cous cous - its superb. you never used to be able to buy it anywhere but now you can. and its so easy to cook. add boiling water and leave for five minutes. you cant go wrong. you can buy packs with flavouring and stuff now. the best is by far the mango and salsa stuff you can get from tescos. its so much cheaper to buy a bag of straight cous cous and do it yourself tho.

cheese - i love cheese. what can i say? its just great. and there are so many cheeses. i get really annoyed with people for buying cheap mild (means no flavour) cheddar because its not real cheddar and its putting the real cheese makers out of business. so buy good cheese people. my current favourite cheese is either smoked applewood or montery jack (its the texture and subtle flavour okay?). im a big mozerella fan too. especially in pasta when its just starting to melt. go easy on cheese tho. its not the healthiest thing in the world.

paneer - here is a cheese that deserves its own seperate mention. its an indian cheese that is just amazing in curries. some people put it straight in but if you cut it into cubes and fry it with a little olive oil its superb. crunchy and soft. next time you go to an indian restuarant see if they have matar panner on the menu (with peas). youll thank me.

halumi - okay. this is another type of cheese and its from cyprus. i used to hate this stuff as i kid but very recently realised its gorgeous. its really salty and youre supposed to fry it as well. people have told me it tastes like bacon when its fried but i wouldnt know. just slice it and fry it for about a minute. yum.

morning star streaky strips - talking about bacon morning star make the nicest fake bacon you can buy. and its one of the cheapest as well. it smells amazing and tastes great too. i dont know what bacon tastes like but ive been told that this tastes nicer (how bacon smells? i dont know). i dont really like my food to look like meat really. it kinda puts me off. but then theyre so tasty i just dont care. haha.

vegemite - while the world seems to be arguing whether marmite is nice or nasty everyones missed the fact that vegemite is far superior. always has been and always will. and it was around long before marmite appeared. probably the best thing to come out of australia. i love vegemite.

halva - nearly everyone i make try this stuff hates it but im gonna tell you about it anyway. okay? i think its greek but its one of those things you can only buy in health food shops. yknow i dont even think its that healthy. oh well. its made from sesame seeds and its kinda weird. it has a sticky crumbly texture and its really sweet. its another one of those things you just have to try once. sorry if you hate it. no not really. haha.

joosters - not strictly food but worth a mention cos theyre the only gelatin free jelly beans you can get. theyre also the juciest. and apple flavour as well.