Panettone All Year, and Seasonal cakes and desserts

Last Christmas in UK supermarkets we could buy Christmas pudding and Christmas cake, French yule logs, the seasonal favourites, plus year round scones and crumpets. From Europe, German stollen and Italian Panettone. The UK now has an outlet devoted to Panettone. Supermarkets, from upmarket department stores to Waitrose, middle market Tesco and Morrisons, and budget friendly German Lidl and Aldi, stock a variety of European and worldwide specialities. Amazon and ebay also have links to lovely food specialities. These include

Italian Panettone

Panettone - Italian, popular in the run up to Christmas, but also increasingly Easter. The spelling is only one double letter, double t, I remember tut tut.

Panettone. Picture from Wikipedia.

Wiki explains

In Italy, historical accounts of panettone invariably state that it originated in Milan. The word panettone derives from panetto, a small loaf of bread. The augmentative suffix -one changes the meaning to 'large bread'

A one word oxymoron, small large bread. The popular size is the large one which can last in its tin all year, going gradually drier and losing flavour and aroma. It can be used up as bread pudding, bread and butter pudding.

We used to be given Panettone when we visited an Italian restaurant in Hatch End. The tinned panettone came packed inside a circular zip up bag.

Now many Italian cafe outlets before Christmas sell a few choices of Panettone on the counter beside the cashier to tempt you to make a last minute purchase of a gift for others or yourself.

The Panettone Store sells panettone from small stocking fillers to extra large. Also preserved fruit, and Italian soft nougat.

What about the rest of the world. Wiki helpfully says

Turron

Soft nougat. 

Torrone

Italian soft nougat

Nougat

Usually white chewy bars which might contain nuts, and sometimes fruit. Could be wrapped in foil for freshness and then a soft card cover.

Useful Websites On Panettone And Seasonal Food

https://thepanettonestore.co.uk/

https://thepanettonestore.co.uk/stocking-fillers/

https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/spaniards-fear-italian-invasion-of-panettone-replace-roscon-bread-6mcwbv5f9

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Little Moons chocolate snack from Waitrose

 

The Little Moons chocolate desserts were bought from Waitrose supermarket in Harrow Weald. They came from the Sushi area. They are Japnese. 

The middle is melted chocolate. The outside is a gooey gum. Covered in cocoa powder.

We cut them in half. We ate them as a small snack to go with coffee.

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Almond Cakes Around Europe - England, France, Spain & Portugal

Spanish Almond Tart

 In Spain we had almond cake for evening dinner dessert, at the Parador de Fuent De in the Picos de Europa (European Peaks) in the north of Spain.  I loved the almond filling. The same item appeared again at breakfast.

French Almond Tart

Just across the border is France. The French call their marzipan tart frangipane.

Another Spanish Almond Tart

We travelled west through northern Spain to Santiago de Compostelo, the city whose cathedral is the end of a hiking pilgrimage. The city's classic dish is the Tarta De Santiago.

We crossed the border to Spain, off to Oporto and the port wine region of the Douro.

Portuguese Almond Tart (Tarte de amendoa)

As we travelled onwards, west into Portugal I had a pleasant surprise. My favourite almond tart appeared again.

English Almond Tarts

Back in London, England, I noticed Bakewell tart or almond tart in Tesco Express. We once stopped in Bakewell to try tart from a shop claiming to be the original site of the recipe. But their tart seemed to me no better nor different than others I had tried. I was quite happy with locally bought Bakewell tart down south in London.

Bakewell tart picture by Brynn in Wikipedia under Bakewell Tart. Notice the red fruit jam (Americans say jelly) on the pastry base of the tart. Flaked almonds and icing sugar (Americans say powdered sugar) on the top of the tart.

Costa's Almonds

Across the road, in Costa in Hatch End, I was able to indulge myself in part of a slice of almond cake, shared with my husband. Costa is Italian. 

Costa Exterior with pavement seating for summer. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 

Costa interior with indoor seating in the light by the window. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Almond bake on display (lower center) at Costa in Hatch End, London. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

It is very fattening. All that almond cake in Spain had fattened me up. After all that cake and hotel and restaurant meals in Spain and Portugal I needed to go on a diet. But, who can resist cake. 

I ate a third.

Almond tart, divided, in Costa. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Tesco Almond Cake

Tesco in London also had croissants, hot every morning, with almond fillings. (We also saw these in Singapore last year, 2023). I looked up the calorie count for almond filled croissants and was horrified.

