As it got closer to winter, I began daydreaming of homemade, nourishing stews, currys and casseroles to warm me up after getting in from work. Sadly, I don't have a personal chef (perhaps Santa will bring me one?!), so my fall back solution was a slow cooker. I did quite a lot of research before buying one, but in the end I was out Christmas shopping one evening in late November and went into Lakeland on impulse. They helpfully had a display of their different models (both their own brand and premium brand), and this mini slow cooker stood out for me straight away. Firstly, it's very small and well-made, with a brushed chrome finish and a ceramic ...  Read the complete review

I am a great believer in 'proper' food. Good normal British food, cooked at home so that I know exactly what has gone into it. I hope that I can avoid many of the chemicals getting into the food chain these days. However, as I work full time and have a fairly active social life, it doesn't leave an enormous amount of time for cooking so I tend to be quite inventive to ensure I can have good food, home cooked, without having to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. As a result I have quite a few 'gadgets' to help me achieve that. I have had a slow cooker for over 20 years, the first one I had was a small one I got free for signing up for a mail order catalogue ...  Read the complete review