Last Thursday I headed into central London to have a sneaky peek at what’s coming up from the food department at Asda in the spring and summer for 2016! I was SO super impressed with what I saw (and ate) and came away longing for sunshine days where we can BBQ and balmy evenings to alfresco dine on our new patio set. Not that we have a patio set yet I hasten to add but now that we have a garden (at lastt) by the summer time we WILL have one for sure!
Asda have two clear themes this year with lots more in between. They have decided to pay homage to HRH Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday with a whole range of foods from cakes (check out Georgie the corgie – genius) and picnic fodder including their amazing Coronation Chicken bites! And they have also embraced America with BBQ and picnic delights! I simply loved the sweet potato fritters and the hot dogs, with a sauce pocket actually inside the sausage, looked amazing!
My favourites, by far, from the whole collection were mainly in cake form. The pistachio, raspberry and lemon eclairs with a French inspired creme pat filling are simply heaven in a choux pastry and despite throwing most of the filling down myself and making a fool of myself I still can’t wait to try them again. They hit the shops in April and I can’t wait! I was also mega impressed by the new smash cake, one up from a pinata and something I can see being very BIG this summer. No prices are out yet but you can count on Asda to produce affordability even though they clearly have very Marks and Spencer-ish looking food this year!
I liked so much but there’s nothing worse than hearing about food without being able to see what it looks like (and tastes like obviously but the internet’s not that sophisitcated yet so you’ll have to make do with the visuals) so here are my favourite picks in pics! Spring and summer is certainly looking good at Asda!
Lamb shoulder kebabs and potato fritters are perfect comfort food with black pudding sausage rolls being an acquired taste but perfect for some! I was mega impressed by the pots of fruit and veg ripe for the juicer and already in cups for on the hoof! at £3 for two this is a massive saving on juice bars and actually, I think perhaps not much more expensive than buying the ingredients yourself and doing your own chopping! Hassle free and yumminess in a glass!THIS is that smash cake – see, told you it was fabulous didn’t I?! My Instagram feed suggests you all agree with me too!Ready made mac and cheese fried sandwiches, pastrami with all American sauces and spicy smoked buffalo wings for a taste of the states!More American BBQ grub with burgers for the carnivorous AND the herbivores amongst us, THOSE sauce pocket (it’s exclusive to Asda by the way and the sauce doesn’t heat up or burn) sausages and some special non spicy ribs!The juice is so high end tasting and with lots of variety there’s something for everyone! My favourite is the new apple, lime and aspargus!The chefs were cooking up steak in the most perfect way and explained how you have to have it at room temperature, oil the actual steak, griddle for two minutes on each side, rest and then griddle on each side for a further two minutes! They had lots of lovely accopaniments including home-made tortillas and a srihacha sauce but I loved the roasted horseraddish root and cream served with a special hybrid rocket which has been paired with a wasabi plant for a perfect match!They’ve also created a fish range which is for stress and time free cooking wothout losing any flavour. A microwave meal with nothing but health screams BUY ME to me! I also loved the new range of pizzas with a much thinner crust more like one from Pizza Express and Asda’s very own tiger bread dough balls. Now, I’m not sure about the cheeseburger spring rolls I have to say but I’ve not tried them so I can’t say definitely not… They’re interesting if nothing else regardless!And now the reason I might not leave Asda this summer… French inspired, more than a normal eclair believe me! Th pistachio ones are absolutely and utterly divine with their creme pat filling and oozy nutty topping… WOW!And lastly, as I mentioned, a strong theme this year is afternoon tea and picnics in honour of the Queen’s big birthday. This celebration cake is Georgie the Corgie! We got to bring this one home and he’s totally yummy as well as cute! Don’t you think he looks lovely on my new cake stand (there’s a lid as well and I LOVE it) that I picked up in IKEA (£9.95) on my way home from London?
So, that’s what I am looking forward to picking up in Asda this spring and summer. Bet you can’t wait now either!
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