I recently picked up one of these bad boys from Jamie Oliver’s cookware range.

Basically it’s a bit like a pestle and mortar but instead of beating the living daylights out of whatever you’re making, you shake the ingredients inside the shaker and a ceramic ball smashes it all up for you.

It seems to mix herbs, peppercorns, chillis, etc. together really well and is fabulous for making dressings. Unfortunately it doesn’t bash up cloves of garlic or other largish bits and bobs very well, so I won’t be getting rid of the old pestle and mortar for a while.

- Rub some vegetable oil into your fingers before chopping chilli peppers to avoid stinging or burning feelings (or just wear gloves!).

- To keep the chilli flavour but reduce the spicy heat, slice the chilli from top to bottom then scoop out and discard the white-ish membrane and the seeds.

- To rescue food which is too spicy, try adding natural yoghurt, mayonnaise or sugar to your dish.

- Don’t drink water to cool your mouth when you take a bite of something too spicy – try milky drinks instead.

-  As a general rule, smaller chillis are hotter than larger ones.

- You can keep dried chillis for around a year if kept in an air-tight box.

-  If you’re unsure how much chilli you should put in a recipe then add it in small amounts until you get the taste you want – remember it’s easier to add more than to take it away.

- Add finely chopped chilli to steamed vegetables for a spicy change.

Growing your own food is a fantastic way to save money. Not only is it relatively easy but there’s a great deal of satisfaction watching it grow and eventually being able to cook and eat your own produce.

My garden (I should really say ‘patio area’) is pathetic for growing vegetables so I’ve decided to grow my own herbs, rocket leaves and, of course, chilli peppers in window boxes.

A good chilli plant needs plenty of natural sunlight; not a common occurance in the UK but they somehow grew well over this year’s terrible Summer. Make sure the plant gets enough water but don’t drown it! Get a pot with good drainage; if plant roots are left to sit in large amounts of water they may eventually rot away (yellow leaves is a good sign of this).

Different varieties take different amounts of time to germinate, flower then fruit. As a general rule if you plant the seeds around March time you should have edible chilli peppers by August at the latest.

Read my simple guide to growing chillis for more info.