Slow cookers have made lives a lot easier for busy working professionals who can be cooking their dinner whilst they’re away at work or out for the day. If you don’t have a slow cooker, you may want to consider buying one because of the convenience that they’ll offer you on a daily basis. One of our favourites is the Crock-Pot Autostir Slow Cooker, a family-sized machine from the US brand synonymous with slow-cooking. It’s main advantage is that it has a nifty automatic stirring mechanism that means you don’t have to lift the lid during cooking, keeping food even more tender and moist which is perfect for soups or stews. The technology is simple to use; you just choose the temperature and the duration and away you go. If you’d like to arrive home to a delicious casserole with tender meat, the Autostir is a fine option and it’s very fairly priced.

Halogen ovens can be used as an alternative to a conventional oven, so no matter what you’ve heard, they’re not to be confused with microwave ovens. They’re more to the size of a microwave, and that’s one the main advantages because you’re able to eliminate the need for a large, built-in oven, freeing up space in your kitchen. For anyone cooking in a small studio flat, a boat or a caravan, it really is a no-brainer. All you need is electricity and you have yourself a fully functional oven that can be used to make cakes, pasta bakes, stews, pizza and burgers among many other dinners. These types of ovens cook far more efficiently than conventional ones, and they reach full heat faster too. This is mainly because they’re small but also because the fan circulates the air inside, distributing heat throughout. For us, these are the future!

Whatever happened to a traditional dining room? It seems like every new house I go into nowadays has an open plan kitchen diner. It’s obviously in trend right now and it probably has been for the last three years or so, but I always think it’s quite nice to have a separate dining room.  It’s a place to relax and enjoy your meal, without needing to watch someone prepare it, along with staring at a sink full of dirty plates in between courses. I get there’s a nice vibe in a spacious kitchen diner, and it means you have a lot of freedom to crate different areas, such as a cocktail section and a barista area, as well as kitchen and dining areas. I think space is really important to have, and if you’re rarely using your dining room it makes sense to have an open plan kitchen diner, but me I’ll always love the old fashioned feel of a separate dining room.