Food Glorious Food

A friend informed me recently that I live in the cheapest small town in the country.

I have bored her rigid over the past two months with news of my delightful bargain fodder.

No it is not, as you might imagine, because I have moved to a place filled with Icelands, Lidl or Aldi in fact it is quite the opposite.

For the past three years I have never lived further away than a three minute walk to my nearby Sainsbury. It has become something of a shock to those I know that I now have no idea where my nearest orange logo’d supermarket is.

Instead I have discovered the wonders of the local butcher, baker and candlestick maker. Scrap the last one and replace it with Grocer.

Hibberts’ butchers make the best homemade sausages this side of Clitheroe. In fact although not as much in the way of choice they are certainly on a par taste wise as Cowmans famous sausage shop and for me since it’s only a two minute walk from the house and not an hour’s drive you can’t complain. I shall be making sausages braised in red wine for dinner tonight. Their tomato and basil sausages (£2 a pound) fried gently then floured will be joined with half a pound of shallots from the grocers two handfuls of mushrooms and half a bottle of red wine. Seasoned thoroughly I don’t like to be shy with pepper and herbs although I have yet to figure out the point of the bay leaf , I always put one in though just in case it has secret powers I don’t know about. It takes an hour and a half to simmer in a casserole on the hob and the result is fabulous. The best onion gravy you’ll have in your life (well I think so anyway)

Since it’s sausage it has to go with mash so again from the grocers Cheshire potatotes (with dirt still on which of course I wash off) cooked and mashed with whole grain mustard, parmesan cheese and a handful of chopped spring onions. What more could you ask for on a cold November evening.

I’m loving the food here and I’m loving that it is the highest quality (sausages are homemade on site as is everything else) and none of it comes plasticized as it does in the supermarket and to top it all off it’s cheap as chips. The whole thing sans wine comes to about £4 and feeds at least four and it keeps well in the fridge too.

I am beginning to disturb myself by how much I think about food.

Yet surprisingly am eating less than I have done in years.

Quality over quantity, bring it on!!!