Fancy a sandwich? Or crisps? Or both?

Another of Walkers' "limited edition" ranges of new crisps flavours have been on sale for the past couple of months.

As a result of last year's special editions, they brought back Beef and Onion crisps, to deafening cheers here at EuropeCrazy HQ as that has always been my favourite flavour (after Cheese and Onion).

I always enjoy trying out these limited editions although they are inevitably always frustrating as a) they don't always taste like you expect, and b) they inevitably leave you feeling disappointed.

But what about 2016's limited edition range?  Well, they've gone with a sandwich-themed range of crisp flavours based on popular sandwich fillings.  Or "sarnies" as they are often called in England - although we don't call a sandwich a "sarnie" in Scotland, we call it a "piece"!  So on this occasion I thought I would "give piece a chance" (groan) although as a confirmed crispaholic whose crisp addiction has been the main factor in taking up residence in the obese section of the BMI scale, I should really be seriously reducing my crisp intake.  Yes, I know.  But it's a limited edition, and I just had to try them, in the interest of research, you understand :))

To try out all the flavours you need to buy the two different multipacks on sale.

Cheese Toastie and Worcester Sauce

Of course I'm a cheese-a-holic so this was my first pick to try out.  Unfortunately the cheese flavour doesn't really come through, however there is a definite "vinegary" taste which is probably the added Lea and Perrins flavour.

Ham and Mustard

I had high hopes for this.  If you've ever tasted the hardcore joy of Brannigans Roast Beef and Mustard flavour crisps (5 for £1 in Poundland) then you'll be aware of the power of mustard flavouring.

Here, however, all you will find is blandness.  The ham flavour is just not strong enough and the mustard flavour is barely there.  You'd be better off just going and buying a bag of smoky bacon instead.

Cheese, Cucumber and Salad Cream

On paper, the most potentially gross-sounding of the group turns out to actually achieve its goal.  For this has an overwhelming taste of a salad topped with a big dollop of salad cream.  The cheese flavour is non-existent, but you can definitely taste the salad cream.  I'm no fan of salads, but this is more authentic than most of the flavours.

Sausage and Brown Sauce

Again, potential for greatness here with the combination of meaty and saucy flavours.  It certainly has the strongest flavour of all the bags I tried but the brown sauce completely overwhelms the sausage flavour which you can hardly taste at all.

Roast Chicken and Mayonnaise

A pretty pointless combination - just buy a packet of roast chicken instead.  Although there is a definite 'creaminess' added to the mix.  The jury is still out on this one.

And finally....

Bacon and Tomato Ketchup

Didn't try these purely due to my hatred of a) tomato ketchup and b) tomato flavoured crisps.

My conclusion: sorry Walkers, but this is yet another pointless exercise.  I couldn't really see any of these flavour combinations working in the longer term.

Now after eating all those crisps, I need to go on another diet.....!

Dino's in Glasgow is closing! :(

In the overcrowded environment of Glasgow's restaurant scene, three cuisines stand tall: Italian, Chinese and Indian.  And when it comes to Italian restaurants, one stood above all others: Dino's in Sauchiehall Street. It feels like it's been there for ever - but the sad news came today that Dino's is closing down (for reasons unknown at the time of writing) and becoming a bank.  (Yeah, like Glasgow city centre needs another bank.)  Anyway I thought it would be the perfect time for a post about the legend that is Dino's!

As I said earlier, Dino's has always been there.  Sitting proudly slap bang in one of Glasgow's busiest shopping areas, not down a side street or a back alley, it was a special place.  It was, for me, "the people's restaurant", a place which was inclusive to all, and always welcoming.  Many a cold winter's day was immediately made better by a trip to the 'cafe side' and no trip to the equally legendary Glasgow Pavilion theatre was complete without a lunch or dinner at Dino's.

