Sincerely, Loree

Perhaps you've wondered where I've been since I last posted here. To be honest, nowhere, except inside my head. It's a place I escape to often these days. I would be lying if I didn't admit that the war in Ukraine has been, and still is, upsetting me. It invades my waking thoughts several times a day and I have not found much that I wanted to write about in these past weeks. After 2 years of COVID it seemed like the last straw. Now, after more than 8 weeks of silence on my part, I am tentatively picking up where I left off. 

After an unusually cold start, Spring is finally here and the flowers in our garden have started to bloom. So I will try to enjoy this beautiful season and will definitely make an effort to write more frequently if more briefly.

Our son will soon be taking some very important exams which he needs to pass before he can continue his education at junior college level (equivalent to senior high school in the US). We support and encourage him and try not to offer advice unless it's asked for - which is not as easy as it sounds. His exams will be over by the end of May and then we will all be looking forward to some downtime during the summer months.

After 2 years we were able to celebrate Easter properly and I made some lemon almond cupcakes for dessert. They are really very easy so I am going to share the recipe with you that I found on Centerstage Wellness.

 Lemon Almond Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour

2/3 cup (150g) granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

zest of 1/2 lemon

3 tablespoons (40g) of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (4 ounces) (120 ml) milk (I used almond)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 large egg

For the frosting:

1 cup (250g) powdered sugar

6 tablespoons (80g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/8 teaspoon salt

zest and juice of half a lemon, divided (or 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners, or grease and flour them if you’re out of liners.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Use a stand or hand mixer to mix in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
3. Add the lemon zest and whisk until it is incorporated into the mixture.
4. Whisk together milk, almond extract, and egg. Pour into the sandy mixture and stir slowly until incorporated.
5. Use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tins.
6. Bake at 325F for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
7. Wait until cupcakes are completely cooled to frost them

1. Sift powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Cream together with the butter, salt, lemon juice and lemon zest.
2. When well-combined, add extracts and drizzle in half the milk. Beat on high speed until fluffy, adding more liquid until desired consistency is reached. The frosting should lighten in color and increase in volume. (I only added half the milk as the consistency seemed just right).

These cupcakes are really delicious and the lemon-almond combination is a favourite flavour of mine and perfect for a Spring dessert. I added some edible lavender on top to enhance the feeling of the season. They only take a few minutes to make and I am very pleased with this frosting recipe as the consistency of the mixture was perfect unlike some others I've made which were a complete flop.

It's  supposed to be spring but the temperatures are high enough for it to feel like summer. While most of Europe is drowning in rain storms and hit with unseasonal hail, over here it looks like we're going to have an early and unwelcome summer. But apart from the vagaries of the weather it is clear that things are changing and life is slowly inching back to normal. I should be happy about it but I seem to have grown accustomed to lounging around the house and 'hiding' away. It seems as if I've become quite happy to shelter within the walls of our home but I know it will all start to change soon. It will have to unless I'm planning on becoming a hermit. So I hope you indulge me as I share some frivolity and fluff that will tide me over to the better days to come.

I've done quite a bit of gardening this spring. I've planted marigold, sunflower and aster seeds around 5 weeks ago and nothing's growing yet. So I can safely assume the seeds were rubbish. But I managed to grow basil and morning glory from last year's seeds and also a plant that I don't know the name of whose seeds I collected from around our town. The seeds are as big as peppercorns and they are growing nicely. Once they start to flower I will take a few pictures maybe someone can tell me what they are. I've also managed to bring our roses back from the brink of perdition. Last year and the year before that they developed big black spots on their leaves. The leaves would then turn yellow and fall off. We got a spray for it (I think it's a type of fungus) but it didn't seem to help. This year i decided that I would cut off every leaf that had black spots. Fingers crossed, it seems to have worked and they now seem to be healthy again. Our crazy hibiscus were flowering way into the winter months. Then in late February they decided to drop all their leaves. Now, one of them decided to flower even though it is practically leafless.  We also have a cactus whose roots aren't even in the soil but is flourishing happily. Plants are a mystery to me and I have no idea why some live and others perish inexplicably.

