April 2016 - Week 3

Gozitan fishing boat

Monday 18th to Sunday 24th April 2016

Monday was blisteringly hot for April. Sometimes Sam likes to go for a brisk walk first thing and today she came back chuffed as some 25ish guy had tried to chat her up! I did my power walk mid-afternoon which was a bit silly really, as it was exhausting in the heat. Sam is back on an Atkin’s-esk diet but too much meat doesn’t suit me. She had beef koftas with salad for dinner; I had fish fingers.

Tuesday the flat smelled wonderful all day as I slow cooked a pork curry for 10 hours. The “technician” called to look at the washing machine and declared the problem was with the tap, not the machine so he couldn’t fix it. So we got John the handyman in instead and he dismantled the tap and cleaned it out (apparently it had rusted inside) and all seems to be working again. Then the landlady called and we had a good chat with her for about an hour. She is a real character and we enjoy her company. We have now signed our new lease which runs until April next year and we have finally paid for the water and electricity we have used for the past year.

After lunch I did a good hike around the north-east coast stopping at the sink hole along the way. There was rubbish – plastic bags and empty water bottles - floating in the water at the bottom of the hole. I hope it has just been blown there and not been chucked in by some thoughtless tourist. I stopped at Mambo’s for an excellent cappuccino; again I had the place and virtually the whole beach to myself.

Our pork curry was excellent. It is an easy version that uses shop-bought spice pastes, which is ideal on busy days. I will publish the recipe for it sometime on my food blog.

Wednesday we went to the garden centres so Sam could get some new pots and compost and a trellis to grow sweet peas. The flat smelled wonderful again; a slow cooked vegetable stock this time. We had left over simple pork curry for dinner.

Thursday was busy with jobs including the arrival of a new glass top for our patio table. John called to do some plumbing work. Sam had art class. I made a Mexican black bean soup. We also worked (of course!) and ran out of time to shop so we went to Miracles for pizza and beer then Sotto Zero for ice cream. Yum, yum!

Friday was quite grey which meant it was cooler which we don’t mind at all! It’s all relative, of course; I did my power walk in my Ryder flip-flops because summer has all but arrived. I’d be lost without my Ryders in summer. For dinner Sam cooked us pork cheeks braised with white wine, stock, root vegetables and fresh herbs and it was fantastic.

Saturday we went to the farmers’ market. There are many stalls there absolutely heaving with seasonal produce; cauliflowers, broccoli, onions, courgettes, green peppers, potatoes, melons, strawberries, herbs, carrots, mushrooms, turnips, artichokes, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and goodness knows what else. The fantastic thing is that it is all local, in season and fresh; no exotic bananas, mangoes or kiwis here. You can’t look in a cook book, write out a recipe and go shopping; half the ingredients would be missing. Instead, you have to go, buy what’s in season and what takes your fancy, and let that determine what you are going to cook. It is like an invention test on steroids! But, as usual, we played it pretty safe; barbequed vegetable kebabs (red onions, courgettes and sweet peppers) with roasted chicken.

Sunday I cleaned the car first thing, then went for a power walk before the Sunday lunch crowd arrived. On the way I passed a man walking a Siberian Husky that was wearing a harness with saddle bags. Very odd. Something you would more expect to see in Baffin Island rather than hot Malta. Sam is still avoiding carbs so for dinner she pan fried a sea bream. I made a vegetarian lasagne with Puy lentils. It should last me two or three days which is great as we seem to have had a lot of meat and chicken lately.