Dough by Richard Bertinet – one of my favourites, though never watched the DVD. Great recipes, great technique, my copy is quite floury now.

The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard – I really like Dan’s newspaper column, loved the recipes I’ve tried from Short and Sweet, so have no doubt that I would really enjoy a book by him about the joys of bread making. What’s not to love?

English Bread and Yeast Cookery by Elizabeth David – a bit more old school, as the original was written in 1977, but a revelation of the history of this most basic of foodstuffs, showing how it gets elevated from just four simple ingredients to something amazing.

Bread Revolution – bang up to date with this book from Duncan Glendinning and Patrick Ryan, who have been busy forging the way with The Thoughtful Bread Company, bringing great bread to a wide audience. Great recipes in this one, like the writing style too.

Wild Sourdough: the Natural Way to Bake – this starts out as a kind of back to basics approach to bread, but when you get into flavours like Halloumi and Mint or Chilli and Feta, then you’re far from basic territory.

Bread is such a fantastic thing to make, particularly with kids, and think of the reward as the house fills with the smell of baking bread. Is there anything better?

This bar is almond and sea salt milk chocolate, which even though milk chocolate would still tick the right boxes for me.

This box is perfect for the truffle lovers out there. Thirty artisan truffles all specially designed for the Diamond Jubilee, including flavours like Tropical Cinnamon or Orange and Cinnamon. And surely you’re going to hang onto that box? Stunning design.

Not the cheapest box of chocolates on the market, but then this is not cheap chocolate. Nor is this an everyday occasion! We may not see another Diamond Jubilee in our lifetime, so perhaps one small indulgence is permitted!

I still wouldn’t eat it, but I’d happily put it on the kitchen shelf. If you do like it, then buy two!

* Do two things at once: celebrate the Jubilee and know that your purchase has gone to help the work of Help for Heroes. Just £5, so you could afford to go for a couple.

* I’ve written before about the lovely things from CathKidston, this is the mug. And I’d love to find a few of these sitting on the table, wouldn’t you?

* Want a contemporary approach to your commemorative mug? How about this one designed by Sarah Cole, and available from Culture Label.

* Emma Bridgewater’s mugs are always on my list, and I really like this one. Comes in red or blue, with lots of white accents , so very patriotic looking!

* You thought it was the Queen’s Jubilee? Well, she probably does too, but you can add your name to this mug as well, just to show that you’re celebrating with her.

* I know I like this mug from Repeat Repeat as it sits on the desk opposite mine. Can’t beat a bit of silvery bling to celebrate the glittering occasion!

I am sure much tea, as well as other beverages, will be drunk to celebrate the Jubilee, so do it in style!

You may know that I live in the middle of the countryside, love village life, not really big on cities.

Except I love New York City. Absolutely, and passionately. And next month sees me make probably my eigth or ninth trip. But in many ways it’s my first trip. First as a family. First as a tourist. First that I’m not there for work.

Which means catering for a different set of tastes, even though MGG is still very adventurous. It also probably means no meals like last year’s at WD-50. Although we could run to Freemans. If they are happy to have cool kids dine with them. So, you see, my repertoire of places is looking a little thin on the ground, so who can suggest somewhere that we really need to try out?

We’re staying in the Lower East Side, but will be ranging from as far uptown as the Guggenheim, and downtown out to Ellis Island. We’re taking a taxi to Brooklyn and walking back across the bridge. We’re doing the High Line from the furthest point uptown to finish in Chelsea. Surely great eating is never far away?

Kitchenette was one of my faves from last year, and I’m always sorry I’m not able to find who tweeted me that suggestion, as it was brilliant. It’s definitely worth another visit, and I’d probably take them to the Carnegie Deli just to experience it. Grandma J has requested tea at The Russian Tea Room, and we’re booked to do that. Other than that, where should we go that’s memorable for all the right reasons? I’d like it to be about the food, but accept that sometimes, just sometimes, it’s also all about the experience.

Yes, Ellen’s Stardust Diner, I’m probably looking at you.

Tell me, in the nicest possible way, where should we go?

As I try to do quite often when I’m in London, I managed a quick detour through Selfridges food hall yesterday, and spotted this really attractive tea packaging from Løv Tea, which I’d not seen before.

This is organic tea, but not from Scandinavia, just the word Løv means “leaf” in the Scandinavian langauges, but the owners of the brand seem to be French originally. Looks pretty, didn’t have time to buy and try, but I thought the canisters would make a really attractive gift or one of the sets with four teas in.

Not sure where else to find it at the moment, but worth taking a look if you’re in Selfridges any time soon.

* If you invested in a Weber BBQ last year, then keep it fresh this year by adding a Smoker Box, to add a whole new raft of recipes and flavours to your outdoor cooking. Even the humble sausage will take on a whole new dimension of flavour after a turn through this box on top of the BBQ.

