I certainly came back from Wales and England in June 2014 with a haul of goodies for my kitchen, which I am sharing with all of you and of course with the lovely Celia from Fig Jam And Lime Cordial. One of the first things I put onto my shopping list for this trip was some baking parchment. I have seen on the cooking shows that one can get silicone parchment paper as well as foil lined baking paper and so I bought a box of each back with me. I have one more box of the ‘bad’ baking paper to get through and then I will start using these.
I found this malted bread mix when we were in Wales at a small vegetable shop in St. David’s. It can be used in the bread maker or mixed by hand and I will save it for a warm day so that I can turn this into an artisanal loaf of bread.
I am so intrigued by chipotle chillies that I added these to my shopping basked when I saw them in Tesco’s in Haverfordwest. I am saving them for something special!
I have a slight obsession with cider that began when I first went to America in the 70’s – then I only got to sample alcohol free cider but the love affair was reinforced when we went to Devon in 2009. I have struggled to find shop bought cider in South Africa that I enjoy but after much sampling of ciders in Wales and England I came across this Strongbow Citrus Edge Cider that I could bring back with me. Now hopefully it will make its way to our stores.
My cousin Anne gave me the most perfect gift! It is a set of 4 containers that fit snugly into one another. We used them in Wales to store cheese etc. in the fridge, and these will become a permanent part of my overseas kitchens as they take up so little space in my suitcase and are so practical.
In London we spent a day on the High Street and one of our stops was to Fortnum and Mason. I gazed over all the items and found Warwick Wines as well as these Tellicherry peppercorns. I was sent on a mission to find these when we went to France in 2011 but could not find any. The person who asked me to buy them for her has subsequently been given some as a gift, so these I will keep for myself and report back on whether they were worth the buy.
We also shopped at Harvey Nichols where they had the most amazing ice cream freezer on a turntable. Dave spied some Duck Pâté which we love bringing back with us from France and I spotted some Patum Peperium which Dave introduced me to when we were in Scotland in 2012.
The cheapest place in the United Kingdom to buy whisky is at duty free at the airport. Terminal 5 has a wide selection of whisky’s and a new dedicated whisky store. We sampled a few, especially as some of these are not available anywhere other than duty free. Our choice to bring home was the QA Cask Laphroaig. It is an Islay whisky and I now own a plot of land on the estate. We will be there next year to claim our rent in the form of a dram. As I had broken one of our Glencairn glasses I replaced it so that we now have 4. Three of them are promotional glasses from tastings so this is our only paid for glass.
I have searched high and low for muslin cloth to use in my kitchen and I found some at a home store just outside of Haverfordwest.
I have not been able to find Sumac in any of my local stores and so when I saw it at Tesco’s it was added to the trolley without hesitation. I love this spice and use it for fish and chicken.
The last item on my shopping list for England was a banneton. I did not find one! When we got home I was cleaning out the woven basked next to my bed and Dave suggested I use it for proving my sourdough bread in. I am not sure if this is indeed the same material as a traditional banneton but I am going to give it a try! I have subsequently read up that a banneton is a wicker basket and if all else fails and this does not work I will get one made for me by the men on the side of the road who weave wicker baskets for a living.
What I blogged:
- one year ago – I Made It
- two years ago – Friday’s Food Quiz
- three years ago – Crayfish Curry
- four years ago – Babotie
As usual I loved reading your post. Some most interesting items in your kitchen this month, thank you for sharing them. xx
Thanks for taking the time to browse through them all 🙂
love your stash of treasures from far and wide
Thanks Usha 🙂
Wonderful collection of goodies Tandy. You are going to have loads of fun using it all.
have a wonderful day.
🙂 Mandy xo
Thanks Mandy, I hope your day is amazing xox
G’day Tandy and thank you also for this month’s kitchen view! I do hope your plan b re the banneton works; you have my curiosity!
From what I hear about Tesco, I think it might be food dangerous as I would want to try everything I have not seen or able to buy locally too!
Cheers! Joanne
I love the supermarkets around the world and I have spent many an hour in Coles when in Aus 🙂
Hi Tandy. I love all of your goodies from overseas. In my mind, the only thing better than eating amazing food when overseas, is browsing the local supermarket aisles for treasures. I also had a very hard time finding sumac while living in Singapore last year, so I can understand why you’d pick it up while travelling 🙂
And the strangest thing with the sumac is I saw it at my local supermarket last week!
My, my Tandy, what a haul. It seems Tescos got their money’s worth out of you. I laughed at your comment about your dud parchment. You can always just donate it to the local pre-school. I’m sure they’d love it for some craft activity, you can move on to the next roll and your conscience will be clean. Cheers xx
That is such a great idea Fiona, I shall see if I can do that 🙂
What a great haul 🙂 everything looks amazing! Especially the whisky 🙂
The whisky is certainly the best of the bunch so to speak 🙂
Hi Tandy- what an interesting mix of goodies you bought home. Its so exciting to find “treasures” you cant buy locally- enjoy them!!! x
Thank you Kylie, I look forward to using each one of them 🙂
What wonderful products! Favorite is that malted bread. Kind of thinking about how it would taste right now. I guess I’m just really really hungry. The plastic storage bins look trendy and fun too.
Oh England and Wales, how I love thee! Will visit again someday.
Devon is Agatha Christie country and I know I have to get there someday! Want to visit Burgh Island, wondering if you’ve been there? I’m her biggest fan. Ever.
