September | JamJarJan

What was in Jan's Pan?
September

STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE 24/09/2024

And a new chapter begins...

It’s all rather quiet in our house. After 20 years of full-time motherhood both my boys have grown and flown, and once again it’s just we two, hub and I.

Son number one, already living in the Big Smoke, is well into the path of his chosen career. He’s starting an exciting new challenge working as a chef de partie, setting up a new restaurant in a luxury London store (and I’m always on hand for taste testing, of course).

Youngest son, on the other hand, has joined the wave of new students setting out on the next stage of their lives, as they head off to university. It’s the perfect introduction to the real world - daunting but exciting in equal measures.

Freshers’ week has been a huge learning curve: boxes to unpack and rooms to furnish, roommates to meet and friends to make, matriculation (had to look that one up) and course enrolment, student loans to manage, plus new clubs to join - not to mention socialising and burning the candle at both ends. Good thing he’s been practicing all summer, but even my boy admits he’s all boozed out after his first week of full-on partying. Now it’s time to settle down to the real business of student life.

First, and most importantly, what’s for dinner?! For many, these young adults are cooking and fending for themselves for the first time. At a stage of life when hunger is constantly knocking on your door, that can be a huge challenge. No more meals appearing instantly on the table, it’s down to them to put food on their plate.

Skills vary enormously across his new flatmates. Some are living on frozen pizzas, others are more confident and able. But they will learn from their peers and muddle through. Everyone has to eat - what better way to get to know your fellow housemates? Even studying Home Ec, soo many years ago, I learnt far more from my fellow students than I ever learnt on the curriculum. If in doubt there’s always Tik-Tok (oh so different to my student days).

Many parents loaded their children up with said pizzas, or left them with a big fresh food shop. Good intentions aside, they need to learn how to shop and budget for themselves from the off. Cooking from scratch is actually cheaper and doesn’t have to be difficult with some good store cupboard basics and simple recipes. My boy’s done well so far, considering he couldn’t see the point of cooking when it’s his mother and brother’s profession. Back home, in his view, why crowd the kitchen?

Meals mainly feature sausage, mince and pasta so far, but he’s surprised himself with the knowledge he has absorbed from a home where cooking is constantly on the go. But hunger is a great driver, and he’s starting to plan ahead. There are things he’s never had to consider before, like taking things out of the freezer well before dinnertime, or knowing that meat can’t be refrozen once it’s thawed. But if he can get through the term without a bout of mild food poisoning he’s done himself proud.

Whilst I will miss them both and will have to adjust to new routines and empty rooms at home, there are positives. I no longer need to pander to the needs of a ravenous teen wanting protein and carbs, keeping a well-stocked fridge full of ‘fillers’ to satisfy his humongous appetite. Not only a reduction in costs for us, but we can finally eat more veg-centric food that’s suitable for middle-aged appetites with midriff spread, rather than a carb-heavy protein rich diet designed to meet the demands of a growing teen seeking to build muscle.

It’s a new chapter for us all, but one to embrace, so no more tears and let’s rejoice - my job is done for now, I’ve grown two adults.

With all this in mind, here is this week’s offering

Top tips for student survival and in praise of Spag Bol - the most versatile of student meals

1 Stock up your store cupboard

Pool resources where possible, bulk buy things like pasta and rice and cook together if possible, it’s a great way to make friends. How about a student ‘Come Dine with Me’?
Buy flavour enhancers: soy sauce, chilli sauce, tomato sauce, spices and dried herbs

2 Brush up on a few food hygiene essentials

Prepare and store raw and cooked food separately
Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold
Reheat foods until piping hot
Cool foods quickly to store in the fridge or freezer
Change dishcloths and tea towels frequently

3 Make good use of the freezer

Batch cook foods, or freeze excess food rather than throw it away
Freeze cooked rice - great for egg fried rice, but reheat it thoroughly
Freeze leftover cooked potatoes - perfect for a fry up or for instant mash

4 Tinned and frozen foods are your friend

Stock up on plenty of tinned beans and tomatoes
Frozen peas or sweetcorn are nutritious and can be quickly cooked and added to dishes

6 Learn to make a good spag bol from scratch with minced beef and tinned tomatoes, and add red lentils to your recipe to make the meat go further

Perfect with pasta and parmesan
Add chilli and a tin of kidney beans to make chilli-con-carne
Top with mashed potato for cottage pie
Stuff into a tortilla or flatbread for burrito
Top tortilla chips and grate over Cheddar for nachos
Pile on top of potato wedges

SEPTEMBER 2025

I love September: we're so often treated to an Indian summer, with blue skies and an ideal temperature, not too hot or cold. Perfect for the last hurrahs of summer - eating on the patio with friends, or the last camping trip before the nights draw in.

