I've dithered around for years debating whether or not to write a cookery book. I have piles of Mum's recipes jotted down on scraps of paper and in exercise books (many with circular teacup stains on them). There are also dishes that I've been making since Lotte and Will were toddlers that we still all love and cook today. During the first lockdown in 2020, I realised that I had to grab the opportunity to start collating the recipes into some sort of order, and if I didn't get them printed and bound into a book at some point, they might just get lost or forgotten in years to come. Many are recipes that can catapult me back through the decades to my childhood and have brought great comfort to our family since Mum died in 2005. These recipes are family favourites and supper club hits. 'No Frills' recipes that can be mixed and matched. Complex, elaborate recipes don't necessarily bring the most joy. Something as simple as a bowl of pasta with a swirl of homemade pesto, a dish of warm rice pudding and a blob of jam or even a slice of homemade bread, spread with butter and thick-cut homemade marmalade can bring such pleasure. I suppose this is a way of ensuring that Lotte, Will, my nieces and nephew and their children will continue to use and develop the same recipes and think back nostalgically to all eating together around our kitchen table. It's been a much longer project than I ever envisaged, but if even just a few copies get well used, I'll be extremely happy. This book is written in the spirit of complete self-indulgence!