Why I love today's bakeware TSV

One of my favourite men to find in a kitchen is Malcolm Harradine, and at midnight last night he was in our kitchen with a fabulous three-piece Technique silicone bakeware set. Deep joy! 

It's oven, freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe, and so versatile that you can cook anything from muffins to mezze in it. Plus, whatever you put into it, it's GUARANTEED to come out whole without sticking. 

The price is quite simply ridiculous.... not a word I use lightly... but having seen the price for just ONE part of this amazing set that has another notable chef''s name on it, I know you're going to want this to grace your kitchen. Oh, and this particular collection packs down flat too, so you can save masses of room in that silly drawer thing under your cooker.... crazy design...

I'd love to know if you've used our silicone bakeware before, so do let me know how you got on with it, and also the most exciting thing you've cooked in it!  I've chose the red silicone collection and have made Hasslebach potatoes in the rectangular one... the cheese didn't burn or stick, it was great. Even my chocolate sponge turned out nice.... as George Fornby would say.

Two trips away and so many questions - please help!

I seem to have travelled the length and breadth of the country over the last week, and found out many weird and wonderful things about this fair isle, some that I need your help with.

Let's start with my trip to Dorset. Such a beautiful part of the country and thanks to the M3 not that difficult to reach. But why when you're only a couple of hours from London are the phone boxes yellow and the police cars navy blue?? Should there not be countrywide uniformity? It's like the chip and pin machines - why can't they make one size that fits all cards... the same way!! 

Moaning aside, I have to say our day in Shaftesbury was fabulous! You may recognise the street in the photo (above) as it was the same one used for the Hovis advert. I'm telling you the chap with the bike would have needed to have got that right the first time, 'cos too many takes and it would have taken more than a loaf of bread to resuscitate him! 

Imagine yourself wedged in a biscuit tin...

... with the lid jammed on tight, which is then suspended between four very large wheels and only about an inch from the ground... oh, and shifts at up to 70 miles an hour round a very bendy track. Because that's what my twenty minutes on the Daytona Go Karting track felt like to me!

I should have realised it wasn't my cup of tea when the very charming race track advisor ran through a list of conditions which would mean you couldn't race... and sadly an attack of nerves wasn't on there. But I couldn't look a fool in front of my boy could I? How hard could this be, I've been driving since I was 18!

We sat in a room with 15 other boy racers (actually one other woman besides me) and watched a short film starring some famous Formula 1 chappie with a camera strapped to his helmet, being shaken around at great speed literally inches from the ground. Apart from advocating the thrills and spills, he also did a marvellous job of scaring me to death with his commentary - made while haring round the very track I was about to drive on. He sounded like he was on Rolf Harris' wobble board!

Still I couldn't get out of it now, so I followed the other racers out onto the track. The photograph (above) was taken while I still had some colour in my squashed cheeks...

Dodge's trip to the vet

So here we are in another month!  Where's the year going?  How lovely though to see a return of the sunshine and all my daffodils in bloom in the garden.  A little warmer too, which has helped me get used to less hair around the collar!  A little less of a foxy hair style than Alison Young - but hey I can't compete with these spring chickens!

I promised to update you on my cat Dodge's health, and I'm delighted to tell you that he's up and well again.  You may remember last week I mentioned that I was about to take him to the vet as he wasn't feeling too bright, and had been drooling everywhere... in fact I had to chastise myself for getting a tad shirty with him when I thought  he'd wee'd on the bed.

He had in fact been dribbling so much that there was literally a huge damp pool on the cover next to him. The emergency vet said he was possibly feeling nauseous but that we should get him checked out. So that morning I donned my protective clothing, locked the cat flap, shut Dodge in the bedroom and went to get THE IGLOO!