Archive for the ‘General’ Category
May 28th, 2011 | 
Author: We’re not quite as equipped for these as the Auzzies might be but we give it a damn good go.
On the first sunny day we had back in April, my boyfriend treated me to an all singing all dancing BBQ. He bought it after work took it home and progressed to put it together. 2 hours later when it was standing in all its glory, the sun had all but dissappeared and it was freezing.
However, being the typical british people we are, we were determined to still cook our tea on it. By 9pm we had starving children but we all enjoyed our burgers and sausages all the more.
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I think we have just had our summer, although it was in April. BUt none the less hopefully over the next few months the rain will stop and the sun will shine.
So, it’s time to put the winter stodge meals away which make us want to saty in front of the fire most evenings and bring out the fresh healthy salads.
You can make a salad really tasty by adding all the usual ingredients, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, oinion, but then add some chicken marinated in honey and mustard – still good for you but it makes it a little more exciting to eat. Or you can add some salmon, panectta – the list goes on – go on be creative!
If your looking to start up a sandwich shop or currently run a sandwich that isnt going as well as you would like then the answer to the golden question – What makes a good local sandwich shop? could be what you need.
Location is important to the sandwich shop as you have to think – will you get passer’s by? can people park nearby and pick up their order? do you have a constant guaranteed crowd from either school or local companies?
Once you have the location sorted the menu needs to have a mix of classic sandwich’s, which will always be ordered and also have some specials to fit in with the time of year and to get the taste buds going.
Brisket beef is one of the most popular choices for customers these days but what is the best way to cook it?
My personal choice is to get a large frying pan and fry leeks, garlic cloves, carrots and onions together. Then add the beef into a large caserole dish with hot water and the fried vegatables you just made. It is also a good idea (but not a must) to add some red wine and a beef stock cube.
You should then place the caserole dish in an oven (170 degrees c) for 2-3 hours. The longer it is left in the more the beef soaks in the vegatables flavour. It is then ideals to serve the beef with mash potato, a large yorkshire pudding and some of the friend vegatables from the caserole dish.
Whatever type of shop you run, you will always have those loyal customers who visit time and time again, and who you now consider as friends.
This is likely to ring particularly true if you run a local sandwich shop, and whether it’s office workers, builders or retired members of society who pay you a visit on a regular basis, it’s always nice to show just how much you value their custom and their conversation.
Offering a loyalty discount scheme in the form of stamped cards is a good way of showing your appreciation and keep regulars coming back for more, and with everyone looking to save the pennies nowadays, a loyalty scheme could really come in handy. These cards will be really cheap for you to make too- which makes the idea a winner all round.
As well as showing your gratitude in the form of delicious discounts, with the festive season approaching with alarming speed, why not think about creating personalised Christmas cards for your most loyal of customers?!
Giving Christmas cards might only seem like a relatively small gesture, but you will be amazed at how grateful your customers will be at such a personal and thoughtful gesture.
Give your customers something to really smile about next time they pay you a visit by showing them just how much they mean to you.
When you do a buffet for a birthday party or an occasion where you’re having guests round what are the first things you think of when missioning round the supermarket? Little sandwiches, crisps, sausage rolls, cheese and pineapple, quiche, garlic bread, chicken legs?! Anything else? Well why not try to be a bit more inventive and do a Mediterranean style, Greek mezze type banquet with stuffed vine leaves, hummus, olives, tomato and basil salad, chickpea and lentil salads, flatbreads, stuffed tomatoes and peppers, breaded prawns and anything else you can think of. You can still add your favourites but by adding a few foreign touches your buffet will really come to life. Stick some vegetable samosa’s and some chicken satay sticks on too and you’ve got a party!
My wife is always going through phases where she sees things in magazines that are supposed to have ‘health benefits’, going to Tesco and buying up their stocks of it. Last month it was coconut water which was supposed to be good for everything in the body and this month she bought Aloe Vera juice which is supposed to (again) be beneficial for everything including being beneficial for helping HIV. Now correct me if i’m wrong but if you’ve got HIV you’re pretty much in trouble and no amount of aloe vera will cure it – haven’t they been trying to cure HIV for decades? Hmm, well I tried this aloe vera juice and to be honest it really is quite tasty. It smells like bubble gum and tasted like grape juice and if they say it helps with serious illnesses i’m going to drink more of it to prevent them! Screw you vaccinations by needle – i’m on the aloe vera!
Have you ever realised that you keep throwing away eggs because they go past their use by date? We do it all the time on our house and it only just occurred to me that I could hard boil them and bring them to work with me to have with some tomatoes or as part of a sandwich or salad! Genius idea and has only just come to me after weeks of buying hard boiled eggs from Morrison’s to have as an extra. Eggs are really good for you (the yolks maybe not so much but to be honest they are the tasty part!) and it’s such a waste to just let the go off. I won’t be doing it again and if I catch any of you doing it after reading this i’ll be having words!
I go through phases of wanting to eat something very specific all the time and at the moment it is nachos. I did go through a phase for about 3 months where I had to have a Cadbury’s boost every day otherwise I would be completely unnecessary. For my tea tonight (yes, i’m from the North and it’s breakfast, dinner and tea!) I will be having nachos. They are surprisingly easy to make, wap some tortilla chips in a bowl, grate some cheese over them and put them under the grill until the cheese starts to bubble. Then add a dollop of soured cream and a dollop of salsa and you’re good to go. AMAZING!!
Right I’m going to share something with you but if I go into Tesco and find these two amazing products gone i’m going to be annoyed! I like olives and do enjoy the occasional portion; however I have discovered a combination that will knock the socks off any other olives in the world! Seriously! The products can be bought from Tesco’s – i’ve never seen them elsewhere and they are truly ace! You need to go to the isle where they keep the hummus and dips etc and you will ring black and green olives with feta cheese in a square pack. This is the first component of my perfect olives formula. Then go to the cheese isle and pick up the Apetina feta cheese with garlic and green olives which is in a flat oval pack in a garlic and basil oil. Mix them together and enjoy. You’ll never want any other olives!