Products I've liked

[Stravaig]

Waitrose sells an own brand spinach and ricotta cannelloni which I just fancied trying. It was really delicious. If you're in the mood for a ready meal I'd recommend it - and it's vegetarian. They have other brands of similar but much more expensive in some cases.

I can't remember which shop now but they had an own-brand veggie pasta thing, I think it was ravioli so I put that in the trolley. Further on I spotted a similar Gino D'Acampo thing so I thought OK that's probably better so I'll have that as well. Nope. The supermarket's meal was much, much nicer than Gino's brand. Sometimes you're just paying more for the name.

That said, I do tend to go for "Extra Special" or "Taste the Difference" rather than their value goods.

Another thing I've read, but not encountered myself, is that there might be different levels of pricing within the same shop. Eg if you buy X off the usual shelf it costs more than if you can find exactly the same thing in the World Foods Aisle. Anyone experienced that?

Edit: Asda does a Miso and Cornish Sea Salt Flavoured West Country Butter. Oh man, that is so good it's hard to stop me just hacking bits off and eating it straight from the packet. Obviously I should try cooking fish in it - probably do that today. Maybe baked tattie with a creamy smoked haddock filling. Heaven.

[Stravaig]

Nope. That didn't work very well. The butter kinda competed with the smoked haddock on the salty side of things. And it's not a subtle butter. The meal was edible but I definitely wouldn't do that again. It might be OK with a different style of fish, ie not a smoked one.

Or maybe make a buerre noisette to spoon over a sole of some kind. Capers on the side? Hmm. I really like that butter so I'm not giving up until I've achieved perfection and found a great use for it

Another product I really like is Ikea knives. As a chef I own some seriously expensive knives, but I find more and more I'm just using Ikea's cheap ones. If you want a good knife or two then try Ikea!

[Stravaig]

Oh my, this was bowf. I tried it on an impulse. But no. Really no. It was quite horrible for various reasons. You don't really want me to list them do you? OK - taste, texture...

ASDA Extra Special Smoked Salmon Pâte

I'll stick to making my own in future.

[Stravaig]

I was excited to see that Cinnamon Kitchen ready meals are now available in supermarkets. I do like Vivek Singh, have a couple of his books, and was excited to try the restaurant's ready meals.
My verdict was "bowf". Husband took some into work today and his verdict was "underwhelmed" (he's always more diplomatic than I am).

We'll not be buying that again.

[Westi]

As soon as these small restaurant places upsize to provide the volume needed for the supermarkets there is always a huge drop in the taste & even texture. The big machinery just uses things together. I also note now that these pre-prepped meals also have limited amount of the star ingredient, just 3 or 4 rubbery prawns or a chunk of gristly meat.

[Primrose]

My husband yesterday experimented with making a lentil loaf to use up a surplus of rather ageing lentils.
It was so stodgy and solid and highly indigestible. Definitely not a success. Even the magpies are urning up their beaks at the chopped up bits on the lawn!

This weekend,s domestic disaster is our 20+ year old microwave packing up. Never realised just how regularly we used it, especially for quick defrosting of all our frozen batch cooked meals. And the easy quick porridge blast for breakfast!

[peter]

Oafs eh?

Think you've described them rather well Primrose.

My husband yesterday experimented with making a lentil oaf to use up a surplus of rather ageing lentils.
It was so stodgy and solid and highly indigestible. Definitely not a success. Even the magpies are urning up their beaks at the chopped up bits on the lawn!

This weekend,s domestic disaster is our 20+ year old microwave packing up. Never realised just how regularly we used it, especially for quick defrosting of all our frozen batch cooked meals. And the easy quick porridge blast for breakfast!

[Stravaig]

OK, sorry - not Kitchen or Garden, but just people-related. I was quite ill last week. Probably winter vomiting bug. There's nothing more comforting than a lovely hot water bottle to snuggle up to. These go into the bed HOT at night but they're still very cozily warm to snuggle up to the next morning. If you're feeling under the weather it's hard to think of anything to make you feel better - or at least not so bad. Highly recommended. Dunno how I've lived without these for all of those decades.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BP88LBY5

[Primrose]

Most HWB,s now seem to have furry covers. Those of my childhood were simply just utilitarian rubber which could burn yiur flesh if not wrapped in a towel or other cover. This winter we biught new ones, our old ones being nearly 20 years old and showing signs of internal rubber perishing.
So I now sleep with a fluffy penguin design. Thankfully he doesn,t leave any guano behind at the end of his night shift! (The average safe lifespan for a HWB is supposed to be just 3 years apparently - the date of manufacture should be stated on the neck of the bottle).

[Stravaig]

Liquid Smoke

I don't expect many of us will be enjoying barbies just yet, but liquid smoke can give you that smokey flavour even from normal indoor cooking. Be careful, though, as it's very powerful. If you taste a little from the bottle - yuk! A couple of drops into whatever it is you're cooking can add an interesting depth and complexity of flavour. I'm a fan!

Dunno if you can get it in your local supermarket. I buy mine online along with my usual order from my favourite cheffy shop. Just Google it (or use your favourite seaarch engine). You'll find loads.

Sorry to repeat myself, but this stuff is very powerful. It's easy to add more but you can never add less.

[Primrose]

That,s interesting. Have never come across it What sort of foods do you use it on? Meats mainly I imagine. Is it carcinigeous in any way? Wouldn't mind trying to convert ordinary sausage bangers into Smokey frankfurters to eat with a favourite fried red cabbage, onion and apple mixture.

Cookery aids can certainly be abused. My other half does regular litter picks in our local park and is shocked at the number of nitrous oxide cylinders he finds tossed in bushes or lying around . I gather their prime purpose was originally for cooks in cream whipping recipes but I doubt there's much of that going on in our local hedges. Sadly people don,t seem to realise how dangerous this stuff can be when inhaled. Presumably professional chefs are fully trained in its use and know to avoid inhaling.

[Stravaig]

Yeah, I guess I mostly would add it to a meaty casserole. But it doesn't have to be meat. Basically you're just adding a BBQ flavour to anything you've cooked, albeit not on a BBQ.

I don't think it's been studied enough to know if it might be carcinogenous, but it's almost certainly less carcinogenic than the real thing, ie smokiness from a BBQ.

You can read more about liquid smoke here if you like:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_smoke

[Stravaig]

I have a Himalyan salt block (as yet untried) and some sashimi quality fish from Billingsgate. Let's have a go! I'll let you know how I get on.

[Stravaig]

The salt block made for a nice presentation but if you don't scoff up the food quickly it starts to melt a bit and make the food a bit overly salty. Yeah, I quite like it but would say to use with caution.

[Stravaig]

I took a fancy for an almond croissant for breakfast. Got it from a supermarket, can't remember which. It was quite mediocre - hardly any filling, very disappointing. So, later we did a bit of a taste test and got an almond croissant from every supermarket within easy reach.

Lidl was the best! Hands down, it was better than all the rest - a generous amount of lovely filling. If I want an almond croissant again, then Lidl will be my first choice.