Step through that door and you immediately step into Italy - Italian music wafting through the speakers, waiters busily buzzing around, and the smell of pizzas, coffee and ice cream.  This restaurant has a special atmosphere which is a rarity - only the now defunct Bath Street eatery Sannino ever managed to capture that same unique atmosphere for me.  The fast-growing and impressive Tony Macaroni chain may be growing in popularity, but while it has good food and a good atmosphere, it's not the iconic Dino's, is it?

You always were guaranteed a good meal at Dino's, whether pizza or pasta or anything else on the varied menu.  And you always got a damn fine cappuccino.

Time is running out to enjoy the Dino's experience, as the restaurant is due to close on March 16th.  Get in there while you can and show your support.  I doubt if anyone will be as enthusiastic about the Halifax bank which will replace it :(

(pictures courtesy of www.dinosglasgow.co.uk)

Socca!

One of the best things about going to Nice for a holiday is, of course, the food.  I particularly like the local speciality, Socca, which is a savoury pancake made from chickpea flour.  

Needless to say I like it so much that I vowed to recreate the experience at home.  After scouring the country and finally getting my hands on the elusive chickpea flour (otherwise known as gram flour if you're looking for it), it was time to put my grand plan into action.  My first effort, made about an hour ago, is pictured above.  And if I may say so, a fine first effort.  It looks like Socca, it tastes like Socca - success!!

(Unfortunately it's quite high in Weight Watchers points so I'll just have to work it into my weekly allowance and cut out a few other things....)

Potato Wedges!!

Regular readers of my Twitter stream (quick plug - www.twitter.com/europecrazy) will already be aware that Saturday night ain't Saturday night without potato wedges.  For a long time my favourites were McCain's Salt & Cracked Black Pepper flavour, however these were soon beaten by Morrisons' own brand Southern Fried flavour. 

This year however I have set myself a challenge to make some home-made versions of some of my favourite foods - so far the delights include minestrone soup and veggie sausage rolls, and tonight these have been joined by my very own home-made Cajun spice flavoured potato wedges, and very yummy they were too!  Even better news is that you can also get more for your WW points by making your own than making the frozen variety :)

Edit 24.04.12:  Made them again tonight.  The previous batch were made using King Edwards, tonight I used  Rooster potatoes and the result was equally as successful!

Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan...

Made this, just over an hour ago - my first attempt at some speciality Irish cuisine...potato pancakes which are better known as boxty. It was OK, although my mashed potato to grated potato ratio needs some work as the end result was a bit soggy. Nevertheless I'm glad I tried it!

It'll be a while before I try it again though, as I'll need to sustain my good work on the diet front. I worked hard and lost 2lbs last week, which has probably been undone by the boxty :)

Champiñones al Ajillo

I've been too busy to blog lately, so only just getting round to publishing this. It was actually a couple of weeks ago that I took the plunge into cooking one of my favourite tapas dishes at home. And rather yummy it was too, although the garlic aroma was circling around my house for several days afterwards :)

This time, we'll get it right

For some bizarre reason, I'm borrowing the post title from the England World Cup Squad football song from 1982. They weren't singing about Christmas shopping of course, but I thought it was an appropriate title tonight.

Today saw part 2 of my Christmas shopping bonanza. In 2011, I have decided to be even more organised than ever and get as much Christmas shopping done as early as possible. Today, like last Saturday, was very productive. A jewellery blitz in Next was followed by a card/gift bag blitz in Card Factory and then it was on to Boots for a 3 for 2 on Champneys spa stuff. Finally. I've moved on from all the Sanctuary goodies to something new :)

It's been a good weekend all in all. Last night, we finally made it to our favourite local Indian restaurant for my birthday meal, 2 week later than planned as I hadn't been too well around that time. Happily the work-stress is finally starting to ease off, but it's still the worst time of year for that....roll on January!

Linda Pritchard Pizza!

