Gourmet Worrier | Live Eat Dream

World Figolli Day 2012

2012-03-09T01:16:43Z

Last year I came up with a hair brain idea to host World Figolli Day ©. One year on, and it's proved to be less hair-brained. Thanks to its huge success in 2011, it seems to be turning into a regular calendar event! Hence, we're running World Figolli Day © again this year and the event is open to everyone!

The idea behind World Figolli Day © is that you turn off your iPhone and shut down your MacBook and then head into the kitchen with your kids, nieces, nephews, nanna and nunnu and have a bonding session with some dough and hopefully pass on a few Maltese culinary traditions whilst your at it.

The 'day' is basically a virtual hang-out of figolli makers worldwide but this year we have decided to do things a little differently. As well as the virtual event we also intend to assemble a physical gathering at the Maltese Community Centre in Melbourne on Saturday the 24th of March. It's a ticketed event and numbers are limited, so it's a case of first in best dressed. If your interested in coming please RSVP here.

If you are a blogger please feel free to blog about your figolli making efforts as we intend to do a round up once the virtual competition is over. Remember to take photos and or video of your completed creations and then upload your images to the World Figolli Day © flickr group. We will then pin your glorious creations to the World Figolli Day © pintrest board.

Then, come Easter Monday Shane Delia will help me judge the best Maltese and best Australian based figolla. The winners will receive a signed copy of Shane's latest book Maha.

Maussies - Best of Both Worlds

2011-10-06T10:21:03Z

Hola!

Yes, I'm still here, just trying to navigate my way through the second week of school holidays here in Melbourne with two energetic kids and some frustratingly, temperamental weather. Anyway, I just wanted to share this great video that manages to capture some of the more entertaining highlights from the inaugural Maussies Tan-Nanna Helu Manna Cook Off.

Enjoy!

Guza's Table

2011-09-22T11:39:01Z

Last Sunday I had the great honour of being asked to judge at the inaugural Maussies Tan-Nanna Helu Manna Cook Off. For those of you who are unaware, Maussies is an organization that acknowledges and celebrates the best of both worlds. Hence the Maussies Cook Off was a feast of Maltese culture and cuisine here in Melbourne, Australia.

Ten teams consisting of three amateur, home cooks faced the daunting task of having their dishes critiqued by Maltese Consul General Charles Mifsud, Dean Delia of Maha, Anton Camilleri and myself in the hope of winning the title of best Maussie (Maltese-Australian) Cook for 2011. As if that was not challenging in itself, these home cooks had to then provide a three-course lunch for a very hungry crowd of 200 Maltese.

Each team consisted of three inter-generational family members, for instance, Nanna, daughter and granddaughter or Nanna, Aunty and niece or in some instances Nunnu, son and grandson. Needless to say the William Angliss kitchen here in Melbourne was taken over last Sunday by a handful of colourful and talented Maltese and Gozitan born nannas.

Sandra Mooney, one of the founding members of Maussies was the brainchild behind this amazing event. Her sheer passion, determination and driving force is the reason why this event was such a resounding success. Every person who attended last Sunday's event left feeling completely satisfied by the ħobż biz zeit, braġjoli, minestra, barbuljata, ravjul Malti, kannol ta' l-lrkotta and Guza's outstanding imqaret. Yet, what was even more satisfying was the wonderful sense of national pride that is beginning to emerge amongst second and third generation Maltese living here in Australia.

Since last Sunday's event I have received countess emails and facebook messages from people who participated or attended the Maussies Tan-Nanna Helu Manna Cook Off. Gathering from the overwhelmingly positive response, this will no doubt be, the first of many similar events.

In and amongst all the post euphoria I managed to ask Marija Cilia from the winning team Guza's Table to share with you a bit about her late mama Guza and the profound influence her cooking had on the life of her family. I'll leave you with Marija Cilia's heart-warming tribute to her late mama and her winning imqaret recipe.

]]> 'Guza my Mama past away a year ago, and the world has changed for all her family and those who were part of her circle of influence. She was a graceful lady. Her inner beauty was equally matched by her external looks and charm. Although she did not reach great academic heights in her life, her PhD in living was authored by her actions and unconditional love, which she gave so freely to her family and anyone who was so lucky enough to cross her path.

