What that means to you depends on where you hail from. If you're what my mate Joe calls 'well Scotch', there's a chance you'll wear tartan and pipe the haggis to the table while quoting Robert Burns' poetry at it.

If like us you are mildly Scottish in the family (and love offal), it's simply a chance to get some mates round and dig into Haggis, Neeps & Tatties.

Though the name is confusing, turnips are what the Scots call swede, so the accompaniment is actually mashed potato and swede which you can mix together or serve separately.

The haggis itself is a mixture of sheep offal minced and heavily spiced. In the old days it was cooked for a long time in a sheep's stomach, nowadays it's more likely to be microwaved (or baked) in a synthetic case.

People tend to turn their noses up at the description but I urge you to have a try, particularly if you like spicy food. It comes out like deliciously spicy textured mince and the neeps & tatties are smooth and cool in comparison.

Gravy and a trickle of whisky are the only other things you need for a totally traditional Burns Night Supper!

Normally we mix the neeps and tatties together but having seen the presentations suggestion from Channel 4 Food on Twitter earlier, I think we're going to go upmarket.

Their recipe and accompanying serving pic is here: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-cuisines/haggis-neeps-and-tatti...

Grab a bargain haggis this weekend (MacSweens are the legendary Scottish brand which you'll find in most supermarkets) and try something new !

It genuinely warms the cockles of my food-obsessed heart when I support local and get great service in return.

Visiting the In-Laws in Bury St Edmunds this weekend - which has a great market where you can get local veg, flowers and samphire amongst other things - I got to sample their newest shop, Gastrono-me. It's a narrow wood-floored deli with an open archway at the back where you get a tantalising glimpse of their own in-house bakery.

As a result the shelves are stacked with baked goodies sweet and savoury and lots of my own personal nemesis, homemade loaves of all descriptions.

We popped in on the way into town to buy some rolls for breakfast and shared a delicious Cheese, Potato & Leek slice. I tried a few of the plentiful samples on the counter and fell in love with the Rosemary & Red Onion bread, but not having enough cash on me, resolved to pop in on our return.

An hour later we were back but to my dismay they had just sold the last loaf. The friendly man behind the counter recommended a delicious alternative, Sundried Tomato Bread, so I bought a loaf of that instead.

But then the great service REALLY began. Seeing my little round disappointed face (and maybe my straining baby bump) he gave me the rest of the sample bag from the counter, recommending frying it up as croutons.

We left smiling and happy and then heard the thunder of feet down the street behind us.

"Here," he panted, "have this, it's the rest of the sample loaf." He had delved into the back and found the rest of the loaf they'd baked to cut up for shop samples - two thirds of a sizeable baguette.

Remember I'd spent the grand sum of 6 pounds in this man's shop. Can you imagine staff from any of the major chains acting like that?

So I shall definitely be back and I heartily recommend popping in if you're nearby. Or feel free to lavish praise on them via Twitter or Facebook.

Gastrono-me, St John's Street, Bury St Edmunds
www.twitter.com/Gastrono_me

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January is always a great time for new telly and in my house we're particularly enjoying Wednesday nights with Heston's new show and the debut of the Fabulous Baker Boys both on Channel 4.

If you've not yet caught the show, Henry is the butcher and Tom is the baker (no word on a candle-making sibling) and they're based next door to Oxford in Gloucestershire. Which is good... because they're coming here!

On Saturday 11th Feb from midday, they'll be at Waterstones signing copies of their new book and (more importantly) manning a popup one-day-only branch of their celebrated Hobbs House Bakery.

Bread, cakes, books and hot chefs - I know where I'll be frittering away my Saturday. Find out more by following Waterstones on Twitter - they are @WaterstonesOxf.

Maybe you're not like me. Maybe you make annual resolutions about budgeting, eating healthily, cutting down on booze and supporting charity, and maybe you stick to them. Me, I decided to give up on resolutions a few years back when it became clear I was sticking to approximately 5% of them - and then only for January.

