Charlotte's March Newsletter

Whether it’s welcome for the first time or welcome back, it’s great to be writing to you today and I’d like to thank you sincerely for subscribing to my newsletter. It’s fantastic to have a number of new readers join this month.

For those of you who are new here, I write a monthly roundup newsletter each month for free subscribers and an almost weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers. These are usually recipes and pieces of advice, which sit behind the paywall. So, if you’d like to sign up for more from me, you’d be very welcome and you can do so using the below link.

This is the first monthly newsletter I’ve sent in 2025 which means that I have lots to tell you. The last three months have involved plenty of cooking, writing, judging and travelling. The start of the year was busy sharing Quick Prep Slow Cook with the world and I’d like to offer a huge, heartfelt thank you to all of you who have bought, gifted and enjoyed the book. Your support is sincerely appreciated.

The last month in particular has involved lots of travel and I have been fortunate to have visited Derry, ten Caribbean islands and Bologna.

I will admit to feeling a little tired today. As I was thinking about what to write today, I realised that this time yesterday, I was in Bologna, this time last week I was in Barbados, St. Martin a fortnight ago, Barbados three weeks ago and Derry four weeks ago today. No wonder I have a mountain of unpacking to deal with this weekend. I will share my recommendations for a trip to Bologna very soon as there is so much to love about this wonderful city.

This month, I am pleased to share some excellent, fully road-tested slow cooker recommendations, some great books for World Book Day and some highlights from my archive that may be of interest.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

With my very best wishes,

Charlotte

Catching up from my archive

I’m very pleased to share a few highlights from my archive with you. To find more posts, click on this link and have a browse or search for more of my gourmet guides, recipes cookbook and cooking equipment recommendations.

• Inspired by my trip to Italy this week, I’m going to make this roasted aubergine salad with tomatoes, burrata and pesto this weekend.

• My Northern Irish whiskey recommendations - a treat for any whiskey lover.

• I am also very pleased to share my top tips following a recent trip to Seville, which is one of my very favourite cities in Spain.

Slow cooker recommendations

Since publishing Quick Prep Slow Cook, I have been often asked for slow cooker recommendations. I had five slow cookers running simultaneously on recipe test days when writing the book, so you can be assured I’ve thoroughly tested everything I recommend.

• The Lakeland searing 6.5L slow cooker has been incredibly useful. It heats up really quickly and cooks very effectively. It also has quite a few different functions meaning it’s very useful for a very wide range of slow cooked recipes.

• I’ve also been delighted with the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, which will work as a slow cooker, pressure cooker and air fryer. It took me about 20 minutes to get to grips with how it works and the different pieces of equipment and I’ve not looked back. This is a brilliant piece of equipment that I think is well worth the investment.

• Before writing the book (and acquiring several new slow cookers), I have had a Crockpot slow cooker very similar to this one for over a decade and it has been absolutely brilliant and still works perfectly. They are excellent value for money and mine has stood the test of time.

• The newest addition to my collection is the Wonderbag. These insulated bags are made in South Africa and are a really interesting way of slow cooking without using much energy at all. Simply bring a pot to the boil, cover and tuck into the Wonderbag, where it will continue to cook for hours without a heat source. These are a really great way of saving energy. I also like to use them to cook dried pulses, keep hot food warm and I will try putting a casserole in the bag of the car in one for a long journey. The idea of taking a hot, ready-to-eat meal with us on our reasonably frequent long drives feels very exciting.

World Book Day recommendations

I wanted to mark World Book Day in some way. Regular readers will be familiar with my cookbook recommendations which I share several times a year. You’ll find plenty of posts in my archive and paid subscribers have a number of opportunities to win copies of the books throughout the year. However, I thought I’d share some brilliant non-fiction books that I really have enjoyed reading recently.

• Hot off the press is the new book Fit at 50 by Caroline Idiens. Now, I am a way off 50, but I have been doing Caroline’s challenging circuits classes at home since the dark days of lockdown and they’ve been absolutely brilliant. I would go as far as saying they work for all age groups and fitness levels as they can be easily adapted to be as challenging as you like, so I am very pleased to have this book to work from. Caroline is a hugely positive and supportive woman who has made a huge difference to my interest in and approach to exercise.

• I received Clean & Green by Nancy Birtwhistle for a Christmas present and I have since tried many recipes and techniques from the book for eco-friendly cleaning. The results have been brilliant and the techniques are easy to follow. I did a big order of all the products I needed to make the switch to green cleaning and have not looked back.

• One of my 2025 aims is developing a small selection of flowers for cutting in addition to our no dig veg beds. I’ve found A Year full of Pots and A Year Full of Flowers by Sarah Raven wonderfully inspiring and informative in planning what to plant.