Spring Sweets: Happy Travels, Lemon Mousse and Ginger Snaps

Sunday lunch and another family catch up.  It has all been so much fun catching up with everyone and I just cannot believe that my 5 week sojourn is over and that it was back to work today.  What a fantastic 5 weeks and far too many highlights...I hardly even know where to begin.

London...a whole week with great friends, a week of curries, Ottolenghi, St John Restaurant, Jamie's Italian, a shamrocking St Partick's day, Borough Market, a little retail therapy and lots of catching up with very dear friends.  Rich, Stacey, Danny, Malin, Alison, Roz, Gillian and all my rocker friends on St Paddy's - it was so much fun!

En route to Scotland via Surrey and more catch ups with old university friends, Becky and Kirsten.  We met freshers week at university and now wonder how 20 years can have flown by so quickly! A little bubbly, a too short long lunch, my gorgeous god daughter, Amber and her sister, Robyn swearing her oath in to the Brownies.  Next stop Chorley, up North and I fell a little in love with  Lancashire!  Friendly people, rolling hills and Suzannah...more precious time with a dear friend, sadly it all passes in a flash and over all too quickly.

Pretend bubbly in hand as pre noon!

And finally bonnie Scotland and it has been bonnie indeed, certainly interspersed with some spectacular spring days, daffodils blooming everywhere.  More good times with Mum and Dad, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, school friends and uni friends.  Marvelous eats at Monachyle Mohr, The Royal Hotel and Cromlix House and far too many scones.

One of those family gatherings was Sunday lunch, roast leg of lamb, Nigella's roast potatoes in goose fat, boiled baby new Jersey Royals, maple glazed carrots, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.  Yes Brussels sprouts....roasted and topped with walnuts and a balsamic dressing.  Quite delicious and you can get the recipe over here at Scandi Food.

I was on dessert and felt it only right to share these ginger snaps, they are light and snappy full of ginger and spices with a crunchy sugar crust.  All credit for the recipe goes to Alice Waters and The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution.  The first time I baked this recipe they turned out perfectly and the same again...this is one very good recipe.

So good I felt they deserved to feature with dessert and I like the ginger with the lemon so enter a little lemon mousse.

Ingredients

4 lemons, zest and juice

4 eggs, separated

125g (4oz) caster sugar

15g (1/2 oz) gelatine

300ml double cream

Directions

Add the zest of the lemons to a medium sized bowl with the egg yolks and whisk until well combined.  Slowly add the sugar, whisking all the time.  Continue to whisk until the mixture is thick and pale.  It will a good few minutes.

Add the lemon juice to the mixture and whisk well.  Dissolve the gelatine in a spoonful or 2 of warm water until it is completely dissolved and then add it to the yolk mixture.  Stir it in thoroughly