Pomora Extra Virgin Olive Oil… I use Pomora Extra Virgin Olive Oil almost everyday. I drizzle it over eggs on toast, spoon it into soups, mix it into silky salad dressings and even massage it into my face! I love the stuff and have ever since I went to my first ever olive oil tasting. Being a bit of an olive oil sceptic, I didn’t expect good quality olive oil to taste quite so different from my £5 supermarket brand but I was clearly, a complete fool.
Similar to wine, olive oil’s quality and taste are influenced by geographic factors, timing of the harvest, types of varietals and the good care of growers and producers. So basically, I had been drinking the olive oil equivalent of Lambrini for 10 years. Oh dear me.
So I adopted an olive tree and now receive quarterly deliveries from my grower Carmelo in Sicily. I get twelve cans a year, including six seasonal infused flavours that are great for everyday cooking. I drizzle basil oil over caprese salad, I mix truffle oil into pasta and brush garlic oil on toast. I whisk lemon oil into my salad dressings, roast vegetables in rosemary oil and drizzle chilli oil over my pizza. Oh and as for the six cans of original olive oil, it’s creamy, distinctive and utterly delicious. To find out how you can adopt an olive tree click here.
(This is not an advert. All products featured in the section are products I genuinely use and like. No money has exchanged hands (unfortunately.)
Dark Horse Sauvignon Blanc… I always judge a book by it’s cover (I’m a designer, that’s what we do) so generally I’m drawn to wine that with the prettiest label. Not normally a white wine drinker, I was extra bamboozled to say the least, I mean what’s the difference between a Sancerre and Riesling, a Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc? Oh sod it, I know it’s warm out but maybe I’ll just get red, better the devil you know. I put the joke bottle of Lambrini down I’d picked up to scare Jamie and an interesting label caught my eye. A sleek label with a clever logo that incorporated a wine glass into the silhouette of a horse. SOLD!
“I often find Sauvignon Blanc a bit too floral” said Jamie as he carefully inspected the bottle. “Willing to give it a got though”. So we bought it, drank it and loved it.
It was light, zesty and smooth which ticked a lot of boxes and was most importantly very easy drinking. So much so in fact, we finished the bottle and had to go and buy another. Well it was Saturday night (see pictures below Jamie took of me, they’re appallingly bad but we had drunk 2 bottles of wine.)
So if you’re off to a barbecue this summer and need of a bit of crowd pleaser, then Dark Horse is your man… Or horse. Dark Horse Sauvignon Blanc 75cl, £8.50 available at Sainsbury’s and Ocado.
Oh and please always drink responsibly (unlike me).
(This is not an advert. All products featured in the section are products I genuinely use and like. No money has exchanged hands (unfortunately).
Hotel Chocolate Spice Cacao Tea £5… Sounds a bit wrong doesn’t it but trust me, it’s so very right. Every time I get a chocolate craving (which is a lot) I reach for one of these bad boys. They’re chocolatey without being sweet, they’re oddly refreshing and my god, they smell so good! With every mouthful I stick my nose deeper into my mug and inhale all the warm spicy notes of India, it’s truly intoxicating. Don’t forget though, it is just a tea, not a giant Toblerone, so if you’re having serious chocolate cavings, then this ain’t gonna cut the mustard. However, if you’re a bit like me and you like a fruit tea situation, then this will certainly excite you… Perhaps not as much as a Toblerone but then what does in life?
Teaolat Spice Cacao, Chai and Chilli, £5
(This is not an advert. All products featured in the section are products I genuinely use and like. No money has exchanged hands (unfortunately).
Itsu Vegetable Fusion Gyoza, 300g, £3.50… Well it’s about time! I absolutely love vegetable gyoza, I frequently go out of my way to walk to Itsu on my lunch break to get their dumplings melt (a miso broth with vegetable dumplings and melted parmesan cheese) but what about when I’m at home? I mean lets be honest, life’s too short to make your own Japanese dumplings. I have occasionally walked to China Town to see if I can pick up some pre-made
veggie ones, but I always leave empty handed and bamboozled by all the Japanese labels.
Finding vegetable gyoza is never the problem, finding vegetable gyoza that’s genuinely vegetarian is. But then Itsu came along and now I can buy a pack of 20 genuinely vegetarian gyoza for £3.50, yes Itsu!
They now live in my freezer ready to throw into one of my many noodle soup creations, click here for a bit of bento inspo. I buy my dumplings from Waitrose but I think Tesco do them as well. Itsu Vegetable Fusion Gyoza, 300g, £3.50
(This is not an advert. All products featured in the section are products I genuinely use and like. No money has exchanged hands (unfortunately).
Riverford Organic Nut Roast £7.95… I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of nut roast. Growing up I certainly ate my fair share and in my opinion, there’s nothing nice about dry crumbly hot nuts with gravy.
That being said, I’m always willing to try new things, so was intrigued when I saw that Riverford had created their own Organic version. In my experience, nut roast tends to come out of a packet and you assemble it yourself (I say assemble, you mix it together with water, plop it in a loaf tin and bake it until it resembles a large turd.)
I appreciated that it came ready-made leaving me to concentrate on the trimmings. 25 minutes in the oven and it was ready and to my surprise very moist! Not dry and dusty but flavourful. I could taste the butternut squash and the texture wasn’t too nutty for a nut roast. All in all, a very pleasant roast dinner indeed and worth a go. I wouldn’t say I’m a convert but it certainly is the nicest nut roast I’ve ever tried. Riverford Organic Nut Roast 400g £7.95
(This is not an advert. All products featured in the section are products I genuinely use and like. No money has exchanged hands (unfortunately).
Piccini Chianti £6… I love red wine but it doesn’t like me very much but I don’t care, I still drink it at every available opportunity (so most evenings). What? I have a stressful job, don’t judge me!
Anyway, I don’t claim to know much about wine but I do know what I like and that’s a nice easy drinking red with a smooth finish and at £6 this Chianti always makes its way into my shopping basket. So, if you’re anything like me and spend far too long in the wine isle bamboozled, then buy this crowd pleaser instead of picking the bottle with the prettiest label (don’t worry I do that too). Piccini Chianti 75cl £6. Available at Sainsbury’s, Tesco & Morrisons
(This is not an advert. All products featured in the section are products I genuinely use and like. No money has exchanged hands (unfortunately).
Sacla’ Fiery Chilli Pesto Pots… I love pesto but what I don’t love, is a jar of mouldy pesto. Like most people, I have a terrible habit of buying pesto, using one tablespoon and then allowing it to fester in the back of my fridge. Well no more my friends because Sacla’ have cleverly created pesto pots, praise the lord!
I found them a very welcome cupboard surprise when all I had in my fridge was a few cloves of garlic and a jar of Branston pickle. Ten minutes later I was scoffing a bowl of fiery spaghetti with a glass of wine, winning!
They come in three flavours, classic pesto, sun-dried tomato and my favourite, fiery chilli. Sacla’ Pesto pots 4 x 45g from £2 (available at most major supermarkets).
(This is not an advert. All products featured in the section are products I genuinely use and like. No money has exchanged hands (unfortunately).
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