Sunday afternoon bargains

We haven't quite got our act together since we got back on Friday so found ourselves scouring the local shops at 4.30 for something for supper tonight.

Tesco Metro turned up trumps with a pack of three pork chops which had been reduced from £3.37 to £1.69 and some reduced spring onions (67p down to 35p, which is actually what they should be at this time of year). I cooked the chops on a ridged grill pan and deglazed the juices with some white wine which had surprisingly survived the 10 days I'd been away, chucking in a couple of thin slices of the butter at the end. Half the onions got stir fried with some button mushrooms and finely sliced runner beans which I'd bought yesterday without any clear idea what I was going to do with them. (A cardinal sin for a frugal cook ;-)

We also picked up a huge organic loaf in the health food shop for half price (£1.10) and - even better - two pieces of carrot cake for £1, a comforting tea-time treat for a cold afternoon. (Was it only a few days ago I was complaining about the heat? I must have been mad!)

I'd forgotten there are often good bargains at this time on a Sunday. Where we used to live in St Albans the Sainsbury's Local at the petrol station down the road used to have brilliant reductions such as a whole chicken for £1.99 or a piece of steak for £1.25. Prices were sometimes reduced by as much as 70%. Bet they don't hang about on the shelves for long now.