I won something recently which reminded me how long it is since I’ve won something. Of course I don’t actually enter much. Which I guess is why I’m not winning lotto and being able to retire and live a life of luxury. Or travel the globe. (Covid permitting.)

Those who follow me on social media may have seen the pictures and those who don’t… then why the bloody hell not? Just kidding. My social media feeds are as boring as batshit. I’m not a visual person so crap at Instagram. I’m only intermittently on Facebook so never comment or engage. I do however trawl Twitter a lot as it’s my social media platform of choice.

But back to my good fortune.

I won an air fryer. And not just any air fryer, but a fancy one. (Thanks to Slow Cooker Central and Westinghouse on Instagram.)

I was very excited because lately a few people I know have become air fryer converts and cooking all sorts of things they didn’t expect to be able to cook in one. (Also hot chips are my most favourite food ever…. just so you know!)

The air fryer I won is a big sucker. I actually offered it to my bro, SIL and niece cos there’s three of them and my bro and SIL recently (generously) treated my mum and I to a weekend away and I was feeling grateful, but they’ve said they don’t need it.

I’ve contemplated giving it to my mum she cooks a significant proportion of the stuff I eat anyway and still cooks for a family even though she’s been widowed and alone for almost ten years. She’s the leftovers’ queen and cooks-from-scratch most nights despite regularly buying frozen meals that are ‘easy to just heat up’.

‘I really need to use what’s in my freezer,’ she tells me each week I visit.

I cook but am far from a foodie. I’m not adventurous and tend to make the same things again and again. My eyes glaze over when I have to follow recipes and I’m also not a gadget person so don’t have a lot of newfangled kitchen stuff.

In fact, winning the air fryer motivated me to finally buy my first slowcooker. A 1.5 litre one for $16 from Woolworths supermarket. I’ve actually used it a few times in the weeks I’ve had it and like it. I was worried (as it was a cheapie) it might burn my house down if I left it on unattended but so far so good.

Anyhoo, we’re christening the air fryer when I visit my mother later in the week. I’ll let her fiddle with instructions and work out how to use it to save me the stress. (And before you chastise me for making my 77yr old mother do the heavy lifting, it’s really only fair as I do that for her with technology – Fitbits, iPad and the like. #sothere)

So what I need to know is WHAT SHOULD I (ahem WE) COOK? I mean, other than fish and chips for example. Air fryer recipes / meals welcomed!