I was born in Grimsby and have lived here for 30 odd years with all of my family within spitting distance which is just how we like it. I left school at 16 and went straight into full time office work and stayed doing that for 15 years.
I married my husband Steve in June 2007 and in September 2009 we had our precious baby boy Joshua who is an absolute angel and the light of our lives.
We are now expecting baby number 2 this May and I can't wait! Giving up work to look after Joshua has given me the chance to take a bigger interest in food.
As I've already mentioned, I am rather into my food but where I got my passion for cooking from I have no idea as my mum, bless her, is not exactly Delia Smith in the kitchen and neither is her mum!
I have 2 sisters who both love cooking and who are really good at it so we all have a mutual interest and we swap recipes and talk a lot about what we cook at home for our families.
My dad can cook if he wants to but it's taken him nearly 60 years to find the time to actually do it!
My husband cooks only when I am really tired, THE KITCHEN IS MINE and he has probably cooked me under 10 meals in the 7 years that we've been together; this isn't because he's lazy, it's because I don't let him in the kitchen. The first meal he ever made me (deep fried brie) resulted in the pan catching fire and me having hysterics thinking the house was going to burn down so I tend to hover over him whenever he is cooking now which really annoys him!
I've always loved food but only really started to take a big interest in cooking over the last few years and even more so since becoming a mother myself.
Even though I love cooking and baking I am just an amateur and I still have a lot to learn, if I could afford to I would pay to be taught how to cook properly.
All of the recipes I post on here will be ones that I've followed from a book or magazine, I don't have the expertise to come up with my own just yet but I think if you make something nice it's a good idea to share the recipes with other interested cooks so that is my aim.
Looking at the pictures I took of tonight's meal I also need some lessons in plating up nicely!
MY FAMILY
Husband - Steve
Steve and I have been together since 2004, he moved in with me after 2 weeks of us meeting each other (drunk in a pub one night), we married in 2007. Steve is my toy boy and I love him dearly. We are the total opposite of each other and we bicker all the time but we never actually 'fall out'. He works hard and a is a wonderful daddy to Joshua. He has the patience of a saint (which he needs living with me) but sometimes he needs my foot up his backside to get him moving.
Mum/Ma - Pauline
My mum and I are very close, we see each other twice a week and talk about anything and everything. She is not into cooking and never has been but she is really good at baking. My sisters and I always take the mick out of her when it comes to cooking as she'll ask us a for a recipe for something we've been raving about and when she makes it she doesn't actually use most of the ingredients in the recipe and doesn't cook it how it's meant to be cooked then she tells us she wasn't that keen on it. It's an ongoing joke between us. We definitely didn't get our love for cooking from mum bless her!
Dad/Pa - Stephen
My dad is a workaholic, he's worked his butt off his whole life and never been rewarded properly for it. He's 60 now and we are all on his back trying to make him retire and enjoy himself for once. We go to mum with our problems and dad for money!
Sister - Sarah/Shirl
her first book is called 'Sugar and Spice' and you can download it at www.amazon.co.uk.
Sister - Katherine/Ka
Sister - Katherine/Ka
My sister Katherine is married with 3 children and she is also well into her cooking, we are always talking about new recipes.
