19 January - back to my own kitchen

I travelled back from Malta today - picking up a rather odd "pea pasty" for my lunch at the airport. It's been really good for the soul to have a break and a bit of sunshine - it felt horribly grey under the drizzly tupperware sky on the bus back from Bristol airport. But it's good to be back home to central heating and my own kitchen!

Tris was out this evening, so I cooked myself a simple supper of garlicky chicken thighs with a creamy sauce, new potatoes and a big pile of spinach - definitely my favourite comfort food!

18 January - prawns in the sun

Today I drove to Marsaxlokk, a picturesque fishing village known for its colourful fishing boats and its seafood restaurants. I went with the recommendation of the flat owner for lunch on the harbourside in the on-off sun at Carrubia. My prawns were very good, if a bit messy, but the accompaniments - a dry salad of lettuce and unripe tomatoes and a pile of frozen veg - went uneaten. It was a great spot to soak up some rays though and wander along the front with my camera snapping away.

As this is my last night here, supper this evening involved using up what was left in the fridge - a sort of tomato bruschetta with mozzarella and the last of the parma ham. I have to say that whilst I have had some memorable meals while I've been here, I am looking forward to getting back to my own kitchen and familiar shops.

17 January - adventurous solo dining

This morning's market didn't prove very helpful on the food front - mostly knocked-off trainers and tat, with just a few basic vegetable stalls of the onion and carrot variety - no fresh bread or pastries or other solo self-catering treats. On my way back to the flat, I dropped into one of the tiny shops for at least some 'plastic' toasting bread, only to see the bloke in front of me buying the last loaf of fresh local bread ... the shopkeeper explained apologetically that you have to get there early for it!

It was another chilly day, so I headed to Mdina, the ancient walled city in the centre of the island, with the intention of having a bit of a wander then warming up over a nice, long lunch. I got there though to realise - thankfully, before I'd gone into a restaurant - that I'd left my purse in my other bag back at the flat!! Thus, I wandered around a bit more until I was really too cold, then drove back to the flat for a late lunch of couscous, tomatoes and some parma ham. It's definitely been a challenge to self-cater for one without just eating the same thing all week.

This evening, I decided to try out Sugo, the little restaurant just across the street from the apartment that gets rave reviews in the visitor's book for Maltese cuisine. It turned out to be my most adventurous solo dining experience yet! When I arrived at 8.15, I was the only person there and was presented with a choice of tasting menus!! My first reaction was to move on, but the really friendly chef persuaded me to stay, offering a simpler starter + main combination and to my relief, five minutes later more people turned up, so it wasn't completely private dining! The food was pretty good - more bigilla as an appetiser, then some really tasty baked rice to start (with onions, tomatoes, pork mince and liver), apparently a traditional Maltese dish. For my main, I had beef stew which was in a lovely rich gravy, although to be honest, the meat was a bit chewy. All accompanied by a couple more glasses of really good local wine - I'll definitely be taking some Maltese wine home with me if I can fit them in my Ryanair baggage allowance!

Sadly, being in a similar old stone building, it was just as chilly as the flat, so despite all the warming, wintry food, it didn't do much to warm me up. At least it's not just me though - the other two female diners didn't even take off their jackets and scarves!

16 January - better pasta

Today was a bit of a frustrating day - rain, a leaking ceiling and hassle over a hire car - so I never really managed any proper lunch, just a few snacks grabbed along the way. I did, however, manage to get some onions, garlic, olive oil and butter in the dinky little local shops this morning. There seem to be quite a few of them, all tiny and all apparently stocking a similar mix of tins and dried stuff. I think for inspiration around here you really need to go to a market - apparently, tomorrow's market day, so I'll report back. Anyway, with the rain battering down and lots of restaurants apparently closed on a Monday, I had another go at some homemade pasta for supper in the cool little kitchen of my rented apartment.

This time was distinctly more successful - a fairly passable sauce of onion, garlic, courgette and tomato. Now curled up next to the heater for the evening with another glass of Malti wine and a big bar of Dairy Milk!

15 January - sunday lunch in the sun

Having failed in my shopping yesterday that included butter for toast, it was muesli for breakfast - not my favourite - so I felt justified in going out for a proper Sunday lunch. After a fantastically hot, sunny morning sitting on the roof terrace wishing I'd brought shorts, by the time I wandered down to the waterfront for lunch, it was clouding over. Undeterred, I opted for the terrace of Don Berto - apparently a popular spot for family Sunday lunches.

