I do like a bit of give and take. A sieve that packs flat for storage, a chic black bendy steamer, reusable pink food ties to anchor a rolled joint of meat, handy little measures that take up no space at all and a pretty silicone mat that can withstand temperatures up to 300F.

If I'm making bread I often use the flexible mould. I've also been using flour and seeds from Freebake, a mail-order company that does a very good range of bread-making products. Besides the usual flours they do a gluten-free one and some really wonderful seed and grain mixes - pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, linseed, kibbled wheat - from around £2 for a 1.25kg packet (www.freebake.co.uk; 0845 603 9230).

Fair Instant is a new instant coffee that not only buys its beans from Fairtrade outlets but also gives 20p of every jar sold to Save the Children in Colombia. Widely available and recognisable from the Fairtrade logo.

Good new breakfast cereals to look out for come from Rude Health, a small company that is at great pains to source and produce a very high quality range of organic wholegrain products including oat, corn, rice and spelt in addition to their mueslis and porridge (details 0845 2020 777, www.rudehealthfoods.co.uk).

My all-time favourite smoked-salmon producers, the Hebridean Smokehouse, have just been awarded organic status for their peat-smoked salmon. Their fish has always been technically organic, as they've never used chemicals. They've also added a completely blissful peat-smoke roasted sea trout that has been crusted with horseradish and dill before smoking (mail order www.hebrideansmokehouse.com, 01876 580209, or from Fortnum & Mason).