For Elaine

Made me think of you. From Tsk Tsk.

Changing seasons

Wish I could say that it is autumn like here with golden afternoon light and changing leaves but alas it's more like odd days of wind and big picturesque cloudscapes  (which I now get to see a lot of when out hanging the clothes on the roof). The trees start to look green, the dustiness ends as the rain finally comes and small areas of  grass can be seen.  Not the Midwestern burst of color and smells that I am used to. Still thoughts of baking and soup recipes start to drift into my thoughts. School days are ahead now (finally) and with that a new gear. 

Came across a bag of red peppers for one euro at the green grocer yesterday so thought I would  marinate them to have on hand to throw into salads and on sandwiches. I had a roommate from my Seattle days who used to fill the house with the smells of roasting peppers, every now and again she would be possessed to do as her late Israeli mother used to do -roast and marinate in garlic and   (...sadly I have lost touch with this friend and couldn't ask her what else she used to add),  so decided to throw some thyme in as we had some fresh stalks on hand. It looked almost like a burst of fall colors in a jar to me. Thus the photo. 

Also with so many plums around I got a little inspired (yes-ice cream again) this time I made a plum compote with some orange rind and ginger then swirled it into a custard like vanilla ice cream- wish I could remember the exact amounts because it turned out really well-  subtly tart but very creamy. If anyone out there is interested I can write down what I remember. 

Picnic in Buskett

Busquet is the old castle grounds here in the north of the island. We went out for the day and brought a picnic with us of orzo salad (recipe below), sandwiches, tea and fig rolls. 

Was a lovely day out- we walked through olive groves, orange orchards and past pomegranate trees! The children spotted snails, collected pine cones and speculated where the bears probably live. 

Orzo Salad

1/2 red onion chopped

100 grams feta (to taste)

5-6 sun dried tomatoes finely chopped

fresh spinach

fresh basil

1/2 cup roasted pine nuts or walnuts

1/2 red pepper chopped

salt and pepper

olive oil and bit of balsamic vinegar

 

Sunday morning fratata

This morning's fratata... and with no kids about (as they all slept over at the grandparents - god bless them) we could enjoy coffees and discussions about Friday's debate. 

Red Pepper Fratata

-----------------------

1 clove garlic

1 potato

half a red onion

few leaves of Basil

1 red pepper (or leftover peppers from you salads)

3/4 eggs (organic preferably)

Shavings of Romano cheese (or what ever hard-cheese you have - the saltier the better)

salt pepper 

parsley

cook on stove then end with grill top in the oven

  

The Wire it is (and probably Mad Men too if I can convince A that it will be a long wet winter and this will best get us through). Am interested in some of the other suggestions so perhaps next year (or come summer) I will give Carnival and Weeds a go....thank you for all the feedback!!!

Yes- wee bit obsessed lately

with ice cream

(it is still warm enough for sleeveless shirts and flip flops here- so hot enough for ice cream in my book).  

After the successful venture of banana chocolate ice cream (with additional chocolate bits) which they (children) lapped up, believing it was chocolate ice cream (sadly they are not big on fruit in the raw- yes crazy  and terribly humiliating for me).  Luckily little Stella is the exception- the girl LOVES eveything.

I was itching to make a proper chocolate ice cream (adult very dark sort) so trekked around Zabbar looking for single cream (which is not easy to find- is everyone on a diet here?! I had the same trouble when looking for just straight butter). Anyways have made some dark chocolate ice cream... with orange zest, bit of vanilla and using muscovado sugar instead of white (because that's all we had) real tempted to add something else ... something crazy like nutmeg but no could be terrible and I got carried away last time. Will include a photo and verdict tomorrow. 

And so as not to bore the life out of anyone reading this who does not particularly like ice cream- 

this site is EXCITING 

(if you are into discovering new music)- kind of like Pandora but I think Europe based.... 

Deezer.com

Verdict on Chocolate orange ice cream--good creamy texture, liked the hint of orange rind but the chocolate didn't turn out dark enough- will be forced to do my Dads famous dark chocolate hot fudge sauce to save the day. No more baking with that Cadbury cocoa.  