Life gradually returns to its usual rhythm after the summer as we return to our usual routine, or start new ventures. September often signifies a new chapter, and it’s no exception in this house. With one son out and one back in, the camper van has earned its keep. We piled it high to transport Student Son back for his second year of uni, and then crammed in all of Cheffy Son's goods and chattels from his London abode, back home to escape the extortionate rental costs of the Capital. Back to commuting sadly, but an opportunity to save towards his goal to travel and experience the wider world and learn about foreign cusines first hand.

Student son has settled into his new digs and plans to up his game with his student meals. The landlord’s promise of a full fridge of food and air fryer never quite materialised, but now he’s discovered that he can feed himself adequately he's vowed to be more adventurous (and buy more than one vegetable a week??). He's already purchased frozen peas, which no student should be without, and I snuck in some of our beans, prepped and ready to go, so there's no excuse not to get his greens.

Here in the garden the advent of autumn is signalled by rosy red apples galore, in the garden and in my veg box, but you can’t beat an apple freshly picked from the tree. They’re crisp and juicy and with so many to hand it seems pertinent to provide some apple recipes this month. Apples have appeared in all my salads recently (thinly sliced fennel, apple and carrot with a lemon mustard dressing is my current favourite), and as everyone should be armed with a classic crumble recipe I’ve given you a good basic recipe that can be pimped up as required with oats or nuts for extra texture. Plus a quick flaky pastry apple tart using ready rolled pastry that can be whipped up in no time.

This month saw the Speciality and Fine Food Fair at Olympia, which coincided with the Golden Forks Awards - the pinnacle of the Great Taste Awards. The tube strike made the journey challenging, but the effort was worth it. A day full of inspiration: new trends, seminars and savvy suppliers with delicious foods to sample: check my round up below.

Coincidentally, I bumped into the two Thomas's of French and Day Deli in Ware, also there to discover worthy goods to stock, so I know where to head to buy my favourites. Sadly they didn't win the Small Independent Retailer of the Year when the awards were announced at the end of the day, but never mind Boys, you're the winners in Ware as far as I'm concerned.

In the meantime, if there's truth in the old adage 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away', then I'm all set for my health kick into winter, and there's plenty going spare if you're passing by and you want yours...

What's in Jan's Pan
Apples Galore

With so many apples to be used, it would be rude not to give suggestions for their many uses - sauces, chutneys, salads and of course a huge range of puddings, from the humble crumble to a glorious tarte tatin (my favourite, it takes me back to Le Gavroche on my honeymoon, their version adorned with gold leaf).

I've focussed on the crumble here, plus a quick flaky apple flan when a tarte tatin is a touch too far to construct.

Here's where my 'core' recipe concept really comes into its own, with a good basic apple crumble recipe. When there's apples around, you can't beat a crumble.

But is it that straightforward? Do you cook your apples first and then top with crumb? Do you cook the crumb first as well (as they do in restaurants according to Matt Tebbutt, as he made his version recently on Saturday Kitchen). And what proportion fat to flour? There is no right or wrong.

To save you scrabbling for a recipe, I've an easy to remember formula: 3 parts flour to 2 parts butter to 1 part sugar to give a light buttery crumb to melt in the mouth, reminiscent of shortbread. And to save on extra pans and processes, I put the freshly sliced apple straight into my ovenproof dish, top with the crumb and bake until the apples are tender and the crumb is golden. Bramleys or eating apples will work - Bramleys break down easily to a puree, eating apples hold their shape to give more distinct pieces. A combination of both works well.

Add butter and sugar to the apples plus a tablespoon of lemon juice for a caramelised flavour and add your favourite apple-friendly spice such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger or nutmeg to the crumble - you choose.

