Christmas may be over, and we’re heading into a new year, and already I know it’s one I’m going cooking much more – and when the weather is dreary then what better to do than a spot of cooking?

Morphy Richards have loads of smart gift ideas (and a new app so you can let others know what you fancy too). If I could choose just three things, my list would be this:

The Intellisteam Food Steamer – this sounds great – two compartments to steam your veg, with different settings so you can have several vegetables on the go at the same time – plus it looks easy to clean and is dishwasher safe – and isn’t too big to store either. I need more gadgets where you can add food and leave them to cook so I can spend more time with H in the evening – and this sounds ideal – plus it means I’d be saving on washing up pots and pans which are possibly the most boring things to wash by hand. Oh, and it’s also quite good for pasta and rice dishes, so that is a huge thumbs up from me – anything that means I get a bit of time with my daughter is a good thing.

I really like the Yellow Hand Blender set – I had to buy a food processor over Christmas as smoke came out of my hand blender when I was making some biscuits (this is when I realised I was doing it wrong and needed something bigger). I’ve not dared switch on the little old one yet, but I fear its days are numbered… and besides, I love a kitchen that doesn’t match, this colour yellow is nice and bright and adds some colour to the room. So I’d add this to the wishlist as it isn’t expensive – and looks bright and retro. Also: a whisk! I could make meringues and pavlovas!!

Finally, I’d add a Soup Maker to my wishlist. I have one already (as I’ve already gushed about a gazillion times on here), but I’d gift it to a friend who was envious of mine but hasn’t get one. I won’t say who.. but I know she’d use it as much as I use mine – and I’d be happy to pass it on.

So yes, my wishlist there. I’ll be working on more recipes this year, and hopefully H might help me…

(and disclaimer – I’d have added a kettle and toaster as our old ones were on their last legs, but they both blew before Christmas so we’ve already bought new ones!)