I hadn’t eaten tinned potatoes since the many wonderful camping trips I went on with my family as a child. But, I recently started buying tinned potatoes to have in the cupboard for occasional meals. I find they are a useful ‘filler’ that can be added to stews and bakes or are quite tasty oven roasted with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt, with garlic and herbs to taste. The Tesco’s Value brand is one of the few Value products that seems like a good deal to me but recently I found Noliko organic bottled potatoes. They are reasonably priced and with a good texture and flavour – a real find.

I’ve always loved carrot cake. For my son’s birthday he asked for not a chocolate cake (I made all birthday cakes till a few years ago by the, only recipe I know, magic 4-4-4-4 formula) and I found respectorganics organic carrot cake. The Tesco version looked good too but I was so impressed with the zingy white and orange minimalist box design that I went for the premium. The company, based in Dorset, “celebrate organic food and farming through art, music, poetry and events” www.respectorganics.com