SAUSAGES come in all shapes and sizes. In Scotland, local butchers take pride in their own family recipes for "links" or square-shaped Lorne sausages. Pork and beef are the most popular, but lamb is also used and delicious venison sausages are increasingly available. For vegetarians, meat substitutes such as quorn, have been processed into sausage shapes.

In Scotland, many people still choose to shop at their local butcher’s than buy fresh meat at the supermarket. This popularity stems from the Scots’ natural respect for their local butcher’s skill and knowledge, but this still can be found at other shops too, where the trader is a skilled purveyor of fine food and drinks. It has been sad to watch the demise of friendly high street shops, once at the heart of every neighbourhood. One of my greatest wishes is that Scotland works harder to maintain and redevelop these centres of community activity, by encouraging small businesses to start up new enterprises. Local bakers, fishmongers, greengrocers, dairies, together with butchers are so important in the family food chain and can be a direct link with small producers and growers in the immediate area.

The people's movement of retaliation against the enormity of the UK’s supermarket chains has made a difference. Then again, the supermarket chains have wised up to the fact that our shopping habits are changing and are opening their own versions of neighbourhood stores, as fast as they can snap up suitable premises. The same can be said about the giant coffee shop chains and well-known fast food outlets, which include bakeries and sandwich shops. Chain stores have reduced the dynamism and individuality of local shopping centres, due to their monotonous prevalence wherever one goes.

I feel strongly that the time has come to reverse the demise of our high streets and make far greater use of the core of every community to help spread the word regarding the importance of fresh, local, seasonal food, along with home-cooking and family meals. Shopping is good for the soul too. It helps to create relationships outwith the lonely lifestyle that some of us find ourselves confined to, particularly in our older years, or the period many of us spend at home as young parents. Shopping online may be convenient, but it is a far cry from the fun of selecting fresh produce. Getting advice on cheap cuts of meat and how to cook them, or some assistance with preparing fresh fish for tea, is something to enjoy, when it goes hand-in-hand with friendly chat in lively surroundings.

Car parking is an issue for many, who can't carry heavy bags. But if a trip down the high street involves a walk and some exercise, this cannot be all bad. Perhaps we should also champion the return of the other kind of shopping trolley – a roomy basket or bag on wheels?

I understand that busy working lives deter folk from this kind of lifestyle. Sad as it seems to me, I have to accept that modern life is at the core of the high street's demise. However, the rise of interest in local shopping, farm shops and farmers' markets has made a huge difference and hopefully this will continue to attract more families to think about the food they eat, where it comes from or how it is reared, fished and farmed.

Choosing the best ingredients is very important in the whole process of home cooking and for this week’s recipe for toad-in-the-hole, I urge you to research the content of your sausages before you buy. Avoid too many additives, colourings, chemicals and preservatives. Salt and pepper, fresh herbs and spices are all encouraged. Sausages need fat, but not to the detriment or integrity of the fresh meat content. There will always be some form of rusk or crumb added, but again, this should be well-balanced with the meat. What could be cheaper and easier than serving this dish with a freshly picked, local Savoy cabbage and some homemade onion gravy? It’s a winner, all-round.

Toad-in-the-hole

(Serves 4)

8 plump sausages

50g lard or pure meat dripping or 2 tbsp cooking oil

110g plain white flour

Salt and pepper

1 rounded tsp mustard powder (optional)

2 large eggs

150ml fresh milk

150ml cold water

Method

1. Set the oven to 220°C, Gas Mark 7.

2. Place the lard, dripping or cooking oil into a roasting tin/oven-proof dish measuring around 20cm wide x 30cm long.

3. Separate the sausages, prick the skins with a fork on both sides and place these in the dish on a high shelf in the hot oven. Part-cook the sausages for 15-20 minutes, turning once.

4. Meanwhile, make the batter: sieve the flour and mustard powder into a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Make a well in the centre of the flour and crack the eggs into it. Using a wooden spoon (or an electric handheld mixer) beat the eggs and flour together until a thick, creamy mixture is achieved.

5. Mix the milk and cold water together in a jug.

6. Sit the bowl on a folded tea-towel to prevent slipping and using a balloon whisk (or electric mixer) pour the milk and water in a steady stream into the batter, whisking as you pour. You are aiming to achieve a light, creamy, lump-free batter. Set aside until the sausages are part-cooked.

7. Remove the hot dish from the oven carefully as more fat should have run from the sausages and mixed with the lard. It should be sizzling hot. Sit the dish over a low heat on the hob and, ensuring that the fat is still sizzling hot, pour the batter into the dish over the sausages.

8. Immediately return the dish to the hot oven and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes, when the batter will have risen all around the sausages and look golden brown and crisp around the edges. The sausages are supposed to resemble toads peeping out of a hole, but I am sorry to say, I have never quite got this idea.

9. Serve immediately with traditional onion gravy and finely shredded and lightly cooked Savoy cabbage, with or without some crunchy bits of streaky bacon added just before it is served.

Onion Gravy

(Serves 4+)

2 medium onions, peeled

50g Scottish butter

Sea salt and ground black pepper

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 heaped tsp soft, dark brown sugar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar, or Worcester sauce

50g plain flour

1 pint hot stock – homemade if possible, but a good quality, vegetable or beef stock cube is good

1 tsp gravy browning or similar, for additional colour (optional).

Method

1. Cut the onion in half and place flat side down on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife slice through the length of the onion in thin, half-moon slices.

2. Using a thick-based frying pan, melt the butter slowly and add the onions, stirring to coat in the hot butter. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Sprinkle the oil over the onion and stir and turn the onions to ensure all are coated well. Keep cooking the onion, stirring from time to time, until translucent, but beginning to turn brown at the edges.

4. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the onion and stir well.

5. Sprinkle the vinegar (or sauce) over the mixture and stir again. Continue cooking until the onions begin to caramelise and turn slightly sticky. Turn down the heat.

6. Sieve the flour evenly over the hot onions in the pan. Stir to mix into the onions.

7. Gradually pour the hot stock over the onions, stirring as you pour, until all the liquid is encompassed and the gravy is beginning to thicken. Keep stirring to avoid lumps. It should be thick and glossy.

8. To finish, check seasoning; add a little browning if you want the gravy to look darker. If it is too thick, add a little hot water. Pour into a gravy jug and keep warm until ready to serve.

Shirley Spear is owner of The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By on the Isle of Skye www.threechimneys.co.uk