Today I went online looking for recipes and found a few. Almond cake or rather tart, seems more easy to make than cheesecake.

You have a shortcrust pastry base. You can buy this from the supermarkets in rolls unbaked and roll it out. Then three equal amounts, 180 grams, of ground almonds which American call almond flour), granulated sugar, and butter. Add three eggs. 

Either mix the eggs and sugar, then the almonds, or mix the dry sugar and almonds, then add the eggs.

You may have to pre-cook the base so it doesn't go soggy

How high and long do you cook it?  170 degrees for 45 minutes.

Optional extras are lemon juice and/or cinnamon.

On top you can put almond flakes (also called sliced almonds), or confectioners' sugar (icing sugar(, or raspberries. If you think fruit is healthier than sugar this would be a good idea. Adding flour is optional, and some recipes without it or tars without it are promoted as gluten free. Almond essence is added by some books to enhance the almond flavour.

Another variation is individual cupcakes with white icing on top and a cherry in the middle, recently revived from an old recipe book promoted as Gloucester tarts which were given away free at the city's museums as a promotion. The distinctive ingredients were ground rice and raspberry jam.

Gloucester tart from Wikipedia.

Gloucester is a cathedral city in southwest England on the way to Wales, near Monmouth. 

I must admit I was familiar with this kind of cake or tart. I remember clearly trying both this one which was cheaper and an almond tart I decided that the almonds were lost under the sugar icing, which seemed to me a way of giving you a layer of sugar without almonds, which looked pretty. An economy for mass production. But for pure almond taste, I preferred an almond cake.

I am now thinking of making an almond tart at home, with and without the almond essence. I shall read the label to check if it is really intensified flavour from real or roasted almonds, or a chemical. But since I am already over-indulging in the delights of a tart made by mixing sugar with almonds, admittedly with added egg. maybe I should be less prim and proper and just enjoy.

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Useful Websites

The Shop and Cafe in Bakewell, Derbyshire, Peak District, England

https://www.bakewelltarts.co.uk/

English Almond Tart Recipe - Waitrose supermarket video on making Bakewell Tart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R8V_yooAEc

Spanish Almond Tart Recipe

https://www.carolinescooking.com/tarta-de-santiago/

Portuguese Almond Tart Recipe Video

https://honestcooking.com/tarte-de-amendoa-portuguese-almond-tart-recipe/

Italian Almond Tart Sbrisolona

https://www.bing.com/search?q=ialian+almond+tart&pc=GD03&form=GDAVG1&ptag=7301&showconv=1

French Frangipane Almond Tart

https://thecafesucrefarine.com/ridiculously-easy-french-almond-frangipane-tart/

See my next post on Italian almond cake.

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Friday Dec 23rd Xmas Shopping -Supermarkets Are busy -

Waitrose Xmas. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

 Everybody is out buying in supermarkets in London, my family tell me. I am at home with a cold, despite being double jabbed in Singapore, against flu and Covid, my 5th jab.

I was online in a toastmasters international meeting, Singapore International Dynamic, run by President Edward in Belize. Our theme was Xmas food around the world.

He had a great background of trees. In Belize their Xmas meal includes local food such as beans and rice.

President Edward of Belize.

 We started with a table topics or imprompty speech session, 2 minutes each on local festive food for Xmas or any other holiday we celebrate.  I showed Waitrose Xmas cake. I also had extra props. Stollen, the marzipan filled sweet roll cake, from Germany, but Waitrose haas their own brand. For Hannuaky, which this year coincides with Christmas, the food is latkes, grated potato pancakes, ike has browns or rosti, and donuts with dozens of kinds of fillings..

Donuts, for Hannukah. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

He warned us about procrastinating. Don't leave your shopping until the last minute. Some shops will close early, even lunch time on the 24th, so their staff can prepare for Xmas Eve.

Last year Edward went out to buy presents at a department store and food at a supermarket. 

Supermarket - Closing Time. 

All went well until his wife phoned and reminded him to buy the cranberry sauce. 

By now the traffic had built up, exacerbated by a minor, but inconvenient traffic accident. Unnecessary stress.

The supermarket was still open but had closed the doors as it was already full of customers. Luckily he spotted a friend inside and was able to get his friend's attention and shout, Cranberry sauce!

Nearby was a seller of local Rum Popo. He bought that to give to his friend as a thank you for the favour.

What is rum Popo? The brand name for Local rum, with added ingredients, like an egg nog. The lady who made and marketed it was credited with turning around the Belize economy. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rompopeop

Rum 

 As Shakespeare said, all's well that ends well.

