"Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful"

But let me tell you, this cheesecake is delightful.


Above: It worked! Oh how it worked. Nigella has a whole stash of cheesecake recipes that up until now I'd put in the basket labelled "hmm looks pleasantly gratifying but a little too hard and - waterbath! Heck no, sister!" Am now a complete convert.

It shows that you really should trust more in Nigella, when she says not to be put off by the waterbath...well, don't be. Wrapping the batter-filled tin with foil and placing it in a roasting dish, which I filled with boiling water and then got Tim to ferry precariously to the oven - well it wasn't that difficult at all. Now I'm looking forward to trying out in the future her chocolate cheesecake, New York cheesecake, apple cheesecake...and maybe taking out shares in Philadelphia cheese.



Above: Just to put it in context, (and because it's not all about me) I'd better mention that we had a shared dinner on Wednesday night - it was supposed to be a barbeque but it was hosing down with rain, in a non-summery kind of way. Naturally, it was the day that Tim and I picked three weeks ago to go Christmas shopping. What a long day! I was exhausted by the end of it all, (and terrified to look at my bank balance!) We went into the Christmas Grotto (or whatever they are calling it these days) at Kirkcaldie and Staines, and nearly had a hernia at all the blinking lights. There were different 'concept' trees everywhere, and Tim and I (okay, mostly Tim) estimated that one tree alone -we checked some price tags- would cost upward of $3000 if you wanted to duplicate it in your home. We also found this music box that - would you believe it - recreated the entire Nutcracker ballet with little cake decoration dolls and scene changes and everything. I dragged Tim through the Cuisine section ("This would be such a thoughtful gift for someone") before we trudged out into the rain to recommence.

Tim made some sugar free jellies in my old fashioned moulds for dessert on Wednesday. One was a 21st birthday present from my mother's sister, and the other was something I scavenged out in a second hand shop. He turned them out onto the plate with ease and don't they look all jewel-like and festive! The cheesecake tasted lovely - very creamy but also tangy with lime, and the chocolate base was very, very moreish.

I made kedgeree for dinner last night, in one of those "Good grief what on earth will we have for dinner" moments that occur sometimes. Kedgeree always reminds me of Dad because he would often cook it for us at home, though I admit it's not something, to paraphrase Nigella, that you would serve to the ambassador of India. What we ate last night was merely cooked rice with frozen peas, a tin of tuna, some hard boiled eggs and spices stirred through. Still delicious and a good store-cupboard fallback.

Can't tell you what else I cooked last night because there is a good percentage of my readership for whom it will be a Christmas present! I know something you don't know...tee hee.