4 medium-sized apples (approx 600g total), peeled cored and sliced

50g butter, diced

50g soft brown or golden caster sugar

1tbsp lemon juice

For the crumble

150g plain flour

100g butter, diced

50g soft brown or golden caster sugar

1tsp spice of choice

Preheat the oven 200C/180C fan/Gas 6

Put the apples into a 1 litre ovenproof dish, add the lemon juice and sugar and toss well to coat.

Dot with the butter.

Put all of the crumble ingredients into a food processor, or rub together until you have a coarse crumb.

Sprinkle over the top to cover the apples and pop into the centre of the oven for 40-45mins until the apple is tender and the crumb is crisp.

Serve with cream, custard, or my new favourite - whipped cream with a spoonful of ready made tinned caramel or dulce de latte, naughty but nice.

Note for Student Son, I gave you plenty of apples to keep you going so there's no excuse not to whip up a crumble. But if making the topping is too much effort then why not use some breadcrumbs, or some muesli or granola to give a crisp topping?

In this case, simmer the apples in a pan or cook in a covered dish in the microwave with a tablespoon of water and a sprinkle of sugar for 5-10mins until they soften.Tear up some stale bread into chunks, and toss with some melted butter and a sprinkle of sugar. Put the apples into an ovenproof dish and top with the crumbs. Bake in the oven at a lower temperature, 180C/160C Fan/ Gas 4 until the crumb is crisp, around 15-20 minutes.

If you've got some granola all you need to do is cook the apple then sprinkle it over the top. Serve it with some yoghurt or custard for a super quick fix.

For a really easy flaky apple tart, unroll a sheet of ready rolled pastry onto a baking sheet, keeping the paper as a liner. Use your knife to mark a 2cm border on each side, and prick the area within the border with a fork to stop the pastry from rising.
Cut 4-5 eating apples into thick slices and arrange them in a single layer up to the border.
Dot some butter over the apples and sprinkle evenly with caster or soft brown sugar, or drizzle with honey. Add some pecans if you have them.

Bake in a hot oven 220C/200C Fan/ Gas 7 for 25-30 mins until the pastry border is crisp and risen and the apples are soft and golden brown.

Perfect for a breakfast pastry or afternoon treat with minimal effort. I always have ready rolled pastry to hand, in the fridge or freezer, as it provides the perfect base for a no fuss sweet or savoury meal solution whatever the situation. Sorted!

Speciality and Fine Food Fair 2025

This annual trade fair coincided with the Golden Forks Awards, held across the way at Battersea Art Centre. Supreme Champion of the Great Taste Awards was revealed as East Neuk Kilnhouse for its Hot Smoked Mackerel Fillets. Not a product that I tasted in my role as judge, but a worthy winner indeed considering that out of the 14,340 products that were entered only 5,680 (39.6%) achieved an award according to the Guild of Fine Food's statistics. Of those just 273 (1.9%) achieved the maximum 3 star endorsement proving just how good the quality must be.

Across the river at Olympia I was busy doing some more tasting, and picked out lots of Great Taste products. This year's winners were displayed on the Guild of Fine Food stand, and it was good to meet some of the suppliers. Do listen to the Great Taste Podcast if you are interested, as you get to hear all sides of the story and exactly what a Great Taste means to all involved.

I was there to look for trends and inspiration, and was invited by Macdonald Events, who host the event, to join a tour of the stands. So many businesses started out in Lockdown, and it's great to see them thrive; the Start-up Village was testiment to that. We found plenty of fermented foods, deli products, quality cooking sauces, and products from around the world as well as the UK. We hopped from sweet to savoury, with our tastebuds tingling (all those chilli products), as we munched our way from stall to stall.

We chatted with Louisa's Honey (top left) who had taken part in the Pitch Live event where they had the opportunity to successfully pitch to Selfridges to stock their honey. They analyse their honey so they can specify the exact nature of the honey to guarantee it is pure and natural.

Chocolate products were everywhere (despite the extortionate cost of beans at the moment). Sloth & Spoon (middle top) had me drooling over their range of chocolate and caramel spreads, and there were hot chocolate drinks to sample over at The Coco House (Top Right) with their distinctive packaging alongside complementary mugs.

