Raj Masala Butter Chicken Curry Paste - Review

I love a good curry. I also love the ease in which a curry can be made. So I figured I would try one of these pre-made curry pastes. The one I chose was Raj Masala Butter Chicken. This is one of my favorite dishes when going out for Indian food and I couldn't resist when I saw it at the local spice store. As well, for about 3 dollars, it was a steal.

Basically you take this paste in a few tablespoons and add it to some milk and some chicken to get the full blown curry. I did something a little bit different and used half coconut milk and regular skim. I also added some more spice with some chili paste and a little cayenne pepper. Then I backed it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

So coming out of the oven and having a taste. It was defiantly spicy and also quite tasty. The chicken was done perfectly and it went quite well with the rice I had also prepared. Nothing else really more to say about the taste then that. So experiment with it, add what you like and get it tasting the way you like it.

Overall I give this a 7 out of 10.

Safeway Select French Roast Whole Beans - Review

Getting up isn't easy for me, specially when it is early. This is where a good cup of coffee comes in and I am quite particular on how it is made and how it tastes.

I like to stay away from the pre-ground stuff. Doesn't matter how well you seal it in the can it will always taste off and they can't quite handle grinding it to an acceptable level. So I stick to whole ground coffee and spend the extra couple of minutes in the morning or if I really have to, the night before grinding it myself.

As a gift I received a nice big bag of Safeway Select, French Roast. The smell is a little on the heavy side as these are roasted quite dark. However I prefer a good dark roast in the morning, really wakes you up in my opinion. After they are ground the aroma is much nicer.

I brewed a pot (I have a small coffee maker so that is the equivalent to about 4 cups), and sampled the brew, and it wasn't to shabby for the local supermarket brand of coffee. Aroma was still good and the taste was a little strong but I like it that way.

So all in all I would give this a 7.5 out of 10.

Western Family Spiral Macaroni and Cheese - Review

Searching through the cupboard the other day, looking for some lunch, I stumbled across a box of Western Family Spiral Macaroni and Cheese. I decided to give it a try, specially since it was a free gift from a friend when we moved in.

To make the macaroni all that is required is to boil enough water to cover the pasta and add a little salt for taste. Cook it for 4 to 6 minutes and then drain. When it came to adding the cheese mixture I decided to leave out the butter and just add a couple tablespoons of milk. This kept it nice and creamy, as the directions suggested you make more of a cheese soup. This is often a problem with this type of boxed macaroni diner. It takes some experimentation through the years to get it just right.

So how did it taste? Well it wasn't to bad, I found the pasta noodles to be a little bit on the light side. I guess that means they were a little thin for that type of pasta. The cheese was creamy and not to artificial tasting. As I noted above you might have to adjust the amounts of butter and/or milk to get it just right. Overall it wasn't to bad for a box of relatively instant macaroni and cheese.

I rate this at a 6 out of 10.

Yellowtail 2005 Shiraz - Review

I was making some spaghetti last night and I decided to crack open a bottle. The Yellowtail 2005 Shiraz, was the bottle I choose. The only other choice was a homemade bottle of white that was given to me and I would most likely use for cooking in the future.

So I cracked this baby open. I did notice that it had a synthetic cork, something I'm not quite used to but it didn't seem to cause any change in the taste of the wine. The smell from both the glass and the cork was a slight bit fruity but overall quite pleasant. The initial taste was both smooth and not harsh which I like. It isn't a particularly dry wine and has a slight sweet flavour. This is something that can go either way for me. It went the way of good for me this time and seemed to complement the smoothness.

So all in all this is a good wine, and specially for the price. This bottle is usually in the sub twenty dollar range making it a good choice for the wine drinker with a low budget.

Overall I give this bottle a 7 out of 10.

Kirkland Take and Bake Pizza - Review

Well nothing says cheap like the Costco take and bake pizza from their in store brand Kirkland. It was of the Hawaiian/Deluxe variety (half and half). It was around 10 dollars and was in the larger size pizza variety (surprise, surprise from Costco).

After sticking it in the oven for the alloted time for cooking, I walked in as my girlfriend was cooking it, not sure of the exact time, it was crisp and ready to eat. A little well done on the bottom but all in all it was cooked quite well. Oh did I mention this was one of those square pizzas. Just thought I should in case you decide to purchase one yourself.

So after the cooking we cut it up into squares and chowed down. Of course I added a little ranch dressing to the mix, as that is the best way to eat a pizza I think. The Hawaiian side was sweet and tasty and the deluxe side was a bit more savory and I liked the fact that it did not have olives on it. They are good in a Martini but should stay off my pizza, just my opinion.

So I ate a good four pieces and they went down quite well with the Coke I was drinking. With my girlfriend and roommate, we ate most of it. Put the rest in the fridge for later.

So overall this was a pretty good tasting pizza for the price and I will give it a 7 out of 10.

Western Family Complete Pancake Mix - Review

Mmmmm.....pancakes. I do love pancakes and I also love not having to do to much work to get my pancakes. This is why I purchased some Western Family instant pancake mix of the buttermilk variety.

The directions are simple. Just add water. Thats it. This is a big plus for the lazy morning where the coffee is not quite ready and you don't want to think about what you are doing. All I added after that was a little cinnamon for aroma and flavor.

So throw this batter on a hot skillet and cook for a few minutes flipping once or twice. Throw it on a plate and add butter and syrup. Then you are done and ready to eat.

I give this product a 8 out of 10.

Labatt Genuine Beer - Review

Beer. What a tasty beverage. Well most of the time it is.

I was looking through the fridge this evening when I came across a can of Labatt Genuine beer. Well I thought Canadian Beer, that can't be to bad. Truthfully it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It is still large batch production beer that usually isn't the best. However it went down not to badly.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying this beer is good or spectacular but its drinkable. This is something I can't say about most American beers like Budweiser (which is a ripoff of the original Czech beer with the same name).

So how did it taste? Well it was clean and goes down smoothly. It has a little bit of that swampy taste I find with most mass production beer. As well the taste of yeast is not to strong but is still there, just a little bit.

Over all I give this beer a 5 out of 10.