They consisted of rice, spices and sugar. All I needed to do was add milk and simmer it for 20 minutes or so.
Raisin and toasted almond and sticky date and ginger were delicious, both hot and cold the following day.
They also sent packets of ready-to-cook spiced Israeli couscous with Moroccan spices and various additions, such as olive and sun-dried tomato or prunes and currants, that took about 8-10 minutes to cook.
I think it was the quality and the blends of spices that made them so acceptable - when you are used to grinding your own spices you get picky about ready-to-cook packets, but these, like their spice blends, are good.
For steak eaters in a hurry, Silver Fern Farms has a couple of new products, neatly trimmed and shaped lean lamb and venison steaks - the sort of cut you might get in a good restaurant - that just need popping on the grill or barbecue.
They are vacuum-packed and come in 220g packs for two people at $11.95 for lamb and $13.95 for venison, and are available in supermarkets.
