Everyone loves a cup of coffee... except me

I've just had a hot cup of coffee. I know, it's not something you'd think was worth a mention really. Except, I hate coffee. I'm a tea drinker, have been for years. Coffee is horrible.

So, why am I even drinking a cup of coffee you ask?

Look at that cup of coffee - pretending to taste nice just to tempt you in...

Well, I'm just getting over the flu and my taste buds are shot to hell - I can taste barely anything (we had an exciting chilli the other night - my family sat there with steam coming out of their ears, while I was complaining that it was too mild). I didn't make the coffee by mistake though - since having the flu I've pretty much gone off tea for some weird reason and I don't know what else to drink during the day! I'm lost!! Water, lemonade, blah blah - rosehip/herbal tea, yeah, I can take it for a couple of days but no more - hot chocolate, too sweet and claggy. So I figured if there's ever a time to try a cup of coffee it was now...

The only time I've ever drunk coffee by choice was during my time working in the publishing section at HMSO years ago - the tea trolley lady was replaced by a horrible vending machine (no more yells of "Caaaake!!" from the corridor as she trundled towards the office... it was a sad, sad day). All hot drinks came out of the same nozzle in this horrible new machine - tea became a foul and awful mockery of itself. So that pretty much left me with a choice of coffee or nothing. Coffee it was then. And the 'coffee' that came out of the machine actually tasted more like tea - so I just used to drink it because it tasted absolutely nothing like hideous coffee.

It was almost a newly invented drink of it's very own rarity...

I have to say I only ever started being a tea drinker when I was in my teens/20's. It seems when you get to that age people don't offer you milk or squash or pop anymore - you're expected to want a hot drink. A hot drink that is either tea or coffee (hot chocolate doesn't get a look in). Why is that? This happens more especially in a professional/work environment. Go to a meeting: can I get you a tea or coffee? Go for an interview: would you like tea or coffee? Head to the tea lady/vending machine/staff kitchen: you can have tea or coffee, that's your lot. So I started drinking tea purely because it was the lesser of the two evils. And now, actually, I don't mind it - in fact, quite often I enjoy a good cuppa. It hits the spot in a way that nothing else does sometimes!

So, what did I think of my recent cup of coffee? Put it this way, I won't be rushing back for a second. Guess I'll just have to wait a few more days until my wretched taste buds get back to normal and I can enjoy my tea again. Still, it's always worth trying things more than once I guess - otherwise I wouldn't be here in front of you able to declare my love of sprouts and olives, and I'd still be telling you my favourite food is Frosties and chicken nuggets!

Sarah :) 

The angst of the weekly food shop - 4 hacks to make it less stressful and how to stick to the budget!

Like most families in recent times, we’ve discovered that (contrary to what the supermarkets will have us believe - shopping basket comparisons, blah blah) buying the weekly shop has definitely become more expensive. I’m a strict stick-to-the-budget-every-week kind of woman, but I’ve noticed its getting harder and harder to stick to the target each week.

So, Operation Clawback is in place…

1: Internet shopping is the way to go...
I do our food shopping online. I hate, HATE, doing those massive supermarket shops. Just looking at the image below makes me feel stressed! I used to shuffle around the enormous supermarket every Saturday with armfuls of toilet roll and bread and bleach, trying to find where the husband had wandered off to WITH THE TROLLEY AGAIN, and swearing under my breath because of PEOPLE! But I find its so much easier to stick to the budget when I shop online. I can find all the special offers in one place, I can compare prices much more easily - and, crucially, I can see how much its going to cost me before I pay.

2: I buy from more than one place…
Having said what I said in the last paragraph, I do still do a supermarket shop - but this time it’s in a much smaller supermarket that I know (because I’ve methodically, aka sadly, checked prices against my usual shop) is cheaper for specific items. Basically, we're talking Aldi time. It’s a quicker shopping experience because I know exactly what I’m going to buy and it’s a much smaller shop so I can be in and out in half an hour.