I loved the range of quality deli products from Ralph's (bottom left), especially the wine crackers which are made from ground grape seeds, truly innovative. The Drinks Bakery crackers were melt in the mouth, and we had fun sampling them with the appropriate wines; it was here I bumped into Messrs French and Day so I really hope they will stock these delightful delicacies.

Chilli Oils and Asian sauces were everywhere, all with their own version of the addictive Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli oil (an essential in this house).

We met Simran of A Spark of Madness (aptly named) with her range of condiments made in Hong Kong. Her crispy chilli is heavy on the Szechuan pepper, giving it a fragrant, floral note, and we loved her addictive Cantonese inspired Caramelized Spring onion and Crack sauce (say no more).

Iconic brand Poons, who are opening a retail outlet in Bermondsey, also have a spectacular range of products; I'll check that out next time I'm up that way and would love to try their new opening at Somerset House in London. I was drawn to the Makan Malaysia stand too, as I'm still hankering after Malaysian cuisine, and their Satay sauce took me right back to Borneo and Norman Musa's supperclub (see March and June archives for details).

Other products of note were Harry's Nut Butter with its innovative additions such as smoked paprika, extra spicy, pumpkin seed crunch and hazelnut cacao. Gymkhana of Mayfair's curry sauces make it possible to enjoy restaurant standard curries at home. There were all manner of teas and coffees too, but the favourite was Sip and Smile tea's range of herb, flower and spice blends grown and produced in Dorset. Rise and Shine, Cloud Nine, and Sweet Dreams to name but three of their natural blends.

And finally, yes, that is me bottom middle, posing as a bear. Now don't tell me you wouldn't do the same for a sample of Pure maple in its distinctive maple leaf shaped bottle. 72 % is produced in Quebec and it takes 40 litres of sap to produce 1 litre of syrup so it would be rude not to taste it, wouldn't it??

What's in Jan's Air Fryer?

This month I've mainly been experimenting with biscuits as they can be cooked quickly on demand without firing up the oven. I make a batch of raw dough which I keep in the fridge or freezer, then cut slices and cook to order.
I've tried a few recipes recently which use peanut butter as the fat content which are delicious, so I have developed these to give a high protein energy boosting snack, with honey, oats and wholemeal flour.
Nutty butter & white chocolate cookies
Makes approx 12-15 biscuits
200g smooth nut butter* of your choice
50g rolled oats
50g wholemeal flour or spelt
1/2tsp baking powder
100g set honey**
1 egg***
50g white chocolate chips

Mix together and form into a log approx 6cm in diameter. Wrap in greaseproof paper for storage and to help shape it.
Refridgerate until firm, or freeze.
When ready to cook, slice and shape into 2cm rounds (30-40g each) and place on a liner.
Cook on the bake setting at 160C for 10 mins, then allow to cool before removing from the paper. They should be crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.

*always choose a nut butter with no additives other than salt. It’s easy to whizz up your own if you have a food processor, whether from peanuts, almonds, cashew or hazelnuts. Roast the nuts (180C fan for 15-20mins, but keep an eye on them). Whizz the cooled nuts on the highest setting with salt to taste. Keep going until the oil starts to release and the nuts become a smooth paste - be patient, it can take a while, but the results are worth it.
**I use Wainright's organic Zambian Forest honey for the best flavour. I buy it in 3.18kg tubs (yes, we like it…). It's a deep rich caramel colour with a toffee texture; fair trade, raw and cold pressed which enhances its nutritional value. Buy it in Waitrose or Holland & Barratt, online or in wholefood shops. Always buy the best honey you can afford - it's one of the most adulterated foodstuffs out there, and where would we be without bees??
***I always buy Organic Free-range eggs, and I buy mixed sizes since I learnt that it was better for hens and farmers not to insist on large eggs, according to the 'Size matters' campaign highlighted by the British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) back in 2021. Read about it here and change your shopping habits. There is very little difference in the weight of the eggs, but if the quantity needs to be exact, then weigh what you need.
I'm lucky enough to have a constant supply of freshly laid eggs from my enterprising 14 year old neighbour's new pets. He is supplementing his pocket money by selling me a dozen a week laid by his 3 chickens - a win for us both!

