Sandwich spread is something I recall from my childhood here in the UK but I don't know if it's still available here.
PS - "America's favorite" - I hope they can back that up!
Though if they mean "America's favorite mayo with chopped pickles mixed in" there may not be a very crowded market.
The Heinz version is available here, we have some!
The Heinz version is available here, we have some!
The Heinz version is available here, we have some!
Marmite!.....
The Heinz version is available here, we have some!
Ah ok. I don't recall seeing it for a while but then I suppose I'm not exactly looking out for it.
Some useless trivia: Here in Germany, Heinz Kraft could be the name of lots of people.
Mrs Backdrifter and I allow ourselves a take-away blowout dinner once a month. Tonight's the night. Just a couple of minutes walk up the road we have what's probably the best Chinese takeaway we've ever known. It's absolutely outstanding. My mouth is already watering at the thought.
Still not fully decided what to order but one thing I do know: this is the occasion I order their crispy aromatic duck for the first time, I haven't tried it from there yet. Veg spring rolls will as usual be had. But what else... nice 'problem' to have. Whatever it is, it will be washed down with ice-cold Westons vintage cider.
What are your dinner plans? And what would you get if you were ordering in some Chinese food (assuming you like it of course)?
just had a kebab. Crispy aromatic duck seems preferable. My favourite chinese food, actually.
I love Chinese food although I don't partake that often these days. If I was getting something to go with a nice meat dish, my personal choice would be a spicy vegetable side with cashews and some sort of green vegetable. And then egg fried rice or egg noodles, but never rice noodles. You'd have to know the egg fried rice isn't going to be too dry or too greasy.
I lived in China for a year. <Anecdote warning> The food was phenomenal. My absolute favorite stuff was street meats, there were stalls with little bits of beef or lamb stuck on little skewers, seasoned and cooked over a little barbecue in the cart. Usually adjacent there would be a guy selling some sort of heavenly bread, and if you put the two together it was to die for. In restaurants I always sought out a dish I don't see in western Chinese restaurants (or at least very rarely), it was egg and tomato fried together, usually with some scallion thrown in and probably tons of MSG. And my all time favorite thing was strictly not Chinese at all but they do it incredibly well: the Mongolian hot pot. Huge round table, massive vat of boiling broth in the middle, usually a spicy half and a regular half, and massive plates of raw ingredients for everyone to cook by themselves in the broth. It got more and more flavorsome as the meal went on because of all the different things being cooked in it. Usually lots of pijiu (beer) involved. Very social, tremendous fun and unbelievably delicious.
I also had the experience of ordering from an attempted English translation of a menu in a particularly out of the way place way west of Beijing. It had on it "lamb balls". Hmm, well that sounds quite tasty I thought, imagining some succulent tender meatballs with herbs and some nice dipping sauce. Nope. One plate, two testicles sitting nakedly on it. Not an herb or sauce in site. I examined them from every angle, but the answer to my question "what the fuck am I supposed to do with these?" never revealed itself. I did try a nibble.... But there's not much meat on those guys! It's entirely possible that the waiter still dines out on his story of the gullible westerner, but equally probable that it's a delicatessen I have no wish to revisit.
I also remember an earlier experience at a very local buffet where I literally couldn't recognize a thing. I was pretty hungry and thought I'd chance what looked like corn or something, but turned out to be deep fried bee larvae. Desperate at one point I seized on something that looked like raw onion. It was jellyfish, and yes I very nearly threw up.
Mrs Backdrifter and I allow ourselves a take-away blowout dinner once a month. Tonight's the night. Just a couple of minutes walk up the road we have what's probably the best Chinese takeaway we've ever known. It's absolutely outstanding. My mouth is already watering at the thought.
Still not fully decided what to order but one thing I do know: this is the occasion I order their crispy aromatic duck for the first time, I haven't tried it from there yet. Veg spring rolls will as usual be had. But what else... nice 'problem' to have. Whatever it is, it will be washed down with ice-cold Westons vintage cider.
What are your dinner plans? And what would you get if you were ordering in some Chinese food (assuming you like it of course)?
I too have tried to avoid Chinese food over the last few years, because of all the loaded salt and MSG, however I do usually love it. My preference would be shrimp fried rice with a nice crispy egg roll. It can’t be too greasy of an egg roll though. I love General Tso’s chicken too, big fan of that.
My understanding is that the "MSG is bad for you" thing has never been proven. I've not seen any convincing studies that sufficiently strongly show a consistent pattern of negative effects. I think in the 60s a scientist suggested it did and it went what we'd now call viral, and has persisted in the same way the "vitamin C helps prevent colds" myth has.
Vindaloo night. Yes, where I worship at the temple of heat, redeeming my soul one scoville unit at a time. Chicken and potatoes in fiery sauce, a small side of mild, creamy vegetable curry to counteract the heat, and a big wad of warm garlic bread. Washed down with a growler of local IPA, brewed a block down the road and poured from the tap today.
Yes, it's salty and indulgent. Yes, it's delicious. Reward for the week.
(They say there are some health benefits to eating spicy food regularly. Not sure how strong the evidence is, but as I feel like I'm dialyzing toxins through my skin courtesy of how hot the food is, I wouldn't be surprised).
Vindaloo night. Yes, where I worship at the temple of heat, redeeming my soul one scoville unit at a time. Chicken and potatoes in fiery sauce, a small side of mild, creamy vegetable curry to counteract the heat, and a big wad of warm garlic bread. Washed down with a growler of local IPA, brewed a block down the road and poured from the tap today.
Yes, it's salty and indulgent. Yes, it's delicious. Reward for the week.