I wonder if the person in charge of pizza-naming at Asda was inspired by Linda Pritchard's 2010 Melodifestivalen entry, "You're Making Me Hot-Hot-Hot" when they were thinking of a name for their absolutely delicious spicy veg pizza?

Note to chief of labelling: your pizza is impressive, your spelling is not. Jamacian? Hmph :(

Boot camp sucks.

That's the verdict after two days. Of the 15 rules of boot camp, the one which completely floored me was the 2 litres of water per day thing, which resulted in a total humdinger of a headache. It's not as if I'm detoxing - I love my strong coffee and diet fizzy drinks too much to give them up, do you want to push me completely over the edge???? - but that headache was a total stinker and ruined my whole day.

However the exercise element is going very well, so it's not all bad.

And anyway tomorrow night is Indian night! Mushroom pakora, chicken tikka masala, rice and nan. Who said anything about boot camp???

Mushroom Risotto!

Tonight I made my first ever mushroom risotto, which was if I might say so a very successful first attempt. Arborio rice and chestnut mushrooms - yum. And very filling too.

All good so far: until I put it into the recipe builder on Weight Watchers Online....18 points.

EIGHTEEN FLIPPIN' POINTS! You're only allowed 29 per day! It was, of course, the olive oil to blame, so next time I'll be substituting Fry Light. And admittedly it was a massive, dinner-sized portion, a bit too much for supper time!!

Onwards into April...

So a new month starts tomorrow, and it's going to be a mentally draining one work-wise, and a physically draining one at home so it's time to clear the decks again and I'm going to take another month off blogging. Meanwhile the diet continues...to be honest it hasn't been so successful over the last few weeks, but I'm trying very hard and trying to eat more fruit and make lots of home-made soup (specialities: carrot and lentil / parsnip and red pepper) and resurrecting my old tomato and chargrilled vegetable pasta sauce recipe, throw in some pasta twists and voila! Here it is. Another attempt to get into Blogs of Note.



There will be a diet update at the end of April. There is still some motivation as I'd usually be due to be going on holiday at the beginning of May, however due to personal circumstances at the moment this could change and could be delayed or maybe not. Anyway when there is a holiday announcement...it'll be announced!!

Fancy a cuppa?

I meant to mention a few weeks ago that my old espresso machine decided after three years that it didn't want to be my espresso machine any more and conked out. So the search began for a replacement. I was pretty shocked to find that you couldn't get a half decent machine for 30 quid anymore - and that the going rate is now (at the very least) double that. After all my price comparisons it was John Lewis which delivered the best deal on my very handsome new DeLonghi espresso/cappuccino maker, which is pictured above, and which has now had pride of place in my kitchen for the last month or so.

It makes top quality espresso and thanks to that little tampering gadget it also produces the 'crema' which you get in proper espresso bought in proper coffee shops so I'm well pleased. Hope I get at least another three years out of it :)

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but cakes and chips excite me

The title of this post came to me on Saturday night, whilst watching the tedious parade of chart rubbish on one of the music channels with faithful travelling companion, who is rather partial to that Rihanna person. The bad pun will probably escape you if you're not familiar with her latest single - y'know, the 'controversial' one about Marks & Spencer (tee hee).

Anyway I digress. 'Self-destruct week' came to a grand finale on Saturday with some of my most favourite cake from my favourite local bakery. These photos don't even come close to doing it justice, but what the heck, let's try. It's basically as much cream as it humanly possible to fit on a cake, interrupted by strawberries and some sponge.

Do as I say, not as I do

I ranted recently about everything my town doesn't have. What it does have is lots of fish and chip shops and takeaway shops, all fighting for our cash, particularly the lucrative school dinner market. Whilst out at lunchtime today, I couldn't believe the number of high school pupils standing outside a chip shop, (not one of the better chip shops either) eating sausages and burgers and chips. I shook my head and pondered depressingly to myself about the next generation of the obesity crisis, no wonder we're the sick man of Europe, blah blah blah.

