4 days and counting

Quite the entertaining weekend, Friday was really nice. I went for dinnet at the cutest little bistro in kensington - Niko's, on the same black as the Kensington Wine Market - sooo yummy, and soooo cute, Niko himself even came out and gave us each a shot of Sambuca, gratis! I highly recomend it.... Then it was home to watch "A good year" with Russel Crowe. Now normally I really like Russel, I do, but this movie was kinda off, I think it was because it is an adaptation of Peter Mayle's book " A Year in Provence" which freakin' rules if you ever need a great read..... everything in it is true - I swear! Anyhoo, yes it was an okay movie, but I like the book a billion times more, and the miniseries also made by A & E was better as well.... Nonetheless the evening was a success...

Saturday was work, went in to see cute coffee guy at second cup, but alas he was not there..... yummy coffee though! And of course of to SHEC I went, not to exciting, had a ridiculous conversation with a patient who lost her contacts, but didn't really loose them, you had to be there, it was unbelievable... moronic patients......

Saturday evening was a different story though, I raced to the store to pick up some ingredients for dinner, saw Yoo-Ree in the produce department, had a great chat, rushed home started preparing dinner, getting dressed, cleaning the house etc etc.... then I waited and waited - everyone was quite late showing up - but in the end they all arrived and dinner was awesome, yummy and fun! Bravo to KQ for her mad culinary skills!

Sunday morning was a race to clean up the housesitting house, yuck, and then it was a race to get brunch ready as Rachel and Robbie were coming over for Nigella's famous cheesecakelets.... anything Nigella makes turns out sooo delicious - what a success....

Sunday afternoon I loaded my car up, trudged into my apartment, decided that it was a huge mess and that it desperately needed to be cleaned, so I cleaned, and cleaned (I LOATHE cleaning kitchens) and ironed my clothes and tried to start packing, and generally put my life back in order, and had coffee with some lovely folks, chatted about my trip and then back to the cleaning, and then had a shower, watched desperate housewives - poor Danielle! - and went to bed.

Phew...... now it is back to work for the last drive until I go to Montreal..... and I still have so much more to clean, ughhhhh.....

PS - latest temperature update - 29 degrees today in Tozeur...... nice!

Cheesecakelets Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson
Show: Nigella Feasts
Episode: Breakfast All Hours

Serving suggestion:
Topping
2 cups strawberries, chopped into quarters
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar

Crepes
3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon best-quality vanilla extract
1 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup all-purpose flour


Put the strawberries into a bowl and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and sugar. Stir before covering with plastic wrap and leaving to steep while you make the cheesecakelets.

Mix the egg yolks with the sugar, beating well. Add the vanilla, cottage cheese, and flour. Then, in another bowl, whisk the whites until frothy with a hand whisk and fold into the cottage cheese mixture.
Heat a smooth griddle or nonstick skillet and dollop the batter onto it make cakelets of about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Each cheesecakelet will take a minute or so to firm up underneath, then you should flip it and cook the other side, and remove to a warmed plate when ready.

Turn the strawberries in the ruby syrup they've made and squish some pieces with a fork at the same time. Serve with the hot cheesecakelets