I had in Leeds back in 2011. This looked fantastic, was beautifully cooked and tasted delicious. I really liked the squid and the dipping sauce added to the dish without overpowering it.
Ten years ago I tried some pasta from Sainsbury’s, Basil & pine nut margherite. Was the fifth most popular blog post dropping two places since 2019.
Climbing two places into fourth place, was Marks and Spencers Pork Medallions which was written back in 2009. I had cooked and enjoyed Marks and Spencers’ Pork Medallions with a cider and shallot sauce.
In third place was Lidl Coffee Ice Cream which was a short review of the coffee flavoured tub of ice cream. They are not huge tubs, but what you get is a tasty creamy coffee ice cream, with a little chocolate in there as well.
The second most popular blog post was from February 2020 and was a recipe for a Gluten Free Chocolate Loaf Cake. This is a tasty rich chocolate loaf cake.
So the most popular blog post on Time for a Coffee in 2020 was Lidl Sol Mar Cod Croquettes which was posted in June 2020 about some fish croquettes I had picked up from Lidl.
I really quite enjoyed them.
Quite refreshing to see posts from 2020 being half the top posts in 2020.
Over the last few years I have taken a different approach to making gravy with our Christmas lunch.
In the past I would utilise the cooking pan that the roast meal had come in to make the gravy. It would have to compete for hob space with the vegetables and pan frying the brussel sprouts. It would all then be a bit of a stress to ensure everything was cooked and the gravy arrived on time.
I have started now to make the gravy first! This does mean I can’t use the roasting pan, so I create my own roasting pan.. I use a roasting pan, into which I add some chopped root vegetables. These are usually carrots, onions, parsnips, leeks, as well as some mushrooms. I also add some chicken, either wings or drumsticks. I add some olive oil and garlic to the pan. I then roast this in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, the idea is that the chicken is cooked and there are juices in the roasting pan.
Having taken the roasting pan out fo the oven I place it on the hob, if required I add some extra fat, usually butter and let this melt before adding a couple of spoonfuls of flour. This is then whisked into the melted butter and cooking juices to form a roux. I then add some port (or red wine) and chicken stock and let the gravy cook for a while. Strain and place in a saucepan. This can now be heated up later when you’re about to serve, you could even use the microwave if you are short of hob space.I do find it easier to heat up the gravy than make it from scratch as I am about to serve hence making it first.
If it may contain milk then it isn’t vegan. Just saying.
Saw this Galaxy vegan chocolate bar in the Free From aisle at Morrisons, where I was getting some gluten free stuff.
I did think that the only real ingredient in chocolate bars which isn’t vegan is the milk.
I can appreciate that it may not be possible to set up a separate factory, but seems a lost opportunity as I suspect many vegans will not bother with these as they don’t want to take the risk of accidentally eating a milk based product.
On this day two years ago I was in London for various meetings. Over lunch I went for a walk around Covent Garden and enjoyed looking at the Christmas decorations. Since 2015 when I started working at my current organisation I would go to London quite frequently and in December it is really nice to see the different ways in which they decorate Covent Garden and other places around London.
Of course since the Covid-19 lockdown I’ve not been to work or meetings in London since March.
However back to 2018, so I headed towards Kimchee on the Strand to get some lunch. Since my previous visit a few months earlier they have changed dramatically how they sell and serve food. Before you would pick things up from the hot and cold units and then either (as I usually did) take it back to the office or there were tables you could eat at. However now there was a big kitchen area, you would place your order, get a buzzer thingy and wait until the food was cooked to order. I quite like getting freshly cooked food, so was happy to wait.
I ordered the Deopbap Chicken Bulgogi and the Pa Jeon. I then had to wait for my order. Deopbap Chicken Bulgogi was Korean BBQ Chicken in a rice bowl.
The grilled chicken marinated in a blend of ginger, dark soy and garlic, was coated in a sauce and served on a bed of rice and salad. It was quite tasty, but not really barbecued chicken. It was just okay and nothing special and at nearly nine pounds I thought it was overpriced and wasn’t value for money.
I really liked the sound of the Seafood Pa Jeon, a Korean savoury pancake. Pajeon is a variety of jeon with scallion as its prominent ingredient, as pa means scallion. It is a Korean dish made from a batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions, and often other ingredients depending on the variety.
However the end result was a greasy stodgy undercooked pancake with no real flavour. I couldn’t actually finish it. I certainly won’t be going again.
On a later visit to London in 2019 I found that the branch of Kimchee had closed down. I wasn’t too surprised as the essence of what they had which worked was lost, as well as the downturn in the quality of the food as well as more expensive dishes. It also took longer to get served and I am sure that had an impact on those wanting to pick something up quickly and head back to their workplace.
Last November I was attending some meetings in Cardiff, after they were over I was walking back to the car park to get my car and drive home. I realised I was hungry and decided to get something to eat.
Cardiff has quite a bit of choice of places to eat, but I didn’t really have the time to look round find somewhere so in the end I chose Barburrito.
I’ve had Barburrito tacos before at Paddington and Bristol Airport, so it was something I knew I liked.
I had three Barburrito tacos with pork and chicken. You also get a handful of tortilla chips and salsa. I like how you have some choice over which salads and extras you get with your tacos.
Though I always think with Barburrito that the meat is generally overcooked, however I did enjoy my tacos and the salad and toppings tasted very fresh.
Though usually salad is synonymous with summer, every now and then I quite like a salad even when it is cold and frosty outside.
I recently made a winter salad which consisted of mixed leaves, to which I added sliced heritage tomatoes, chunks of cucumber, slices of sweet pepper, spring onions, sweetcorn, roasted butternut squash, thin green beans and some cashew nuts.
