Job Opportunity - Cookery Teacher (Sub-Contractor)

Job opportunity - Cookery Teacher (Sub- contractor)

Kinder Kitchen are leaders in teaching children, young people and adults the wonders of healthy eating and cooking from scratch. The owners, Natasha and Vicki, are two mums who are passionate about food are keen to impart this passion and knowledge. Kinder Kitchen uses a ‘common sense’ approach to cooking and wants to try and instil a love of food for future generations to come. The business is currently growing and they are looking for cookery teachers to join their fast expanding team.

Job role:

To lead in delivering cooking programmes & workshops in schools, leisure centres, holiday camps and government lead healthy eating initiatives throughout the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey,
Enfield and Barking & Dagenham.

Cookery classes and workshops aim to teach children and adults how to prepare and cook healthy, tasty and simple dishes. Using Kinder Kitchen's simple to follow recipes and common sense approach, their sessions involve mostly practical, hands-on learning.
They cover the theory of cooking and healthy eating through general learning, quizzes and challenges with the aim of informing and helping participants to manage better health choices.

Hours of work are flexible.

If you are interested or would like any additional information please contact Natasha at tasha_walter@yahoo.com

Kinder Kitchen Kids recipe - Scrummy baked apples

I just popped to Aldi earlier. I recommend Aldi for their fruit and vegetables to everyone. They are not only competitively priced but fresh and delicious. I have only once ever bought something that was mouldy. I managed to buy 4 cooking apples (Bramley) for £1. My kids love apple crumble but tonight I wanted to bake something different for dessert.

So tonight I will be making my scrummy baked apples for my kids for their dessert. They are dead quick and easy to make and healthy too.

Scrummy baked apples

Ingredients:

2 large baking apples (Bramley or the like), skins on
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. raisins or sultanas
(double the stuffing mixture for 4 apples)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 C

1. Core the apples and score the skin five times from top to bottom all around the apple. Place them on a baking tray
2. Mix the butter, sugar and raisins together and stuff the mix into the centre of the cored apples
3. Sprinkle a little extra sugar over the apples and place in the oven
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the apples are starting to visibly soften
5. Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream, crème fraiche or Greek yoghurt.

Top Tip:

For a festive feel or to use up any left over minced meat from Christmas, try stuffing the cored apples with minced meat instead of the butter mixture.

Please let me know your great mixes for stuffing the apples if you have any.

 

Sun, alloments & potato salad

The sun shone all weekend here in North London. Yesterday was so warm I was able to wear a T-shirt all day and actually managed to get a slight tan on the tip of my nose.

It was the perfect day to visit my new allotment patch. A friend has handed me over ownership of half their allotment and I am so excited about it. I am a complete novice when it comes to growing my own. My experience stretches to herbs (which only really need a good watering now and then) strawberries and rocket salad.

My patch sits on a slight, south facing hill and gets baked in sunshone from sun-rise to sun-set. It was a perfect day to start cultivating my patch as I felt like I was in the South of France, not North London. The earth was still soft and very manageable due to the amount of rainfall we have had over the winter months. The kids loved it too and dug themselves a couple of deep holes that they filled joyously with big, fat worms and anything else interesting they found nearby or in the earth.

Within a couple of hours I had managed to unearth 2 carrier bags full of the remnants of last season's potatoes, most still intact and edible. I was also given a couple of huge parsnips that had remained growing over the winter months. The parsnip's scent was so wonderful and fresh having come straight from the ground I was intoxicated and I just can't wait to start planting for this year's crop.

This afternoon I'll be making a quick potato salad with the smaller potatoes. I'll give them a good scrub, leaving their skins on (as that's where all the goodness lies). Below is the recipe for the salad with a simple delicious mustardy dressing. Charlotte or salad potatoes are perfect for using in the recipe too.

Potato, egg & pea salad

(4-6 servings)

Salad ingredients:

300g salad potatoes, boiled
2 eggs, hard boiled
½ mug of peas, defrosted

Dressing ingredients: 

1 tsp. English mustard
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 ½ tbsp. white wine/cider vinegar
A pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

1. Begin by boiling the potatoes (10-15 minutes) until cooked through. Allow to cool whilst you hard boil the eggs (8-10 minutes)
2. Place the peas in a bowl and allow to defrost
3. To make the dressing, place the ingredients into a mug and mix together well with a fork
4. Finally slice the eggs and place in a salad bowl with the potatoes & peas and pour the dressing over.
5. Mix well and serve.

