Weekly roundup 13 (THIRTEEN!)

Hi folks. It appears to be Saturday all over again. Wow. I've had a long, long week with a great deal of screen time, and days definitely merged a bit. I've also not really had any exciting deliveries, unless you count the ridiculous but extremely delicious self-treat of 8 packets of Piper's crisps (I got their vegan selection as it has 2 packets of thyme and rosemary flavour, which is the best thing in the world; also meant I avoided getting cheese and onion which I don't hate but would usually give away, if I had anyone to give stuff away to at the moment). So it has been a very blah week for me personally.

On the other hand, it's been a tough week in the news, which has definitely had an effect on my mood since my entire social life is basically twitter. And although lockdown is lifting considerably if you keep up with the rules it hasn't really hit home for me yet. Will we all have bought non-essential new clothes by this time next week? Hard to imagine.

In the Confined Kitchen, things have definitely reached the joyful non-essentials stage, which is lovely to see. I bet 6 months ago none of us would have been this excited about a takeaway, but here we are, adoring it.

(Oh, I did get Pasta Evangelists thanks to a tipoff from Kate - they arrived very late last night so I had to have a random fridge assesmblage of tomatoes peach and ham for a scratch dinner, but as a Saturday lunch I'd say Amalfi lemon ravioli definitely beats peanut butter on toast.)

I will be on twitter at 7pm with a glass of wine - red, I think, as I'm having souvlaki for dinner. Getting really delicious wine deliveries has sorely affected my cocktail consumption, but I still think this week we might try to nominate a Confined Kitchen top 10 cocktails.

My nomination is probably a Russian spring punch, on the grounds that's one I'll never, ever bother making for one person; and I have excellent memories of a Streatham cocktail bar that used to include it in its happy hour offers, when I lived within walking distance of two good drinking friends. Or maybe it's a negroni, because I most definitely do make that for one. It was, after all, the thing I panic bought most efficiently: Campari, red vermouth and gin, all still well stocked.

But for summer, if you're feeling non-essential outdoors, let me recommend my own spritzish punch: rose lemonade, splash elderflower cordial, lemon juice, white wine, ice, slice lemon, mint and just a little bit of very cold water to dilute the sweetness. Slips down very nicely. And full of vitamin C.