Sunday, November 8, 2009

Festa ta` San Martin




The feast of Saint Martin (11th November) must be one of my favorite feasts in the year. I suspect this is mainly because of the food traditions linked to it. 

Tradition dictates that most children are given a borza ta` San Martin (a bag of St M.), which usually comes full of nuts mainly almonds, walnuts and various citrus namely mandarins and oranges. Back in the day some lucky children would also be given 75 cents from the older people in the village.


This morning I went to my baker, round the corner, to buy milk and saw my first hobz ta San Martin (St Martin bread). I had to buy two, cut them in half and devowered one with a tick layer of butter spread in the middle. The mix of the sweetness from the bun and saltyness of the butter is divine. 

The buns are soft and sweet, made with flour, butter, milk and lemon and tangerine zest. Most times a liquorish sweet can be found stuck in the bun. They are seasonal and make for a tasty alternative b'fast.
For the foodies amongst you, a good recipe can be found here

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Public (mis)behaviour


Today I decided to take a break from reading newspapers, on-line comments and most current affair (political) blogs. Reason for this is that it's downright depressing!! 


Whenever I sit down with a cuppa tea to relax for an hour or so and catch up on what is happening 'out there', I get a kinda loony tune impression. There seems to be a lot of confusion in what people write. Maybe the wave of enlightenment that has swept over many has filled their brains to full capacity and this knowledge is quickly rather than slowly driving them insane (my personal theory).


I donno! All I know it that I've decided to shy away to preserve my sanity. I hope the on-line mood picks up before the Christmas season begins or it is going to be truly bleak holiday period.
In the meantime I shall be reading about fun things in life such as shopping, books, theatre and cinema. 


And that leads me to my last point. Last night I watched  a fantastic film 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (1969) originally a Muriel Spark book but adapted to a film including fantastic actors such as Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens. Such a classic and a good laugh! It should bring back lovely memories to all of you who went to private schools!:)


(Photo: http://www.welcometothedoghouse.net/pics/english_bulldog_wallpaper.jpg)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

My Summer '09 in Malta

Summer was a mixed bag, the usual BBQs and some culture thrown in!


 
A visit to Villa Francia, Lija (top) and the 
neighbourhood (bottom)


 


A dessert that characterises Summer 

 


And a Wedding!:)
 



Summer did start off with a sad adieu to some dear friends who returned to the USA. 

Then there was Moby's concert but no decent pictures were taken as I was too busy jumping, yelling and singing (screaming) along!:) 

I moved house in August... moved from the South West of Malta to the deep deep South. 

And I wonder why I'm exhausted! 

Well Summer '09 will definately be one for the books and I will look back on it with pride, happiness and nostalgia!