Running On {Almost} Empty

As weekends come, it was a busy one. Preparations for our Thanksgiving celebration started Friday night when the  Mischief Maker and I made the Pumpkin Roll. It was really straightforward to make and, although I do not think that the smell of pureed pumpkin is exactly appetising, the final product tasted so much better than I expected that I was very pleasantly surprised. I tweaked the original recipe which I found at Mel’s Kitchen  Cafe just slightly by adding about 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice to the rest of the ingredients. Admittedly my roll is rather flat …

My sweet American and I spent most of Saturday cooking. I tackled a batch of breadsticks inspired by Olive Garden. I found the recipe at Full Bellies, Happy Kids. I could not, for the life of me, remember what Olive Garden breadsticks tasted like but The American said that the ones I made tasted like the real thing.

We opted not to cook turkey this year. I do not particularly care for it and, when we make it, it feels like we’re eating left-overs for ever. We went for capons with a citrus herb rub instead. The American prepared the birds. He has a knack for cooking meat which I seem to lack. Of course we made side dishes too and a cranberry margarita courtesy of Bobby Flay. We did not go for traditional recipes this year because sometimes I get a bit tired of traditions, preferring to make our own. So Saturday passed in a blur of cooking and washing what seemed to be an endless amount of pots and pans. It was worth it though.The meal was lovely as was the company.

Sunday I woke up feeling like I had run a marathon and would have gladly spent the day in bed. However I managed to summon the energy to go to Valletta and visit Patches – The Special Market.

The first Patches Market was held about a year ago. It is an artisans market which is held every 3 months or so. Some exorbitantly-priced items apart, it is a wonderful place to pick up hand made items, especially with Christmas around the corner.

This is the last weekend before the Christmas shopping chaos starts. I particularly enjoyed taking photos in the near-empty streets. That’s when one can really appreciate the full architectural beauty of our capital city.

I suddenly realised that sometimes, when I start to write, I just can’t stop.