I started off with some garlic bread to compensate for the lack of toast for breakfast. Then for my main, I had the most fabulous, falling-off-the-bone lamb shanks, slow-cooked in a rich sauce with carrots, peppers, courgette and aubergine, topped with vegetable crisps and with a whole roast garlic on the side - the discretely snapped picture really doesn't do it justice!

Certainly solved the problem of having nothing much in for supper - it was more than enough to keep me going!

14 January - a veggie lunch and crap pasta

Staying around Vittoriosa today, I went out for lunch, this time choosing easy over adventurous - an outside table at Tate, a vegetarian cafe on the waterfront. A good spot for people-watching and a table in the sun, but an initially uninspiring menu. Feeling like I hadn't had much veg over the past couple of days, I ordered a falafel salad. It turned out to be a good choice - freshly cooked falafels with a yoghurt dip, warm pitta and humus and a huge pile of salad - mainly lettuce but with enough bits of carrot, tomato and cucumber plus a herby dressing to make it interesting. I'd had pudding in mind when I sat down, but after munching my way through all those falafels, I was distinctly stuffed.

I'd bought some pasta and a tin of tomatoes yesterday and I'd intended to get some olive oil, onions and garlic to cook up a simple pasta sauce this evening. Unfortunately, although the blurb at the apartment said that local shops were open morning and early evening Mon to Sat, when I went out at 6, everything was distinctly closed! I did try just pasta and some heated tomatoes, but it was so watery and tasteless, I didn't even bother finishing it. Now I'm curled up under a blanket (the apartment's unheated and really chilly of an evening) watching old Doctor Who reruns on BBC entertainment, with a glass of wine and a box of After Eights ... not exactly a healthy supper, but I don't feel too bad after my super-healthy lunch!

13 January - calamari in valetta

I ventured into Valetta today, determined to have some proper Maltese food for lunch. The places with tables out in squares were tempting, but despite the sun, I was feeling a bit too chilly to sit outside. So I fell back on my guidebook and sought out Rubino, a restaurant recommended for modern Maltese cuisine. It was a bit tucked away and difficult to see in from the street, But I just took the plunge anyway. It was full smartly-dressed businessmen taking clients out to lunch - a good sign - and the waiters were welcoming.

I went for just a main from the menu scribbled on a blackboard in a mix of English and Malti. As I waited for my calamari, I was served with bread and little crackers to dip into some bigilla - a Matli dip made of spiced crushed beans - tasty and quite moreish. When my squid arrived, it was huge - three whole grilled squid with a herby sauce and spicy roast potatoes. It was very good and great to have some fresh seafood. I didn't quite manage to clear my plate though and needed a good strong espresso before I went off to spend the afternoon exploring the city!

While I was out, I managed to gather a few bits and pieces of food, so supper back at the apartment consisted of some couscous already mixed with Mediterranean spices, some fried courgette, cherry tomatoes and a bit of mozzarella. After a filling lunch, it was all I needed and with more Maltese wine ended the day pretty well.

12 January - going solo in malta

It's years since I travelled alone and I'd forgotten just how daunting it can be to go out for dinner on your own in a strange place. I arrived in Malta at lunchtime for a week's winter sun and had a bit of a wander around Vittoriosa - one of the "three cities" that ring the harbour opposite Valletta, the capital. Later, back at my funky little rented apartment, I realised I hadn't eaten anything since a mid-morning prawn sandwich and although I've got a little kitchen, I hadn't had the chance to get any food in. I'd spotted a row of promising resturants on the waterfront, so I headed there. The most interesting-looking was intimidatingly empty at quarter to eight, so I carried on until I came across Sottovento; a bistro with more of a cafe atmosphere - wooden tables with several groups of women clearly out for an early supper and a natter.

Having committed and sat down at a table in the corner, the menu revealed a rather unexciting choice of pizza and pasta. The huge plate of tortellini in creamy sauce with mushroom and bacon that arrived was unadventurous, but tasty and filling and went down well with an equally large glass of local white wine! Determined to try something more local tomorrow ...