I’m taking a break from our ‘Table Tales’ to let you know that for Christmas this year, I made a cookbook for my kids. As they’re growing up so quickly, I wanted to make them something that means they could take me with them wherever they are. Something to accompany the stories they’ll continue to share around their own dinner tables.

I learnt to cook when my oldest two were babies, mostly because I don’t like to be bored, and as much as I loved having the babies around, I needed to feel like I’d achieved something every day. I started out with a book called ‘Quick and Easy Recipes’ that I found in a charity shop. We had some absolute disasters along the way! The time I mixed up the sugar and salt in a lemon drizzle cake! Or the soggy courgette quiche, which even now makes Sean gag at the thought of! But over time, I’ve made fewer mistakes and gotten a better idea of what will work and what definitely won’t.

I’m not claiming to be an amazing or even a natural cook, I’m probably about an average family cook and the recipes are for things that I genuinely regularly make for my family.

If you’d like to have a go at a few of our recipes, then the cookbook is available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback and hardback. If you enjoy it, please leave a review or let me know if you have any other recipes I should try.