The moral of the story, don't leave things until the last minute. 

I had left my back ground to the last minute. I hastily looked for a suitable picture to load up. I found one of myself with Christmas crackers.

Then I found a picture showing the candles for all eight nights of Hanukah with an increasing number of candles. The last night, number eight, is on Boxing Day, December 26th.

Christmas and Hannukah backgrounds for the International online Toastmasters meeting on Friday Dec 23rd.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rompope

https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club

British and International Stores and Supermarkets Such as Waitrose, selling Christmas cakes from Germany, Italy, Spain and France

Halloween Hat from Waitrose.

Angela Lansbury in a Halloween hat from Waitrose, 2021.

Shopping and eating are becoming more and more international each year. In the UK in October I see goodies ready for Christmas. From Germany we get stollen.   

From Italy we get panettone. The name comes from panetto, with the letter t twice, like the English word letter. Panetto, like pain, French for bread, means bread, a small bread. The end one means large.

Panettone pleases my Spanish speaking friends and a Spanish-speaking friend from Venezuela in my London Toastmasters' Harrovian Speakers group. 

From the French croissants for breakfasts have spread worldwide in supermarkets and cafes in supermarkets and cafes alongside. We also get pain au chocolat. At Christmas we see Yule log cakes called Buche de Noel.

The stores and supermarkets themselves have gone international. I see branches of Harrods and Tesco and Marks & Spencers in Singapore. 

What about Waitrose? The two places to go would be a company's own website for up to date information, and Wiki. Since the increasingly sophisticated websites know where I am and want to send me local information, to find out what's going on worldwide I often find it handy to check up in Wikipedia. Wiki also gives the history about 'they' who started a company, as well as 'we' who now own it.

My search is rewarded. I can now tell you:

Wiki: 'Waitrose & Partners (formerly Waitrose) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose.' 

Well, who knew! Not me, nor my family in the UK.

'It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still sells groceries under the brand. Its head offices are located in Bracknell and Victoria, England. Waitrose & Partners has 332 shops across the United Kingdom, including 65 "little Waitrose" convenience shops, and a 5.1% share of the groceries market, making the company the eighth-largest retailer of groceries in the UK. They also export products to 52 countries and have locations in the Middle East.'

Ah. Not just Britain. Of interest to visitors to the UK, but also to travellers worldwide.

'The chain has been described by The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian as having an "upmarket" reputation, although former managing director Mark Price suggested prices are competitive to Tesco, a mid-market chain.'

And for some fun stuff:

'The company has a royal warrant to supply groceries, wine, and spirits to Queen Elizabeth II and, as of 1 January 2011, to Prince Charles.'

Useful Websites

www.waitrose.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitrose

stollen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stollen

panettone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panettone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borscht#As_a_ritual_dish

About the Author

Angela Lansbury was born and bred in Britain, and has lived in the USA and Singapore. Her family has worked in or lived in Spain and Switzerland. 

She is the author of several books on public speaking and quotations.

She is a member of Toastmasters Clubs meeting on Zoom with visitors from the UK and USA, India, Sri Lanka, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Through the Toastmasters mentoring program Angela has connected with individuals in Vietnam and Romania, and Belize, a different connection each month. Please come to the next BHA Toastmasters meeting on the 3rd Saturday afternoon every month.

Angela is a member of Harrovian Speakers, London (two Monday evenings each month (BST or GMT) currently part in person and part on Zoom, and VP PR for BHA (1st Monday evening and 3rd Saturday afternoon Singapore Time; and TCA, one Tuesday evening a month, both currently on Zoom, as well as secretary for Singapore Online Dynamic which is online only and always, Friday evening 9.30 pm Singapore time.   

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Maple Syrup from Canada, the USA and Waitrose - which is best?

Canadian flag showing the maple leaf. Maple syrup is the sap of the maple tree.
 

When we lived in the USA I and my husband took a side trip to Niagara and Canada and at breakfast time we discovered the joy of adding maple syrup to toast, French toast, pancakes, waffles and,most importantly, porridge. Years later, we still buy maple syrup to go in our oatmeal porridge at breakfast time.

We used to buy Buckwud maple syrup in the UK. We would take a bottle back to Singapore on every trip to our second home in Asia.

Waitrose supermarket and Tesco supermarket from the UK supply to Cold Storage and Fairprice in Singapore. You can buy wines and dry goods. But also maple syrup.

We have tried two brands of Waitrose maple syrup.

