Sunday Roast - Of Sorts

On Sunday, John and I didn't participate in the London Marathon, but for some reason, we still felt entitled to eating a full roast dinner.  Of sorts.  I say "of sorts" because technically we had a little help from Marks and Spencer and Asda.  Basically, we decided to combine forces of one upscale supermarket and one Walmart equivalent (afterall, Asda is a subsidiary of Wal-Mart) to make a quick and easy no-effort-necessary roast. 

The frozen peas and carrots and potatoes roasted in goose fat (£1, mind you) were the result of a weekend "big shop" at the Asda in Park Royal, about 20 minutes from our flat.  And since we had the car, we went a little crazy, which isn't difficult to do at Asda. 

Standing in the aisles of the major supermarket, I almost cried.  It felt like home.  I was surrounded by frozen pizzas, a chip/crisp aisle, donuts galore and rows and rows of bread - almost just like it is in the States.  "Just ... give me a minute," I said to John, choked with emotion by the fruit juices.  "There's so much ... choice."  "Ok," he said, shrugging, and moved on to the bread.  I felt like dropping to my knees and screaming with joy, "I CAN BUY IN BULK!!!  I CAN BUY IN BUUUULLKKKK!!!" to the horror of the other shoppers.  But I didn't.

In order to grasp my emotional reunion with what I like to call options in my grocery store, I must explain.  There are days when I walk into the Tesco Express or Metro after work and stand in front of the meat shelf for - oh, probably a good 8-10 minutes, staring with my mouth agape at my options which generally consist of: ground beef, lean ground beef, chicken breasts or diced chicken breasts.  I blink, but the four options don't change.  If you're lucky, you just might catch Tesco Express on a good day when pork medallions are available.  If so, then you need to snatch and run, baby, just snatch and run.  Doesn't matter if you don't know what to do with them, just buy them now, or be forever limited to beef, chicken or beef for the rest of the week (vegetarians don't have this problem, they just bypass the meat aisle all together and eat ... well, whatever vegetarians eat).

But I digress. 

Our meal of Marks & Spencer roast pork with crackling and Asda potatoes and veg was splendid.  Plus, there were enough leftovers for lunch next day, which always gains bonus points in my book.  And since we bought enough household supplies and food to feed a small family, it looks like we won't have to go grocery shopping for a while.  So nice.