About the author

I am a fairly ordinary cook - I use pretty everyday ingredients. So I hope that you will find some recipes that you can use, or ideas from which to create your own recipes, without having to dash out to a specialist deli to buy a packet of something exotic, the remains of which will wind up languishing in your pantry until you eventually throw it out.

I am not a chef, or a professional kitcheneer (whatever that may be - I just made it up!). I am a working wife and mother with two great hulking sons who tower over me. Like you, I am often pressed for time. Like you, I take shortcuts. Like you, some things that come out of my kitchen would not survive public scrutiny! A few years back, I foolishly went back to university while holding down a full-time job and trying to raise a family. For several years, as I immersed myself in theory and academia, my family uncomplainingly ate far too many ready-meals.

When it was all over, I added a couple of letters behind my name... and rediscovered the joys of my kitchen and 'real' food.