For The Love Of Cheesecake............

These little delicacies are a guaranteed winner for those who love cheesecake! My main issue with both gaining weight and dieting is portion control so when I saw these beauties I knew I was onto a good thing. I  quartered the recipe and it yielded 7, though probably 6 if I filled them brimful, mini oreo cupcakes. I would advise using whipping cream and watching to not overwhip so that it gives a glossy yet firm swirl. Jersey cream is just too full of Jersey goodness and, despite my best efforts, it ended up being very firm! Though it tasted divine, and looked the part due to the colour, I might experiment with a lower fat content cream for a future batch. I suggest making all haste to try out this recipe.

Portbail

On Tuesday I went to Portbail with my in-laws, Angie and Mick. Mike had to work so could not accompany us. Our boat is moored in a floating marina which means that we can only access the boat 3 hours either side of high tide. On Tuesday the earliest we could leave the marina was 9:15 so it did not entail a very early start, unlike some boat trips! After filling up with diesel we were on our way. Portbail is about 1.5 hours from Jersey so we arrived around 12pm local time.  In order to moor up you need to go over the high water as, unlike many of the surrounding areas, the makeshift marina dries out over the low water. I was glad that we did not have to make the trip to short in the dinghy! The market was almost over when we arrived so we went up to the supermarket and bought a few treats, bread and chocolate being amongst the purchases! I managed to limit myself to only 2 bars of Lindt chocolate. Me thinks the sun had gone to my head!  Fortunately the cake shop was still open so I was able to buy a lovely French chocolate dessert which I greatly enjoyed later.

Unfortunately the church was not open for us to go and visit.

One the way back we stopped at the Echreous, a reef of rocks between Jersey and France.  They are part of the parish of St Martin. As far as we are aware, there is no running water or plumbing on the island. The homes are holiday apartments but I would not like to come on holiday here! For starters there is no ice-cream van! ;)  On our approach here I noticed that there was water leaking over the top of the bathroom. Angie had left open the sea cocks when she flushed the toilet. Mick was less than impressed and the general impression was that here responsibilities had been revoked! We shall see what transpires on future trips and whether they will get reinstated!

Chausey

Chausey is one of the French Channel Islands, just off the coast of Granville.  There are many other smaller islands surrounding Chausey, the visiting of many of the other smaller islands is prohibited and one has been left as a bird sanctuary.  It is much smaller than Jersey and, like Sark, cars are prohibited so it makes for a safe trip on foot around the island.  We only spent a few hours there and it was glorious in the afternoon sun,

It even has a church! However, disappointingly, it was not open to go and look around.

My mother-in-law loves these flowers but I am not entirely sure what they are. 

These yellow flowers are common on many of the Channel Islands but botany is not one of my strong points!

An arrow to show us the way. This was the first of two that we saw.

Clearly these only float in VERY high tides!

There are two forts on Chausey. This one is now privately owned and has been converted into liveable residence.

Here you can see Granville in the distance.