I just thought I’d share a tip. For a while now I’ve been producing an almost instant dip or sauce to go with a meal that looks a bit dry. For instance tonight, I did fried chicken with couscous. Really lovely flavours but it needed a sauce. So, with the chicken 2 minutes away from being ready, I chopped up 4 garlic cloves, put them in a microwaveable (and presentable) dish with a splash of milk and microwaved on high power for 1 min. This stage is IMPORTANT as it takes the raw hum out of the garlic. Then I added a slosh of concentrated mint sauce (not jelly, straight from the jar) a slosh of Dijon mustard and about 100ml creme fraiche. Plus a squeeze of runny honey. Delicious. tastes like you spent a lot of time on it but actually you just got a few things out of jars, out of the fridge. The children love it too, because of the honey. And it’s a great standby for over the Christmas holidays, when you’re going to be doing a lot more cooking with the kids off school. And, as I say, it’s a good dip for crisps/nachos for parties or drinks gatherings too.

Oooh, did I tell you I’ve given up booze? At least for a while, as it gives me a headache. A sort of migrane-type reaction. 10 days and counting. I’ll keep you posted.