I JUST had to start with sweet treats this week because our Checkout contributors have come up with such a glorious August Bank Holiday feast of ideas.

Hazelmere Café and Bakery at Grange-over-Sands set the ball rolling with its Cumberland Rum Nicky Slice (£1.70), a heady combination of rum, stem ginger, cherries and sweet pastry.

And then Baba Ganoush in Kendal had me salivating with the thought of its raspberry, white chocolate and macademia nut brownie (£1.40 per slice), and frosted blueberry cake ((£1.75 per slice).

That was closely followed by the Miniature Bakery range from Yorkshire which is new in at Low Sizergh Barn farm shop near Kendal. Selling from £1.80 to £2.50 per pack, the choice includes Viennese whirls, brandy snaps, and chocolate meringues, to name but three.

To this week’s savoury selection now and butcher Peter Hutchinson from Greenodd blew me away with his family holiday weekend ‘oven buster’ recommendation – a flat rib of beef which can serve up to six people. Almost like brisket on the bone, this joint needs long, slow cooking to become meltingly tender.

And here’s the best bit – it costs only £5.50 per kilo!

Also good value is Peter’s pork steaks in a sweet chilli glaze (£6.16 per kilo) which can be grilled indoors or barbecued outdoors.

This week’s bargains continue with Watson & Woollard in Kendal, who have minted lamb shanks on at £7.50 per kilo; once again, these should be slow-cooked for perfect tender meat which will simply fall off the bone.

Also, Grange butcher Stuart Higginson is offering 3lbs (approximately six) of Cumbrian boneless and skinless chicken fillets for £9.99.

Versatile with a capital V, try cutting a fillet into strips, dip in beaten egg and then fresh breadcrumbs and serve with avocado mayonnaise (avocado, mayo, olive oil, salt and pepper); wrap a whole fillet in parma ham and bake; make a ‘kebab’ with slices of sweet pepper, aubergine, and chicken and serve with a green salad and basil dressing (basil leaves, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil); cut into strips and roast in the oven alongside corn on the cob and potato wedges, then serve the chicken wrapped in a tortilla with soured cream and salsa, with the corn and chips on the side; or pan-fry the breast with double cream and serve with caramelised apple slices.

Witherslack Community Shop is now stocking apples grown in the village - £1 per kilo for the cookers which are available at the moment, and eaters expected in a few weeks.

Witherslack also has new season clear honey produced in the village (£4.50 per llb jar).

Finally, Kendal Fisheries recommended popular Manx queenie scallops (£1.99/100g) – pan-fry and serve with pasta, or stir into a paella; salmon (£14.39 per kilo) – fabulous poached or steamed and served with new potatoes and a seasonal green vegetable, or roasted with cherry tomatoes and served on spaghetti drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh basil leaves; and cheap-as-chips coley (only £7.49 per kilo) – brilliant in a tomato-based stew with sliced peppers and courgettes and served with chunks of garlic bread to mop up all the lovely juices, or stir into a fragrant Thai curry sauce and serve on rice with a bowl of steam spinach, or chard on the side.