Today I did a taste comparison, as well as a label comparison. 

To our surprise the Organic version, pale amber, was not the one we liked. We preferred the stronger tasting, darker coloured maple syrup. You might find your family's tastes are the reverse. 

The paler sap either comes from earlier in the year or has less liquid boiled off, or both. Whether you prefer a subtler flavour, as do many Japanese people and children, or the stronger flavour, like those who like spicy food, makes a difference. So does what you are using it for and what you are mixing it with. 

The pure maple syrup costs more. Anything made from other sugars, such as cane sugar, or palm with added maple, will taste differently and may be cheaper.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foods_made_from_maple

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_leaf_cream_cookies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_sugar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_butter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_liqueur

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Food_made_from_maple

https://www.thespruceeats.com/maple-almond-matzo-granola-4136758

Short version

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup

https://www.thespruceeats.com/maple-butter-recipe-1807107

Two ingredients, Maple syrup and butter to make:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/maple-leaves-521376

https://sg.shein.com/1pc-Maple-Leaf-Chocolate-Mold-p-2756627-cat-1953.

https://www.aliexpress.com/popular/maple-leaf-silicon-mold.html

About the Author

Angela Lansbury, is a semi-retired travel writer still researching bucket list countries and seeking out the special, unusual, people, places,  landmarks, hotels, museums and trails, fabulous foods, recipes, clothes and online souvenir shopping.

Angela Lansbury is a member of Toastmasters International.

About the Author Angela Lansbury

The Author - Quick Quotations

Angela Lansbury B A Hons  is the author of ten books by regular publishers plus another ten self-published books. 

About Angela The Speaker & Trainer

Angela Lansbury is a teacher of English and other languages to Toastmasters clubs and businesses.

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Vice President  Public Relations, Immediate Past President. VPPR

Former Area Director S3. Club Coach for Nee Soon South Toastmasters Club.

Also Member of: TCA Toastmasters Club; Singapore Online Dynamic; Harrovians UK

Past meetings have included Garen Tee on using story telling in business, on bha.learncool.sg/meet/bha  

Recent meetings of BHA included an educational session on using Powerpoint for posters.

Next BHA meetings, always first Wednesday evening, 7 pm Singapore time. Next meeting is  the third Saturday afternoon, June 19th 2pm Singapore time.  Inauguration of the new committee by the incoming Director of S, plus a lively speech on teamwork.

 

Angela The Blogger 

Angela has several blogs speeches, comedy and song writing and organizing, writing intermittently, but writes almost daily on these three:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

See other posts such as a post on sculptor Tom Harvey.

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Post being written. Come back shortly for more text and photos.

WHICH ENGLISH WINE WAS THE FAVOURITE? - white, sparkling, rose or red?

Central London Wine Society held a wonderful wine and dine event at the Civil Service club on 15 June 2019. During the evening we had tastes of 14 different English white wines. All were bought from the larger branches of Waitrose supermarket in London.

This photo shows my two favourites.

English white wines. Photo by Angela Lansbury

An English sparkling white wine on the left. On the left of the picture is our starter drink, the Hattingley Valley Classic Reserve. NV meaning non vintage. A sparkling white wine which we had as our welcome drink.

Cost
It cost £24. That may compare well with some Champagnes from France, but is considerably dearer than the popular Proseccos from Italy sold in Tesco Express supermarket.

On the right was the one I liked even more, our sweet dessert wine, the Denbies Noble Harvest 2016.
Lots of sugar. 94.3 grams per liter. That sounds staggering to me. That compares with a Sauternes up to about 100-120 grams per litre. The Denbies Nobel Harvest 2016.

We were a group of about a dozen. We all voted on our favourite wines. I am out of kilter with other wine drinkers. I am a nineteen sixties girl brought up on Mateus Rose from Portugal.

My other favourite was Liebraumilch from Germany. That was in the days when wine from England was unheard of.

The final sweet wine was a universal favourite in our group. However, the starter wine was beaten in the voting by the second wine on our list.

Pairing Wines With Food
We had so many wines that it was not possible to pair up the main course wines with everybody's main courses. I ordered chicken (chicken Kiev) so white wines suited me. My husband ordered steak so he asked to have the red wine early.

The first sparkling wine I liked so much was not so striking later in the meal nor at the end of the meal, when, admittedly, it was no longer cold, nor sparkling. After all, that is the point of the bubbles, to distract you from the nasty wine.

