FOR every end there is a beginning, and so as Stephanie Manley departs I’m stepping up to the plate to offer you weekly ideas of scrumptious foods and great bargains.

Sticking with the theme of ‘out with the old and in with the new’ I have taken inspiration from the changing seasons.

And while they are out grazing the fields with a spring in their step, it seems only fitting that lamb should also be firmly on the menu.

At the award-winning Linthwaite House Hotel in Windermere, head chef Chris O’Callaghan is cooking up a divine looking delicate dish of rare roasted leg of lamb with swede sarladaise, tarragon and goats cheese.

The versatility of lamb means it can be used to make a heart-warming stew, a satisfying Sunday lunch, or with the lighter nights slowly coming in why not try it in a salad?

At Witherslack Community Stores you can order in freshly frozen shoulder of lamb from Aireys Farm Shop at £7.50 per kilo. You can also order other locally-sourced cuts of fresh meat from the shop.

If you head over to Dales Butchers in Kirkby Lonsdale, you could get a leg of lamb for a roast at £12.98 per kilo.

To go with your roast there is the traditional accompaniment of sweet mint jelly from The Honeypot, Hawkshead, at £2.35 for a 277g jar.

Or why not try Kirkby Stephen Country Flavour rosemary jelly at £1.45 for a 200g jar from Low Sizergh Barn, Kendal? They have also got Pott’s lamb and port gravy at £3 for 350ml to complete the perfect roast. And for something totally different try their Mansergh Hall lamb pinwheels at £10.88 per kilo. These slices of minced lamb in pastry would make an alternatively easy-to-prepare meal.

Greenbanks, Kendal, have got Harmony white potatoes at £1 for two kilos. Quite big, these are good all round English potatoes that can be baked, roasted or boiled to accompany any sort of dish.

Plumgarths Farm Shop, Kendal, is selling gooseberry and mint sauce at £3 per 190g jar from Friendly Food and Drink in Staveley which you could try out with their lamb chops that come in at a price of £14.99 for 3lb.

Cottage Delight peanut-based satay sauce is £4.50 for 220ml in Cartmel Village Shop which will provide you with a more exotic flavour sensation.

There’s also a mushroom and smoked garlic sauce at £4/95 for 535g available, by the same make. And, for a bit of fun, they’ve even got little chocolate sheep for 78p with white chocolate bodies and dark chocolate head and feet.

Spring is all about light and colour, so to match the colourful savoury lamb dishes, whether it’s roasts, chops or salads, satisfy your sweet tooth with Grange Bakery’s Battenberg cake at £2.80 for a loaf.