Recipes, tips, kids food, healthy eating and more

Please don't forget to like my facebook page www.facebook.com/kinderkitchenrecipes to stay up to date with all Kinder Kitchen events, news and healthy tips throughout the day.
Ciao
Natasha Walter
Kinder Kitchen Cookery Leader

Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes

I just love pancakes and so do my children. My favourite topping still remains lemon & sugar. When I'm looking for a real treat a scoop of vanilla ice-cream with freshly made hot chocolate sauce does the trick too. As a child we used to visit France a lot and up in Brittany these are the two staple sweet pancake toppings.

At Youth Club this week we made lots of delicious pancakes. The children flipped the pancakes themselves and enjoyed all the various fillings on offer. For the savoury option we made ham and cheese pancake sandwiches. To make these, we made two pancakes then placed ham and grated cheese on top of one and laid another pancake on top of that forming a pancake sandwich. The melting cheese helps to stick the sandwich together. These went down a treat and were quickly followed by banana & chocolate spread pancakes and fresh strawberries with lemon & sugar.

Below is my fail proof pancake batter recipe. Enjoy and let me know what your favourite toppings are. I'd love to know.

Pancakes with sugar and lemon (Crepes au citron et sucre)

Ingredients:

110g plain flour
200ml milk plus 75ml tap water
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1 lemon
A little butter
Sugar to sprinkle

Method: 

1. Place the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the egg
2. In a jug add the milk and water and with a hand or electric whisk slowly add the milk to the other ingredients and mix together to form the batter
3. In a saucepan add a little butter and then a small ladle of batter. Fry for a minute or two until brown spots appear on the underside of the pancake and turn over. Repeat until fully cooked
4. Once cooled, add a little lemon juice and a sprinkling of sugar. Yum!

Top tip:

Make sure the hob temperature is not too high otherwise your pancakes may burn

 

Kids Christmas Biscuit Decorating Classes

Kids Christmas Biscuit Decorating Classes

Edible Christmas Tree Decorations

Come and join me  to decorate homemade biscuits to hang on your tree or just share with friends and family.  My classes are relaxed, fun and creative.

Classes held at Friern Barnet Library, Friern Barnet Road, N11 3DS on:

 Wednesday 11^th Dec @ 3.45-4.30pm

Wednesday 18^th Dec @ 3.45-4.30pm

£7 per child (Ages 4-8)

Please call Natasha on 07734 054 649 for more info or to book your child a place

www.kinderkitchenrecipes.blogspot.com

Happy National Apple Day - Kinder Kitchen Apple Challenge

Little did I know that it is National Apple Day whilst doing an apple challenge in one of my afterschool cookery classes this afternoon.

I love apples. They are abundant at this time of year and shops are full of different varieties, many of which I have never heard of. We tend to go for the ones we know - Cox, Braeburn, Pink Lady. But on closer inspection there are lots of different varieties, all with different flavours, colours and textures.

When I was a teenager we nearly always had Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples at home. I hadn't eaten a Golden Delicious apple in many years until holding my apple challenges. And I must say they are a mighty good tasting apple - strong tones of honey. I liken apple tasting to wine tasting as the apples all have different notes of acidity and sweetness. 

To do this at home with your kids you will need:

A chopping board
A kitchen knife
3-6 different kinds of apples
A blindfold

1. Cut and core each apple and in turn try each one, one after another.
2. Ask your children what flavours they can taste (honey, lemon, sunshine). Get them to tell you which ones are their favourites. Also, tell them the apples different names and get them to spell them out.
3. If you have time, you could blindfold each child after the first round of tasting and get them to taste the apples again and tell you the apple's names.

It is a great game to play together and also a good way of getting children to eat seasonal healthy fruit!

http://thebotanicalbaker.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/apple-day-at-forty-hall-orchard/
 

Kinder Kitchen kids healthy recipe - Plum muffins

Autumn is here. It takes me a week or two to mourn the summer, but once I have gone through this process I give myself a big hug, put on another layer and enjoy all the lovely fruit and vegetables that have been growing throughout the summer.

Apples are abundant this year due to all the wonderful sunshine we have had over the summer months. The cooler nights in September have also helped the apples and they are lovely and crisp.

Another favourite fruit of mine at this time of year is the plum. We used to have a plum tree in my back garden and whilst growing up every year my mum and grandmother used to make a German speciality - Zwetchenkucken - Plum Cake. It is still my favourite cake today.

