1) How to thicken a sauce without using flour. I baked a couple of aubergines in the oven for an hour, peeled off the skin, chopped it into pieces and blended it with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. It came out as this wonderful puree which thickened the tomato sauce I was cooking beautifully. Nice way to add more nutrients to your sauce too.

2) Learnt to make a butternut tagine, but 2 1/2 hours is just too long for me. In future, I’m going to pre-cook it a bit in the microwave and then let it simmer in the sauce and spices for half an hour.

3) Pizzas without cheese – just improve the flavour of the rest of the pizza. I smear tomato paste on the base and sprinkle plenty of oregano, thyme and sweet basil on it. Then I top with as many vegetables as I can find in the fridge. I’ve also found it’s nice to use versions that have a slightly stronger taste e.g. red instead of white onion; portabellini instead of button muchrooms. Leek also makes a good addition, just add it towards the end so it doesn’t burn. Often I also sprinkle a little more of the herbs onto the toppings before popping it in the oven. I actually prefer pizza this way to the cheese-smothered pizzas of my debaucherous past.