We have not been to Burgh Island – I shall have to add that to our list of places to visit. I am really looking forward to trying the bread 🙂
Great finds, Tandy. Fun to bring things from places you’ve been…it’s like extending your vacation…
ela h.
It is indeed like doing that Ela 🙂
What a haul!
It was a good trip!
Wow, you came back with some great items! I don’t think I’ve seen that silicon baking paper before. I’m going to have to look that up. I’ve seen the plant many times, but didn’t know that sumac was a spice. Just look at all I have learned from you! Thanks Tandy 😀
If you can find sumac then buy some – it is an amazing spice for fish 🙂
Wow you got some gorgeous things and went to Fortnum’s and Harvey Nicks – fantastic! Good luck with the banneton, can’t see why it wouldn’t work…should make a beautiful loaf.
I will test drive the banneton soon and share the results!
HI Tandy, great list, never heard of silicone parchment paper. Would love to hear how that works for you. Enjoy finding herbs and spices that are hard to find.
I am looking forward to trying out the paper soon!
So many good things in your kitchen this month, Tandy! Love the banneton.
Thanks Lizzy, I hope it works like one 🙂
Nice finds, Tandy! I like your canisters – they’re cute and as you said, practical, at the same time. Thanks for sharing!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
They were such a great gift!
Wow Tandy did you have any baggage allowance left for clothes?! What a bounty you brought back with you – I’m curious about the chipotle chillies too I wonder how hot they actually are?
I will find a recipe to use the chillies and report back! Thankfully I left enough space in the suitcase for all the extras 🙂
Tandy, I’ve been waiting for your post so that we could see what treasures you bought home! The foil baking parchment is new to me, and I can see why Fi made the twitter comment about Tesco’s – it certainly looks like you had fun in there! 🙂 I’m so glad you were able to find and bring home so many things that you were looking for – from muslin to sumac – and I really do love clever things like those stacking boxes! 🙂
The muslin was not the best buy sadly. I have used it once and not sure I can get it clean enough to use again!
So many goodies indeed! Thanks for the tour 🙂
Thanks for the visit 🙂
Stunning buys! I am in love with that set of 4 containers – so handy and so pretty!
They are amazing quality as well!
We use chipotle chilies all the time.. might I suggest some slow cooked tacos with them? YUM!
That sounds so good, thank you Pamela 🙂
Ooh! Can’t decide what I love more. The cute containers or the Malted Bread Mix. YUM!! Lovely stuff in your kitchen this month Tandy xx
Thanks for the visit Tami, I cannot wait to try the bread 🙂
Ooh parchment lined foil is an interesting one indeed! I’ve never seen that before! And I love sumac! It’s so versatile. If you ever need more just let me know and I can send some to you!
HI, thanks for the offer! You will not believe this but when I did my shopping back home last week I found sumac 🙂
How funny that you get such a haul in Tesco – a shop I detest! Strange that baking parchment that we’ve had for years should be such a novelty yet we can’t get freezer paper which seems commonplace elsewhere.
I am curious to know why you detest Tesco’s?
How strange that you should get such a haul from such a horrible shop as Tesco and amazed that baking parchment is unheard of when we’ve had it for so long. We can’t get freezer paper though. I wonder if you have that. Just when I think all products are global, I read IMK and realise they aren’t at all.
I have never heard of freezer paper! I find it amazing how many products are so different from ours here in South Africa 🙂
Wow those parchment papers look really interesting. I saw a great concept on the Dragon’s Den for a stainless steel mesh resting cover for roast chicken. She didn’t get the investment but I hope she went ahead with it 🙂
I did not see that one!
Lovely checking out all your goodies Tandy. Thanks for your comment on my blog too! Re muslin I just use brand new Chux cloths. They work really well. Cheers
Sherry
I must look for some chux cloths then!
oh yes Chux cloths are so handy!
I wish I had containers that fit inside each other. I am trying to take some tupperware-esque containers in my suitcase for our move, and a set like yours would make things much easier! I love your UK food purchases too, and am excited to hear of – and track down – that baking paper.
The containers come form the UK which is too late for you – have fun shopping for all sorts of new goodies 🙂
hi tandy
i love sumac i always have a jar in the pantry. so delish in cous cous dishes for instance.
I must try it in cous cous 🙂
oh and i love your cover photo of the lavender and the tart!
Thank you Sherry 🙂
Just seeing what you bought back from the UK makes me think it must have been a great trip. So many goodies – I particularly love the containers – so pretty – and the strongbow cider makes me feel nostalgic for my youthful days when I went through a cider phase and drank lots of strongbow – though not a citrus flavour (they didn’t do fancy flavours in those days).
I used the containers again this weekend when we went away 🙂
Like you love bringing back lots of goodies when I travel and living in Bahrain we use lots of sumac, love the tangy lemony flavor. Thank you for the peek into your kitchen. 🙂
Sumac is one of my favourite all round spices Moya 🙂
Hi Tandy! Thanks for the peek into your kitchen! I love that woven basket, it would make a beautiful round of bread. 🙂
I am so looking forward to using my basket Emily 🙂
Tandy, that Glencairn glass looks like it would enhance the experience of sipping whiskey — such a lovely shape. Glad you had a great trip and thanks for sharing your finds, local & abroad!
Thanks for the visit Kim 🙂
Hey Tandy,
You’ve got so many awesome stuffs there for your kitchen and i indeed love so many of them.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the visit Theo 🙂