Everything plus the kitchen sink....

I had a lovely day yesterday. I took the 7am catamaran by Virtu Ferries to Pozzallo using their September special offer met my interior design god friend and whizzed up to IKEA in Catania to buy a kitchen for almost complete house renovation project I'm working on. My Italian was almost up to scratch, I've been having the most fun taking lessons so it was really good to have to use it. There was just one misunderstanding, but turned out to be a funny one....

I managed to buy everything I needed except one door which I ordered (oh damn I have to go back next week to collect it....), and fit it in my pretty car before we headed into town to visit Cafe Prestipino in the main square for one of their delightful pasticci. Stopped for a quick coffee with a friend and then on into Modica for a mammoth cheese buying session. Well, it's red wine o'clock and one needs a decent cheese to accompany it hey?

Had a terrible salad on the cat on the way back - I'd have thought this is the ideal opportunity for a Maltese and Sicilian company to join forces and do specialties of each island rather than Coronation chicken wraps and microwavable pasta? What do you think? 50% of the passengers are tourists... be a great way to promote ourselves.

Every cloud has a silver lining...

If you look up and see these clouds, commonly known as Mackerel, be warned, there is a change of weather within hours. I love seeing these. My favourite book as a child was 365 Rainy Day Activities I still have it and look forward to opening it up at this tie of year. No point getting miserable about the weather, embrace it!

Summer did zip by this year, I hardly feel like I dipped my toe in it, but now it's time for Autumn and all of the wonderful things it brings. The hard top goes back on the car and last year's boots will be dug out until the shops get their new ranges out, salads are relegated to side dishes and leg waxing appointments get farther apart.

One of the best things is sleeping without aircon and having fresh air instead but in waking hours, it is now justifiable to lock yourself in and create things or:

Go to a restaurant without a view / al fresco dining. They have to rely on their food and ambiance and are generally better. Favourites of mine are Assaggi in Dean Hamlet, Del Borgo in Birgu, Spezzo and Da Pippo in Valletta, Etiennes in Attard, Chapter One or Profumo Di in St Julians....

Play dress up. Get a stack of glossy magazines and pour over them to build your new season's look, then jump online or take advantage of a break in the weather, and shop! No more sticky skin or swollen feet while trying on for a few months now.

Fill your trolley up and spend the afternoon experimenting in the kitchen. I have pages and pages of recipes to try out for Sunday lunch season.....

Go for a walk and not need a shower before you've taken 10 paces. Collect dead wood for the fire, pick wild herbs for stews, play tig.....

Update your bucket list, draft your letter to Santa ..... and last but not least, join The Cloud Appreciation Society .

Ducking delicious......

I'm still licking my lips - but the lunch I just knocked up was was so simple and so delicious - I thought I'd share it with you. Had a couple of handfuls of the freshest coriander from PAVI in the fridge and wanted to make the best of them.

Marinade duck breasts in a mixture of finely diced small mango, big bunch of coriander, couple of inches of fresh ginger and small red onion. Squeeze some lime juice and add a spoon of honey and a sprinkle of chilli flakes.  Leave while you peel and slice a butternut squash and lay the table.

Clean of the marinade and save in a bowl. Place the squash in the bottom of a roasting pan. Lay the duck breasts skin-side down on top of the squash and put in the oven, 180 C for about 45 minutes.

Skin the breasts and leave the meat to rest while you lay ot the rest of the ingredients on a plate. Mound the salsa and arrange sliced duck on top. If there had been leftovers, would have been able to use them in a wrap for supper!

What a funny ol' evening.....

Last night saw the first Eden Stand Up Comedy Night at the cinema complex in St Julian's. We really needed a good laugh after an emotional week ...... The show started pretty much on time with Geoff Whiting comparing and a slow start for Hettie Hayridge, a warmer reception for Mark Restuccia - a finalist in the BBC comedy awards, but the headline act, Mark Felgate, made the evening with his mix of ventriloquism and childlike humour.

 In the interval, The Photo Booth Guys were dressing up passers by and shooting them in our finery.... good practice for the upcoming 70s night on October 8th at MFCC!

Still chuckling, we went over to the Radisson St Julians to have a bite in their 24 hour restaurant. We weren't alone - though I'm sure if this place was closer to the hubbub, it would be jam packed. Food was plentiful and not that bad.
A place to remember of you want something other than junk food in the middle of the night. The carpet a little swirly after a couple of glasses of wine but a refurb is happening after Christmas, so hopefully this will be sacrificed to the style gods!