Holy moly, why didn’t somebody warn me about first school term blues – not the kid, the parent. Master Five has turned in to Damien Devil Child – but just when he feels like it. Said child was poorly behaved at neighbours today for half our visit, then we turned on telly and he was happy. Maybe I’ve gone wrong in not telling him our television gets Disney channel!

I’ve seen loads of amusing parental posts recently – in summary, the perfect parents we were before we were parents compared to the parents we actually are. Blimmin’ heck, I don’t have a clue. Nobody told me it got harder as they get older. But, to be fair, I had the perfect baby – it could only go downhill.

My friend today said that she’s OK with “kids being kids” as long as parents take responsibility and intervene when necessary. In my case, that’s all the time – listening seems an optional pastime in our house.

I’m hoping that things will work themselves out and we’ll come out the other end with a happy, polite and respectful young man. I’ve got to say that I’m pleased we’ve gone for the values based school, because I can do with all the help I can get.

I see glimpses of gorgeousness, but it’s a much harder slog than I thought it would be. Huge respect to my Mum (again) for doing the hard yards with us four while Dad was working.

What is not so hard is today’s recipe. I’ve had a few cracks at gnocchi in the past, with varying success. This is a recipe from cooking school – which funnily seems a life time ago. It’s easy and it’s tasty. Just remember to go light on the flour.

What you’ll need

165g ricotta (check out Zany Zeus – a yummy Wellington brand)

35g ground almonds

35g plain flour

35g parmesan cheese, grated

1 egg, lightly beaten

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make it

Stir the ricotta in a bowl until smooth – I use a fork.

Add in the other ingredients and mix until combined. Pop in to the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Prepare a large pot of boiling, salted water, then bring down to just under a very fast boil. Pop a small dumpling of the mixture into the water and cook till it rises to the surface. Taste, and season further if required

On a very, very lightly floured bench, roll out 2.5cm diameter logs.

Cut pieces, around 2cm long. Press each piece lightly with a fork.

Cook the gnocchi as you did above – it’ll be ready when it comes to the surface of the water. Place on an oiled or baking paper lined tray until required.

Serve with your desired sauce. I quite like burnt butter sauce with sage. You can make this very easily:

What you’ll need

40g unsalted butter

Sage leaves

Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved

Lemon juice – about ½ lemon

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Gnocchi

Cook it up

Melt the butter in a heavy based large fry pan, add the sage leaves.

Cook the gnocchi in loads of salted boiling water (if you haven’t done so already).

Cook the butter until it is brown then add the lemon juice.

Drain the gnocchi and add to the pan with the butter and sage. Coat the gnocchi with the butter mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with parmesan.

This is a great Sunday night meal and perfect for your vegetarian friends. With a bit of tweaking, it can also be easily gluten free. So, something to suit everyone. Give it a go, you’ll never store buy gnocchi again.