In my afterschool club today we made plum muffins (we didn't have time to make the plum cake unfortunately). They were a hit and one of my little sous chefs declared prior to making the muffins that he would not try a plum. When the finished muffins came out of the oven, he changed his mind very quickly and devoured his portion with no complaints.

Plum Muffins - Makes 12

Ingredients:

225g self-raising flour

100g caster sugar

100g butter

2 eggs

A punnet of fresh plums (400g) washed, stoned and cubed 

1 tsp. baking powder

 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 180C / gas mark 5 & place 12 muffin cases in a muffin tin 

1. In a bowl mix the butter and sugar together with an electric whish for a couple of minutes
2. Next, sieve the flour and baking powder into the bowl with the butter and sugar and mix together
3. Lastly add the eggs, mix and then fold in the cubed plums
4. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake in the oven around 20 minutes

When ready, leave to cool slightly then gobble them up!

 

Top Tip: How to tell when cakes are ready

 

Place a tooth-pick into the middle of a cake and pull it out. If the tooth pick is clean then the cake is ready. If there is a little mixture attached then bake for another couple of minutes.

Kinder Kitchen Top Tip - how to de-seed a pomegranate

A beautiful pomegranate cut in half

It's rain showers and sunshine here in North London at present and I have yet to see a rainbow! It's my daughter's birthday tomorrow and I have been busy wrapping her presents and organising a wonderful day for her. She will be six! How time flies!

Anyway, whilst taking a break over a cup of coffee, I read a mutual bloggers post about de-seeding a pomegranate. There are lots of way to do this and most of them involve their juices staining everything in close proximity. When however you have managed to get the seeds out, it is totally worth it as they are deliciously juicy, sweet and nutritious. I eat them on their own or I add them to vegetable salads and fruit salads. I particularly like them sprinkled over toast and pate with some chopped chives. Yum.

Anyway the easiest way I know to de-seed them is:

1. Cut the pomegranate in half
2. Place one half seeded side down in the palm of your hand
3. Bang the top of the pomegranate as hard as you can with a wooden spoon, splaying your fingers slightly to allow the seeds to drop into a bowl

Kids love bashing the pomegranates and watch the seeds fall and they love eating the little seeds too!
 

Cook and Craft Halloween Workshops - Friday 25th October, North Finchley, London

Cook and Craft Halloween Workshops

Kinder Kitchen along with I Can Craft will be hosting 2 workshops on Friday 25th October in North Finchley.

"Let your children have their senses charged as they enter our Halloween House. Led by two witches the Children will prepare, cook and eat a ghoulish lunch (or tea) and will get creative making some spooky Halloween decorations to take home"

Session 1 - 10am - 12 noon
Session 2 - 3.45pm - 5.45pm

£15 per child (sibling discount available).
Ages 4-10. Maximum 12 children per workshop.

We are both fully insured and CRB checked.

Please email me for more info and to book a place. Sessions are filling up fast...

Looking forward to hearing from you....

Kinder Kitchen Top Tips on shopping smart continued.....

Well, my classes are back in full swing and yesterday afternoon I made sweet scones with 8 flour drenched children. Apologies to the parents - it's only Wednesday and their children's uniforms already needed to be fully laundered but at least you didn't have the mess in your kitchens! We served the scones with hand whipped double cream and strawberry jam. They were a hit and apart from the ones set aside for their parents, the children devoured the rest within minutes.

Following on from my previous post, here are a couple more tips on how to shave money from your shopping bill.  I follow many of these and have really noticed a difference in my monthly outgoings:

6. Collect and use any vouchers, coupons or discount cards available. Facebook and other social media sites have now started advertising these so keep your eyes peeled and remember to carry them with you when you go shopping.

7. Buy seasonal produce. Seasonal produce tends to be cheaper as supply is high. For example root vegetables and apples are abundant and therefore cheaper than other times of the year. Always purchase berries over the summer months, unless they are frozen, as they can be costly in autumn and winter months. An added bonus of buying seasonal produce is that they generally taste much better too.

8. Locate the reduced section in the supermarket. Every supermarket, whether low or high end, will need to get rid of perishable stock nearing it's sell-by-date. Get to know your local supermarket. For example, my one sells a lot of meat at reduced prices on a Monday morning. I take it home and freeze it straight away. I have saved a lot of money over the years by purchasing fresh food that has been reduced.

