There were more than a few readers whose feathers were ruffled by the healthy state of my shopping basket in the October issue. 'Where's the cake?' they cried, as if I had been telling porky pies all along. The point of the piece was not so much what I eat, but what gets past my lips on a daily basis. As much as I would like to eat cake, or trifle or steamed treacle pudding every day of my life, I don't. At least not every single day. But I do drink green tea and eat blueberries and yoghurt come rain or shine. One of the many good things on my list was pomegranate juice. Not the tetra-packed drink that contains only a small percentage of this magical fruit, but the real thing. Which unfortunately works out at about the same price as a decent bottle of wine. I was introduced to this garnet nectar by the food and wine writer Richard Ehrlich when I wasn't drinking alcohol (and what a long, long month that was). I guess I just got the taste for it, and now I drink it every day. Though I should add I'm back on the wine too. The drink is set to become the drink of next year. Its presence on our shelves is mostly due to the American multimillionairess Lynda Resnick who has invested $10 million on research to prove the fruit's antioxidant properties and that it combats high blood pressure and cholesterol. Admirable, but the fact is that, for me, it just happens to taste great and has no sugar in it, a truly innocent soft drink.
If you are still not sure what you are having for Christmas dinner then perhaps you might like to take a look at my recipes this month, over 40 ideas from The Kitchen Diaries. And if you are not tempted by my roast duck with pancetta and potatoes or the goose with apple sauce then perhaps you will enjoy the sheep's lungs and dumplings in Fuchsia Dunlop's story about China's Xinjiang province. Fuchsia delights and surprises us with tales about the multi-ethnic food of this part of Northern China.
We also have stripper Dita von Teese showing us to our table, our own Tim Atkin opening the best bottles for Christmas and have persuaded Kevin McCloud to show us his shopping basket. So, a pretty full stocking of delights for you this month, and from all of us here at Observer Food Monthly, may we wish you a truly delicious Christmas.
· Nigel Slater is The Observer's cookery writer
