July 2017 - Week 3

Monday 17th to Monday 23rd July 2017

Monday we shopped and worked. For dinner I had home-made baked beans with crusty bread; Sam had blackened chicken with broccoli.

Tuesday we went to the Maya Beach café for cappuccini while it is still cool enough. A heat wave is due starting tomorrow, so it may be difficult to go outside during the day for a while. For dinner I made mushrooms and vegetables “a la king”; very 1980s! It was delicious and I turned it into a pie with a puff pastry topping. I went a bit over the top, though, and the pastry lid was bigger than my dinner plate. Sam called it a Desperate Dan pie. Sam had her usual salmon with cauliflower.

Wednesday I went to Pretty Bay for a cappuccino and a short wander. The beach was busy but not overcrowded as is the case with most beaches this time of year. If I were a swimmer, that is where I would wish to swim. For dinner I made a vegan jambalaya with onions, carrots, peppers, chillies, paprika, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, tomatoes, stock, BBQ sauce and sweetcorn. It was fantastic! Who needs meat? Sam defrosted a vegetable curry that I made some time ago and had that with broccoli (she is avoiding rice).

Thursday we had a lot of work to do, so didn’t get out. In the evening we went for a couple of beers at Miracles though. For dinner I had left over vegan jambalaya with cashew nuts. I got carried away with the portion of nuts. Sam called my dinner Nutgate. Sam had salmon with a freezer surprise. That is, she defrosted something form our freezer without a clue as to what it was. It turned out to be a red hot Puy lentil curry so she had to mix it with yogurt to make it edible!

Friday we went to Sliema and did some window shopping. We had cappuccini and pastries at Giorgio’s – yum, yum – but didn’t go far because of the heat. I fell into conversation with an elderly Maltese lady who complained that she had never previously known such a hot summer or such an early onslaught of heat from mid-June. For dinner Sam had beef Koftas with lettuce wraps and I broke my vegetarian stretch with a pork chop.

Saturday I went to Clara May for a very good cappuccino but the walk there and back was exhausting. I’m trying to do some exercise but it is a hopeless endeavour in this unrelenting heat. Once again today saw the mercury go over 40°C. I get great pleasure from visiting a café and sipping a cappuccino while reading my Kindle. I have just today finished Mansfield Park, an absolutely superb novel spoiled only by the heroine being called Fanny! Lines such as, “He was looking forward to happy intercourse with Fanny” really haven’t stood the test of time! For dinner I made jerk chicken with baked sweet potatoes; fantastic.

Sunday I made up a new recipe of curried eggs which I served with roasted potatoes. I made the curry sauce with onion, chilli, garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt, pepper, tomato puree, tamarind, brown sugar and coconut milk and it was fantastic, definitely one for the blog. Sam still needs her meat fix so she had beef Koftas with lettuce wraps.