USEFUL WEBSITES
My husband is a wine educator and gives a more technical account of the wines on his website:
http://grapedeal.com/english-wine/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

UK Supermarket opening hours on UK Bank Holidays and deliveries of fruit, fish and veg worldwide

Problem
If you are an overseas visitor or a British one and forgot, Aug 27 Monday is a bank holiday in the UK. What if you want to eat breakfast, buy a sandwich or do a shop?

Answers
You can google the trade name of the supermarket, (such as Aldi, Morrisons, Tesco, Tesco 24 hours, Tesco Express, Waitrose. Check your nearest branch. Go to opening hours (if not already displayed with open or closed today and today's closing time and tomorrow's opening time.

I checked on a branch of Morrisons and found that it was open on bank Holiday 8-6 but the cafe closes earlier and the garden centre might open later or close earlier. Once before I thought I'd do my shopping and then stop for a coffee and cake or sandwich or even a hot meal at the end, but the cafe was already closed.

Mysupermarket.co.uk enables you to choose from assorted branded and unbranded goods and compare the prices at various supermarkets.

Useful Websites (alphabetically):
ABEL & CO (Organic fruit and veg)
www.abelandcole.co.uk

ALDI
www.aldi.co.uk

AMAZON
amazon.co.uk

AMAZONFRESH
amazon.co.uk/Fresh
USA (Some US states, log in from the USA to find out); UK London; Japan Tokyo;Germany Berlin, Hamburg, Munich.

ASDA
groceries.asda.com

BOOTS (Sells pharmaceuticals, food and drink. Ships Worldwide but not Singapore.)
https://www.boots.com/wellness/food-and-drink

BRITISH FOOD WORLDWIDE
https://www.britishcornershop.co.uk

DISH THE FISH (Fresh fruit, vegetables and fish in Singapore delivered)
www.dishthefish.com.sg/collections

HELLOFRESH
www.hellofresh.co.uk

ICELAND (Frozen food specialist)
groceries.iceland.co.uk

JAPANESE STORES IN JAPAN Seiyu, Daiei, Ito Yokado
http://netsuper.kakaku.com/netsuper/

LIDL
www.lidl.co.uk

MARKS & SPENCERS
marksandspencer.com/c/delivery-and-collection

MILK & MORE
milkandmore.co.uk

MORRISONS
morrisons.com/storefinder
https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/get

MYSUPERMARKET UK
mysupermarket.co.uk

OCADO
www.ocado.com/Grocery/Fresh

ORIENTAL IN UK
www.orientmart.co.uk

POUNDLAND
onlinepoundstore.co.uk

POUNDSHOP
www.poundshop.com/£_items/essentials

SAINSBURY'S
sainsburys.co.uk/shop/groceries/discover
sainsburys.co.uk/webapp

SINGAPORE
https://redmart.com/frozen/japanese

SUPERDRUG (Deliveries include NHS medicine and items which must be kept in the fridge.)
https://onlinepharmacy.superdrug.com/delivery-information

WAITROSE
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/serviceselection?storeId

WONKY VEG DELIVERY IN LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
www.oddbox.co.uk

WORLDWIDE
For sending gifts such as flowers, birthday presents of Champagne, and Xmas hampers, many companies operate a worldwide service seasonally (eg at Xmas and New Year when they stock special lines) or all year.

Many more speciality shops offer to post or deliver:
chocolate, or
meat, or
wine.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to useful posts.

More on Home Delivery - open your fridge and talk to your watch

Problem
If you have just arrived back in the UK jetlagged, you may not feel like shopping.

Answer
You could actually order a delivery the day before, whilst still in another country, and get it delivered the day of your arrival.

You can also get a home delivery of food if you are packing to go away with no time to race around the shops. You can pick out items such as mosquito nets and suncream and travel adapters and order and continue packing whilst waiting for your delivery.

Would you believe it, you can order your shopping by talking into an Apple watch.

Today, Sunday 26 Aug, when I log on, Iceland is offering free next day delivery when you spend over £35.

The other deal which popped up was ten pounds off if you spent £50, so in effect you only have to spend £40 and you get another ten pounds of food or goods for free.

Useful websites

https://groceries.iceland.co.uk/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=7stars%3ERLSA+-+Competitors+-+Top+Performing&utm_term=morrisons%20delivery&utm_content=Morrisons+Delivery
https://my.morrisons.com/foodtoorder/?utm_source=StoreFinder&utm_medium=Internal&utm_campaign=footer_link#

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Ordering online from supermarkets - does it work?

Waitrose Calendar - if you got one last year, you could use it to mark your delivery slot.

