I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round up, currently hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.
Another month and another peak into my kitchen, thanks to the fun round-up currently hosted by Bizzy Lizzy.
It is officially spring in the UK and with the warmer weather comes an embarrassing amount of ice cream in my freezer. No, really, a truly embarrassing amount:
It is officially spring in the UK and with the warmer weather comes an embarrassing amount of ice cream in my freezer. No, really, a truly embarrassing amount:
In my defense, all of the above items were new-to-me options that were dangled in front of me by Ocado. In an example of good marketing, Ocado offered me 3 months of free home grocery deliveries and, like a good consumer, I have made multiple orders that I otherwise wouldn't have done. (To non-UK readers, Ocado is an online grocery chain that offers lots of gourmet and vegan items.) I love all of the above ice creams, although the two Fry's tubs are not very sweet and Mr Bite was not a fan.
In addition to new ice cream flavours, the Fry's company have released some new frozen savoury items. I loved their stir fry strips made from rice protein and chia seeds (you can't detect either in the flavour, which is of rosemary and sage) and also enjoyed their Asian spiced burgers. Both are very faux meat-y and so aren't something I'd eat too regularly, but as faux meat products go they are excellent.
I was less enamored with the battered prawn style pieces, although am impressed that they have a prawn-like taste. They were quite lemony and I would probably have liked them more if made without batter.
In addition to ice creams, Ocado allowed me to stock up on new vegan yoghurts. The Nush range isn't one I've seen in supermarkets, which is a shame, because these are amonst the nicest dairy free yoghurts I've tried. The caramel and hibiscus version was particularly delicious.
In a shameful example of buying something I could make at home, I tried this Soulful one pot 'West African peanut and chickpea with red rice' tub. I bought it after making my recent satay chickpea stew with grains and it did provide a ready meal version of that. I liked it but can't really justify buying what I can so easily make at home.
Waiting for use are these Rebel Kitchen chocolate orange coconut milk cartons. I have tried the plain chocolate variety before so look forward to tasting this orange version in time.
To continue my trend of always posting chocolate (!), Sainsbury's has some new dairy free chocolate blocks that I couldn't resist trying. They are good value (£1 for 100g) and it's nice to have a readily available dairy free white chocolate option. However, both are quite sweet and the plain chocolate wasn't really to my tastes.
Lest you think my kitchen is all about packaged goods, there are more wholesome items too. I am eating lots of plums, baby corn, oats and kale (not together) and have also been experimenting with soup making, despite the warmer weather. More on that in another post!
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| Very green soup! |
What is happening in your kitchen this month?
Yes why on earth did they have to cover the 'prawn' in batter, I saw them recently but resisted as I would have preferred to make my own batter.
ReplyDeleteYou made the right choice :-)
DeleteThanks for the peek inside your kitchen - always interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cakelaw
DeleteHi there, I was truly glad to read that there is some wholesome fresh produce in there too. Thank you for the very kind shout out, lovely, happy April x
ReplyDeleteI laughed so hard when I read this - you have put me in my place with my large number of non-wholesome non-fresh products :D
DeleteSylvia loves Frys so I told her about the ice cream - she says it is not her Frys!!!! I would be interested to try the ice creams and yoghurts - not sure if they sell them around here. I did see the rebel mylks but was not sure if they would appeal to sylvia (she liked the chocolate milk but it is not my sort of thing). And I will look forward to more about your green soup experiments - it is always the weather for soup for me.
ReplyDeleteMr Bite is the same about soup; he doesn't mind if he has it on a hot summer day. In the UK there are certainly more soup friendly days of the year anyway. I don't know how widely available the Fry's ice cream is yet as I haven't seen it in regular stores here, but I think the products are more available in Australia than the UK so am sure it will reach you soon if it hasn't already. I hope it meets Sylvia's approval if it does!
Deletethe ice cream looks good! I've been wanting to try the vegan Ben & Jerry's here but they cost like a million bucks per wee tub.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's here yet and that is probably for the best given my existing ice cream situation! ;)
DeleteLoads of different things to try this month! Those nush yoghurts sound good.
ReplyDeleteThey really are!
DeleteOrdering on line is so convenient and slightly addictive. Good for you trying new products. Thank you for a peak into your kitchen.
ReplyDeleteThank you Liz :-)
DeleteYour kitchen looks fun. You should never be embarrassed by ice cream!! I would have done the same as you if I was using a new service too. I'm also not much for faux meat, but it definitely has it's place sometimes. The Soulful one pot looks really good actually. In the past few years I have been trying to get away more from packaged foods, but I'm recently finding myself lower on time and may need to resort to them more. I think they are ok sometimes.
ReplyDelete"dairy free white chocolate option" Nice! Too bad the plain was disappointing. We still don't have much in the way of vegan white chocolate here.
Maybe vegan white chocolate is one area where the UK is ahead of the US?! ;)
DeleteKari, I'm all for making homemade, too, but convenience food sometimes finds its way into my kitchen. I keep a stash of Amy's Kitchen gluten free/dairy free/vegan burritos in my freezer... ahem. ;) Your Nush nondairy yoghurt sounds wonderful (thanks for your recommendation -- will have to look them up) and the chocolate orange coconut milk sounds divine!
ReplyDeleteThanks for making me feel better about the convenience products :-)
DeletePackaged foods are just sometimes nice to have. I was recently home alone for two weekends while the guys all went camping and I stocked up on a couple frozen convenience foods since I was busy with projects all day and didn't feel like cooking for one. Your ice creams all look delicious. I just bought my first tub since the weather warmed and it's nearly gone! Next I'll make a homemade ice cream. Our summers here may be brutal, but I'll still eat a soup now and then in the heat too. It's nice to have a one bowl meal and easy to prepare.
ReplyDeleteTwo weekends alone - I bet you didn't know what to do with yourself!
DeleteI look forward to your homemade ice cream if you post it :-)
Vegan white chocolate seems a bit of a contradiction in terms Is it made on soy milk or something like that ? I am always amazed by your fascinating vegan products Kari. Can't say I see the point of fake meat products though Another contradiction in terms i feel:)) Not having a go at you just interested :)
ReplyDeleteI always think white chocolate in general is a contradiction in terms, given the low cocoa content, but yes, the vegan version uses soy instead of dairy :-)
DeleteThere is a lot of debate on fake meat products so you are not alone in wondering about them! I suppose it depends on why you avoid real meat - if it's for taste then the fake versions make no sense, but if for ethical / animal welfare then plant-based creations provide an alternative.