Today has been a "taste revelation"

Today, started out being a fairly ordinary Friday.  Being Friday, it meant we would be doing the shopping for the weekend - which involves getting all the fresh vegetables and such items as we forgot on Tuesday, or such items which might have gone off by the weekend - such as cream.

We try to maximise our route, in order to minimise the petrol expended - not because of any green intentions (although they would be there, if our first priority were different) - but because of cost.  It's unfortunate that we have a lovely car, but can't afford to take it anywhere except those places that are absolutely necessary.

Ordinarily, we would have done the shopping list last night and having dropped son at school would have fought our way through the rush hour traffic to the supermarket.  However, as we lay our heads down last night it dawned on us that we were shopping list-less, which is a calamity of momentous proportions.  We just cannnot shop without a shopping list, because a) we'd never remember everything and b) we'd wind up with loads of superfluous shopping that'd cost a fortune.  As neither of us could bear the idea of putting the light back on and getting the notebook out, we had to return home following dropping son off at school.

There is a bright side to doing that, as it means we get to eat breakfast before shopping - which is a very good thing both from the aforesaid superfluous shopping point of view and the point of view that hubby is a diabetic.  Ordinarily he wolfs a banana on the way to the Supermarket, but I can't help thinking that's not the best way!

Not my photograph, I was too keen to eat it!

We had planned to go to the butchers' first, then the doctors' (to drop off a repeat prescription for me) and onwards to Asda in Bournemouth.  All these places were en route, so it was fine in that we'd done our best to maximise the extra petrol.  However, just as we were getting into the car, it dawned on me as to how we were going to pay for the Black Pudding we were planning to get from the butcher.  Hubby had the princely sum of 60p cash on him and I had the debit card.  It didn't seem right to ask the butcher to take payment from a debit card for less than £1-worth of Black Pudding, so we abandoned thoughts of the butcher and continued on.  You see, taking £10 out of the hole-in-the-wall just meant we'd spend the remaining £9 on fripperies such as sweets, which we can't afford to do either in calories or in cash, so we were stuck.

Neither of us had ever sampled Black Pudding and I was particularly keen to have a go at it.  You see, it annoyed the heck out of me when (for instance) I'd see it used on programmes like MasterChef and I'd be unable to place the flavour in my mind.  The scallop, yes, pea puree, yep, black pudding - ~shrug~ - no idea.  So annoying!  Hubby was rather less keen, as indeed I was up until around six months ago, as he was still put off by it's ingredients.  However, he was quite prepared to have a taste of mine - so that was why we were on the trail of it today.

We're regular customers in Asda these days and because I have to stop and pick up an electric buggy for the disabled, we've got to know the security staff, the Greeters and some of the checkout ladies so it's always quite nice and friendly there.

Part-way round, we're in the sausage aisle when suddenly hubby comes over all thoughtful and says "hang on a minute" and disappears, leaving me (sat in an electric buggy) with the trolley, in one of the busiest aisles of the shop - taking up all the space.  Cue the next couple of minutes (which felt like about a week) while people took it in turns to swerve around me and - thank goodness - nobody wanted to get to the sausages I was blocking access to.  He came back, looking pleased with himself and clutching a piece of Black Pudding which he'd found on the Deli counter.  LOL  Bless!

So when we got home, as it was lunchtime, it seemed only right to sample the hard-won wares.

Not my photograph - but it looked like these, honest!

I made some toast, cooked the black pudding and a vine tomato.  I then had a brainwave and decided to add an egg to the dish.  After some consideration as to what type of method of cooking for the egg, I decided to go all out and try poaching the egg in water (as opposed to in a poaching pan).  Now this I had never tried before, either.  However we'd just bought some white wine vinegar, so never had the time been more ripe!

Honest guv, that egg came out perfectly.  Hubby reckons it's all the years of stored up knowledge from watching it being done so often on the t.v., meant I had no difficulty with it.  For me, I reckoned that if Monica (Michel Roux's right hand woman) can do it, so can I.  *chuckle*

As for the Black Pudding, well, it was truly delicious.  My only stumbling block with it was the texture, as it was softer than I'd thought it would be.  However, perhaps I didn't try the best example of the type - and I'm still quite keen to try some from our local butcher.  When and if I've got a £1 coin.  *grin*