Problem
The delivery options are great. You can get delivery in time slots, which are on the hour and on the half hour, from 7-8 am until 9-10 pm. When I looked online after mighnight, Saturday, in effect Sunday, the next day slots on Monday which were already filled and taken were 7-9, 4-5 and 5-6.

Ordering online from supermarkets sound a great way to cater for a leaving party in a studio flat or hotel suite.

However, my efforts in the UK were not a success.

I tried Waitrose. Then Ocado. They sent me a survey and asked my opinion. I said:

Firstly, keep my shopping bag full so if I accidentally close the website I haven't wasted 90 minutes.

Free Delivery?
Secondly, I opened what I thought was an Ocado offer for £30 off and free delivery and got neither. It seems that I have to spend £60 and to get special deals I have to sign up for a year which is not possible as I am retired and shall be away for more than a month at some time in the winter.

Waitrose lets you sign up with Facebook or google or Paypal. That's handy.

Waitrose and Ocado
I started on the Waitrose website, then went onto the Ocado website with different offers and now can't make out if they are the same or different as my website on Ocado disappeared and is not in my history.

I would like to be able to save products in favourites, so if I try to re-load my basket it will pick them again, but I am not sure how to do it. I think it only does that after you have completed your first shop. What if I am hopping about and want to save teh chocolate digestives whilst I look for alternatives?

When I go to close the website without completing my order, it does not offer to save anything.

Basket Price
The website should also give you a running total so you can see if you are near the minimum spend. I think I saw it once. Maybe I moved the screen and it went.

I don't know why the cookies haven't saved me. Instead, I have to start filling in passwords all over again.

How Many Biscuits Per Pack?
Some of the packs said, two pieces, or four.
However, the biscuit packs and cakes mostly don't have numbers of pieces or slices.

I have no idea how many 'family size' serves. A family of four? Six? Twenty?

I am going to a club committee meeting of about 6 to 8 people and want to take a pack of biscuits and a cake or something like profiteroles. I don't want to find I have 8 people and only 7 biscuits or four pieces of cake you can't cut without making a mess all over our paperwork.

Prices
The Waitrose / Ocado online prices are much higher than Tesco Express which has bananas under £1 and a giant box of grapes for £3. I also cannot buy a sandwich, only sandwich fillings. All day in any supermarket I can get sandwiches for £1 or from Tesco for £1.10p.

Tinned Fish
The tins of sardines and mackerel are also much more expensive than Tesco, and the baked beans.

Cheesecakes
I had trouble working out which of the cheesecakes were baked cheesecakes and which were the mousse sort which make a mess and are more like cream than cake. I would like a round cake pre-cut into slices for a party.

If you want to order a large amount, good.

Alternatives
Maybe I'll go back to the Poundland website.

ADVANTAGES FOR YOU
However, your circumstances may be different from mine. You may find that, as there advertising claims, they save you hours of time. And stop you making impulse purchases. And enable you to check your own fridge to be sure you really have run out of something before you buy it.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocado
Waitrose.com
www.ocado.com
poundland.co.uk
This sites explains that although products may overlap, the two sites are different. The article was written in 2014 as you can tell from the prices and offers.
https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2014/03/03/battle-between-ocado-and-waitrose-shows-why-integrated-campaign-needs-more
Author
Angela Lansbury

Food, drink, containers, clothes and insect repellents to pack for trips and holidays

Food
Fresh fruit
Grapes are bite-size pieces, easy to handle, easy to divide.

Grapes, washed before the journey. Notice the milks. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.


Drink

At home I tend to refresh with tap-water. The sparkling, flavoured water is a treat for a trip or holiday.

Containers

 A soup container from Waitrose on the left. On the right is a yogurt pot with a lid and handy handle from Tesco. Use them as food containers, or litter bins in the car.

Clothes

Craghoppers jackets with pockets. Photo by Angela Lansbury. I am on the right. The lady on the left is from Craghoppers at a show.

You can buy clothes which are impervious to insects.

But for those parts of you still exposed, insect repellent.


Insect repellents. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

What about an emergency toilet? How about a watering can?

Useful websites:
All the big UK supermarkets sell large lidded yogurt pots and soups in lidded containers but these are the ones I used:

Waitrose
waitrose.com

Tesco
tesco.com

Boots
boots.com
bootsphotoshop.com (Personalised mugs from your photos and other gifts.)