Beautiful even in death.

I'm really happy to have a day off this coming Friday. It's going to be a 'me' day and I'll be spending time doing a few things I like.  I'll probably stop at a few of my favourite stores like Zara Home, Benetton and Mango and get a quick snack from somewhere. Then I'll read and read and read. 

We went to a book sale this past weekend and I came home with 9 new books. I also have another 6 books (one of them a trilogy) still left over from my Christmas pile. At the moment I am reading Captain Corelli's Mandolin. I'd seen the movie when it first came out but it was sufficiently long ago for me to have forgotten most of the details and I have no idea how it ended. While the movie (if I remember correctly) seems to have been mostly concerned with the love-story between Pelagia and Antonio Corelli, the book introduces us to a whole supporting cast of  memorable characters that broaden its scope considerably.  I have been finding it slow in some places but I think that my overall rating will be positive. I'm also reading The Tigress of Forli, a biography of Caterina Sforza. I love to have a fiction and non-fiction book going at the same time. Does anybody else do that? I'd love to know.

In other news, my hairdresser has chopped 3 inches off of my hair. I hate to cut it because it tends to defy gravity when it's shorter and bunches upwards, causing me a lot of frustration. This time round it seems that it's at the perfect length. Now I just need to find a product that works on my frizz-prone hair. I used a product called Avon Advanced Techniques Overnight Elixir in the past. But they have discontinued it and I am still looking for an alternative that works. Suggestions are welcome especially from anyone with wavy/ curly hair that is prone to unruliness and frizz.

We've seen Etna's cone three times from our balcony these past few days. It's not the first time this has happened and it's usually most clearly visible on very cold and clear winter days. On the contrary, it's a bit hazy at the moment but it seems that the sun is at the best angle for us to be able to see the it. Sunday night it was clear enough that we were able to spot the volcano late in the evening and, after the sun went down, the twinkling lights of Sicily. The immensity of Etna always manages to leave me rather speechless. Even though we are about 90 miles away it gives off an aura of incredible power. 

I'll end by sharing a link to the cake I baked for Mother's Day. This year I was able to invite my parents over. We had a simple meal of pasta and salad and I made a very special cake. I found the recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Cake from Two Cups Flour, an account I follow on Instagram.( For those that are lactose-intolerant the milk can be substituted with almond milk. I noted one small error in the recipe as vanilla is  included in the ingredients but is not mentioned in the instructions. I just included it when I added the milk and lemon juice). It's a pretty easy cake to make but it looks really special and it tastes so delicious that I couldn't stop eating it (no surprise there really, I 'm never one to skip dessert). My photos do not really do this cake justice. Note to self: I need to improve my food photography.

This was supposed to be a short post so I'll leave you here for today. I hope to be out and about more and will try to go to some interesting places so that I can share them with you. I've only been to Mdina lately because I never get bored of that place and it's still so quiet without any tourists around. It's a place that I have many fond memories of and you can read more about it in A Twilight Stroll Around  Mdina,  Ten Photos That Will Make You Want To Visit Mdina and  Mdina: Childhood Memories of the Silent City. 

And that really is all for today ...

I cannot remember the last time that I did a 'Life lately' post. Each day merges into the other and there's not much to share. Here in Malta we are exactly in the same place we were one year ago, with all but the most essential businesses and services closed. I am not complaining - just stating facts. Easter is in a few days and, once again, it will be a muted celebration, although, unlike last year, up to two families at a time can gather together. It seems like the more things change the more they remain the same. A part of my mind still can't quite accept the fact that we're in 2021. It's like a whole year has been erased, probably because most of  us made no new memories or experiences in 2020. But I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Highlights

Gardening

Reading

Easy recipes

Easter Dessert