Her big passion was her kitchen, and this was shown by the quality of the food she put on the family table. Guza's table was a place where family and friends shared a variety of old fashion Maltese cooking blended with good humble Maltese hospitality. Guza was a very humble cook but technical in the way she went about it. She was very precise and methodical in her approach, hence her food was always consistent in the way it looked and tasted. Her puddina tal ħobż and baked rice looked and tasted the same every time for more than forty years.

When Guza was not doing house keeping or cooking, you would find her praying. Her faith was a big example to all those who came in contact with her. She was a very wise woman and taught us how to love, forgive, and to be thoughtful. Sometimes she would use words in her teaching, but only when she had to.

She kept a hand written recipe book in which she recorded all her favorite Maltese foods. These were very detailed and well proven to produce perfect meals every time. Having experienced her cooking and her generosity to life, you come to realize that her big success in the kitchen was due to one ingredient, which was never written down in any of her recipes. This we now know is her love for the family and life in general. Guza's Table is a place which none of us will ever forget'

- Marija Cilia

Guza's Imqaret

Ingredients

For the Dough

500g plain white flour (or plain white 00 flour)
2 tablespoons of margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup of ilma zaghar
Water as required depending on the flour (approx. 1 to 1 ½ cups)

For the Filling

500g chopped pitted dates
1 rind of a lemon, finely grated
1 rind of mandarin or orange, finely grated
½ cup of water
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of star aniseed
4 gloves grounded
½ cup of ilma zaghar

Sunflower oil for frying

Method

Dough

In a bowl mix the flour, margarine, and rest of ingredients. Add water little at a time to form firm pliable dough, not sticky or too soft. Knead for 10 minutes by hand or for 5 minutes with an electric mixer, until smooth in texture. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Allow to rest for not less than one hour.

Filling

In a suitable saucepan put chopped dates, and the rest of ingredients. Mix all together and cook over medium heat until you form a tick paste. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before using.

Putting it together

By rolling pin or with the aid of pasta machine roll our dough in 100mm strips and 2mm thick.
Using a piping bag filled with the filling, pipe out along the centre.
Brush along one edge of dough with combined egg and water,
Bring one edge of the dough up over the filling then roll over onto the rest of the dough.
Using hand or rolling pin flatten down to get a uniform thickness. Use light pressure.
Cut at a slight angle into finger portions, about 50mm long.
Place individually on a tray line with greaseproof paper.

Cooking

In deep-frying pot place the oil and heat to frying temperature.
Drop the cut portions into the hot oil.
Cook till golden in colour.
Serve hot or cold.

- Enjoy

Belgian Chocolate Pots

2011-07-22T08:45:21Z

As a mama who prepares three square meals a day for two highly opinionated, discerning food critics I find that I have to think on my feet and resort to imagination and inventiveness, otherwise the slightest hint of greenery or legume can trigger off a chain reaction that makes Chernobyl (I kid you not) seem trivial.

I don't know about you, but I just don't have the time or the inclination to pander to the whims of a six and ten year old each and every mealtime. Consequently, one of the ways I have attempted to make my life easier is to employ the use of exotic and elaborate food titles, whilst limiting details, such as ingredients, strictly to a need to know basis. If the ten year old insists on trying to single out ingredients, I find that feigning ignorance or appearing distracted works equally well.

I generally manage to get the little people to try and eat new things by using alluring titles. For instance why call it a lamb stew, when you can call it a spiced Moroccan lamb tagine. An everyday vegetable soup is suddenly elevated to minestrone with herbed polpette and chocolate gelato becomes Gelato di Cioccolato del Cipriani. Even those simple, last minute ingredients such as flour, sugar and eggs can get slapdashed together as a Spanish Peach Clafoutis.

I've also found that this tactic works brilliantly with adults, especially when you're having an impromptu lunch or last minute dinner party and time is not on your side. The quick and easy recipe below is simply a lush, velvety, dark chocolate custard that has been resized and rebranded as Belgian Chocolate Pots. Hence, if your wanting to make these chocolate pots a little more adult, then try adding a splash of Frangelico or Grand Marnier to the mix.

]]> Belgian Chocolate Pots

Ingredients  

300ml thick organic cream

 300ml full cream organic milk 

250gm 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped

 2 organic eggs, whisked

Method

1. Boil the cream and milk till just at boiling point. Add the  roughly chopped chocolate and stir over a low to medium heat until well incorporated.

