Oh my Samphire!

I’m well known for my savvy shopping skills – as most of this blog shows the kind of prices I find things at while out on my shopping expeditions.   However, this one really does take top some of my finds. 
I can remember watching Rick Stein on one of his many shows going on about samphire.  I thought shame I’ll never get to try it and just moved on as they say. 

So come one of my shopping trips out and about and stop into Asda and what do I find reduced?  Yes, samphire!  It was marked at 50p although I tore the sticker off – you’ll have to trust me on this.  I didn’t know how to cook it other than boil it for a bit and to not salt it.  So that’s essentially what I did and it was lovely.  I’ll probably never get to taste it again but am so glad I was able to get it – and reduced!  It was as salty as they claim and was most like asparagus I’d say in texture. 

I’m rather lucky in all that I do find reduced and it just goes to show you can have a very varied diet if you are willing to experiment and also willing to just go with whatever you can find.  I think what I try to do most is have options in the freeze for those instances we I don’t find anything but I’m always willing to exploit a find and maximise it’s potential.  I’ve seen a lot of shows lately on just how difficult it is for people to make ends meet and how they have trouble finding good food – I don’t think this is true.  I think you can do it all – you just have to be a bit more resourceful but you also have to WANT to do this – it’s not something that comes easy.  But oh boy are the rewards worthy of the eating!  Enjoy!

What to do with reduced blueberries?

Well again I have gotten more reduced produce to tell you about. I know it is just sometimes how things turn out that make it enjoyable. I was at the store and found a rather large punnet of blueberries and on a whim I got them. I was trying to figure out what to do with them – have them on cereal or just eat them plain when J suggested blueberry muffins. I thought yeah, why not?

I had some single cream left over from the week that I’d gotten reduced (this was used to make two other dinners – so this was its third use now) and also a few teaspoons of sour cream that could be useful as well. I also happen to have gotten a bunch of muffin/cup cake cases yes, reduced! You see where I’m going don’t you?Anyway, I found a recipe in one of my recent cookbook acquisitions – The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and while it did call for buttermilk I didn’t have any. So I used the sour cream/single cream and milk with a bit of lemon juice to be my substitute instead. I know – not same taste but I did have some buttermilk in its dry form so was hoping this would make up for the ‘real’ thing so to speak.

J was quite pleased to have them for breakfast with his coffee and I must admit they came out quite good, despite making about 20 of the said muffins instead of the usual 12. I’m not sure what muffin pans they use but mine were my mother’s so I’m thinking they are by now quite old! Theirs must be huge but in any event I brought a few into work for some colleagues who are always happy to get my leftovers.I liked the recipe and will use it again – especially for other fruits but I’d cut the sugar in the recipe a bit. It was OK with these blueberries as they weren’t too sweet but when they are in season it would of course be too much. Enjoy!