Monday, August 9, 2010

Monday Meal from Marks

I love Marks & Spencers food! I went there this morning to pick up a few bits, and I thought I'd show you what I got. Tonight's dinner was a Large Vegetable Samosa (filled with onion, chunky potato, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, spinach and peas), with their Giant Cous Cous, Wheatberry and Butternut Squash Salad.

















These are two of my favourite things to eat from M&S. The samosa is probably the tastiest I've ever had, I prefer it even to any authentic Indian samosa I've had out at restaurants. It's got a great mix of veg and isn't too heavy on the potato as most samosas tend to be. I love the combination of the cauliflower and spinach filling, which is seasoned with cumin, coriander, garam masala, chilli powder, cardamom and bay leaves. The overall taste isn't too spicy however, and is even quite sweet to an extent - and the garam masala has some of my favourite spices in: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, fennel and nutmeg. The pastry is flaky and light and there are no artifical colours, flavourings or preservatives in the product. It's pretty much a perfect snack!

The giant cous cous salad is divine, in my eyes, because of the roasted butternut squash. I also adore balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, and this salad uses these two ingredients as a dressing. It's fun to eat because I love the texture of the giant cous cous - it's so much more satisfying than the smaller grains of cous cous too.

While I was in Marks I also picked up a couple of cans of cupboard-fillers: their new Chunky Vegetable & Bean Chilli Soup and a Fragrant & Spicy Vegetable Curry. I'm not really holding high hopes for these two, I've tried M&S canned soups and curries before and haven't been overly impressed. I'll just have to wait and see!


















Other finds for the day were in Tescos. Here are a few pictures of their own brand Guacamole, Olive & Sundried Tomato Houmous and a bag of their lovely Dried Soya Bean Snacks. I've had to edit this post as I just this very moment discovered that the guacamole contains milk, so I will have to give the tub to my boyfriend (which I'm sure he'll be happy about). I am slightly annoyed by the fact that Tesco have thought it necessary to put dairy products into their guacamole - avocados are so creamy that dairy shouldn't really be needed.

The boyfriend also came home from Tescos today, clutching this lovely little find (bless him, he was so excited to have found something I can eat!!): Moroccan Chickpea Tagine Sauce. We're just about to go for a cycle together now, the weather is gorgeous...

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the tip about the samosas. I've not noticed them before in M&S but must admit I'm a bit addicted to that salad, the superfood one is great too!

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  2. I love the M&S samosas and salads too! I'll have to give those soups a try too. Also, had no idea that the Tesco brand guac was vegan! I'll definately give that a try! I haven't tried that houmous but the carmelised onion one is lovely.

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  3. yum yum yum!
    I love that samosa too, it's the best!
    The chickpea tagine sauce looks sooo good. My boyf is the same, happy to find something we can both eat :)
    I wonder what the tinned veg curry tastes like!?

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  4. I love the caramelized onion one Blueberries! It is just TOO GOOD, I could sit down and eat a whole bag of tortillas and a tub of it to myself, so I tend to avoid buying it!!! ;) I'm going to have my houmous and guacamole with veggie crudités :)

    I've had the chickpea tagine sauce before Aoife, it was a long time ago though so I can't really remember what it was like - but it must have been nice or I'd remember it if it was disgusting! I'd like to make a tagine from scratch someday soon, I keep meaning to get around to it, so maybe when I taste this sauce it might encourage me a bit more!

    Hi there Jimi C, nice to meet you - I just had a look at your blog and I love it, so I'm following it now ^_^

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  5. *** OH NO!!!!!! Blueberries! Your comment about the guacamole sort of panicked me, so I just went down to check and IT HAS MILK IN IT! :( That one will be for the boyfriend so... I really thought ALL guacamole was vegan (I've come across so many in the past I really didn't think to check the label when I snatched it off the shelf today). Thanks for warning me. I'm a bit annoyed now that Tesco feel like they have to put milk in their guacamole, it really isn't necessary - avocados are creamy enough as it is!

    :(

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