I have had a pretty full on day today with my first treatment of the year which means I was in the hospital for more than half of my day. This doesn't leave me much time and energy to cook, thankfully I have my Mum and some help from M&S today, so it will just be a short one about a great meal I enjoy quite a bit!
I love going to M&S, they always have the most beautifully vibrant in colour fresh fruit and vegetables, arguably they have the same as other supermarkets at a more expensive price but for me there is something special about going there on occasion. Today was no exception, I went in to get something for dinner, no idea in mind but I knew it was going to be something fresh and delicious.
I have loved Stir Fry for years, they are so quick and easy (yes I know I say this a lot but it is something important for me) yet packed full of flavour, vibrance and freshness. Some of my favourite home dinners have been a variety of different stir fry's however I have to say that my favourite packs are from M&S.
As you can see, the pack of vegetables are incredible in colour and combination. The pack I chose today was the Sunshine Vegetables, it contains Pak Choi, Ribboned Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas, Baby Corn, Baby Courgettes, Butternut Squash and Salad Onions. Such a great combination of textures, taste and nutrients and I like the fact there isn't the usual Beansprouts and Shredded Cabbage etc. It gives it more of a feel like it has been prepared in a restaurant rather than on a Thursday evening in my Mums kitchen (not that there is anything wrong with that).
I was even more impressed today by M&S as they seem to be growing their Made Without range so they ensured to show their Rice Noodles were safe to eat for Wheat and Gluten Intolerance. They have also introduced a Made Without Sweet & Sour sauce I can now eat, I'm not sure how long this has been available but I am pretty excited about it. I have had to make my own "sauce" for years, I usually would add Vegan stock to the stir fry and that would give me enough taste though it doesn't meet the flavours there should be present.
Onto the taste for today, my Mum was a legend and helped me with the cooking tonight in order for me to have a tasty dinner! Nonetheless it only took about 10 minutes to make, the M&S instruction are nice and easy as well (not that I don't know how to cook a stir fry, it's just nice to get it right!).
The flavour of the sauce blew me away from the first bite, it was both sweet and sour, you can taste the pineapple but it wasn't overpowering. There was a beautiful combination of herbs and spices present creating almost a smokey sweet flavour. Although the sauce was incredible it combined and added to the dish without taking away the individual flavours of the vegetables that I so love. The full pieces of veg were brilliantly fresh and the rice noodles are always my favourite to have.
Overall, probably the best stir fry I've had at home for a while, I would recommend to anyone on a Gluten Free diet to explore the M&S fresh range as they are doing great things there. It isn't as easy when you throw Vegan in as well however I always find something in their fresh section as I go there mainly for their fresh vegetables.
If I were to say anything to M&S if you're reading, I would ask you to explore more options of Made Without Dairy and Egg as well as your growing Gluten/Wheat range. You are being overtaken by other supermarkets by this and I feel you would make excellent products if you were to look more closely into this.
Happy Stir Frying everyone!