Trottole with Courgettes and Ricotta (#PastaFriday and the conclusion to Writing 101)

I can’t quite get my head round the fact that it’s already the beginning of October. Children have started school this week here in Malta and today, poor things, they made their way in the rain. We had quite a storm this morning and this doesn’t make the commute easy for all those who have to walk out the door to work. Flooding affected the usual places and traffic was even more nightmarish than usual. I hope everyone made it to their destination in one piece. It’s Friday once again though, so there’s the weekend to look forward to. Anything to hold on to, to make life better, right?

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Writing 101: Photos gone horribly wrong

Today’s post is a riff between Day 15 and 16’s assignments. Well, not exactly, but after a rough weekend I decided it was time to write. I thought a lot about food photography lately. Having been sick for the past few days, the only thing I felt like doing is watching cooking and food photography videos. Yes, I’m constantly thinking about food, even when I feel off. Wierd, I know. So what I want to do eventually, is to jot some points down and turn them into an article, kind of like the one I wrote on cookbooks. It’s all up in the air at this stage, but I really want to write it.

In this post I want to grant one request which was recently sent to me by a fellow blogger, whom I got to know through Blogging Uni. A few weeks ago, Sav from Sav & The City wrote some lovely words on one of my photos and asked me if I would mind going through some shots that I was never, ever, going to publish.

Dear Sav, I might mind a little tiny bit, but you asked so kindly, I just couldn’t refuse. I never thought I would see this day. (The photo above is kind of OK, I mean I’ve seen worse, but if you were asking me what that dark-looking pillar on your top right, well, that’s my bottle of EVOO. Looking horrible.)

Writing 101: Unwinding and A Tour of The Three Cities

As much as I love taking care and updating C&T, sometimes it takes a lot out of me. I’m not complaining, but there are times when all I want to do is wind down and not constantly think about the next thing I should write about. Spending time in the kitchen is, of course one of the best uses of my time, but there are days when going out into the world seems more appealing. Walking is a stress-buster. I love to walk, as long as it’s not in the middle of nowhere and there are people around. This reminds me of the countless times I walked into Guildford. I used to find it so relaxing that I rarely bothered using the buses. I haven’t been going for walks often this past year. The summer heat doesn’t help but today I managed a short stroll, which was fun.

Writing 101: A Coffee Date #1

One of the dilemmas presented to someone running a blog is that most of the old posts are lost as the weeks and months roll by. Also it’s very easy to forget that as well as your regular readers, who know you a lot if you’ve been blogging for years, you have new ones stopping by. Most of these readers are bloggers themselves, or rather that’s what happens here on C&T. Readers, both old and new, are the backbone of a blog. Without them, and your support, I would have stopped doing this ages ago. When I saw the assignment this morning in my inbox, I thought I wasn’t going to do that at all because for these past few weeks I have written some important personal stuff on here, and sounding repetitive was not worth the risk, or so I thought at the time. However chatting over coffee is something I look forward to when meeting friends, giving a little update using this format doesn’t sound too bad. Let’s see.

Bucatini with Ricotta and Maltese Sausages (for #PastaFriday)

The weeks are really going by so fast. I can’t quite get my head round it. However summer doesn’t seem to want to come to an end here in Malta. The weather is glorious, a little too hot for my liking, but it comes with one perk. If you’re into eating with family and friends on a breezy rooftop, or if you’re lucky enough to own a luscious green garden, this is definitely the perfect weather for you. There is nothing like fresh food and great company, with perhaps a nice bottle of chilled white to share. This simple pasta dish reminds me of all that. I am looking forward to winter cooking, but in the meantime I don’t mind eating this now.