9. Websites such as mysupermarket.com will help you locate special deals and the best prices. If it is something specific you want these websites can be a gem - it may mean driving an extra couple of miles to a different supermarket but give it a go.

 

Kinder Kitchen Top Tips on Shopping Smart

Kinder Kitchen Top Tips on Shopping Smart

Supermarkets are crafty. ‘2 for 1’ or ‘3 for 2’ deals make us think we are getting a good deal but more often than not we buy more than we actually need, often throwing items that are out of date away or eating double of something just because it’s in the cupboard and we think it was a bargain.

Below are some tips on how to save money on your weekly shop. A few involve a little preparation on your part but when you add up the yearly savings you’d make, you’d be surprised and keen to carry on!

1. Don’t be induced by ‘2 for 1’ or ‘3 for 2’ offers. Only buy what you really need on perishable products and the offers for items such as cleaning products and other non-perishables with a longish use by date.

2. Use-by vs best before.

• A use-by date is used for perishable products such as meat, fish and fresh fruit and vegetables. I’d recommend to use these within the date timeframes to avoid food poising. Some fruit and vegetables tend to be ok for a couple of days after but be cautious. If meat or fish has been reduced, check that it can be frozen and place it in your freezer to use on a later date.
• A best before date is found on frozen foods, tins, dried and other foods. This date is about the quality of the product not the safety. We throw so much food away so just be aware what you are throwing away as it may be still be perfectly ok to eat.

3. Before doing your shopping, take 5 minutes to go through your fridge and cupboards and list the meals you will be cooking that week

4. Don’t go shopping when you are hungry. You will buy more food than you actually need!

5. If you are only doing a small shop, use a basket and not a trolley as this way the weight of your shopping will stop you buying too much.

 

More tips to coming soon……

 

Kinder Kitchen Top Tip - mealtime scheduling

Before having children, my life outside work was 'unscheduled.' I liked a certain routine during the week but weekends were very laissez-faire. I'd get up when I wanted, eat when I was hungry and stay up until the early hours. After the birth of my first child, I realised that I had to become very disciplined and my weekdays as well as my weekends began to follow my child's schedule. My eldest definitely thrives on routine although some children don't need it as much.

Now my children are a little older, weekends again are a little less routinized. However - one schedule that needs to be adhered to in my house is mealtime. Mood swings and general grouchiness start to invade the airwaves. I've often noticed on play dates, that once the children have been fed all arguments and snatching-of-toys dissipates as soon as tummies are full.

We all have different routines and ways of bringing up our children but when it comes to food, I really do believe that feeding your children at a regular time each day and not going too long inbetween meals and/or snacks does make for an easier life.

Below is my routine which really does work. I am not saying that you follow my times, but just stick to regular times that fit in with your family.

My mealtime schedule is:

Breakfast @ 07.30-08.00
Morning snack @ 10.30
Lunch @ 12.30 - 13.00
Afternoon snack @ 15.30
Dinner @ 17.30 - 18.00

It can be quite hard to stick to a schedule, and believe me it has taken me some time to get used to it but do give it a go if you can. You may just notice a real difference!

 

Kinder Kitchen recipe - Pink salad delight

So as I mentioned yesterday, I have a kitchen full of amazing produce and for lunch today I made my delicious pink delight salad.

I just love beetroot. I know many people don't like it but for me there is nothing better than freshly boiled beetroot in a salad.

My children have not taken to beetroot yet but by eating this dish in front of my son, he took an interest (in the colour particularly) and asked me what I was eating. I served him just the rice with the quinoa and apple mixed in.

Anyway for all you adults out there needing a little pinkness in your lives (and beetroot loving children too) here is my recipe for my pink salad delight.

Ingredients:

1/2 mug cooked brown rice
4 tbsp. cooked quinoa
4 radishes, sliced
3 small beetroot, cubed
1 apple, grated
3 tbsp. salad dressing (http://kinderkitchenrecipes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/todays-nutritious-recipe-from-kinder_20.html)

I didn't add any, but some fresh parsley, chives or coriander would top this salad off perfectly.

Method:

1. Cook the rice and quinoa (as per the instructions on the packet)
2. Wash and slice the radishes, peel and cube the beetroot and grate the apple
3. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well
4. Eat on it's own or with some freshly fried salmon steak and corn on the cob. Yum!

