In no order whatsoever...

MY HOMEMADE BUTTER

I'd always thought that making butter was a long, laborious process. But this week I tried the Buttercup from Lakeland (not on sale yet) - and it took just five minutes from pouring in the cream to spreading my homemade butter on my toast! All you do is leave double cream at room temperature for around eight hours, pour it into the container, screw on the lid and shake for around three minutes. Once you hear a sloshing sound that's buttermilk and it's ready. Drain off the buttermilk, rinse the butter with water and unscrew the bottom, which looks like a little ramekin fit to serve the butter in.

FREEKEH/FARIKA

This is another of those ancient grains, and alternatives to wheat, such as spelt, rye, amaranth, quinoa, that are currently very popular. It's made from roasted green wheat grains. I sampled it in a soup at Moro, one of my favourite restaurants. It had a slightly nutty flavour and its texture was somewhere between rice and lentils. I'll be eating it again...

MICROWAVE RICE

Last weekend we had a domestic mishap: a smashed hob, so no spaghetti for dinner! I know many people use their microwave all the time but usually I ignore it except for reheating dishes, but I've had to use it more this week. My favourite new discovery was microwaving rice - so easy - although it doesn't shorten the cooking time.

ALPRO CHOCOLATE SOYA DRINK

This tastes just like Heinz baby food chocolate pudding, which I loved in my (much) younger days. And if you're having hot flushes, soya can help.

BOOJA BOOJA TRUFFLES

This week was National Chocolate Week, and as part of my own personal celebrations I tried Booja Booja chocolate truffles. These are dairy-free, gluten-free and organic. They have a delightfully squidgy texture and are superbly rich and dark - they'd make a great Christmas present for a vegan.

The five best things I ate last time

What have you enjoyed eating or drinking this week?