Hello there. Welcome to The Frazzled Cook. Are you hungry? Me too.

I’m a food writer and editor, born in Newcastle and now living in east London, currently on maternity leave looking after my son. I’ve always been obsessed with food and have worked in the industry for more than a decade, but these days I have less time, energy and resources to cook than ever. It’s led to more creativity in the kitchen and new recipes and techniques that deliver on flavour without fuss.

This newsletter is the place I’ll share a weekly recipe for fellow frazzled cooks. I’ll be inspired by the seasons, chefs and food writers I admire, what I’ve got in the cupboard, and what I’ve had time to cobble together. I’m a home cook – not a trained chef – so the dishes will be achievable and created with real life in mind. Partly because of the rising costs of food, partly because of my veggie husband, my recipes are mainly meat-free. I don’t call for hard-to-find or extravagant ingredients and I’m not afraid of a shortcut or a ready-made jar or packet here and there. I’ll always try to offer ingredient swap-outs and suggestions for ways to use up the leftovers.

Whether you’re a parent too, or just have less time and space in your life to devote to cooking and eating as well as you’d like, I hope you’ll be inspired by the tips, ideas and dishes that have found their way onto my table over these past few frantic months.

But this is as much about me as it is you. Since becoming a mother, I’ve craved the creativity and purpose of my ‘former’ life. I hope this project will help me understand my changed identity better. You can read a bit more about this in my welcome post, here.

I’m not an influencer with a massive social following, so I’ll start by sharing this with my own community, be it the brilliant and inspiring mums I’ve met while on maternity leave or my friends, family and colleagues. If you’re taking a leap of faith on me and decide to subscribe – thank you! So, are you hungry? Let’s eat.