September 2016 - Week 4

Monday 19th to Sunday 25th September 2016

Monday was filled with work and shopping. For dinner Sam had sushi; I had a cashew nut and vegetable stir-fry.

Tuesday was exactly two years to the day since we moved to Malta; it’s scary how quickly time is passing! Two years ago we arrived with eight suitcases, one guitar and one Lauren. We found our flat, unpacked (a bit) then went walkabout to explore the area. In the evening we had dinner at the Overflow which sadly closed some time ago. So, to celebrate our anniversary we drove to Pretty Bay and had cappuccini and tomato sauce crisps for breakfast. Not very healthy but oh-so tasty. Then we went to Marsaxlokk to have lunch at Terrone. It was fantastic, both food and service. After nibbling on wonderful Maltese bread and olive oil, I had thinly sliced pork loin with capers, anchovies and mayonnaise. For my main I had a burrata – a type of large mozzarella ball with an extra soft centre – stuffed with pistachios and served with grilled peaches, basil and balsamic. For dessert I had tiramisu. Sam had frito misto, then spaghetti with a sea urchin sauce. Terrone really is just about our favourite restaurant in Malta. And the fact that it is an hour’s drive away means we don’t go too often so it remains special and going there is a treat.

We didn’t want any dinner after such a big lunch, so we just snacked on crisps and chocolate.

Wednesday Sam went with Tina to swim at Armier Bay to celebrate Tina’s birthday. She and Chris came around for dinner. I cooked tandoori king prawns with a Gujerati carrot salad, then for mains I did a pineapple curry, courgette curry, baked chicken and sweet yellow rice. Sam made a kiwi and mixed berry Pavlova for pudding.

Thursday we didn’t get out apart from Sam going for a hairdo. For dinner we had left over curries.

Friday I went to Xemxija Café for a cappuccino and a slice of Brule cheesecake. Yum Yum! For dinner we went to Miracles. We had intended to have a couple of beers there and then go to our local Thai restaurant but the skies opened and we had a heavy downpour for about 20 minutes. So we just stayed at Miracles and ate great pizzas.

On the way home we stopped at Congusto for delish ice creams.

Saturday we went to Mambo’s at Armier Bay. We had cappuccini, then Sam went for a swim while I read, then we had full English breakfasts. It is late in the season now, so Mambo’s and the beach were quiet. But Sam insists the sea is still warm enough and she stayed in for about half an hour. There is a big darts tournament on TV this weekend so we spent a lot of time watching that. We couldn’t be bothered to cook so we had pizzas (again).

Sunday was our first proper wet day for months with leaden skies, occasional thunderstorms and some persistent rain. A few more days like that and the hills will soon be green again. We spent much of the day watching darts. For dinner Sam made excellent stuffed peppers with feta.