3: The supermarket checkout lottery
Now there's something that always has a kind of ‘game show’ feel about it when you shop in the actual, you know, shop - you never quite know how much its going to cost until you’re there with your purse in hand. Of course, you could fastidiously add it all up as you go round - but no, I don’t think my brain could cope with that. At least, not when it’s also trying to cope with working out Will We Like It/Is There A Cheaper Alternative/How Long Does It Take To Cook/Is Anyone Allergic To It/How Long Will It Last/What’s In It/Is It Healthy Or At Least Not Unhealthy, etc, etc, etc. Throw ‘adding up as I go along’ into the mix and I might crawl into a ball on the floor and start to rock… So, here’s a tip for you: a friend once told me that her mum advised her to basically round everything up or down to 50p or a £1 as it goes in the trolley. So, as you tip those 25p tinned tomatoes into the trolley mentally think “50p”. As you choose a that toilet roll for £2.00 think “£1”. It makes it easier to add up - and can actually be surprisingly accurate. Well, it used to be surprisingly accurate. Now I find you need to round up and down to £1 or £2. See, I said food prices were getting more expensive!

4:Impulse buying be gone!
But overall online food shopping for me is the way to go. Plus, I can do it by myself. No family chucking stuff into the trolley without my noticing (Fray Bentos Pies that sit so long in the cupboard they almost become part of the family), no complaints when I buy something they don’t like/want, being able to stick to my list. I know the apparent trend now is not to do a big weekly shop - we’re all supposed to be nipping into the local mini-supermarket on the way home to buy food for the next 24 hours and no more. Living for the moment. Fancy artichokes on toast and balsamic flavoured ice cream for tea tonight? Then that’s what we’ll be having. Not in the PhotoFairytales household though. I’m sticking to the retro-style weekly shop. Besides, it means we have that lovely cupboard glut sensation. You know, that feeling when you’ve just done ‘the big shop’ and the fridge is groaning with salad and freshness, and the cupboards are full of treats and there’s biscuits in the tin.

The downside of course is that by the end of the week we’re down to ‘freezer surprise’ for dinner and eyeing up the chocolate coins the Tooth Fairy entrusts me with…

Sarah :)

Superfood Radishes: my latest craze!

It was back to work with a bang this Monday after taking a few lovely days off work - no 6am starts, deciding what we were going to do with our day over breakfast, picnics and days out. Smashing.

And every day little food treats - ice cream with a flake? Don't mind if I do! Glass of wine even though it's only 4 o'clock in the afternoon? Actually, I am quite thirsty now I think of it... Fish and chips for tea? Well, we are at the seaside!

So this week I'm making the shift to get back to eating a bit more conscientiously - and to be honest, I was ready to. Funny how your body starts telling you it's time to start giving it some proper fuel... Which means I'm back to my new secret habit: radishes. I flippin' love 'em!

There's no such thing as a lunchbreak here at PhotoFairytales HQ - lunch is something I grab at my desk, usually typing emails at the same time. And although I'm pretty good at dishing up something healthy for dinner, lunches are more of a challenge. Very often its just a quick sandwich (minimal effort, minimal thought) and quite often I'd reach for a bag of crisps too. Hhmmm... not a great choice - then a few weeks ago I had a brainwave: replace those crisps with radishes! And now I'm a little bit hooked on them - they're the perfect alternative for me: they give me something to crunch (like crisps), they're perfect hand-to-mouth food (like crisps), and they've got a stonking hit of flavour (like crisps). They're juicy, crisp and give you a fantastic pop of heat. Some are hotter than others too, so with every mouthful it's a little bit like radish roulette!!

Not only that, but I've since discovered that they have great health benefits too - in fact, they're one of those brilliant superfoods. Obviously I'm no expert, but this is what I've found after doing a bit of research online:

• Radishes are packed with potassium which helps to lower blood pressure
• One serving of radishes gives you a third of your daily Vitamin C hit
• They're also a source of Vitamin B6, magnesium, calcium and zinc
• They help you to digest fat more efficiently
• They have great cancer-fighting properties
• They're great for your kidneys
• Radishes are low in calories, cholesterol and fat - and they are high in roughage and water which is good if you have digestive problems
• They helps to relieve congestion when you have a cold or cough
• They're great for the gallbladder and liver, protecting from infections
• Radishes are a natural diuretic and great for bladder infections

Phew! These hot, peppery little ruby red balls of juicy crunchiness are most definitely staying as a feature in my lunches for the foreseeable - yum. And what's more, they last well in the fridge - they'll sit in there watching your lettuce turn slimey, and be ready for a quick wash and top-and-tail when you need them.

Sarah :)

Those were the days... I think!

