OK, so election day has come and gone leaving a lot of us feeling more than a little deflated and, in some instances, despondent for those candidates who strived to their fullest capacity only to be pipped at the post. All in all it was a pretty exciting day even if the end results weren't to all of our likings.

There were quite a few light hearted moments during the day and the one that made me smile the most had to do with my mother.

She thought that this was extremely funny also otherwise I wouldn't be telling it to you now. As you know you had to take a piece of identification with you to the polling booth to ensure your authenticity. My mother thought that her drivers license was out of date and so grabbed what she thought was her passport. I was away at the time and so my boys took her to the polling station to vote.

Upon arrival she duly handed over her "passport" to the officer in charge. He took one look at it and with a huge smile and a chuckle handed it back to my mother saying that it was very lovely but not quite the identification that they were looking for. Mum couldn't understand what they were talking about; you can't get any better proof of identification than a passport after all. She took it back from the officer in amazement and it wasn't until the boys relieved her of it that they saw why the grinning officer was so amused.

No, it wasn't a passport at all as Mum had thought - although with her failing eyesight I suppose it could have been taken as such. What it was, was a claret coloured leather booklet, encasing on the front a large silver $50 coin with the Queen's head on it. The gold writing above the coin where it normally would say if it were a passport issued by the Government of Bermuda or whatever said: The Cayman Islands 1975. Inside were six $50 commemorative silver coins minted to mark the Queen's visit to Cayman.

Although the coin on the front was in fact an engraving of the Queen, that particular queen wasn't my Mum! The poor man must have thought that she was totally bonkers. But who cares, it was only an optical oversight and we all got a huge laugh out of that one. Luckily the boys managed to find her drivers licence which in fact hadn't expired and all was well. Now, onto matters culinary.

I have just done a U-turn on the Barracuda Grill and have decided that I now like it. Last night was 'M's daughter Nicola's 20th birthday and I had the very good fortune to be invited. The party took place at the aforementioned venue and was a huge success. There was a terrific mixture of the younger (much) generation and a smattering of us "oldies". It's wonderful when our kids reach that age when we can all sit around a table in total amicable harmony and that they have now become our friends.

It certainly takes a long time in coming this harmony bit but is definitely worth the wait. It doesn't seem that long ago that we'd all sit round the dining table with all the children in virtual massive hysteria and us grown-ups having to continually top up our glasses in a vague attempt at trying to enjoy ourselves.

My son Piers would continually torture his brother Somers by pinching him really hard and then tease him about having a pointed head. Or else perform a "noogie" on him, which involved some sort of knuckle manoeuvre on top of his head, which apparently left him with what he still claims to have been a partially fractured skull.

Then all hell would break loose; if there were any of their friends present they would all join in and then there would be a free for all. No one liked any of the same foods so you'd end up having to cook about eight different dishes so as to appease everyone most of which would be left on their plates anyway.

My job would then be to eat all the food that they'd left, as I can't bear to see anything going to waste and probably gaining on average about five pounds a night. Those meal times were certainly hell on earth and no one certainly me could ever imagine the time would ever come when I'd be clinking wine glasses with this lot, discussing politics and all of us eating the same thing.

I am cutting my prose back a little this week so as to have enough space to give you some nice Cup Match recipes. I am sure that all you want to do over the next four days is to spend time in a sweltering kitchen preparing food for your loved ones! Maybe you can get up in the middle of the night to do your cooking when it is slightly cooler, especially with the salmon recipe where you have to turn the oven up to 500 degrees. Whatever you decide I hope that you have a great Cup Match and trust that you'll enjoy at least one of my recipes most of which have been adapted from the current issue of magazine.

These are exquisitely delectable and are so easy to make.

I have adapted this recipe a bit to suit my taste buds and you should do likewise.

1 ? sticks unsalted butter, (at room temperature but not too soft) ? cup sugar, 1 ? cups flour, 2 teaspoons mild curry powder, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, ? teaspoon chilli powder, 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds In a medium bowl and using a hand held mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sift the flour with all the other ingredients and gradually add to the butter mixture beating until well blended. Scrape this dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a log 11/4" in diameter, then pat into a rectangle, wrap it up and chill for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then cut the dough into ?-inch slices and place on two parchment-lined baking trays. Prick the top of the shortbreads all over with a fork and bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Slide the parchment onto a rack and allow to cool. These can be stored in an airtight container for a week or frozen for up to a month.

1 cup plain whole milk yoghurt, ? cup tandoori paste (available at the Supermart and Miles) 2 large garlic cloves, minced, 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger, salt and fresh black pepper, 8X6-ounce salmon fillets, Gremolata - 1 medium sized red onion minced, 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced, finely grated zest of 2 limes, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, ? cup each of chopped mint and cilantro In a medium bowl mix the tandoori paste, yoghurt, garlic and ginger, salt and pepper and chill overnight. Arrange the salmon fillets in a single layer in a glass dish and coat each one thoroughly with the tandoori mixture, cover with plastic wrap and chill for between 4 and 8 hours. In a small bowl combine the gremolata ingredients together adding a little salt. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Transfer the salmon fillets to a lightly oiled baking tray, skinned side down leaving a thick coating of the marinade on the fish, season with salt and pepper and then put in the upper third of the oven for 10 minutes or until just cooked through. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle over the gremolata. This is equally as good served at room temperature.

Please note that this cake must be glazed while still hot. I served it with freshly sliced oranges along side and it was a huge hit. Make it in the morning and allow it to sit at room temperature all day as that is better than serving it chilled.

3 cups sifted cake flour, ? teaspoon baking soda, ? teaspoon salt, 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature, 2 cups sugar, 3 large eggs at room temperature, 1 cup plain low-fat yoghurt, ? teaspoon vanilla, finely grated zest of 2 oranges and 2 lemons and 1 grapefruit, 2 tablespoons each of lemon and orange juice, citrus glaze and candied zest (recipe to follow) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the lower third. Butter and flour a 9-inch bundt or tube pan.

In one bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl beat the butter until creamy and then add the sugar beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating well between additions. In another bowl combine the yoghurt, vanilla and citrus zest and juices. At low speed beat the dry ingredients into the batter in 3 batches alternating with the yoghurt mixture. Scrape the batter into prepared tin and bake for 1-? hours or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack. Turn the cake right side up, pricking all over with a fork. Brush with the citrus glaze and scatter over candied zest.

1 large or and 1 large lemon, 1 small grapefruit, 2 ? cups sugar. With a vegetable peeler remove the zest from each of the citrus fruit and cut into fine julienne strips. Fill a medium pan with water, add the zest and bring to the boil and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Return zest to pan and add ? cup of the sugar and 1 cup of cold water. Bring to the boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer over low heat until the glaze has thickened, about 20 minutes. Strain the glaze into a bowl, pressing on the zest to extract as much glaze as possible. Return 2 tablespoons of the zest to the glaze. Spread remaining 2 cups of sugar onto a plate, scattering on the rest of the zest and coating well with the sugar. Scatter onto wax paper and allow to dry for about 2 hours.