A Grand New Beginning....In the Kitchen

So here it goes....blog number 2. Those of you who have been avidly reading my other blog: Je t'aime le Chicken, will know all about me and the crazy stuff I like to talk about: holidays, cooking, life in London and previously in Preston. For those of you who have never heard of me but have stumbled across this because they happened to google 'Maltese' and ' cooking', or something along those lines, well, here's a brief intro.

By the way, those who have read my other blog might also like to read this quick intro. Just because.

If asked to describe myself in three words, the answer is easy. I am Maltese, I am an astrophysicist and I am a child in an adult's body. Ok, more than three words. But close enough. The first descriptor is the most important, the second the most interesting (see my other blog or my website if you're curious) and the last (phrase) the most obvious when you first meet me.

So, why have I started a new blog about cooking? Probably because when I started university in the UK over eight years ago I couldn't cook anything more exciting than a pot noodle (and I totes lived on those) and now most people I know will describe my food as being exciting, tasty and, most importantly, containing a great Maltese twist. Maltese food, and Mediterranean food in general, contain all my favourite aspects of good cooking: it can be healthy (but not necessarily so), it's mega flavoursome and it's so easy to do.

And to really sum up the reasons for this blog: I want to encourage Maltese people who have left the island to maintain the part of their heritage and culture that deals with food, and I want to give the opportunity for non-Maltese people to cook their own versions of tasty Maltese treats.

Also, in case you were wondering whether this blog would be all about how to make home-made pastizzi (pea cakes) and mqaret (fig desserts), well, think again. This is about how a chef brings the flavours of Malta to her (his) kitchen, not about spending hours filling and baking filo pastry with a delicious pea mixture. You want pastizzi?? I know a place in London. Just not my kitchen.

Mqaret

Pastizzi

Last, but not least, here's a picture of my home. Malta. It's in the Mediterranean. And it's awesome!!