Steve and I got out into our pretty courtyard garden a weekend or so ago to christen our new barbecue and crack open the HECK! meat-free sausages I was kindly sent to try. They couldn’t have arrived at a better time. The sun had shown its face and the new barbecue was built and shouting for use.

The first barbecue of the season is normally an affair with friends and family but this year it was rather different. This year it was just Steve and myself and way too much food for two! Good job I never let anything go to waste here. Leftovers are king in Tara’s Busy Kitchen.

We fired up the barbecue and got grilling. For those of you that don’t know HECK! Let me tell you a bit about them. HECK! are a family run business and making sausages is in their blood. They pride themselves on service and flavour and pull out all the stops to deliver farmers’ market quality wherever you are.

One generation on, the family work the farm to bring people like us the best quality sausages on the market. It’s not just meaty sausages either. HECK! make in my opinion the best veggie and meat-free sausages around and the selection is vast. If you don’t fancy a sausage then they offer burgers too both meaty and meat-free. To make it easy for you at this random time they are offering home delivery straight from their website but of course you can still find your HECK! favourites in supermarkets too.

I don’t know if you feel the same as me but in the current Covid-19 situation I have been limiting my trips out to the supermarket and farmers market to once a week. Thursday is my shopping day! I have changed my shopping habits dramatically as I used to venture out most days to pick up fresh bits. Deciding on a recipe and popping out for the ingredients. Currently, I am unable to do that and quite frankly I don’t want to! I have been utilising my freezer more than ever. In fact the freezer is my new best friend. Foods that can be frozen are a godsend right now to prolong their life when I am only shopping once a week. HECK! have introduced a frozen range but I have found that their fresh produce freezes beautifully too. That means you can stock up and freeze which is a win, win for me. Our first barbecue of the season may have been a little different from the usual but it was none the less tasty. I just hope that the next time we get out grilling that a) it’s a tad warmer so I don’t have to hug a hot water bottle and b) Steve and I can invite some friends. One thing I know for sure though is that HECK! meat-free sausages and burgers will be sizzling!

Disclaimer: HECK! Sent me a selection of meat-free sausages to sample. I was not paid for this post.