Wednesday 22 July 2009

It's Very Jolly to Shop at Oli's!

Here's the interesting food I bought in Oli's shop in the Walworth Road. I did enjoy myself!

DSCF0024 First up, some tahini so that I can make my own hummus. Liz assures me this will keep for ages in the fridge. She says it is also good thinned down with a little natural yogurt or olive oil, and drizzled over a salad.

I shall whizz up a can of chickpeas, with a spoonful of this, some garlic and some oil, and see what it tastes like.

The jams are cherry and blueberry DSCF0023 and in very prettily shaped jars. They were on offer at two-for-a-pound.

I just loved the Arabic script on the creme caramel packet!

The other side is in English and not as pretty! I made this up for dessert and it tasted very good.

Manti is Turkish ravioli, and again, Liz tells me it is quick and easy to prepare and DSCF0026 very good with a tomato sauce.

This comes dried in a packet. It apparently tastes as if meat filled, but it is vegetarian and filled with soy protein.

Looks like a good store cupboard standby.

I cannot eat regular cheese, but I do enjoy mild spreads like low-fat Dairylea triangles.

So this 'Puck' spread looked DSCF0025 worth investigating. It is milk based - but without cheese.

Again, I adore the simplicity of the packaging. The flower is wonderfully retro, and the screw on lid is metal not plastic!

Bob and I were discussing pierogi [Polish Dumplings] recently, so I bought a pack of them too. Liz was concerned that Jon might return in our absence and find them in the fridge and eat them, so she labelled them

DSCF0021

Repeatedly!!! Jon was quite amused by this.

Quite why they are called "Virtu" is beyond me - they seem to be the sort of wonderfully filling carb-laden rib-sticking dumplings which people like Rosemary Conley would despise.

They tasted great, and I shall definitely get these again when I am Walworth.

DSCF0028 On a more healthy note, we went in Baldwins, the health shop on the opposite side of the road. I got a bag of oat groats. I have decided we should eat more grains. We often have rice, and couscous, and I have taken to throwing handfuls of barley into soups and casseroles - but I am not sure we have had groats.

Liz has sent me this recipe to try for Oat Groat Pilaff, but I may also try Groaty Dick Pudding which is allegedly a traditional Midlands Dish for Midsummer Eve or Guy Fawkes Night. I will check that one out with the folk at the Coffee Drop In tomorrow, and see if they have heard of it - but I suspect it may be more West than East Midlands in origin.

I don't think Liz has actually cooked with groats herself yet. The possibility of bad puns about Jon O Groats occurs to me. But it's slightly disappointing to realise that the place John O Groats gets its name not from the thrifty oat-laden diet of the Scots, but rather from a Dutchman called Jan De Groot who ran the ferry to Orkney in 1496.

3 comments:

  1. Why is it so much fun to look at packaged food from unfamiliar stores in distant lands? I don't know, but it is. Thanks for sharing your haul!

    frances

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  2. Oh, I do agree with you Frances. I'm always intrigued by ads in Real Simple and Martha Stewart magazines, for US foods we cannot buy over here. Particularly Cool whip and Miracle Whip [altho I understand these are NOT interchangeable!]

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  3. I've never tried to make my own hummus but I think I'll give it a go.

    You're right about Cool whip and Miracle whip - Cool Whip is a dessert topping (like whipped cream but nearly so tasty) and Miracle Whip is like a mayo spread :)

    I enjoyed shopping in London shops when I was there - crisps instead of chips - a very delicious yogurt which I can't remember the name - and some delicious Korean dishes which my new DIL cooked up for us.

    It's fun to be a bit adventurous with food!

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