Tag Archives: Asda

Guest recipe Levi Roots: reggae reggae mango nut bread

Guest recipe Levi Roots: reggae reggae mango nut bread

Not content with the success of his reggae reggae sauce, Dragons den chef and entrepreneur, Levi Roots has recently launched a new range of snacks.  Reggae reggae peanuts and cashews are now available to buy nationwide in Tesco and ASDA, priced at £1.29 for a 90g bag and in Holland & Barrett stores priced at £1.39.

Highlighting that nuts are not only great for snacking but can also be used as an ingredient in Caribbean Cuisine, Levi Roots has created a mango nut bread recipe using the reggae reggae nuts and has donated the recipe to Goodwins Gastro Gossip, so please let me know what you think if you try it!

Levi Roots Mango Nut Bread

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients

  • 1/2 can margarine, melted
  • 6 oz sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. lime juice
  • 16 oz all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 6 oz mango, cubed
  • 4 oz Reggae Reggae Peanuts & Cashews, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° F/190°C.
  2. Mix margarine, sugar, eggs and lime juice. Combine thoroughly with dry ingredients.
  3. Stir in mango and peanuts.
  4. Scrape batter into a 20cm x 10cm x 7cm / 8″ x 4″ x 3″ loaf pan.
  5. Bake until done or when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean

The Levi Roots product range includes his famous Reggae Reggae sauce, ketchup, cooking sauces, flavoured chicken and cookery books including ‘Caribbean Cuisine Made Easy’.  Levi also recently presented a BBC TV series on Caribbean Cooking.

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Taste of London: Glorious! soups set to revolutionise those ‘feeling lazy, can’t be bothered to make lunch’ days.

Taste of London: Glorious! soups set to revolutionise those ‘feeling lazy, can’t be bothered to make lunch’ days.

I always look forward to every meal, and can therefore never settle for a nasty pre-made packet sandwich at my desk for lunch.  It just feels like such a waste of a meal to do that –and seeing as I eat three times every day, why not enjoy it as best as I can!

While I cook pretty much every night, there are always those evenings when I am just too tired to think about preparing lunch for the next day, so I often end up buying something to eat at my desk.  While I am lucky to be based in Soho and have so much to choose from; Thai to Japanese, Mexican to Italian, it’s neither friendly on the bank balance, nor on the waistline.

Last week, I came across Glorious! and tried its new soup range.  The range, which comes labeled either as ‘meal’ or ‘skinny’, will be unveiled at the Taste of London festival this week.  There is a fab selection of flavours including Goan spiced tomato and lentil, Malaysian chicken and Toulouse sausage and bean and at under £2.00, they are fantastic value!

I admit that when I first saw them, I was a bit nervous that I was going to look at the ingredients at the back of the pot, and find masses of calories and loads of weird enhancers and preservatives.  But, this was not the case at all! I was really impressed not to see one thing that I wouldn’t already have in my cupboards at home.  I have tried two so far; the Tuscan chicken and orzo meal, which was filling, tasty and warming, and the skinny fragrant Thai carrot and lemongrass.

As it was a boiling day, I thought I would really put the soup to the test by eating it outside, so I grabbed a spoon, my ‘cold’ pot of soup and hit the park. The Thai carrot and lemongrass did not disappoint, it was absolutely delicious – perfect for a cheap, healthy and quick lunch, and at only 160 calories for half a pot, even if you have the whole pot, (like I did) you have still only eaten 320 calories!

What I really like about these soups is that they are low in fat and calories but certainly not low on flavour, having Simon Gamble, Senior development chef and creator of soups and sauces, to thank for that!

The only problem is that it seems you can only buy them in Asda, Morrissons and Sainsbury’s, and I have none of those near home or work!

Either way, I think we’re going to see a lot more of Glorious!  I like the choice of different flavours from around the world, the taste, the branding, the nutritional aspect, its mission statement to ‘go beyond expectations’ and the website is pretty cool too.  If you’re going to Taste of London this week, then don’t forget to swing by the Glorious! stand.

Namibian Lager Windhoek hits the UK

Namibian Lager Windhoek hits the UK

Just as the sun arrives in the UK, so does a new tasty, foreign Lager.  Brewed and imported from Namibia, Windhoek lager has been crafted according to Reinheitsgebot (a 494 year old regulation concerning the production of beer in Germany), using only three natural ingredients – malted barley, hops and water.

Windhoek Lager is now available at Tesco, Morrisons and Asda among others at an RRP of £ 4.29 for a pack of 4 x 330ml bottles.

If you are not one for beery lager, Windhoek (pronounced ‘vint-hook’) is perfect for you as it is not that bitter and at 4% it’s not too strong either.  Award winning beer expert Ben McFarland comments; “A great deal more aromatic than your average, archetypal African lager, Windhoek squares succulent malt sweetness with a snappy, crisp grassy hop character. Delicate and very drinkable.”

Interestingly, Namibia has been the home of Windhoek Lager for over 90 years, and as one of the biggest selling beers in South Africa, it is cherished for its quality and purity.

ASDA makes a bid for The Queen’s custom

ASDA makes a bid for The Queen’s custom

The Queen taps her back pocket as she walks out of her local Asda branch (Clapham Junction, I believe); proud in the knowledge that tonight’s romantic meal with Philip cost her just £3.00.  Picking three courses from her favourite frozen food range for just £1 each – they would start with two frozen cheese omelettes, then a couple of tasty steak and onion slices, then round the evening off with a classy (or, did I mean classic?) Arctic roll.  Yah, maybe not…

Okay so I may be joking, but according to the News of the World, Asda’s Digital Director Mark Hodgkinson has in fact written to The Queen suggesting she starts shopping at Asda, instead of Waitrose, in a bid to cut down costs at the palace and lighten some of the extra load off taxpayers.

I would be interested to see her response, but either way, looking at Asda’s website, I am sure The Queen would be able to make significant savings by moving ship.  Good on Mark for having the guts to pen that letter, as I always say, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get!”