Craghoppers including Insect protection clothing Nosilife
https://www.craghoppers.com/nosilife/?utm_source=GOOGLE&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Product%20Brands&utm_term=craghoppers%20nosilife
Sale now on (July 2018)

Autan from
amazon
ebay

Price comparison website
https://uk.redbrain.shop/search?q=autan%20insect%20repellent&utm_source=google&utm_medium=CSS&utm_campaign=all

See my earlier post on what to pack for a trip.
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/07/food-to-pack-for-journey.html

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

That Meghan Markle Celebration Chocolate From Salcombe - who made the airline ice cream and chocolate for my Singapore airlines flight

Photos by Angela Lansbury

Problem
Where can I get the wonderful ice cream and chocolate which I first tasted on Singapore Airlines?

I'm feeling homesick. What can I buy from the UK elsewhere?

Photo by Trevor Sharot.

1 Visit Waitrose in the UK for Salcombe products
2 Visit Salcombe facotry shop in the UK.
3 Buy food and goods from Tesco at Fairprice supermarket in Singapore. I saw a sign in Toa Payoh supermarket, by the MRT entrance on the upper level near the lift.

Useful Website

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/salcombe-dairy-honeycomb-ice-cream/



Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. See my other posts on Salcombe, Meghan Markle wedding, chocolate, Windsor.

Easter Was Not Just Eggs - How Waitrose Rose To the Occasion: Eggs, Poachers And Assorted Chocolates

Problem
What kind of egg or gift can you buy? I love big, hollow chocolate eggs. I love small Cadbury's chocolate creme (sic) eggs. But each year I, as a consumer, hope to find something different. I hunted all over the internet yesterday. But I found more when I went into Waitrose to see what they stocked.
By mi-afternoon on Easter Monday, some prices were already discounted. What did I find?

Answers
Here are my favourite novelties:

Eggs of All Sizes

Giant Eggs
What for? too many calories for one person or even a couple to eat at once. That would last a week, or until next Easter, or could be eaten by a family or group at a party. I great centrepiece for the table.

Tiny Eggs
Tiny eggs, you could have one after every meal with coffee and spin them out all week. Scatter them across the table. Or pass them around in a bowl at coffee time.  Give one to each child. Or adult.

Eggs Of All Flavours:


1Dark Chocolate

2 Milk Chocolate

3 White chocolate

4 Mint Chocolate
After Eights. Mint chocolate egg plus After Eights.

5 Plus plays on words. MaltEaster.

Real Eggs
What if you don't want chocolate, but real eggs, from hens, for breakfast? Proper protein to start your day. Tired of boiled eggs? For a change, how about poached eggs?

A pair of egg poachers for the microwave. I thought the £5 price tag might put my family off. Unfortunately, my family members weren't buying egg poachers at any price. They retorted, "You can't cook eggs in the microwave."

I thought, "Of course you can. Waitrose is selling an egg cooking devices." I must try out a poached egg in a deep dish in a microwave and see what happens.

Meanwhile, back in the store. How to keep children occupied? Anything which could last all year?

Craft Kits
Here's something for children, or grannies. Or children and grannies. Egg cosies of felt. It looks like you make them up yourself by sewing them together. Only £3. Then you have a keepsake. Or gift for granny.

Amusing.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Burns Night Food, Drink, Whisky and Songs: Inspiring Ideas For Holidays in Scotland

Problem
What's new on Burns Night? I went to one last weekend and another this weekend. I thought, surely once you've done one, the next will be the same again?

Answer
Not so. I learned so much more. I had checked up on Burn's birthplace, which is on the West coast of Scotland.

Burns Night. Half of us found tartans. Photo by Angela Lansbury. 

Tartan Clothes
First, this time I was prepared with a tartan shirt. We had two lady's tartan shirts and two men's tartan shirts (from Marks & Spencer) without having to buy any more.

Scottish Food
Secondly, the Scottish food, although it included haggis as the main course, was different. This time the haggis came from Waitrose. It was excellent. Somebody provided the potatoes and neeps (parsnips).

Scottish Fruit
For pudding we had a cold Scottish dessert of raspberries mixed with cream, plus toasted oats with a little added sugar to give bite. (Recipes vary.) We had ours accompanied by home-made Scottish shortbread biscuits.

Wikipedia says:
Cranachan (Scottish Gaelic: Crannachan pronounced [ˈkʰɾan̪ˠəxan]) is a traditional Scottish dessert. In modern times it is usually made from a mixture of whipped cream, whisky, honey and fresh raspberries, with toasted oatmeal soaked overnight in a little bit of whisky.

