Shop Junction Blog» Food and Drink

Wine Gifts for Christmas

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:51:00 +0000

It may be time to stock up on wine for Christmas or even buy a few wine gifts for friends and relatives (perhaps in the hope that you’ll be able to drink some of it yourself….!). If that’s the case, you cannot go far wrong with the website for wine retailer Majestic. They are the UK’s biggest mixed case wine retailer with over 140 stores nationwide and their website does a grand job of making it dead easy to pick and mix wine from all areas of the world. I do like a website that is attractively designed and the whole Majestic website is fantastic to look at with high quality images throughout. It’s clear that Majestic have put a lot of hard work into this.

One useful idea in this pre-festive season is their Gift Solutions section where you can buy up to six bottle gifts with your own message attached. Sounds like a good idea for a few friends of mine….

I’m particularly drawn to the champagne section for New Year’s Eve. I know the credit crunch/recession/downturn is here but that’s no reason not to have a bit of a party, I reckon! After the Pre-Budget Report today, it looks like we are a nation heading into debt. I need cheering up!

Left: Veuve Clicquot champagne gift with wooden case

A quick and easy cook book

admin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:56:10 +0000

I’m always looking for cookbooks that provide relatively simple and quick recipes. If there’s one thing that I find frustrating, it’s when you slave away in the kitchen for several hours … only to eat the food within what seems like a few minutes. At the same time, with everyone’s busy lives, it’s often difficult to find the time in the first place.

So, I reckon that Nigella Express might be just the book for me. If you have watched the TV programme of the same name, you’ll know that our domestic goddess Nigella makes it look ridiculously simple and quick. Granted, that might be because she is a domestic goddess after all …. but I must have half a chance of finding some quick and simple recipes in this book.

I’ll put it on my Christmas list!

Previously on this blog: Cookbooks by Rachel Allen

Compare Supermarket Prices

admin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:15:12 +0000

With prices seemingly increasing all the time, a website that compares supermarket prices might be just the thing!

MySupermarket is a new website that helps you shop, compare and get the best possible price for your grocery shopping at Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s or Ocado. The website enables you to choose a supermarket and import your favourites or browse top offers and supermarket shelves. You can save money and calories within your supermarket, or by switching to another.

MySupermarket is quick, easy and free to use – and is completely independent.

Majestic Wine Cases

admin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:17:49 +0000

Majestic Wine always has a selection of great mixed case offers on its website. Try this Southern Hemisphere Selection for starters!

Coffee Heaven

admin — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:41:55 +0000

It took me a few years to discover that real coffee is so much better than that instant stuff. As a result, I’m always on the look-out for good coffee websites and Go Coffee looks like an example that I should add to my favorites real soon.

Go Coffee supplies top of the range coffee machines, coffee makers and coffee extras and consumables. There are lever and pump machines and state-of-the-art bean to cup machines. Go Coffee has it all. It’s a coffee making heaven!

Go Coffee have an extensive range of coffee makers from Europe’s top manufacturers such as Gaggia, La Pavoni, Francis Francis and Elektra from Italy, Jura from Switzerland and Ascaso from Spain. They also sell a variety of fine blends of coffee beans and accessories.

Now, if only the Go Coffee website could generate that freshly-brewed/roasted coffee aroma…!

A Chocaholic’s Dream

admin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:32:11 +0000

The Chocolate Cocktail Drinks Maker from DrinkStuff.com sounds like an ideal present for that chocolate-loving person in your life.

This simple to use and easy-to-clean chocolate drinks maker is the ultimate chocolate indulgence kit. It heats and mixes anything from strawberries and cream and oranges and liqueurs and as much chocolate as you can manage, to make the perfect chocolate cocktail (or ‘choctail’ to those in the know).

It comes with a free recipe book containing ideas to create a variety of alcoholic, non-alcoholic and milk and coffee based cocktails. With recipes for the basics, chocolate cocktails, chocolate liqueurs and milkshakes, this choctail maker really does have something for everybody. Just don’t buy it if you are on a diet!

The Chocolate Cocktail Drinks Maker costs £34.95.

Cookbooks by Rachel Allen

admin — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:33:41 +0000

I’m not known for my my culinary skills but I buy my fair share of cookbooks. Usually, I have a few weeks of enthusiasm and then the book goes on my bookshelf never to be seen again! However, recently I have become a bit of a fan of the TV chef Rachel Allen because the recipes seem to be straightforward and they feature ‘real’ homecooking.

Rachel Allen has published quite a few cookbooks usually with a ‘favourite food’ theme. However, the book I bought last week is called Rachel’s Food for Living which you can buy for £10 to £20 from several online bookshops.

Rachel’s Food for Living at Amazon.co.uk
Rachel’s Food for Living at Play.com
From Blackwell’s

I recommend the Chicken with Honey and Lemon recipe on page 157. It’s quite simple, healthy, and delicious…..