2. Add the eggs and continue to stir until the mixture is that of a custard consistency. Pour into espresso cups and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

I ended up with about 10 little espresso sized chocolate pots. If you want larger sized chocolate pots, then use larger cups.  

Oranges de Table

2011-07-17T08:34:37Z

Seacombing at Manly

2011-07-10T06:40:07Z

School holdings here in Melbourne, cold, wet, winter school holidays I might add. So when Stephen suggested we tag along with him for a couple of days while he worked out of the Sydney office, how could we refuse.

Yes the sun shined everyday - simply glorious!

Golden brown texture like sun

2011-06-01T08:27:32Z

We promised the kids we'd take them to Daylesford to see the autumn leaves and walk along the lake.

The trees were magnificent, shades of golden brown and brilliant crimson, we were not disappointed.

Had we waited another weekend we would have been hugely disappointed as that gorgeous old tree would have been dormant and bare.

Chewy Cinnamon Cookies

2011-05-26T07:15:43Z

We've lived in our old Victorian home without event for over a decade and have never experienced leaks or water damage, until last year. So, rather than continue to leave things to chance, silicon and no more gaps we decided that we needed to attend to a few minor repairs before winter sets in and the heavy rain begins to descend upon us.

What we initially thought was going to be a 10 day straightforward process, turned into a twenty-one consecutive day slog, with a few surprises thrown into the mix for good measure, culminating with me up on a ladder for 17 hours on Mothers days! Easter was a blur, World Figolli Day a challenge and Dante's 10th birthday came and went as we continued to live and breathe in plaster dust and paint fumes.

I'm pleased to report that we are now 'watertight' and that the hardest part of our renovation is now behind us. The lounge room is no longer ensconced in the kitchen and we are all restored to our designated bedrooms of a nigh time and family meals and weekend baking have once again become the norm.

Although the kids proved quite resilient throughout the whole renovating ordeal, Lucia greatly missed walking into the house to the comforting aroma of roast chicken or freshly baked cookies. So last Sunday, while it was raining once again, we spent the afternoon baking these quick and easy chewy cinnamon biscuits, which we then enjoyed with a strong cup of tea.

]]> Chewy Cinnamon Cookies

The recipe below comes via Stephen's aunt Heather and they partner perfectly with a strong cup of freshly brewed tea on a wintery afternoon.

Ingredients

75gm unsalted butter

1/3 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed

1/3 cup golden syrup

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ cups of organic self-raising flour, sifted

Icing sugar for dusting

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Combine the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar in a saucepan. Over a low heat, gently melt the butter and dissolve the sugar and syrup together without boiling.

2. Set aside and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then stir in the cinnamon and sifted flour and mix until well combined.

3. Roll heaped teaspoons full of the mixture into walnut sized balls and place 5 cm apart on a tray that has been lined with baking paper. Flatten gently with a fork.

4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until they are slightly browned. Carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool and lightly dust with icing sugar before serving.

Swallow before you speak & use your inside voice!

2011-05-18T02:08:34Z

One of the most frustrating things about being a mother is the repetitious sound of my own voice. As I bellow each day to the kids to 'eat your breakfast' or 'don't tease your sister' or 'chew with your mouth closed' 'or 'eat your broccoli' I can't help feeling that I'm trapped alongside Bill Murray in a scene from Groundhog Day.

The other day I unintentionally stumbled across this vintage find, from Barn Owl Primitives and I couldn't help but roar with laughter as I felt the years of frustration begin to melt away.

Needless to say I have one of these clever little signs arriving in the mail any minute now!

World Figolli Day 2011 Roundup and Winners!

2011-05-14T10:47:26Z

I'd like to apologise for the delay in announcing our World Figolli Day winners for 2011. When I first introduced World Figolli Day back in March I seriously had no idea that the idea would take off the way it did. Your enthusiasm, passion and zeal took me by surprise and then completely blew me away! Hence, as the event gained momentum and more and more people began to jump on board the World Figolli Day bandwagon, the overwhelming demand from participants resulted in us deciding to extend the event for another week.

My initial intention was to encourage families into the kitchen in the hope that this Maltese tradition would be passed down to the next generation of Maltese. Yet as figolli fever began to sweep across the globe we started to see people making figolli not only in Malta and Australia, but also in America, Italy, France and as far as India. So, before I launch into announcing this years winners I'd like to share with you some of the amazing figolli that were made around the world in 2011.