Surprisingly, as far north as Aberdeen, Scotland has strawberries in summer. One of the diners asked: "What's the best way to make a tasty strawberry ice cream?"
Our host answered, "With raspberries."

On the West coast the gulf stream provides warmth and you can visit Inverewe garden with palm trees and tropical plants.

To start the evening, not Scottish, not whisky, but not Champagne either. Cremant. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Scottish Drink
To accompany the food we started with a sparkling wine (cremant which is Champagne style sparkling white wine but cannot use the name Champagne which is a place name and protected.

Scottish Whisky
During the meal we tried Scottish whiskies. Some of them are more expensive and sold in Waitrose only around the time of Burns night. Several were from the Isle of Islay, which one of the guests said is off the west coast, near the home of Burns. the peat gives the whisky added flavour.

Whisky which I had never heard of. Scotland has a lot of whiskies. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

One lady felt quite ill after tasting several whiskies. I only sniffed them.

If you want a non-alcoholic Scottish drink, there's non-alcoholic Ginger Wine. If you can't buy it, you can make your own. See the instructions on YouTube from a fellow with a Scottish accent.

Music
We had two CDs of Scottish music. The music player in the adjoining room was not loud enough to be heard when we were all talking. However, one or two people played Sottish music on their handphones around the dinner table and that was easier to hear.

My favourite song was the jolly tune of Scotland the Brave. I didn't know that was it's name but it's instantly recognizable. Apparently that used to be the national anthem. However, now Flowers of Scotland is played at sports events such as football matches, a more mournful tune.

Through the evening we talked about places we had lived in and visited in Scotland and plans to rturn for the Edinburgh festival and research for a group trip (by one local london group of the Inter Varsity Club, possibly joining with others).

1 Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh
Scotland
Scotland's top event is the Edinburgh Festival. Many people go every year and book their accommodation for the following year.
Intervarsity clubs book student accommodation. Members include postgraduates - some of whom are retirement age, and some aren't university students and never were, as membership years ago was for students and postgraduates and later their spouses and to anybody who wanted to join.

2 Inverwewe Gardens
Scotland

3 Burns House,
Ayr
Ayrshire
Scotland

4 Isle of Islay
Our club member tried to organise a trip but found the accommodation on the island was over £100 and beyond the budget of many members. We were discussing alternatives, was that £100+ per person or per bedroom, in which case how many members could we cram into a room? How many places, such as alternative islands or mainland, offered accommodation nearby? How about camping, caravans on ferries, and, with the help of the whisky, various other suggestions, increasingly far-fetched and humorous, boats with drones for photography, rollerskates, Segway and hang-gliding.

Useful Websites
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/robert-burns-house-p250471
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/inverewe-garden-and-estate-p255481
http://visitscotland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverewe_Garden
http://www.insiders-scotland-guide.com/ScotlandInverewegarden
http://www.islayales.co.uk
Scotland the brave with views of Scottish scenery and lyrics as subtitles on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycy0KZMlV6c
Non-alcoholic tradtional Scottish ginger 'wine'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymkmk2Xa0c8

Author
Angela Lasnbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on Burns Night and Scotland. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Free Calendars From Magazines, The Internet, and Print Your Own

 Christmas tree. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Problem
Christmas is coming, and New Year. Where can I get a free calendar?

Answers
I found two free calendars this week, November 14 2017. One for food lovers, another for wine lovers.

For food lovers, one calendar came packaged in Waitrose magazine which is free to Waitrose card holders.

The other free calendar for those who like a drink or to read about drinks was in Decanter magazine.

I usually expect to get free calendars inside the December issue of magazines.

Look for them in your local supermarket. Or get them online.

Do you really need a free calendar? The advantage is that they give the whole year, so you can see busy months. If you just want the month, your software probably includes a calendar in the package, along with automatic updates of events.

Printable Calendars
You can also download free printable calendars.

You can have your calendar in your computer or laptop co-ordinating with one on your phone. Just type in the name of your phone or laptop and the word calendar.

Useful Websites:
Free printable calendars.
https://www.printable2018calendars.com

www.decanter.com Wall calendar. Shows the whole year.
http://www.waitrose.com/shop/Browse/Offers Hanging calendar shows a month at a time. Punched hole in centre top for hanging.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

What's New In Waitrose For Christmas?

White chocolate snowman. Why didn't I think of that! Also you can make a whit icing snowman if you are buying a white iced cake to decorate yourself. (I compare prices at all the supermarkets and who has stocks.

Author
Angela Lansbury.
Please share your favourite posts.