Hurghada - Spinneys (again)

High Tide at Sahl Hasheesh

I’m not writing as much these days, because, thankfully, my life has quietened down with no huge traumas. However, I hadn't realised that I'd left it quite so long and will try not to leave it so long next time! Last night we had a power cut for maybe an hour (I must buy some more candles!), but I am feeling quite settled.

Anyway, I thought it was maybe worth writing something more about Spinneys. I know I’ve already written about Spinneys on several occasions, but food is (fortunately) a stable part of my life and I am still learning about how best to shop.

Last time I went, and maybe even the time before, I got a lift from Safi, for which I am hugely grateful. Anyway, it was the day after the anniversary of the 2011 revolution, there had been trouble in Cairo, but to my knowledge no trouble in Hurghada and definitely none in Sahl Hasheesh. However when we got to Spinneys, we were allowed in only one entrance. Having forgotten the significance of the date, Safi, Kathryn and I joked about how random things can be in Egypt and we passed this off as another example of that.

However, due to the anniversary, they’d actually set up a security check for you to go through before you were allowed into the shopping mall and this was why only one entrance could be used. I found this procedure comforting rather than threatening. There were no police, just a scanner and a couple of people checking people in.

I also hadn’t realised that you had your bag scanned before going into Spinneys (as a matter of course) – this is mostly so that you don’t put any shop items into your bag and there’s a bag drop if you have a large bag where you leave it and collect it afterwards. It is actually quite well organised.

Another thing that I hadn’t discovered properly before in Spinneys was the spice section. I’d been a bit scared of it up until now, because I wasn’t too sure how it worked and I was frightened I would be pounced on and asked a question if I went too near it. This time, however, I was in the mood to experiment.

The spice section has large, open tubs of all sorts of spices. The tubs have metal scoops in them and rolls of plastic bags are scattered about the place. I watched other customers (well, specifically a large European-looking guy, since I decided he wouldn’t get the wrong idea if I stared) before daring to enter. As I watched, I understood that you just help yourself to what you want, tie it up in plastic bags, and then get them weighed and labelled at the cheese counter (yes, going to the cheese counter was a bit of a drawback!).

Anyway, it’s great! I went right up to the tubs of spices and had a good nosey around, knowing now I wouldn’t have anyone asking me what I was looking for. I resisted buying something of everything, although the choice was amazing. All the herbs were separate and priced differently, so it was difficult for me to buy mixed herbs, which is what I usually use.

I bought aniseed, just because I’ve never seen it in a supermarket before and quite fancied trying to cook with it. I’m sure my dad would have loved that. The cinnamon was also still partly in stick form and partly crushed (in transit, maybe), so it seemed very fresh. Someone who lives near me always has garlic bread for breakfast and it smells delicious, so I got some garlic powder. Although I had bought some stem ginger, I decided also to take some powdered ginger as back-up because it smelt so good. Unfortunately, I got home to find I already had two jars of powdered ginger! They had some items that I’d never heard of, along with “sausage spices” (obviously not for pork!), and “meat spices”. There was thyme, rosemary, cumin, bay leaves, hibiscus… I will work my way through it in time. But I left without my mixed herbs, which is what I came for!

Having lost a stone since I got here, I now feel able to indulge occasionally in some chocolate. The selection here really isn’t too bad. They have some lovely Cadbury flakes in a small size, which suits me just fine and the same for Twix (they could even be individual ones from the fun size pack). I really like these snack sizes as it just curbs my craving for something sweet without me having to over-indulge in the process.

Strawberries are in season just now and they are delicious, if I feel like having something healthier.

Each time I seem to spend more money and each time I think I won’t need to buy as much on my next visit, but it never works out like that. I guess it takes a while to stock up your food cupboard properly.

I now have a Spinney’s loyalty card, so at least I get reward points. Here, the card works in cycles of maybe 6 months and the more points you get, the greater the selection of “free” preselected goods you can purchase (this time, there’s an electric kettle, a heater [my flat doesn’t need one], a blender, etc; the selection is limited and changes each cycle). I haven’t been through a cycle yet, and at the moment I still don’t have enough points to get anything, but I’m collecting them fast enough!

With this new experience of the herbs section, I am now looking forward to my next shop so that I can try out some more! It’s good to still have that feeling of excitement you get when somewhere is still new to you.