The Perfect Autumn Soup...

I recently entered a competition as part of the Holland and Barrett Good Life Insiders group that I am involved with. We had to guess some co-ordinates for a fun Halloween trick or treat prize. I am so pleased that I guessed correctly and won some great things.

Among the items I was sent, I received this jar of Biona Organic Spiced Pumpkin Soup which costs £2.69 in store, and some Freed Gluten Free Crispbread with Cheddar and Pumpkin Seed which is only £2.89 for 160g.
 

With it being near Halloween when I received these, I couldn’t wait to get in the spooky spirit and try these delicious treats out! The jar of soup was easily enough servings for 2, so I poured half of it into a microwave proof bowl and heated through. The jar didn't actually have any instructions on how to cook this, but it turned out just fine. Although this soup is supposed to be spicy, it wasn't overpowering and had just the right amount of kick to it. It was really flavoursome and when I took my second batch to work I was complimented on how nice it smelled.

The crispbread went perfectly with the soup, and was a great treat and made a change from having bread on the side. The cheddar wasn't overpowering, and the pumpkin seeds made a nice difference and gave the crispbread an added crunch.

I am interested to see if there are other flavours in the soup and the crispbread range, as these go perfectly together! Have you tried these?

The Outback Restaurant/The Swan Inn Norwich - Review

I recently went for a meal at The Outback which is an Australian themed restaurant in Norfolk for my Nanny's birthday. I didn't realise that the restaurant was actually closed (I assume for refurbishment?) so we actually ate in The Swan Inn next door but our menu options were from the Christmas menu across both restaurants menu options.

When we walked in we were shown straight to our table which was decorated very festively (is that even a word?!) with crackers and Christmas napkins.

The staff were very attentive and took our drink order straight away. They then asked if we were ready for our starters which were promptly brought out.

For starters I had soup. I think this was tomato soup, I honestly can't remember but it tasted really good. The croutons were some of the best I've ever had.  This was served with warm bread and butter.

My main course was something simple, sausage and mash. this was also really nice, the onions were cooked to perfection. the mash was really creamy, just how I like it.

For dessert I had homemade mince pie and cream. This was my favourite course of the lot. The pastry was quite hard and I did end up flicking half of my cream up the wall as I tried to cut a bit off but nevertheless it was really nice.

Admittedly I didn't take the Australian theme on board as you can tell by my menu choices, but I had a really nice meal and would love to come back another time and go for something different. The restaurant had a really friendly atmosphere and meals were served promptly.