At the Weekend: Part Deux

$13 worth of "salvage" British food imports. Of course I grabbed them!

I must have an inner vision board or something when it comes to food, like some sort of culinary conjurer in the night. No sooner had I finished blogging yesterday to go get my boys at school when the following food miracle, of sorts, occurred right nearby in Casey County.

We have a great new discount food store locally: Casey County Discount Foods on Hwy 910 in Casey County [click here for their Facebook page]. I like it because it is a clean, well-lighted place with nice people but also because it is convenient on a well-trod path of ours [and they even sell milk now]. There are a few of these stores around the region and all offer something different. But it would seem that this store has really unusual offerings for which you, if you're like me, would otherwise have to drive, or order, quite a distance. They even have funky discounted organic body care products. Regardless, their inventory is always changing and that's half the fun: what came in this week? [Alta Tucker, the owner, also sells her own Creekside Farm goat's milk soap and local products like my friend Crystal's Casey County honey from Mud-E Acres Farm.]

Hobnobs are good but are a distant second to the original dark chocolate biscuit!
[And the resealable pack makes no sense--they just don't last that long.]

Take, for example, yesterday's blog musings on British food. I hadn't been to the CC Discount Store in a few weeks so decided to see what's new and to get what are already becoming old favorites (like bottled Luzianne Lemon Tea, with sugar instead of HFC: not too sweet, just right, especially while I'm canning). I just about died, yes, died, when I saw several packets of McVitie's® Chocolate Digestives. Not just chocolate, mind you, but DARK chocolate! These biscuits are like a finely milled graham cracker, or "sweet meal," with a luscious coating of chocolate on top––in fact, they'd make excellent some'ores. The very biscuits we used to hoard in our rooms in England and enjoy with a late night cup of tea––what I often buy at more expensive gourmet stores, and online, for $4.50 or more a pack (once in a while). So, yes, when I saw they were $1.20 pack I grabbed up every one in the store (don't worry: there were only six). I have no pride when it comes to such unabashed pantry hoarding stocking!

I was delighted to read this past spring that Prince William's Groom's cake for the recent royal wedding was to be a chocolate biscuit cake made by McVitie's. A man after my own stomach! One weekend while living in London I went home with my friend Bethan to her parents' house in Wales. Her mother made this marvelous midnight treat that included chopped up McVitie's dark chocolate biscuits that was probably similar to this much-touted cake. [I know the recipe is in an old letter, somewhere.]

You rarely see these few, real ingredients 
in American canned soups.

Love the lable, too.

But I digress. I was also able to find a selection of Heinz® canned items that you do not find in this country, except in speciality shops. They are quality canned goods made for the British market. The Ambrosia "creamed rice" we have had before and it's delicious (and is just milk, rice and sugar––it's just the way it's cooked).

Altogether I paid about $13.00 for my British products––a nice treat on the way to get my boys at school. My total bill was about $30 for a cart full of these and other items: most organic, gourmet or unusual condiments.

We definitely didn't need this but I wanted to see if it was as good
as the Ifor Evans dining hall version! And it will go well with plum compote.

Did we need any of this stuff? Of course not. But I'll be glad this winter when I take a can of potato-leek soup from the pantry and share it with my husband for lunch. I might even let him have some of my biscuits.

You come back when you're ready!

Catherine