FORGET your Jaffa Cakes and McVities Digestives – when it comes to biscuits there’s nothing beats a Fruity Brittle or a Curly Peter.

And what about Appleby Fairings, Kringles, and Tebay Crunch; not to mention Napoleon Hats, Ginger Ruffles, and Orange Coconut Crisps.

All these wonderful treats are yours for the baking with the help of Biscuits Galore, yet another cracker of a cookbook from the Cumbria-Westmorland WI Federation.

I found my first edition of Biscuits Galore in a second-hand bookshop – there was some-thing about its neat pocket-size, and so-easy-to-follow recipes.

But there’s no need for you to go scouring the same because the WI has now reprinted this superlative little tome which is available at a snip – just £4.

Anne Walshaw and Sandra Johnson have been circulating various bookshops to get traders to take it on board – you will find it on sale at Carnforth Bookshop, for example.

But you can also bag it at the WI headquarters on Station Road in Kendal (call 01539-720921 to check opening times). And watch out for it on sale at Country Fest at Crooklands and the Westmorland County Show.

  • Now for this week’s recommendations, starting with Country Harvest at Ingleton which has fresh fish from Fleetwood available every Tuesday courtesy of fishmonger Dean McGinley. You will find natural and yellow smoked haddock on at £14.50 per kilo, cod and haddock at £13.99 per kilo, monkfish at £19.99 per kilo, and 2-kilo sacks of succulent Welsh rope-grown mussels at a very economical £5.

The other day I steamed some mussels, and then cooked a creamy fennel, leek and bacon sauce to accompany.

Just up the road at Burton-in -Lonsdale Stores, checkout the latest selection of jams and chutneys made by Sue Prickett at her Hutton Roof home. These include hot tomato chutney, apricot chutney and beetroot chutney (all £2.70 per 280mls). Try serving the latter with Grandma Singleton’s Tasty Lancashire (88p per 100g) or Extra Tasty (£1 per 100g) and new organic sun-dried tomato and herb oatcakes (£1.79 per 250g).

Dales Traditional Butchers at Kirkby Lonsdale are now stocking Matthew Allinson’s Damson Ketchup (made in Cartmel) which is £3 per 275ml bottle. Butcher Mark Duckworth suggested serving with his own pork and black pudding pie (£1.20); pork, apple and sage sausage (£3.98 per 500g); or Dales dry-cure bacon.

Aireys butchers at Ayside, does a special breakfast pack containing 1lb back bacon, 1lb Aireys pork sausage, half a pound of Aireys own recipe black pudding, and half a dozen local free range eggs – all for just £7.50.

For this week’s puddings, can I first of all recommend new season Witherslack-grown rhubarb, on sale at Wither-slack Community Shop (£2 per kilo).

Or what about heading for The Honeypot at Hawkshead which is stocking Lynne Mallinson’s range of Country Puddings (made at Penrith) including Tangy Lemon and Eve’s Apple puddings, also Rhubarb Crumble (all £2.99).