Back to Basics

So check out this piece of local equipment , I trekked my lot down to Birgu (no easy feat) as there is more than one odd five way intersection with no attention to pedestrian needs between us and this play ground I had spotted. After a long slow 35 min journey there, the park appeared completely closed and locked which was really a disappointment especially as I didn't quite know how to keep the gangs spirits up with this end goal now just beyond reach. Had some kind of an odd interaction with an old man who shrugged and said tomorrow 8 or something to that effect to finally realize that if we just lifted on one lever and pushed hard against the other door it slid open- (was wrapped in a chain with a locked padlock on one part of it) did still appear locked from the outside. What a nice mix of very old school (but newly painted) metal kids play equipment, particularly liked this horse- it kind of swayed back and forth in a galloping way. And you could fit five little ones on it at the same time- brilliant! My three did have a go all at once but sadly no hand to take a photo as Stella needed some stabilizing.

So the park trip was quite a long trek before dinner time but ended up bringing loads of giggles and shrieks of excitement. So nearly worth it.

On my mind-

Not so into the RAI Italian Tv shows here  and thinking of investing in a tv series to get me through cold damp winter nights here- so as I am pretty out of the loop on whats on in America (am just now getting into Lost here on DVD) what can anyone out there advise... am thinking maybe Weeds or something called The Wire? Or Mad Men? 

sorry- am totally open to a British series too

 

Went a little wild

With the ice cream maker that is- was a little excited what with eggs, cream and dried figs in the house- made an ice cream with figs, walnuts and chocolate (note the figs were cooked down in orange juice with a wee bit of cinnamon till carmely). Yes, I strayed from the usual keep it simple approach so it is one rich desert. The chocolate was a nice very dark Italian sort- just some small shavings (love the choices at the stores here). A photo to follow once we serve it up tonight!  

--- texture and taste turned out really well- just in case anyone out there is into making ice cream will write down the recipe as I am sure by tomorrow I will forget what I did. 

Fig and Walnut Ice cream

2 eggs yokes

3 Tbs sugar

mix with a whisk

add 400 ml of single cream

200 ml whole milk

add pinch of cinnamon 

set in pan and let simmer 3-4 minutes

set aside to cool 

 chop 3-4 dried figs

add with 100 ml water

juice of half an orange

1 tbs sugar (could do without it but this is the version I made)

cook down till there is a syrup (15-20 min)

set aside

when milk mixture and fig mixture is cool start up the ice cream maker- add the cream mixture and the figs then a small handful of chopped walnuts and a small handful of finely chopped dark chocolate. 

Dinner out- what a novelty!

Off to Birgu (pictured here )

a 15 min walk from our door, I can't really complain. Italian opera is sending us on our way (that neighbour of ours is at it again- this time blasting old Italian records) at least its fairly romantic... almost makes me feel like I have walked into a movie set. No art projects accomplished this week- apart from making some cinnamon honey ice cream (which was tastey!) and an impromptu orange plum upside down tart today for guests, its been a rather quiet week here oh yes, found out I got accepted into a masters program which starts in gasp.. just over a weeks time! Right along side the Maltese lessons... busy days ahead. Buona notte from me and Andrea Bocelli.

Interesting

A day of pleasant surprises here.

This is one small something I came across and am very intrigued by- 

3191 - miles apart . This year it's evenings look here. 

Our Lady of the Graces

Last night we went to the culmination of the week long local feast here in Zabbar. In celebration of the patron saint Madonna of the Graces. As we neared the church in the central piazza there were crowds of people lined up to go inside and then coming out, when I asked A. if there was a ongoing kind of mass or something he explained that this is when you either thank the Madonna for the miracle you asked for a year ago or you go to make a promise for the year to come. Although I am not religious I was tempted by the thought of having a focus for ones hopes...and wondered about what brought people as I watched the many old and young faces coming out ... old worried looking women, hopeful young couples... graying weathered  anxious looking men...(as I struggled to hold hands with my two wanderlust children) the third got to go inside the church on A's back and seemed to fully enjoy the lights and splendor.  

Not to go on too long about this feast but it is also well known here in Malta for it's Motorcycle (and now bicycle as well) pilgrimage around the island which finishes at the church on the Sunday ( sorry didn't manage to take any photos) . Also it (like many villages in Malta) has two very popular local marching bands which march round the town the day before the procession with the statue(which was last night). The bands known as the 'blue band club' and the 'green band club'  each have their own home building/restaurant/bar and devote followers. In the past the band clubs and their respective followers have come to blows so it's a wee bit tense  round these parts. Half our ally is decked out in green banners, lights etc. and the other half are all done up in blue. 

