What did I buy?

Good morning, bright and sunny here in North Lincolnshire, so pleased that storm has passed over. I was awoken at around 2am when the bedroom was lit up, then an almighty clap of thunder. It went on for almost an hour, quite amazing to watch as it went on it's way to wake up other parts of the country. With my sleep disrupted I stayed in bed an extra hour this morning. 

So, what have I been up to? I am revisiting my childhood here, ha ha. Browsing the baby food section in Aldi a week ago I spotted chocolate pudding at 25p a small tin. Wonder what that's like I thought, let's try it. Should be ok if it's made for babies, not so many nasties in it. Might make a nice alternative to yogurt or chocolate mousse.

Twas a bit bland, only slightly chocolatey, and not very sweet. Probably a good thing, not to get babies hooked on sugar or chocolate. The label says, gluten free, suitable for vegetarians, source of calcium, can be eaten hot or cold, so I suppose it could be useful for adults who crave a little bit of sweetness and have to watch their diet for whatever reason.

Now I have a dinky little tin to play with. Wonder what I can make with it  ;o))

I popped round to see a friend yesterday to offer some courgettes from my garden, I have loads of them at the moment. He said he loves them. He gave me a sample of some home made wine he has brewed, I must say it was delicious. He has bottles everywhere, stacked in his garage, and demijohns of the stuff waiting to be bottled up. He had a firkle around and handed me this bottle of Strawberry wine, bottled on the 1st May 2011, not to be drunk before 1st May 2013. I have instructions to serve it on ice cubes, so I had better get the trays out of the cupboard and freeze a few. Woohoo, can't wait. Good swap I would say.

I have another swap for the courgettes, they like them next door and gave me a cucumber in exchange. More to come, and some tomatoes when they are ready. I like this swapping lark. 

Another lunch made with broad beans and courgettes, this time with mushrooms added, and instead of the garlicky cream cheese I have used whole grain mustard to spice it up. Served on a thick slice of wholemeal bread, it makes a filling lunch. Another variation would be serve it with rice or pasta, to make a bigger meal. Or even mashed potato would be nice. 

Last night I did the supermarket dash. I suddenly realized I had a £3 off  a £20 shop voucher, which must be used by today. So as soon as I had swallowed my last mouthful of dinner I was off in my car. I had missed some of the yellow stickers because of my lateness, nevertheless I managed to bag some spinach, salad leaves, mushrooms and wholemeal bread at really cheap prices. I added everything up that I put in my trolley and when the magical £20 and a bit was reached I headed for the checkout. You might be interested in what I bought and why I bought it, so I will list everything here.

4 tins of chopped tomatoes. I had picked up two tins from the Value range, but when I got to the World Foods aisle I saw that a similar product was 39p each, 4 tins for £1, so a cheaper price.
2 tins of Value peaches, 35p each. I like to have some in the cupboard, I split the tin into three portions (11.5p per portion), and eat it with two spoons of plain yogurt on the top.
2 tins Value rice pudding, 15p a tin. For the store cupboard. I heat half a tin in a mug in the microwave, when eaten I pour the other half into the mug and keep in the fridge to eat the next day. 7.5p per portion. I will make a note here, I never have a pudding after a meal. By the time I have eaten a meal I am full. My occasional sweet treat is eaten in between meals, mid morning, mid afternoon, or at 9pm in the evening, and not every day.
2 jars of Value pickled onions 30p each, and 2 jars Value pickled beetroot 39p each. I add these to salads if I am a bit short of fresh salady stuff. I sometimes use pickled onions in cooking if I don't have a fresh onion.
Olive oil, completely run out so I needed a bottle. Chose the best I could afford, £2, looked for special offer.
Small jar Mayo. Tesco's own label but not Value. I've tried that and it's not very nice. I don't very often buy mayo, I consider it a treat, not a must have.
2 tins of tuna in brine, Tesco label. 45p each. Not for me, but for Bugsy as a treat. He is getting on a bit now and can have whatever he likes.
Bag of Value carrots, 1.5kg, 89p. Like to eat lots of carrots, steamed or grated on salads.
Packet ground almonds. Add these to breakfast cereal, to rice pudding, to yogurt, or eat it straight out of the packet with a spoon.
Packet of ground rice. This is something new to try, I remember it from mum making puddings with it. This is an experiment. I have added a teaspoon of it to my porridge this morning, will try different ways of using it.
Bag of frozen Quorn mince, £2.00. It has 50% extra in it, and I had a 65p off voucher, so a good buy. Handy to have some in the freezer, lots of uses for it.
Bag Value frozen green beans. £1.00. Still waiting for mine to come in the garden.
Small punnet picota cherries £1. A treat, I love cherries, won't pay more than £1.
Salad tomatoes, 69p. Haven't grown any this year. Don't mind buying Holland tomatoes, but won't buy them from further afield. They generally have no taste and have thick skins.
6 pack flavoured yogurt £1. This used to be a regular purchase of mine, now it is relegated to an occasional treat because I eat more plain yogurt now.
Danish blue cheese, and Brie cheese. These are treats. I usually buy mature cheddar, but the price keeps going up and the pack size is shrinking, so now looking at cheese as a treat and not as a must have.
6 FR eggs. I usually eat six eggs a week. Added to salads, or scrambled into other ingredients, with an occasional omelette. Never fried.
2 bags of yellow sticker baby spinach. Can't get enough of this, eaten raw in salads, added to sandwiches, or very lightly steamed with veg, (only needs 30 seconds).
2 loaves weightwatchers wholemeal bread, yellow stickers. Don't care that it's for slimmers, it's wholemeal and it's cheap, 9p a loaf. To go in freezer for future use, as I already have a loaf open.
Big bag of loose weighed mushrooms, yellow sticker, 4p. I will make sure I eat them before they go off. Got to at that price. Cooked or eaten raw with salad.
Bag of dry cat food, £1.25, on offer. A new one to try to give the cats a bit of variety.
Total shop came to £21.97, reduced to £18.32 with vouchers. Enough in to last a while.

Thank you for reading. I will go outside now, while the weather is nice. I hope you have a nice Sunday.
Toodle pip.
PS, Will reply to emails soon, many thanks.