Delicious Kake Food

Gnocchi with artichokes and olives. Cook gnocchi, drain, put on plate. Top with finely chopped artichoke hearts (from a can, rinsed and drained), a small handful of grated hard cheese (Parmesan is good, though not vegetarian), a dollop of black olive paste (or some finely-chopped black olives), a drizzle of olive oil, and plenty of freshly-ground black pepper.

Broccoli and artichoke pasta. Mix together: artichoke hearts from a can, drained, rinsed, and halved; broccoli florets, boiled until done to liking; pasta quills, boiled until done to liking; a good slosh of olive oil; a couple of spoonfuls of tomato pasta sauce from a jar; plenty of black pepper. Reheat if necessary.

I used gluten-free pasta, and it worked fine. I also put some grated parmesan on mine. The pasta sauce was non-vegetarian (it had anchovies in) but a vegetarian or vegan sauce would have worked fine. The idea with the tomato sauce is just to add a little extra flavour, not to make it very tomatoey.

This is very quick and easy if you have the ingredients on hand.

Another quick dinner tonight: pizza toasts. This is sort of like cheese on toast with extra toppings.

Pizza toasts. Toast a thick slice of bread (I used sourdough) on one side, then turn it over and spread some tomato sauce (I used Loyd Grossman brand with wild mushrooms) on the untoasted side. Add flaked tinned tuna on top of this, then add cheese (I used sliced English goat cheese) and finally some anchovy fillets (the salty kind that come in olive oil). Put it back under the grill/broiler and toast until the cheese has melted and the rest of the toppings have warmed through.

Working late this week; catching up after running a three-day event on the weekend. We had leftovers last night, and tonight bob picked up some ready-made stuff from M&S on the way home.

Fishcakes. Cod and salmon; the salmon ones had more flavour and more texture too.

Peas. Served with a knob of butter.

Red cabbage. Ready-braised with apples and redcurrant jelly.

And then I had a mini pork pie for dessert. As you do.

Gnocchi with artichoke hearts and broccoli. More assembly than cooking, really. Boil a pan of water, add some small broccoli florets, boil for about 3 minutes, add some gnocchi (from a packet), boil 2 more minutes, drain. Add some quartered artichoke hearts (from a can) and a few dollops of tomato sauce (from a jar), mix well. Grind some black pepper, grate some hard cheese, serve.

A low-hassle dinner tonight: venison and mushroom pie from Ravens Den, fresh peas, horseradish mustard (all bought from the market on the weekend).

Another busy week, another ready meal for dinner. Bigham’s again: fish pie this time. It’s pretty good for a ready meal, though expensive.

To go with it I did garlic bread (ready prepared from Ocado) and some caponata that I cooked on Tuesday and put in the fridge. My caponata recipe doesn’t use a full can of tomatoes, so I put the rest in the leftovers of Tuesday’s soup; reheating the soup for lunch the next day was enough to blend the flavours.

I haven’t really cooked at all this week — it’s been a bit of an exhausting week due to work stress and illness. So I am not ashamed to admit that tonight I served a ready meal for dinner, specifically Bigham’s moussaka. It was pretty good for a ready meal, though not as good as home-made.

I wanted a very easy side dish to go with it, so I cut up some radishes and courgettes, salted them generously, let them sit for 10 minutes, washed off the salt, dried them in a teatowel, and then marinaded them for another 20 minutes in some pre-seasoned sushi vinegar. This is a handy thing to do with pretty much any vegetable that’s edible raw — turnips, carrots, whatever. And it’s really easy. You can call it pickles or salad, whichever you find more appetising. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a few days; they become more pickle-like and less salad-like with time.

The last thing I posted here was last Monday’s dinner of goat, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and tenderstem broccoli. The day after, my kitchen sink backed up, and it’s still not fixed. So we’ve been eating (a) out, (b) toast, and (c) takeaways.

Tonight we had fishfinger sandwiches, made with cheapo fishfingers, Taw Valley Cheddar cheese boule, tartare sauce, and ketchup (v.g.).