Top Tip:

Over the summer and early autumn months I generally eat a salad daily. Making up a daily dressing can take time so I make enough to last me a whole week and keep it in the fridge. By keeping it in a recycled jam jar, you can just give it a good shake and pour when you need to use it.

Kinder Kitchen Kid's Healthy Recipe - Kid Friendly Guacamole

It's sunshine and rain showers here in North London. It was also very cold here this morning and a new season is definitely upon us. After months of sunshine I thought I was going to miss the warm days and hazy evenings but actually I am ready to embrace autumn. Autumn is harvest time and along with produce spilling over from the summer months, there is an abundance of wonderfully fresh autumnal foods available to buy.

I brought peaches, plums, radishes, beetroot, sweetcorn, apples, Mediterranean grapes, aubergines, tomatoes, melons, peppers and avocados to name a few. My kitchen is full of colour from all the wonderful fruit and vegetables.

In my afterschool school class today we tasted a selection of the fruit that I bought today - including pomegranate seeds and honeydew melon. The kids also made my kids friendly guacamole. A few of the children had never tasted an avocado before and were a little hesitant but all but one tried it and liked it.

There are lots of different processes to making the guacamole such as squeezing the lime, chopping up the tomatoes into small cubes and mashing the avocado flesh with a fork. Here's the recipe for you to try at home:

Ingredients:

2 very ripe avocados
1 large tomato
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp. olive oil
A little salt and pepper
1 tbsp. chopped coriander

Method:

1. On a board, chop the tomatoes up as small as possible
2. Cut the avocados in half, take out the stone and remove the flesh with a tablespoon. Place the avocado flesh into a bowl and mash them up with a fork
3. Now add the tomatoes, lime juice, olive oil, coriander, salt & pepper and mix well
4. Serve the guacamole with pitta bread, sliced carrots, peppers or for a treat some tortilla chips

Portion control and letting children decide when enough is enough

I have read quite a few articles lately on how we should let our children tell us when they have had enough to eat. We should let them leave food on their plate and say well done for eating as much as they have. I have been guilty of spoon feeding my 5 year old the last bits of leftovers on her plate and these articles got me thinking.

I have always believed that babies were able to tell us they have had enough by refusing to open their mouths and pushing the spoon away - so why do I not still listen to my children now that they are that bit older and able to verbally communicate this with me? I must admit that some of the portions I serve my two are probably larger than they really need. They are both good eaters if not a little fussy at times. My younger one who turns 4 next week is the fussier of the two and I have therefore been a little more forceful in getting him to finish his food. He also had a tendency to wake up early the next morning if he had not had a big tea and my anticipation of another early wake up call probably contributed. My daughter on the other hand has always had a great appetite but I have still been spoon feeding her the last bit on her plate.

My mother and grandmother never liked to see food go to waste and we were always told to finish our plate of food before we could leave the table. I therefore also do not like seeing food go to waste.
Also, on a subconscious level, the thought of my children being hungry tugs at my maternal heart strings. On a rational level this is ludicrous. My children have never had a day without food like many millions of children throughout the world do on a regular basis.

I have a healthy appetite too but with raising levels of obesity and related diseases, I have decided to lessen the portions we all eat and allow my children to ask for seconds if they so decide. If they are still hungry when they go to bed maybe the following day I they will give them an extra potato and floret of broccoli.

A friend told me of a relative's philosophy. He lived in India and he lived till his mid 90s.

He said the key to a long life is:

At dinnertime, fill your tummy with 50% food, 25% water and 25% fresh air (by a leisurely after-dinner walk)

Sounds good to me. Now, I just need to find the time!

Kinder Kitchen Cooking Tip - Pink Pasta

Although most children like pasta, there are some that don't or get bored by it. White pasta is also not as healthy as brown pasta due to processing. I am slowly getting my children used to whole wheat pasta as they still prefer white pasta. Babies and young children do not need as much fibre so white pasta is fine when they are really young.

A way of adding a healthy twist to pasta and giving it a great new colour is to use the water that you have boiled beetroot in. The old wives tale of drinking your spinach water is not one to be discarded. This not only adds some wonderful nutrients from the beetroot to the pasta but it also colours your pasta a wonderful shade of pink.

Fish - Mega brain food

Homemade sesame coated fish fingers with sweet potato chips

Having just spent a week in Cornwall and eating the most wonderfully fresh fish, I have carried on at home and fish is making a very regular appearance on our dinning table.