So far so good. But then I made my way to another chippy - now this is one of the best - ....and entered it.

Fritters. Yum.

Yes I know I'm a bit overweight, and have a family history of heart disease, and that I'm storing up major problems for myself for the future, but hey....what the heck. Sometimes you just have to.

October 2010: payback time.

My new obsession.

I'm a coffee-holic, always have been. My coffee machine is one of my most treasured possessions, a trip to Whittards is like a kid being let loose in a toy shop, and going out for a coffee is always a fulfilling adventure.

However, drinking instant coffee at work hasn't always been so fulfilling. Until this week, when I discovered Percol Espresso. Opening the jar is like an explosion of the senses, and drinking it ...well, wow.

I wondered why I got a bit more hyper than usual today :))

http://www.percol.co.uk/

Body = shutdown.

My body now feels as if it's gone into a total shutdown, so giving it a rest until Sunday again.

Will try to eat sensibly this weekend, although I'm going out for dinner with my friends tomorrow and then lunch with faithful travelling companion on Saturday.

I'm quite excited about Saturday, because we're planning a day trip to a part of the country that I've never visited before. Fingers crossed the rain's not too heavy.

When life gives you carrots, make carrot and coriander soup

Cuddles is still around, although we are no longer feeding her, on the advice of the animal welfare people. Haven't had too much blog-time in recent days but I'm hoping to post more pictures of her on here at the weekend.

Question: what do you do with a carrot-surplus? Answer: make carrot and coriander soup, which I haven't done for a while. I made some last night and had it for lunch at work 15 minutes ago. Very nice too. I like to add crushed black peppercorns to give it a bit of a kick.

Food, fitness and finding the way back

Off to our favourite local Indian restaurant tonight with faithful travelling companion. Both of us have not been looking after ourselves of late, and our fitness levels have dropped and our waistlines expanded :( anyway tonight was another descent down the slippery slope.

The good thing though is that tomorrow is a new day and it's a fresh start. Lately of course I've been laid low with some rather horrible back pain which has completely affected my ability to exercise at any level, but the last time this happened I actually found that the exercise helped, so hopefully it'll be the same this time. I've been a bit below par mentally, physically and emotionally over the last couple of weeks, so need to give myself a shake. Haven't even had the enthusiasm or the time to blog so much - I will catch up though :)

Anyway...summer came back again today after a week of relatively cool temperatures and horrible torrential rain yesterday, so it's an extra incentive to get back on track to get into those summer clothes!

Tapas

Off to the big city on Saturday for lunch and retail therapy with faithful travelling companion. Lunch meant tapas at La Tasca. Just realised that we have been going there for the past 9 years (gosh I feel old...!) anyway I haven't mentioned this on the blog before now so I thought it was about time I mentioned it. We are well and truly La Tasca addicts. The ambience is second to none, and for that hour or two you are transported from the dreary British clouds and rain to the Spanish sunshine, where the party vibe never ends. And why not? I thought I'd post a picture of La Tasca's Patatas Bravas, in my never-ending attempt to get into Blogs of Note (ha ha)

The World Cup....of crisps :D

The launch of a new series of crisp flavours by Walkers (the "Walkers Flavour Cup") is not good news for anyone trying to shift a few pounds, but as I'm going through a 'phase' at the moment when all my good work has completely gone to waste, I just had to try them in the interests of blog research :)

If you remember, Walkers previously tried this kind of new flavour thing a while back (which I also blogged about on here). Looking back, the flavours were all pretty vile really and none of them caught on. At least the new batch are much more agreeable, the ones I've tasted anyway, although some of them are hard to distinguish from each other. I may be a non beef eater but I do like beefy crisps though, so the Argentinian and English flavours are probably doing it for me.

But being EuropeCrazy after all, I'm also partial to a bit of German Sausage - "ooh er missus!!"

Haven't plucked up the courage to try Aussie BBQ Kangaroo yet though :)))