February 2018 - Week 2

Monday 5th to Sunday 11th February 2018

Monday we went to Pama to stock up on heaps of fruit and veg. Where does it all go? For dinner we had roasted chicken. Sam had broccoli with hers. I had left over potatoes and onions stir fried with baby sweet corn, courgettes and peppers all bound in a BBQ glaze. Lovely!

Tuesday I got three of walks in. There was a warmth in the air as if Spring had sent out her scouts to make sure we were paying attention. March really is just around the corner. Not only do we feel it in the noonday sun but the fields are awash with yellow blossom and the sea gives hints of warmth; it is slack and lazy and calm and the tourist boat trips to Comino, the Blue Lagoon and Gozo are back in swing. In three short weeks we will be preparing for our last night here and I sense now that the time will fly by. For dinner I had roasted root vegetables – parsnips, beetroots, carrots and potatoes – with crusty bread and butter. Sam had a vegetable and lamb shank soup.

After sunset the humidity went through the roof. On my after dinner walk I saw the cars were drenched as if there had been a downpour. It was mostly quiet out and about but four police cars and an ambulance were attending a property just in from the main square. We hear more and more reports of fights and violent altercations and stories of lone women being pestered. At the risk of being unkind, I have to say that these problems seem to escalate in line with the growth of the Eastern European population here. On my walks I pass groups of young men speaking Russian or Bulgarian or Serbian or Romanian or whatever and they seem to have little else better to do but block the pavements and stare intently at passers-by. I feel fine but I can see why women may feel intimidated.

Wednesday we worked, had a Spanish lesson and I went for a walk after lunch. For dinner we had a regular favourite that Sam cooks so well; roasted Mediterranean vegetables with olives and feta.

Thursday I went for a walk on the cliffs around Riviera Bay. Cross another item off my bucket list. For dinner we had salmon. Sam cooked hers in the microwave and had it with broccoli and left over roasted vegetables. I had mine pan fried with turmeric and honey and served with corn fritters. Not so healthy but hey, tasty as hell!

Friday I went to the Doctor as I have sinusitis again and apparently tracheitis too. So it’s back onto antibiotics and this time with steroids too. We had planned to go out to dinner but some serious and prolonged rain arrived so we stayed in instead and had pizzas.

Saturday we awoke after a stormy night to find nine leaks in the ceilings including one in our walk-in kitchen cupboard. By some fluke we had stored an old saucepan in the kitchen cupboard and it was full, having caught most of the drips. Another leak was running down the inside of our extractor fan and dripping onto the hob. After clearing up the mess, putting a fridge soup on to cook in the slow cooker and having brunch – toast, chips and a tuna and cheese melt (pretty desperate!) – we packed up more boxes.

In the evening we went to the Wood Hut for a couple of drinks then went for dinner at Lovage. This may well be our last visit there. We have a real soft spot for Lovage even though the chef seems to have let the ball slip over time. Anyway, it was good tonight. Sam had scallops with an Italian dried meat and salad followed by risotto with braised beef belly. She raved about it all and declared that it was one of the best meals she has had in Malta for a long time. I had warm Gozitan goats cheese covered in a cornflake crumb. It is quite nice – I have had it previously – but the cheese is naturally salty and the corn flakes add more salt so I think the cheese would be better without the crumb. It was served with a perfectly fresh salad. For my main I had ravioli stuffed with pumpkin and tossed in a parmesan cream sauce; very good but very rich. The main challenge I find with Lovage is a lack of vegetarian options which is important because they mostly don’t cook meat and fish very well. Last time I had the green veg quiche but the pastry was partly raw and the spinach hadn’t been properly prepared. That’s the trouble with Lovage; every time we go we find something to rave about and something to moan about. It just lacks consistency.

Sunday we went to the Donut Factory (again) for excellent cappuccini and then shopped for dinner. We have great supermarkets in Malta but an awful lot of Maltese still shop the old fashioned way visiting a baker, a butcher, a greengrocer and a corner shop (for tinned goods) every day or so. Most of them have drag-bags too. We don’t mind doing that on a Sunday in winter in the warm sunshine but most of the time, and especially in the summer, that’s just too much like hard work. We’ll stick to our Monday run to the air conditioned supermarket. For dinner Sam had a rib eye steak and I cooked pork belly strips in a BBQ sauce in our slow cooker for eight hours. They were amazing! The meat couldn’t possibly have been more tender. And it was incredibly easy too. I used a food bag and put a quarter bottle of BBQ sauce in the base of it, then added the belly pork and then covered them with another quarter bottle of BBQ sauce. Finally I added a splash of water, sealed the bag and turned the cooker on. That was it and eight hours later it was done with no other input from me.