I think I am obsessed with mashed potato! As mum to a young son (who is 18 months old) I try to cook food that will appeal to both of us.

My staple at the moment seems to be potato mashed with Laughing Cow cheese and butter, served with baked beans. Not a culinary masterpiece but Isaac loves it!

It is now my mission to make some new variations on mash and to serve it with other things for a change. I have looked back at some of our previous books and found some unusual suggestions. In fact one of our recipe writers has suggested a lovely twist on mash for our next cookbook – you will have to wait and see what that is!

The quality of potato makes a huge difference to taste. I had a delicious variety a while back called Anya. Anya was specially bred on the banks of the river Tay just outside Dundee and is a result of a cross between Pink Fur Apple and Desiree potatoes. Lord Sainsbury’s gardener grew the new variety for the first time in 1995, and liked it so much that he suggested it be called Anya after Lady Sainsbury!

How delightful and how many of us can say we have had a potato named after us?!

Have you tasted Champ mashed potatoes? Try it, I think you’ll love it.

Can you suggest your favourite potato variety for mash, and what do you add to yours?

Hand-made birthday card

One of this week’s tasks for the Dairy Diary was great. I escaped copy-writing and management for a day and got my teeth into some card-making.

It was hard to believe I got paid for having so much fun!

For the 2011 Dairy Diary I am putting together a feature on how to make inexpensive cards. I managed to make use of old ribbons, buttons and even wool that I have leftover at home. They looked pretty good when I had finished them (if I do say so myself!)

In the future I am going to try and be really thrifty and save lots of odds and ends in a craft box to use on hand-made cards. Whether I will actually find to time to make another card who knows!

As I was working from home I took to opportunity to test one of the recipes for the 2011 Dairy Diary too – Tasty Tomato Potatoes – easy, healthy and yummy. Try it and tell me what you think.

Do we have any budding card-makers out there and what inexpensive (or free) materials do you use for your craft projects?

I had a call from a Dairy Cookbook regular last week, who enquired where to buy the bruschetta topping used in the pizza recipe on page 60 of Clever Cooking for One or Two.

This is available from Waitrose (Bruschetta topping in olive oil) and Tesco (Tomato and basil bruschetta topping).

We then got chatting about sauces in jars, specifically sauces for pasta. I must admit, I have never found one that I am totally satisfied with (except pesto) and I much prefer to make my own.

My favourite for a really speedy meal is to stir some low fat cream cheese into cooked pasta and to heat it gently with one or two tablespoons of pesto sauce.  I then season well with black pepper and add some steamed or stir-fried vegetables (great for using up leftover veg). Not only is this quick but it’s healthy too.

We would love to hear your easy pasta sauce suggestions. Which ready-made sauces do you enjoy and what tips do you have for simple home-made sauces?

While you are thinking about your pasta suggestions try our easy One-Pan Pasta recipe.

No more overpriced, tasteless sandwiches – make your own healthy lunchbox.

After hearing a particularly disgusting story on the radio (a sandwich-making operative was given community service for putting lettuce up his nose then back into the food tray- euuugh) and then paying £2.80 for a thoroughly awful sandwich, I made a vow to start making my own.

What a revelation! They are so much healthier, tastier, fresher and much less hassle than I thought. In a morning, whilst I am taking mouthfuls of cereal I pop a few different bits and bobs into some bread then put it in my work bag with some fruit and, of course, a cheeky treat! This week I have enjoyed a Dovedale cheese & onion chutney roll, a ham & salad pitta and a Brie & cranberry wrap. If you keep a few different types of bread – seeded rolls, ciabatta, wraps, pitta – in the freezer you have much more choice and they don’t go mouldy in the bread bin before you have chance to eat them. I just pop some bread in the microwave for 10 or 20 seconds and then add the filling. They are thoroughly defrosted by lunchtime. My top tip for a treat – fun-size chocolate bars. They give you a chocolate fix without adding too many calories to your diet. Mini Twix are my favourite – yum!

Try  this this Quick Prawn Wraps lunchbox recipe.