But this year I may make just one - to support the work of One. They're a British brand with a simple mission: 'Do one good thing'. Comparing it to chaos theory (you know, the idea that one tiny butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world could theoretically cause a typhoon on the other side of the globe) they want to persuade us to make one change in our shopping habits to create change across the world.

Before you conjure up images of hessian clothes and mung beans, RELAX. One have done their research thoroughly and have teamed up with British producers with high welfare standards, so you don't even have to change the things you buy - just switch your normal brand for One.

What I like is the simplicity of their idea - each of their products supports like for like projects in Africa and around the world and 100% of the profits are ploughed in. So their One Good Eggs fund community egg farming projects, their bottled One Water funds wells, the One Clever Loaf range supports start-up bakeries, and the One Oaty Goodness range of oats and instant porridge feeds school children.

And so on with hand wash, loo roll, plasters, condoms and no doubt scores of other innovative products planned for the future. But before you worry about the quality suffering, they've already thought of that.

Says Matt Cooper from the brand: "These days people don't want to compromise on quality or provenance OR pay over theodds, even if they are supporting a good cause. Nor do we want them to. That'swhy the companies we work with are ethically sound, based here in the UK and produce products of a really good quality."

So the delicious eggs - from British farmers Noble Foods - are organic, free range, produced by certified farms and cost £1.99 for 6. Compare that to £1.48 for your average Tesco egg and £1.72 at Waitrose and you're not paying a whole lot more for your product.

The porridge range - which includes yummy instant golden syrup flavour in handy take-to-work pots - is free of GM ingredients, and artificial additives, flavours and colours. Hell, the brand is even green - with the packaging from their tasty clever loaves breaking down 25% faster than normal plastic and leaving no harmful residue behind. I love these ideas!

As they call it, "their very own butterfly effect" has already changed 1.5 million lives and 2012 looks set to send that figure spiralling. So if you see the logo when you're shopping (stockists include Tesco, Ocado and The Co-operative) give One products a go. It may be the only resolution this year you can actually stick to.

http://www.onedifference.org
www.twitter.com/onedifference

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I like a venue that doesn't oversell itself. So noticing that Jericho's latest gastro-pub The Rickety Press describes its food online as "really quite good" made me smile.

It was the venue for a pre-Christmas 'Twinner' meetup where I get together to eat and gossip with local foodies I've met on Twitter.

These include @OxfordCityGuide @ox_bex @kalicer @girleatsoxford @oxchris and @oxsox - when she remembers to turn up. (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

If you're thinking "eww, weird", I'll fully admit my hubby expected me not to return from the first one, having met some grisly end, but they're all (mostly) normal.

We were all looking forward to what head chef Andy Holland and his team would do with with their mostly locally sourced produce. We had various dietary demands (pregnancy, vegetarianism) but all managed to find something to our liking on the regularly updated menu.

We got a first look on a gargantuan red leather sofa in the bar before being moved to our table in the conservatory at the back, bedecked with twinkly lights and benefiting from the warmth of a wood burning stove. It's a deceptively big venue but small enough to stay cosy.

Some of the group went for a salmon tian or artichoke soup; I went retro with a prawn cocktail. Pretty as it was, it was disappointingly underseasoned and a little watery. I liked the roe on the top, but I developed major food envy for the creamy earthy soup a couple of the others had plumped for.

Mains are varied too and risottos and steaks were chosen but I plumped for my new favourite (and a useful benchmark for judging new places) - the signature burger.

The Rickety Burger (£11.50) comes with melted cheddar, string chips, rocket, and homemade ketchup on the side with a gherkin. This is a great old-school burger done with the right amount of inventive flourishes. The chips were also really good.

While my food choices didn't blow my socks off, it was an enjoyable meal and the venue, welcoming atmosphere and menu make me want to go back soon.

The Rickety Press
67 Cranham Street, Jericho, Oxford http://thericketypress.com