August/September - 2026

August and September have been full of big family gatherings, generally focussed around food, naturally.
As Student Son returned from the other side of the planet, wending his way leisurely across Asia, Cheffy Son and Personal Pastry Chef both hung up their chefs’ whites and finished work, ready to take their turn to jet-set round the world. We had a glorious summer together, making the most of it before the eldest escape, the student heads back to the marginally less glamorous Midlands for his final year, and Hub and I become empty nesters once more.
Student son is now an expert on Asian Food, having enjoyed noodle dishes such as me goreng for breakfast, and consuming Baan-mi at every opportunity. But he skipped the offer of Asian food on his return, in favour of some good old British fare that he’d missed out on while he was away (comforting sausage and mash and a good old Spag Bol high on the list).
He wasn't disappointed, as Cheffy Son and our Private Pastry Chef quit their high-end catering jobs, and frankly haven’t stopped cooking since. Needless to say, we have all eaten very well.
We had particular fun playing with our new toy, the Kamodo Joe. It's a ceramic grill and charcoal oven and we've been learning how to cook pizzas now we have no wood-fired oven (following a close-call disaster when we nearly set the neighbour’s fence on fire).
There have been experiments with low, slow roasting as well as smoking. Every time we learn a little more about how to get the best out of this beast, and Cheffy Son has made it his mission to learn and educate us while he’s here and has had the time to do it.
We‘ve enjoyed family gatherings with both branches of the family, first in a wonderfully quirky old house in Christchurch near Bournemouth (not the New Zealand one this time) right next to the Priory, where we raised a final glass or too to Grandad and the Chefs came up trumps with a celebration meal.
We then spent August bank holiday in Devon, where there’s something for everyone. Brunching (our favourites - Otter Valley Dairy, Donkey Sanctuary), sea-swimming, fabulous farm shops (Dart’s Farm, Greendale), seaside fish and chips, holiday ice creams (Taste, Sidmouth) and games evenings (Scrabble, Cluedo and every evil form of UNO). Even otters, at the Dartmoor otter sanctuary.
We checked out the long-awaited Rockfish restaurant - a welcome addition to the end of the Sidmouth prom. Along with the new Salcombe brewery tap bar it’s the ideal location to drink in stunning views of the regal red cliffs that dominate the coastline of this Regency seaside town.
There’s been plenty of produce to play with from the garden since we've been back: beans, patty pan and many uses for our gorgeous gem lettuce glut.
We'll soon be back to being Empty-nesters (second time round - just as we get used to it they return, then leave us once again). As the eldest fly off on their Big adventure, and student son finishes his studies, we'll have to get use to an empty house, and considerably emptier stomachs with no chefs to feed us any more. I'm sure I've eaten enough to last me for the whole of their time away so perhaps we may be able to reduce calories and eat at sensible times once more. Good for the body but perhaps not for the soul, I'm going to miss that constant busy hubbub in the kitchen. Looks like I’ll have to learn how to cook for myself again...

What's in Jan's Pan

Kamado Joe Cooking
We've had a huge amount of fun testing the many facets of cooking styles on our new toy. We replaced our beloved pizza oven after 13 years of wood-fired wonders. But its time was up as a crack in the base caused a near catastrophe when the supporting timbers caught fire and started smouldering during our long hot summer.
Since Cheffy son left work, he hasn't stopped experimenting with it, and with previous experience of using this type of ceramic grill and egg style bbq smoker, he's been honing his skills, and showing us exactly what our new outdoor oven is capable of.
Hub has built a whole new outdoor kitchen, featuring chunky wooden prep tables, and set the oven up in the best position to ensure there's no chance of the neighbour's fence being at risk again (after the pizza oven it has replaced nearly burnt the place down).
We've had pizza parties (with the heavens opening just as we'd laid out all the ingredients), seared and grilled steak and slow cooked joints of meat and we've dabbled with smoking too. The oven is considerably more controllable than our pizza oven. It's all to do with air flow, and the ceramic holds the heat so it can cook like an oven as well as sear like a barbecue. It depends whether the heat deflectors are used or not, plus ensuring there's enough charcoal to really crank the heat up.
We are still learning the best way to cook pizzas - they take longer to cook than they did in the wood-fired oven, 10-15mins rather than 10-15 seconds. We really need the K Joe ‘DoJoe’ which holds the lid open to allow the pizza to be slotted in without letting out the heat, but it’s expensive so we’ll find our own solution. We may not be able to churn them out like we did before, but Cheffy Son has certainly nailed the pizza dough (recipe below), and they crisp up beautifully on the pizza stone with the heat cranked right up. We had some great toppings too - artichoke, goat's cheese and pesto, and our favourite 'Camempear'. The discovery of sweet pepperdew peppadrops has fueled our new addiction, adding them to both meat and veggie pizzas to give a piquant flavour pop.
For carnivore cooking we've had belly pork and slow cooked brisket, as well as grilled rib eye, seared and cooked, then sliced. Low and slow needs to be cooked on the K Joe between 110C-130C: aim for 75C meat temperature then take it to 95C internal temperature for shredding, then resting the meat is absolutely critical for succulence.
250C is the ideal temperature for searing meat, done without the stone heat deflectors for direct heat over the coals. It’s a fine balance between turning up the heat by opening the bottom vent whilst still keeping the charcoal burning, then fine tuning with the top chimney. Turns out that charcoal quality is key, larger lumps to last longer. Japanese Binchotan charcoal is apparently the best you can buy, and Cheffy Son is hellbent on buying some on his trip to Japan and bringing it back...
There have been plenty of vegetables griddled too - our favourite corn ribs, along with courgettes from the garden and peppers large and small.
Big shout out to Pickett Butchers for all the amazing quality cuts of meat - I think we may have kept them in business while the boys have been home. Our diet may not be quite so protein heavy once thery're gone.....

