Sell by dates

My Dad used to pay my  brother and me, threepence to scratch his back. He would take down his braces and roll up his sleeves with a silver elasticated band and lean forward in his chair. we would pummel away, scratching and rubbing, while he gave instructions. Left a bit, right a bit, further up. We put all our energy and  enthusiasm into this task. He was always very grateful and we got our threepence.
This was a lot of money for us. In those days, where we lived, you would often find, a little shop, that looked like all the houses around it, except for the Walls ice-cream sign, hanging outside. They were like Aladdin's caves for us. My Mum would go to buy things like tins of tomatoes, stock cubes or  corned beef and we would go along with her. On the shelves at the back, there were huge, glass jars of sweets. These were weighed out and put into in little bags, which the shopkeeper wrapped up with a flourish and a twirl of the corners. At the front, at our height, were all the penny sweets, displayed in all their glory, a veritable, treasure of delights. With our threepence, we could have, a whole load of sweets with enticing names, like flying saucers, shrimps, wagon wheels, sherbert lemons.

No-one had heard of Sell-by-dates, so these shops often had a sort of musty smell and some of the cans were reportedly army surplus from the war.
My Mum and Dad never took much notice of  expiry dates, sometimes my Dad would look in the fridge and ask my Mum if she was conducting a scientific experiment.

Well today, I had a litre of milk, that was about to expire, so I made Gnocchi alla Romana.It took me a long time to perfect this recipe. It is worth it though, because it has a lot of the qualities I look for in a recipe. It can be made in advance, freezes well and is nutritious. It is also quick to make and easy.

1 litre of milk
250 g semolino
2 eggs
125 g butter
100g grated parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, pinch of nutmeg

Pour the milk into a large saucepan. Add the semolina and bring to the boil, stirring all the time.
When it has thickened, keep stirring vigorously and beat in the 2 eggs.
Remove from the heat and beat in the butter, until it has melted into the mixture. Add the parmesan and seasoning and stir thoroughly.
Line the oven tray with grease-proof paper. Spoon the semolina mixture over, and with wet hands press it down evenly all over.
Leave to cool completely and then cut into squares diagonally. Lay the squares in a well-buttered ovenproof dish, overlapping slightly.Dot the surface with pieces of butter and more grated cheese and bake in the oven at 180 degrees, until golden.

My sister-in-law serves these gnocchi with a sauce made by slowly melting gorgonzola  together with some milk, to a creamy consistency.