Thank goodness for all these austerity cutbacks! OK, I admit that’s not something you’ll hear me say every day, but stay with me!

Do you remember your twenties? When being invited round to friends for a “dinner party” meant a mince based dish served with lashings of powerful garlic bread. And it didn’t matter one jot what you brought to drink - it could come in a plastic bottle for all anyone cared (and often did). I distinctly remember having a conversation with a male friend about the options for buying beer: cheap so you can drink a lot - vs - expensive and gets you pissed quick. It was an important debate! A time when red-wine mouth and Walls Vienetta for pudding happened regularly. When we all smoked - even those of us that didn’t.

Then the swanky years hit - when “dinner party” meant visiting a wine shop (note: not an “offy”, a “wine shop”). It seemed perfectly OK to take advice from the man in red cords and a pink rugby shirt about “palettes” and “acidity” and “new world”. Food went up a notch and ingredients had to be organic, and “sourced” rather than bought. It was served in Le Creuset, rather than the foil dish it came in when it was pulled from Asda’s freezer section.

And then the recession hit. Or was it children? Or age? Or did we just grow up a bit? Either way, we don’t go to dinner parties anymore. To be honest, I think I’d be too tired. And luckily it seems that most of us have calmed down and found a middle ground somewhere between the two. We can eat (low fat) mince based dishes served with lashings of powerful garlic (ciabatta) bread. Your wine still shouldn’t come in a plastic bottle, but a plastic cork is OK. And the Vienetta? Well, stick a tub of Haagen Dazs in the middle of the table and we can all have another glass of wine while we wait for it to soften enough to get the spoon in...

Sarah x

If you like a lot of chocolate, read my blog!

Pin back your ears, lick your lips, I’m about to take you for a plunge into pure chocolate heaven….

“Never mind about 1066 William the Conqueror, 1087 William the Second. Such things are not going to affect one's life ... but 1932 the Mars Bar and 1936 Maltesers and 1937 the Kit Kat - these dates are milestones in history and should be seared into the memory of every child in the country.”

That’s what Roald Dahl reckoned, and you can’t deny the 30’s were a golden era. In fact, when you look into it, most of the chocolate we know and love today is getting on for 100 years old (and still hasn’t gone beyond the “best before” date!). In 1905 Cadburys launched the Dairy Milk bar, in 1908 came the Toblerone, Walnut Whips followed in 1910, then the Flake in 1920, in 1923 the Milky Way was born, Crunchie came about in 1929, 1930 saw the arrival of the Snickers (or if you’re a traditionalist, the Marathon!), Maltesers in 1936, and I was surprised to find out that Terry’s Chocolate Orange dates back to 1932…

And I suppose as the inventor of Mr Willy Wonka, it makes sense that Roald Dahl should know his stuff about chocolate. But I reckon we’re all Smartie-Pants (excuse the pun), when it comes to chocolate - I’d be amazed if you, dear reader, hadn’t sampled every single one of those chocolates I’ve mentioned and counted yourself a bit of a connoisseur. Ask anyone which they prefer: milk chocolate or plain, and they’ll have an answer for you before you can say “Twix”.

So, here’s the thing: over the last few years there’s been a bit of a chocolate “make over” - magazines tell us that we will be just as satisfied with a square or two of 90% cocoa solid organic chocolate as we would be with an entire Mars bar. That it’s better for us, and because it has more of a cocoa hit we won’t want as much. There’s even - pause for breath - chocolate with the sophistication of added chilli, or salt. Hmm. [presses lips together in slightly in-approving way…]

Well I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t hit the spot for me - on any level! If you’re the kind of person who likes the bitterest of bitter chocolate (not to be confused with plain chocolate, that’s lush) and looks down their nose at the sweet and sugary Cadburys type stuff - well I just don’t believe you. Sorry, no, don’t believe you. Pants definitely on fire. I reckon when you’re in a room, all on your own, you’d choose a bar of Dairy Milk! And anyway, you’re denying yourself two of the world’s greatest inventions: Munchies and Creme Eggs. Or if you still want to be sophisticated, help yourself to a Fry’s Peppermint Cream. We won’t think any less of you, promise.

Right, must dash, the sweet shop is calling my name… (but if you want to leave a comment and tell me what your favourite chocolate is, or indeed if you prefer milk or plain, go for it - we can wallow in chocolate together!)

Sarah x