(They say there are some health benefits to eating spicy food regularly. Not sure how strong the evidence is, but as I feel like I'm dialyzing toxins through my skin courtesy of how hot the food is, I wouldn't be surprised).
Thought about you today when I got a marketing email from a food company offering 3 carolina reaper plants for £20. Slightly tempted...
Thought about you today when I got a marketing email from a food company offering 3 carolina reaper plants for £20. Slightly tempted...
Go for it! Imagine having fresh ones handy like that, the potential to turn any dish volcanic. The molten teas you could brew...
I wonder if they're easy to grow.
Out for dinner on a date night. Had a filet steak, medium rare, potatoes, spinach, a peppercorn sauce. Relatively basic and absolutely fucking delicious. Surrounded by people talking shit, warmth of bodies in a room. Surreal and fabulous.
The best meal I ever had was while I was living in Jordan. We went to Jerash, north of Amman. After a day of exploring the ancient ruins from the Bronze Age there we stopped by a local restaurant for Sunday dinner. With it being Sunday the restaurant was packed with people in their Sunday best who had spent the morning in church (yes, there are Christians in Jordan). We ordered mansaaf, which is an appetizer. The waiter returned with several plates piled high with warm, freshly baked pita bread, and numerous bowls of freshly made dips of all sorts. The entire table was covered with platefuls of delicacies. Absolutely scrumptious and no main course needed.
The best meal I ever had was while I was living in Jordan. We went to Jerash, north of Amman. After a day of exploring the ancient ruins from the Bronze Age there we stopped by a local restaurant for Sunday dinner. With it being Sunday the restaurant was packed with people in their Sunday best who had spent the morning in church (yes, there are Christians in Jordan). We ordered mansaaf, which is an appetizer. The waiter returned with several plates piled high with warm, freshly baked pita bread, and numerous bowls of freshly made dips of all sorts. The entire table was covered with platefuls of delicacies. Absolutely scrumptious and no main course needed.
That sounds wonderful.
A small pick-your-own garden has opened in Cromarty. We went there yesterday and had to restrain ourselves grabbing just about everything, it all looked so good. We picked some plump broadbean pods, a lovely earthy crinkly green lettuce, big shiny red onions and thick juicy spring onions (scallion). There's something deeply satisfying about smoothly pulling veg out of the soil, with that slight resistance. It all came to £5.
Got it home and I used all bar the red onions in a salad along with chopped cucumber, torn dry back olives, sliced pickled chillis and a can of tuna, plus half a can of sardine fillets to use it up. I dressed it with the oil from the canned fish, lemon juice, crushed garlic and a dash of agave syrup. With a hunk of bread from the local bakery, and washed down with frosty dry vintage cider, man it was just the thing after a beautiful hot sunny day.
One of the red onions is going into a beef mince and chicken liver curry I just prepped and will be cooking shortly. And there's even some of that cider left.
A small pick-your-own garden has opened in Cromarty. We went there yesterday and had to restrain ourselves grabbing just about everything, it all looked so good. We picked some plump broadbean pods, a lovely earthy crinkly green lettuce, big shiny red onions and thick juicy spring onions (scallion). There's something deeply satisfying about smoothly pulling veg out of the soil, with that slight resistance. It all came to £5.
Got it home and I used all bar the red onions in a salad along with chopped cucumber, torn dry back olives, sliced pickled chillis and a can of tuna, plus half a can of sardine fillets to use it up. I dressed it with the oil from the canned fish, lemon juice, crushed garlic and a dash of agave syrup. With a hunk of bread from the local bakery, and washed down with frosty dry vintage cider, man it was just the thing after a beautiful hot sunny day.
One of the red onions is going into a beef mince and chicken liver curry I just prepped and will be cooking shortly. And there's even some of that cider left.
Sounds amazing.—“Young man says you are what you eat, eat well.”
A small pick-your-own garden has opened in Cromarty. We went there yesterday and had to restrain ourselves grabbing just about everything, it all looked so good. We picked some plump broadbean pods, a lovely earthy crinkly green lettuce, big shiny red onions and thick juicy spring onions (scallion). There's something deeply satisfying about smoothly pulling veg out of the soil, with that slight resistance. It all came to £5.
Got it home and I used all bar the red onions in a salad along with chopped cucumber, torn dry back olives, sliced pickled chillis and a can of tuna, plus half a can of sardine fillets to use it up. I dressed it with the oil from the canned fish, lemon juice, crushed garlic and a dash of agave syrup. With a hunk of bread from the local bakery, and washed down with frosty dry vintage cider, man it was just the thing after a beautiful hot sunny day.
One of the red onions is going into a beef mince and chicken liver curry I just prepped and will be cooking shortly. And there's even some of that cider left.
Fantastic. I have become, and becoming moreso, a huge lover of all things grown, made, baked, brewed etc "here". The coffee beans roasted across the road, the bread made in town, the beer brewed ten minutes walk away.
Currently barbecuing chicken skewers, chunks of meat in lemony peppery marinade alternating with onion and peppers. Also on the grill: large russet potatoes wrapped in foil. In the foil, salt, ground black pepper, a dollop of butter and sprigs of fresh rosemary from the garden. Last thing on the grill: cobbs of corn, unshucked. Beverage in hand: locally brewed rauchbier.
Dinner was Thai chicken panang using a Blue Dragon kit and some of my usual embellishments, steamed rice, glass of cold ginger ale with fresh lime. Delicious, spicy and rich with coconut milk. Though I'm very much a make-from-fresh guy the Blue Dragon kits are very good. We've had this, pad thai and pho kits, all excellent.
