Let's hear it for Sarah Nelson!

In January we had our first Hungry Family Holiday and decided to go to Grasmere.

We love the Lake District, the snow, the sun, the fells, the lakes, the ale and most of all the Gingerbread!!! Anyone who has had Grasmere Gingerbread willl appreciate that it's worth the journey alone.

The recipe is, of course, Sarah Nelson's closely guarded secret. I often mean to try to re create it but perhaps it's best left as a tasty mystery to be savoured on lakeland holidays.

Nigella and Gnocchi

Hmmm... two things I'm not too fond of. So imagine my surprise when it was Nigella who gave me the key to enjoying Gnocchi. I find gnocchi rather bland and stodgey and always a disappointment, but fried until crispy its another monster entirely. A foodie excuse to eat fast food, perhaps, not too far removed from potato waffles but in bitesize crispy nuggets.

For a Spicy Filling Lunch I started by frying discs of Chorizo, releasing all that porky paprika fat (yum!). Add a sliced red onion and as much gnocchi as you fancy. Fry until the onion is cooked and the gnocchi golden brown.

This is quite rich and oily so I just served this with a fresh crispy salad . Fast and satisfying.

The Only Way to Eat Sprouts.

I really love all cabbage and related vegetables, but I admit to not really liking sprouts until I was once served them this way. Flash fried in a lot of Butter and a really generous grind of Black Pepper. I forgot to take a picture of these once they were cooked because I was so eager to eat them! Oops!