Cheffy Son's Pizza Dough
3g fast action yeast
5g sugar
325g water at 28C
500g strong bread flour minimum 14% protein
10g salt
10g olive oil

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water
Add the flour, salt and oil
Knead 10 minutes, by hand or in a free standing mixer
Prove until doubled in size
Knock back and shape into 4 balls
Cover with clingfilm and prove overnight in the fridge for a cold ferment
The following day, take out of the fridge 11/2 - 2 hours before cooking. The dough is less likely to tear at room temperature.
Roll out to shape and top with tomato sauce and the toppings of your choice.
Cook at your highest possible temperature for pizza perfection.

What's in Jan's veg plot
Luscious lettuce
The little gem lettuces reached peak perfection late August, and we found an excuse to include salad leaves in everything. Not only crisp and cooling salads, but also wilted leaves in pasta along with peas, pesto and pancetta (perfect).
They even found their way into our summer smoothies with peaches and mango - purest green perfection full of freshly- picked plant-power.
Flying saucer patty pan
Are they meant to be this big?? See What's in Jan's Air Fryer for inspiration.
Big peppers and small chillies
A perfectly formed long red pepper, perfect for the barbecue (we are still making good use of our Weber gas fired BBQ too, when we want a quick outdoor grill).
It overshadows the little chilli next to it, but that certainly packs a punch, and I'll be harvesting them for my favourite chilli jam recipe , here written by Matthew Drennan for delicious. magazine back in the day.
Rampaging runner beans
Yes, they are at that stage where they grow by the second, and you turn your back and more pop up.
But fret not, I discovered my Mum's hand held runner bean shredder (see pic) and I can't believe how efficiently it deals with freshly picked beans. Pull it through the blades and it not only trims the edges to remove any fibrous pieces but shreds them into long strips in seconds. A quick blanch and they are ready to freeze if you're not using them immediately. The length lends itself to combining with spaghetti (or carb-free as a great alternative to courgetti), or for braising with tomatoes. Love it.

What's on Jan's plate

Rockfish restaurant has finally opened in Sidmouth, turning the end of the Esplanade into a proper destination and bringing the old Drill Hall back to life. Built in 1895 it was originally used by the Devon Volunteer Rifles and the building has been restored to house Mitch Tonk's eleventh restaurant. It's been sympathetically restored and includes tiles adorned with local landmarks, sich as Jacob's ladder here. I chose the megrim sole, which I'd never tried before - the fish is all MSC sustainable seafood, fresh out of the sea. The waiter shows what fish is available that day, and highlights it in a distinctly fishy way, as you see bottom right above. With 'bottomless' chips, we were a happy bunch.
The Salcombe Tap Bar has opened next to it, with a view over the cliffs and east beach that draws people in to sit and drink in the views as they sup their craft beers.
Spritz by the seafront with a spectacular sunset ticks all the boxes in my book. Cheers!