  

window shopping again

We are on the look out for cushion covers for our sofa (our first new sofa ever)  should be simple to make and  I know I ought to make some myself but I was browsing through ... yes...etsy and came across this woman's pillows- wow.... what a great selection of fabric!!! Wish I had spare beds and more sofas to justify needing more of her pillows... how can I possibly choose just one!

 

Sounds

The end of an alley is certainly not the quietest place to live. In some ways this is nice though,  - with three smalls the noise of our house blends right in! But it's the echo effect which amazes me,  from the daily afternoon trumpet concert (the three hour practice session) of our neighbor which sounds like it is coming from inside our own walls to his spontaneous opera singing and of late the war like effect of the non stop (day and night) fire work explosions (mostly of the very loud bang sort) which I swear will give Stella a heart attack one of these days. Look forward to when our local feast is over. But to end this weekend of noisiness is a cd I am itching to buy- Emiliani Torrini... of which I have had the pleasure of hearing some bits from her new album- Me and Armini,  particularly like Big Jumps. 

ESCAPE

Of Cloves and Bitter Almonds by Lou Drofenik
Although it is all centered in Malta, I really enjoyed reading this book over the last few weeks. For anyone out there who wants a good read and to know a bit more about the history of Malta- I recommend it. Now time to find a new book. Perhaps a book set in Iceland... somewhere a wee bit cooler than here... it's been in the mid thirties since we arrived (upper 90's) and very very humid. 

Moved in!!!

Only taken us six weeks to get into the house.... at last it's ready enough for us to move in -so we have. It's day two and we have internet and a working computer!!!! Without the stern looks from in laws I broke from Maltese convention and took a morning walk with the children. Went to check out the local market, shops etc. here is a side street we went down. Needless to say the walk did us all good.  The kids survived the heat and wee bit of sun and thus are all sleeping soundly at nap time (something they rarely did at my in laws).  We bought fresh bread from the man in the van who goes around honking and sells it still hot from the oven out of the back of the van- yum. Also to my excitement found that the grocery stores here sell not only Maltese and British products but loads of French and Spanish brands too... you should see the selection of pasta choices and olive oils!!!!

Landed!!

After a lovely send off from the picnic in Winchester to visiting with friends in Brighton we have arrived in Malta. It will be some time before we have our own computer up and running so believe it may be a week or so till I am able to post more photos.

Life in Malta started with a bang, our middle child came down with the stomach flu and chicken pox within hours of leaving the UK (her tell tale signs didn't come till the morning after we arrived). Over the course of our first three and half weeks here all three children have broken out in spots. Not ideal in upper 90's weather and foolish parental promises of trips to the beach as soon as we arrive. After consulting a doctor here we were instructed to keep the children inside for a minimum of two weeks... no easy feat. Boredom, antsiness and television watching abound much to A and I's frustration. With one week to use before the big 'SHUT DOWN' (when most of Malta closes and leaves on vacation) we have had a lot of running around to do- last essentials for the house so we can move in. Visitors from Madison/Seattle coming this week!

Goodbye Winchester, goodbye England

It's come to the end of our time here, we will all miss these cobblestone streets, the lush greenery, the rushing river, our little yellow house and dear friends. Hope to be writing next from Malta (not sure exactly how long it will be till we are connected to the Internet) so good bye for a few weeks. 

Film Review- Once

So after waiting nearly seven months for Once to come through our mail slot (via Love films) it finally arrived and after all the anticipation I must admit I was a little let down. It was good, and I enjoyed the film don't get me wrong. I liked the fact that it was an unsuspecting musical (or to me at least- I knew nothing about the film apart from the fact that it was Irish and good) so sorry to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it- it is a quirky musical,  in a subtle indie folk music kind of way. I enjoyed it  (but A. fell asleep) so not for everyone. If you don't like the sound of Damien Rice then this film may not be for you (thus my husband falling asleep out of slight boredom). Am impressed with what they were able to accomplish  using only a few cameras and little cash. I do think I may just have to go out and buy the sound track, for even though I was little tired of the songs by the end of the film, I must admit waking the next day and wanting to hear them again (particularly the song by the main woman sung while in pajamas walking down the street).  

Few spare minutes

If you're like me and enjoy interiors, people and their environment  ....this site is VERY cool, updated every few days .   New York city people and their homes. The Selby.