My children love fish. Yes, I am lucky but here luck has had little to do with it. I made sure that my children ate fish from a very young age. As babies they ate fish mashed up with sweet potatoes, flaked up in a cheese sauce with leeks or in a fish pie.

Like most children they love their frozen fish fingers but I more often than not make my own homemade ones.

Many people are put off by fish because of the smell and because they are not sure how to cook it.

Fresh fish does not smell. It only starts to smell once it is going off. 

When buy whole fish,  look out for:

• bright, clear eyes - dull-eyed fish can be safe to eat but are a couple of days old
• does the fish look clean and metallic? - if it looks shiny and metallic this is means that the fish is fresh
  
• a pungent smell - fresh fish should not have a strong smell

When buying fish fillets, look out for:

• vibrant flesh - a fish's colour begins to fade with age and the skin should look shiny and metallic
• no smell - again the fish should not have a strong smell
  
• clear liquid - if the liquid on the fish is milky, this is the first stage of decay

If you are worried about bones, you could get the fish monger to fillet it for you and you could feed your kids the tail end of a fillet of fish as there are generally less and smaller bones that end. Also, there are a number of fish that do not contain hard bones:

• whiting
• dover/lemon sole
• tilapia

In my opinion, fish is the easiest food to cook. It hardly takes any time and is very versatile.

I find poaching the easiest way to cook fish. In a pan, pour some milk and add a few pepper corns and a bay leaf. Lay the fillet of fish gently into the milk (ensuring its covered) and on a low heat, simmer the milk. The fillet, depending on its thickness will cook with 5 minutes of the milk simmering.

To fry a fillet, place some oil or butter into a saucepan on a medium. Taking a salmon steak here as an example, lay the steak into the pan skin-side down and fry for around 3 minutes or until you can see the flesh on the bottom turning lighter in colour towards the middle of the steak. Flip over carefully and fry for a further minute. Now turn off the heat and allow it to rest in the pan for 5 minutes with a lid on. It will slowly carry on cooking and have time to rest resulting in all the juices collecting in the pan.

Fish can be very costly. I generally buy fish that is on special offer or that is not so well known. Cod  and haddock generally are much more expensive but always look out for other white fish that can cost up to half the price as the aforementioned. Fish with it's skin on is also cheaper.

Fish is such a great food and tastes mighty good on it's own or covered in sauces and marinades.

Here are some links to some old posts of mine containing this wonderful food for the brain.

mash with fish and sweetcorn
http://kinderkitchenrecipes.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/todays-nutritious-recipe-from-kinder_22.html

easy fishcake fingers
http://kinderkitchenrecipes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/todays-nutritious-recipe-from-kinder.html

homemade fish fingers
http://kinderkitchenrecipes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/healthy-kids-recipes-homemade-fish.html

 

Foodies delight - the jewels of England's countryside

I am back in London after a week in Cornwall and a long weekend in Suffolk. I am rested and well fed. I have eaten so well over the last couple of weeks and so have my children. With all the sun and good food their trousers have become too short on both of them.

Living in London makes me sometimes forget how simple food can be as we have such an array of different ingredients and influences that I love to use. Being out in the countryside or by the sea where farm shops primarily sell local produce helped me get back to the real basics of cooking. Suffolk lamb was some of the best I'd ever tasted - even comparable to the lamb feeding from the herb filled hillsides of Sardinia. On a couple of coastal walks I saw happy cows grazing on the green grass nourished from the sea's morning dew. With every mouthful of the sirloin steak I ate I thought of those cows and thanked them for providing me with such tender delicious meat - although the farmers have something to do with that too.

My children also became a little more adventurous. After years of sitting down with us at the dinning table and watching us eat all and sundry my daughter tried scallops and langoustine tails. On the way back home at a pit stop off the M4 she tried sushi too. This has made me so happy because I have never pushed her into eating anything as her diet has been varied. Now however after years of my influence she is becoming more adventurous. My son too ate some carrots (he has been much more fussy) and tried some steak. He is only three so he has a couple more years watching us eat before his taste buds start to prompt him to become a little more adventurous.

The school term is about to start and so are my cookery classes. I can't wait to start teaching children the basics of cooking again and imparting my love of food to them.

Kinder Kitchen Competition winner - Ellie from North London

Competition question - How many broad beans are in this bowl?

Well done to Ellie from North London. You were the closest with your guess of 92 broad beans. There were actually 117 broad beans in the bowl. Your spatula will be with you shortly!

Details of the next competition to follow shortly.

Happy cooking everyone!