For the past few weeks we have been jollying around, firstly in Barbados and much more fun on the high seas, whilst crossing the Atlantic on a sail boat( albeit a large one, so I guess technically a ship)!

To board this ship we had to get to Barbados and I hate to say it ( spoilt as I am ), that it is not my favourite tourist destination. Give me Majorca any day. Since our last visit to the island, shopping Malls have spring up and the traffic has increased, a pretty decent road on one side of the island ( read traffic jams) whilst on the Atlantic side, the potholes are enormous( read whole parts of the road have gone missing) and the going very slow indeed. One intrepid couple we met drove themselves all around the island ( we just did 2/3) whilst another ventured out on the local bus service.

We stayed in a small boutique hotel, which was the home to about 50 peacocks, male,female and babies! Who knew that they could be so noisy ! Screeching all night long ! But at least we learnt something, a collective noun for them ranges from OSTENTATION to Muster, to Pride or even a Party ! Interesting indeed, put that in your memory bank for your next quiz night!

Then we started on our journey across the Ocean, the (Atlantic that is) aboard the Royal Clipper. It is a sailing ship in the style of the old Tea Clippers and our journey was just lovely. This was our third Trans Atlantic crossing but our first on this particular ship. We joined another 128 ( ship will carry about 250 plus 100 crew) intrepid sailors, one could call them a motley crew, including an Austrian family who had been travelling for a year! The kids 10 & 12, were home schooled and thus still needed to do school work via Mum or Dad ( a tough return to normal school next week )!The largest groups were German along with British, French, Swiss and Italian with just a single Belgian and a single Irish ( me)! Consequently our long unused German language skills came to the fore !

And as it really was a sailing ship though at times it did have to use other means to glide us along, we rocked and rolled across the Ocean. I have never slept so well, so well in fact that I feel I need to teach Himself how to transform Himself into my SleepWallah! To rock me gently to bed each night!

The catering crew must have worked 24 hours a day, with early breakfast , normal breakfast until 10 am, lunch 12-2, afternoon tea at 4, dinner 7-9 and midnight snacks at 11-12! Everyday, lunch was of a different theme, Asian, Spanish , American, Mexican and so on. Every night dinner was a different menu, with choices of starters, soup, main courses, salad, cheese, and desserts! And if you didn’t fancy any ( or all of it, Yes you could have it all) , then there was always steak frites!

For breakfast alone 400 eggs were used! Can you imagine? So talking about eggs, did you know that you never need to throw away eggs as they freeze well, but not in their shells, simply crack them open, put into a container that is slightly larger than the egg ( it will expand upon freezing), and then to use, defrost and beat the whites and yolks together.Another interesting fact is that eggs do not need to be stored in the refrigerator, at least in Europe. But they do in the United States and Japan! Why the difference? Firstly, hens in Europe are more likely to have been vaccinated so Salmonella, less likely to be present. Eggs have a natural protective coating and as such can be safely stored on the counter top. But in Japan and the USA, hens are less likely to have been vaccinated, Salmonella is present in the hens, and hence on the eggs. Therefore they wash the eggs before marketing, but then they do need to be stored in a refrigerator. Having said that, I keep my eggs in the refrigerator, simply because, I try to keep my counter tops clear.

Eggs are extremely versatile and have great satiety value ( they stop you being hungry for longer). How many egg dishes are there? No idea actually, but boiled, poached, scrambled, omelettes, Turkish eggs, Mexican Eggs, Indian scrambled eggs, savoury soufflé, sweet soufflé, cakes and pastries galore, terrines, pasta and accompanying sauces, and don’t forget Ice Cream, the list is endlesss. It is therefore that apparently for just 5 days ( they restocked in the Azores) 90 DOZEN eggs were loaded. Every day ice cream was an option and even at afternoon tea, ice cream sundae or a waffle with ice cream ! Just as well I’m not an Ice Cream super fan ( Himself on the other hand !)

As I have said there are many variations on a theme as far as Mexican, Turkish, Indian Eggs. Croque Madam a La Mexican !Here are a few of them.

To cap it all, last night we had for dinner my version of Mexican eggs, which basically consisted of, sautéed onions, garlic, red pepper, chilli and tomatoes! Along with lime juice and chopped coriander and poached eggs, finished off with an avocado and grated cheese. Easy to do and oh so easy to innovate.

So finally I have made another Basque Cheese Cake ( we have family coming over for Brunch). It is actually very easy, almost as easy as the Japanese cheese cake, which has just three ingredients.

A traditional Basque Baked Cheesecake is baked at a high heat to make sure it has an almost burnt bitter top, .

• List Heat oven to 230 fan or 250 non fan
• 600 grams full fat cream cheese
• 200 grams full fat mascarpone
• 200 grams sour cream
• 200 grams fine caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour

Heat your oven to 250 C.

Grease a cake pan ( loose bottom or not) grease the pan and then layer in two layers of greaseproof paper and grease again.

Put the cream cheese, mascarpone, sour cream, sugar , and vanilla into a food processor ( or blender) whisk until well mixed.

Add the flour, eggs and a pinch of salt. Beat well until all is blended. Pour into the tin tap it to settle and bake for about 35 minutes, until the top is dark brown. Remove from oven and leave to cool at room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use. Can be served with fresh raspberries or use a part of frozen raspberries with some added sugar for a Coulis. If you don’t want to use it all at once, then cut into slices, freeze individually,wrap and keep. Defrost by leaving at room temperature.