My dear friend Denise from San Francisco who runs the popular food blog Chez Us decided to join in the fun and here are some of her stunningly bright and gorgeous figolli.

]]> Araxi who is an amazing mom and extremely talented photographer also jumped on the World Figolli Day bandwagon and here are some of her little figolli.

Cinzia, yet another talented food blogging friend from Italy who runs a fabulous blog called Cindy Star also decided to join World Figolli Day this year and here is her gorgeous contribution to the event.

Vanessa, yet another talented food blogger from France, who runs a blog called Sweet Artichoke also joined us this year for World Figolli Day. Below are some pictures of her sweet creations.

Dewi who is originally from Bali but now resides in the Silicon Valley in California, runs a food blog called Elra's Baking, also joined us for World Figolli Day this year. Here are a few of her lovely figolli.

Gabi from Salt Lake City in America who runs the popular food blog called The Feast Within also joined us for World Figolli Day and here are some of her glorious figolli. Here gorgeous lambs and sunflowers caused quite a lot of commentary throughout the course of the event!

Christie, one of my favourite Australian food bloggers and wonderful new mama also found the time to join us this year for World Figolli Day. Take a look at her sweet figolli and wonderful blog called Fig and Cherry.

Throughout the course of this event I had the privilege of stumbling across some great new Maltese blogs one of which is run by Claudia and is called My Life With 3 Princesses. Here is her contribution to World Figolli Day.

Another fabulous Maltese food blog that I discovered throughout the course of World Figolli Day is called Handz by Patz and is run by the ever so talented Patz. Take a look at her stunning little figolli, they are simply divine!

Aparna who runs the popular food blog called My Diverse Kitchen also decided to join us for World Figolli day all the way from India! Her beautiful, eggless figolli decorated with such care and detail received an online standing ovation for their sheer brilliance and colour.

As I have stated previously, judging was extremely difficult, as we had to wade through over 200+ images that were added to the World Figolli Day flickr group. But a decision has been made so without further ado, I'd like to announce our World Figolli Day 2011 winners.

Hence, the Australian world figolli day winner is Hope Vella

and the Maltese winner is Patz Caruana.

Hope and Patz, if you could contact me directly via Facebook or Twitter, I will then pass on your details to Maha and Tal Familja restaurants respectively. You can then contact them directly so to arrange a mutually convenient time to enjoy your winning dinner.

I'd like to thank all of you who participated so enthusiastically in this year's event and for making it the success that it was. Prior to this event, figolli were something that were shared amongst the Maltese during the festive season of Easter, but now thanks to all of you figolli are something that can be shared all around the world!

I look forward to World Figolli Day 2012!

My Tiny Chef turns Six

2011-04-05T10:31:36Z

On Saturday our baby girl turned six, yes you heard correctly, I said S-I-X!

This year Lucia wanted a cooking party. Ho, hum I wonder where that idea came from? Since we're in the process of renovating our old Victorian terrace which currently looks like a garage sale in a Middle Eastern war zone, I decided that it was probably best that we host her little cooking soiree at The Tiny Chef.

As you can see the tiny chefs had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed mixing, stirring, rolling, baking, icing, decorating, eating, dancing and then some.

Hence, if you're at a loss as to what to do for your child's next birthday, then may I suggest you contact The Tiny Chef? The staff are friendly and professional and the space is both efficient and impressive. Also, their understanding and ability to cater to the needs of children with allergies is commendable.

Baby girl, if you happen to stumble across mama's blog in the years to come and find this post, know that as each day passes I marvel at all that you are. Your whimsical manner, depth of compassion, your contagious laughter and joyous spirit has changed our lives. You have given great meaning to life's journey and because of you I am a better person.

Oh and on a completely separate note here's the link to that interview I did with SBS radio yesterday.

Cin Cin!

2011-03-27T10:03:18Z

I just wanted to say a big thank you to those of you who have jumped on the World Figolli Day bandwagon. So far we have people participating from Australia, Malta, Italy, Germany the UK and America!

As I have already stated, you don't need to be Maltese to be a part of World Figolli Day. All that is required is your enthusiasm and a basic knowledge of flour, butter and sugar!

