March 2016 - Week 4

Lunch at Armier Bay

Monday 21st to Sunday 27th March 2016

Monday I went to the Atrium and bought a new cooking tray for our BBQ. For dinner Sam was craving a steak so she had a giant rib eye from Scotts. I enjoy a steak once in a blue moon but it isn’t really my thing. For my dinner I made jerk chicken with rice and peas. It was fantastic, especially the rice. I’ll put the recipe for that on my food blog.

Tuesday I got a haircut, bought fruit and bought a safe! In the afternoon Sam drove us to Sliema; she was meeting a friend for dinner. I had had a big lunch (left over jerk chicken and rice and peas) so I wasn’t very hungry for dinner. I just snacked on sweetcorn with BBQ sauce, and cheese and biscuits. I was going to go for a walk but we have thick fog which I have never seen here before.

Wednesday brought a gale! We had planned to go shopping but the wind put us off. As it happened we ended up going to Dine @ 33 with Chris and Tina. They have visitors at the moment – two of Tina’s girlfriends – so there were six of us and we had a very enjoyable time and good food to boot. I had beef croquettes, roasted salmon with excellent roasted potatoes and sticky toffee pudding. Mmm…

Thursday Sam drove to Mosta for her art class. I went for a hike and was waylaid by tourists looking for information. The season is upon us! We discovered that our patio table top was smashed in yesterday’s gale; it was already cracked so I guess it had a weak spot. For dinner Sam made us a corned beef pie with baked beans which was great.

Friday we went to Armier Bay to have brunch at Mambo’s and to stroll on the beach and headland. The colours were astonishing and even the locals who run the restaurant were remarking on them. I think it was to do with the unusual light created by the contrasts of fierce sun, deep blue sky and broken black and white clouds. The sea looked as if it had been created by the mind of an artist. Our brunch was excellent; bruschetta with a thin and crispy base, perfectly fresh tomatoes, garlic, fennel seeds, herbs and olive oil. And, as always, one of the best cappuccinos in Malta. The location is pretty idyllic, sitting on the terrace right at the water’s edge.

For dinner we had left over corned beef pie.

Saturday we went to the farmers’ market to pick up a few bits and pieces then went for good cappuccinos at the craft village. It was a strange day with brooding clouds and hints of rain, as if Mother Nature was irritable and best left alone. For dinner I made a chilli con carne using minced beef; I haven’t done that since goodness knows when, certainly a year or more, as I ordinarily use cubes of beef. It was delicious. I cooked it for about four hours and it was rich and piquant and sweet and spicy and, I’ve said it before, chilli in all its forms really is one of the best dishes on the planet (assuming you do it right!).

Sunday morning we went to Miracles for excellent cappuccinos, then walked on to Ta Fra Ben and back. The prom was busy with locals and tourists. People were sunbathing on the rocky shoreline, some were swimming, others just soaking up the views. Bugibba is now buzzing, a hive of tourist activity, and the touts are out again selling tickets for open-top busses and boat trips. The ice cream parlours are doing great business and cafes and restaurants that have been shut for the winter are reopening and vying for business. The beach in Bugibba hasn’t been re-sanded though; it’s not yet too late for a final gale or two to pass through. Even so, the sun was quite strong today and no doubt more than a few tourists will be nursing sunburn. For dinner we had left over chilli con carne with rice.