* If you don’t have huge amounts of outdoor space, but would like to barbecue without resorting to the disposable variant, then I’d check out this multi-tasking tiny Hot Pot BBQ. A BBQ and herb planter all in one, it all stacks neatly together, takes up no more room than a regular planter,  and means you have fresh herbs to hand when cooking, and looks attractive when the cooking is over.

* You probably don’t want to risk the best china outside, but no need to go for paper plates either, not when there are funky melamine designs like these around. In fact, these are so lovely, I could use these all year round, indoors or out.

* Not wishing to see a dropping off of standards, then you’ll be needing good place settings. But no need to go all formal, try these paper placemats from Oliver Bonas.

* I don’t think you can beat a great homemade burger, made from great local beef. I know ours got better when we got a burger press, but I wish we had one that looked like this! Almost sculptural, but also very functional, this little lovely comes from Roullier White.

I think we all hope that this very wet drought comes to an end soon, and that we will be busy out in our gardens enjoying some cooking in the great outdoors again. That, or shivering under an umbrella wondering why we didn’t put everything under the grill in the kitchen.

Maybe it’s a Spring thing, or maybe it’s just that I’ve had a cupboard tidy out and there’s some room in there, but feeling that there’s a need to try some new (or at least new to me things). These are the things that I’m thinking I need to experiment with:

• Pumpkin Oil – the Hairy Bikers were messing around with this when they were in Austria recently, and it seems to be very highly prized in some parts of Europe, in the way that others prize olive oil. Sounds like it could be delicious, and versatile as well. It doesn’t look like we grow pumpkins and convert it in the UK, but there is a UK company involved in every stage of production out of Slovenia.
• Burmese Curry – I saw some curry pastes from Chinthe that are Burmese curries, which I have never tried. Not sure what defines a Burmese curry, but up for experimenting, and as Burma is bound to be opening back up to tourists, then maybe now is the time to get ahead of the culinary curve.
• Jubilee beer – because someone, somewhere will come up with both a tasty ale and a good name. Please don’t let me down brewers everywhere, there were some crackers for the Royal Wedding last year!

So, that’s not much space in the cupboard is it? See you at the other end of my shopping trip! What’s on your list for new things to try?

Photo by Comedy Nose on Flickr.

When I wrote my first post about some of the good stuff I’d spotted for the Jubilee, I did write that I was surprised that at that time To Dry For had no teatowels for the occasion, having stocked such a great one for the Royal Wedding last year. Well, as you can see, they have well and truly come up trumps!

Designed by Maria Holmer-Dahlgreen, who also has a great Olympics design on offer as well. Hoping he doesn’t read this, I shall be taking this to the US for a dear friend who loves all things British, and is very jealous of our Jubilee. This does celebrating but in a modern way, and also weighs very little.

It does say it’s limited edition, although there are no details on what that means, so I wouldn’t put it away thinking it will make you thousands on Antiques Roadshow in  your dotage. I would either use it as intended, or frame it!

Canteen: Great British Food – breakfast, lunch or dinner, Canteen is one of my favourite places.  Great contemporary takes on traditional recipes, like Welsh Rarebit or Coronation Chicken, but in ways that make it seem fresh. I don’t know why I don’t own this book, as it’s very much the sort of stuff I like to cook.

British Baking from Peyton & Byrne – again, a favourite place, and I do own this book. Whilst focused on baking, it covers sweet and savoury, and again represents reinventing great British favourites for today. If I stop by the bakery then there is the huge temptation of a fig roll or a Scotch egg.

British Seasonal Food by Mark Hix – British food in season can’t be beat, just think about how amazing the aparagus is at the moment. And Mark Hix has been a great exponent of British and seasonal. This is good gutsy food, organised by month, so you really know that you’re making the most of everything around us.

Bocca Cookbook – one of the things I pointed out to the Frenchman in the group was the within a half mile radius I could eat from a huge variety of cuisines, and that that diversity is part of what I love about the British food landscape today.  Bocca di Lupo is often cited as one of the UKs best Italian restaurants, and shows that as a nation we love all kinds of food influences, that there is no food snobbery here.

Supper Club: recipes and notes from the underground restaurant by Kerstin Rodgers – supper clubs and underground restaurants have been an important development in the UK over the last couple of years, and Kerstin Rodgers aka Ms Marmite Lover has been one of the leaders of the pack. This is a beautiful book, regardless of whether you want to run a supper club or not. Beautiful photography and great recips that you could use any time you had friends coming round, for any occasion.

Whilst I may not have convinced the Frenchman, I think there is so much great stuff to celebrate in the UK and we should be really celebrating that, every single day.