Google Images photo.
I invited Alan over for some lunch again the other day and decided to use up the Marks and Spencer No Fish Cakes that were in the freezer, served with a cross-over Waldorf/Coleslaw salad. Yes it's similar to what we had last week but I wanted to use up some more of the cabbage, one of the last three carrots and half a red onion. So with the addition of a finely sliced apple, a large dollop of mayo, a squeeze of lemon juice and some walnuts pieces the concoction was born, and sat in the fridge nicely while everything else thawed out enough for cooking.
When I got this large tray out to use for the no-fishcakes and a couple of sausage rolls for my tea, I remembered that when we moved I had put in a Lakeland order and got myself a nice long roll of Non-Stick Baking Tray Liner so I cut a piece to fit it, and then I had a brainwave ... if I cut what was left into pieces to fit as many of my trays as possible I could throw away the tube it came in. One less thing in the kitchen cupboards, only a small thing but one less thing nevertheless.
It didn't take very long and before I knew it all my most frequently used trays were lined and ready to be used ... with one of the little offcuts fitting very nicely into the teeny tiny baking tray that came as part of a set many years ago. The two strips I cut out for the 2lb loaf tins I purposefully left extra long so that I can lift out bread or cakes a little bit easier.
Very satisfying and now they are already for action.
The Melt in the Middle No Fish Cakes were okay, very potatoey and not that much of a fishy taste, but the cheesy middle was yummy when it oozed out and mixed with the salad. I would have them again, but I have to say I prefer the No Chicken Kievs, as do lots of people even people who usually like Chicken Kievs. Marks and Spencer currently have
a huge range of vegan foods, and most of them are really tasty and quite healthily too. New vegans and those that are trying Veganuary this year are really spoilt for choice, which is absolutely lovely. 💚💚💚
So now I have a little bit more space in the freezer, more space in the fridge vegetable drawer and some space in the cupboard near the washing machine where the roll of non-stick liner was waiting to be used.
Winner, winner, no-fish cake dinner. 😀
Sue xx
Im not a vegetarian, but I consider myself a flexitarian now as I eat more vegetarian meals than meat. I have seen the range in M & S and apart from buying a couple of the plant based kitchen Christmas puds I have not tried any of the other things from the range, but it is often reduced in the afternoons so might be worth trying some then to see if I like it.
ReplyDeleteThe Garlic Kievs are really worth trying, although whether you will be able to get them reduced I don't know as they are VERY popular. Oh and the Dirty Fries are delicious. :-)
DeleteClever you. Those non stick linings are very, very good, I think.
ReplyDeletexx
They are really good, the one that you can see in the drawer on the large tray at the bottom has been in use for well over a year. Think of all the foil or scrubbing of the tray that it has saved me. They are not even that expensive these days, they used to be when they first came out though.
DeleteOur daughter told me about the M & S Kievs, she loves them although I've yet to try them myself. That's a great idea using the liner, Sue, do you just wipe it after use?
ReplyDeleteI just spotted your red gingerbread person cutters. I have some too somewhere, I must root them out and use them!
Yes you can just wipe them or if they get sticky or really covered (in leaky pasties for instance 🤣) you can soak and wash them with the rest of the washing up. 😃
DeleteYes, I love my gingerbread people ... although they have been shortbread people recently. 😃
One of my mentors in holistic living is Susun Weed and she has always said... avoid eating food made in a laboratory... because it's not food at all. So if I wanted crab cakes I'd make them myself, knowing what's in them, and just use crab. If I was trying to be vegetarian or vegan, I'd make something else.
ReplyDeleteAll your pots & pans are so clean & neat!! Mine all look like they've been cooking for an army for 45 years... which they have... most of the time. :-)
Have a wonderful day~ Andrea xoxoxo
I'd rather eat a faux crab cake knowing I'd not been responsible for taking a life any day!! Not that I would as I have never eaten crab or lobster, I thought it was such a cruel industry even when I wasn't vegan. ☹️
DeleteWe tried the M & S 'fish' cakes when they came out. My hubby loved them, me not so much. I'd eat them but as I've been vegan for over forty years I'd pretty much eat anything vegan tbh.
ReplyDeleteThese melt in the middle ones were quite tasty and I thought they were worth trying. I think that's the thing with lots of these new vegan foods, they're worth trying once to see if anything really stands out. These not so much, but the Kievs in the same range a definite keeper.
DeleteThe supermarkets have very good ranges of vegan food it is true- but generally only in bigger stores or if they consider that the products will sell well in an area. There are many many products I know exist, but I have no way of accessing. My Sainsburys hardly have anything but my Aldi is quite good. However, many products are for January only. My Sainsburys is also very fickle - you get what is in, maybe you like it but you will never see it again. I live in a small town and other towns nearby have no supermarkets easily accessible by public transport. The M & S is an expensive bus ride away and very small with a tiny range of food, vegan or otherwise. I find it frustrating to be honest.
ReplyDeleteI had Bird's Eye fish-less fingers lately and they were quite pleasant taste-wise, being subtle of flavour. However much of the faux fish available is made of flaked white rice, and coated in white breadcrumbs the nutritional value is very poor. I have found a lot of the processed vegan products have relatively low nutritional value, as well as generally being very expensive. A homemade bean burger is my preference anyway (especially to one that 'bleeds' beetroot juice which is not very nice to see). Vegan cheese is most likely to be coconut oil which is high in saturated fat and contains little else. The old style versions of vegan cheese were made using more protein but the melting was absent. I don't really miss dairy to be honest (though I used to love cheese), so I tend not to eat it very much.
It's easy to get carried away in veganuary and I do find it quite exciting but so much of it is comes in refined pastry or crumb and is high fat. My weight has been stable for over twenty years but last veganuary I put on quite a bit of weight for me, which has been hard to sift. Avoiding all the pastry (I love a pie), this year.
I like the sound of your salad though. A cabbage is quite a commitment I find, (just me who eats it). it used to be that you could get a portion of it which was a good idea. I always struggle to use it up before it goes off.
I've noticed that most people line their baking tins now. My mum rarely did (Christmas cake an exception, I recall), even with non stick pans. She did though either grease, or grease and flour her pans. I use non stick and do that too and stuff always comes out very easily. Pastry doesn't need it as the fats in it mean it never sticks anyway. At least that is my experience
It's a question of moving with the times, I'm sure if silicone and non-stick liners were around when our Mum's were younger they would have jumped at the chance for less time spent scrubbing at the kitchen sink. I know I find it easier while I can't stand there for long.
DeleteNo scrubbing required generally speaking and I find it quicker and easier, not to mention cheaper and more echo friendly to not rely on another bought product. However, everyone of course makes their own choices about such things. We are all different. Baking parchment or grease-proof paper was always around for my mum to use if she wanted to.
DeleteI like to line my pans too. Scrubbing pans is to be avoided... The cheesy center sounds good, the rest I think I'll pass. Lately I'm steaming my veggies and baking squash. You'll be all set for baking with all your pans lined.
ReplyDeleteI think the rest was pretty much just mashed potatoes coated in the breadcrumbs ... that's all it tasted of anyway. 😃
DeleteI've never eaten chicken or fish so neither of those appeal to me but Jon likes the look of both - shame our M&S shut down 6 years ago! It's brilliant that so many companies are now offering plant based meal options. xxx
ReplyDeleteI wish we had an M&S near us for sure, their vegan range has really improved over the past couple of years.
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