Melissa Hemsley shares her home truths about her Sunday Cook Off and must-have kitchen products

Take my shoes off and smother my dog with kisses. She’s an old girl, almost 11 years old and recovering from cancer. Then I make a ginger lemon tea.

Blankets! I buy my patchwork quilts from Angie (@angieburrett) and I love buying artisan blankets from Oshana – they’re made by refugees and are absolutely stunning.

Falcon jugs for drinks and flowers; Howe London for stripy cushions; Our Place for pans… and I love Kilner jars for storage and keeping leftovers in the fridge.

Garlic frying in butter. And then at my mum’s house, it’s the smell of orange peel in a cooling oven. My mum would pop citrus peels in the oven when it was cooling to create her own free scent – she hates me wasting money on candles! Citrus is one of the best odour-neutralising scents for a kitchen.

I aim for some meal prep once a week, usually a Sunday evening. I call it the ‘Sunday Cook Off!’ It helps us as a family start the working week off well with some healthy nourishing foods in our bellies.

Normally I make my No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Bars which are a firm favourite from the fridge, a batch of savoury or sweet muffins for breakfasts, one big pot of something like my Big Batch Bolognese (seven different veg in it, as well as beef mince and lentils).

I think I’ve got a bit better. I used to get really frazzled until I drastically lowered my expectations of myself. Now I make one big sharing main, one wonderful dip (try my feta-mole - guacamole meets whipped feta), and then a simple chocolate pudding. And I let everyone help themselves and go at their own pace.

If there are leftovers, everyone can take them home – which I ADORE when I’m at someone’s home and they wrap us up leftovers – leftovers are the best.

We’ve got a lovely big bed that sleeps all four of us – dog included!