Feel free to share the event with all your budding baker friends on facebook. Oh, and if you'd like a personal invite from moi, then send me a message via facebook and I'll send one to you pronto!

Introducing World Figolli Day

2011-03-13T01:09:56Z

So I've come up with this hair brain idea to host a World Figolli Day this year and was wondering if you'd be interested in participating? Nothing too strenuous is involved, just some flour, eggs, sugar and almonds and hopefully a whole lot of fun!

The idea behind World Figolli Day is that you turn off the television and get off the couch and head into the kitchen with your kids, nieces and nephews and have a bonding session with some dough and royal icing and hopefully pass on a few Maltese culinary traditions whilst your at it.

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Once you've completed your creations remember to take a photo of them and then upload your images to the World Figolli Day flickr group. Hence, there's no rush people as we usually make our figolli on Good Friday and if your stumped for a recipe feel free to use mine.

Then, come Easter Monday I'll get Shane Delia and Ramona and Roberta Preca to help me judge the best Maltese and best Australian based figolla. Hence, the winner from Malta will receive a free dinner for two people at Tal Familja, the Preca's stunning restaurant in Marsascala, and the Australian winner will receive a free dinner for two at Maha, Shane's Melbourne based restaurant.

Please note, that the prize does not include airfares, hotel accommodation, taxi and/or ferry fair or child-minding fees! Hence, participants from other continents are most welcome to enter the competition and if you so happen to win, we'll work out a way of getting a suitable prize to you!

The Preca sisters have also come up with their own competition to coincide with World Figolli Day. They're encouraging locals to donate their best and most decorated figolli to help raise money for Dar Tal-Providenza. Interested participants are to take their figolli to Tal-Familja Restaurant during the week of the 3rd -10th of April. Your homemade works of art will be carefully photographed and then later judged. Roberta and Ramona have assured me that there are lots of wonderful prizes on offer, so it really is a win-win situation.

The figolli will then be given to Dar Tal-Providenza to sell and all the proceeds from the sale of the figolli will be used by the organization to continue to help people with disabilities. Hence, you can contact Tal-Familja Restaurant directly by phone on 21632161 or email them at info@talfamiljarestaurant.com for more information about drop off times and location.

So what do you think, do you want to help me bring figolli back in vogue and help a worthy cause at the same time?

Flipping Pancakes

2011-03-07T12:03:02Z

My sweet little Lucia kindly volunteered my services at school for Shrove Tuesday. So spare a thought for me tomorrow while I'm madly flipping pancakes for twenty eight ravenous six year olds.

I'm not sure what recipe I'll be using as the class teacher has assured me she has got 'everything under control', but if you're looking for something different come tuesday then maybe give these semolina pancakes a try.

Mussel Therapy on Waiheke Island

2011-02-18T02:56:05Z

Over the New Year we decided to go in search for summer, as it was nowhere to be found here in Melbourne. Stephen and I wanted an island holiday as we were desperate to 'unplug' and we were also in need of some serious sun. We wanted somewhere remote, but we also wanted to get there preferably before dinnertime as we were travelling with the little people. So with kids, beach gear and boogie boards in tow we caught the first available flight to Auckland.

It still amazes me how many people have no idea where Waiheke Island is. I've since been asked 'is in near Fiji' or 'it's near French Polynesia, right'? The best one to date was 'oh, so you went to Hawaii'! In answer to the 'where is Waiheke island' question it's none of the above. Hence, Waiheke Island is located about 17km from Auckland and it's the jewel of the Hauraki Gulf in New Zealand. It's the second largest island in the Hauraki Gulf after Great Barrier Island with approximately 8,000 permanent residents.

The minute you step onboard the ferry bound to Waiheke, you begin to feel yourself unwind and slow down as this bohemian island famous for it's wine, olives and art has a maximum speed limit of 80kph. Moreover, Waiheke residents still rely on rainwater and septic tanks and there is only one supermarket on the island and not a fast food chain outlet in sight!

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Oh and not to forget those glorious green lipped mussels! I could have eaten them for breakfast, lunch and dinner as they were incredibly fresh and oh, so delicious!

I did stay true to my word, so when I wasn't scoffing my face on green lipped mussels or drinking world class Syrah, I did manage to take plenty of photos and was fortunate to meet some pretty amazing people. Hence, in the weeks to come I'll be sharing all of this and more with you!