So just who am I?

Well, my name is Naila Laundy. If you're thinking Naila is quite an unusual name, you'd be right! I was born in Pakistan, brought up in Abu Dhabi, where I lived for the more than 20 years - apart from the time I returned to Karachi to complete my degree - and after spending four years in Orkney, I am back in England and live near Barnard Castle.

I am currently working as a cook at a nursery in Barnard Castle and also work some evenings in a local pub in Staindrop.

Below is a brief description of my stay in Orkney and my culinary adventure;

Orkney is a group of 70 islands right at the top of Scotland which are home to about 20,000 people.

How did I get there? Well, in 2000, I moved to England with my husband, Stuart, and after a spell in the north east, near Newcastle, we moved to Orkney when his job as a newspaper journalist took him there.

We've were here for nearly five years, and when I was not cooking up new recipes in the kitchen, I was working at the local leisure centre, as an assistant manager.

My parents and one of my sisters still live in Abu Dhabi (capital of the United Arab Emirates); I have another sister in Turkey and my brother is in America, so it's not difficult to see why the inspiration for my cooking comes from far and wide.

I could be cooking home made fish and chips or biryani, depending on my mood!

You will see that I've started with the basics - just a recipe in each section to get us underway - but over the coming weeks, more will be added, so make sure to check back regularly.

One of the delights of Orkney is that we had access to some of the best produce anywhere in the world, whether it is the local beef and lamb, or the freshest seafood straight from the creel boats.

If you would like to find out more about Orkney, I can recommend a couple of sites. For news of what's making the headlines, try The Orcadian website, and if history and heritage is your thing, go to Orkneyjar.com. And if you fancy visiting the isles, there's the visitorkney website.

If you are interested in traditional Orkney recipes, go to The Orcadian's website and search for Alan's Bichan's pages in the features section, there are some real belters in there!

One of the events which was a firm favourite of mine was taking a stall at the Orkney Farmers Market. I had been at the market for nearly two years and had a regular customer base - people who would come over specially to buy my scones made fresh on the day!

To see pictures from the markets on November 26 and December 10, click on the dates.

Before leaving Orkney I catered for a wedding for 100 people which was a big success with the locals and visitors who liked the East meets West theme.

Back in England I am now following my dream and cooking up a storm for up to 50 children on a daily basis. I have also catered for a few buffets and preparing for Christmas orders. I plan to join the local Farmers' Market in 2008.

My latest stint at cooking was at our local pub in Staindrop. Check out Karahi Night at The Black Swan.

I have also been featured in a magazine produced by the local newspaper, The Teesdale Mercury. Check out the November edition of Dale Life.