This is the month when Carnival, St Paul’s Ship wreck and Valentines Day

are celebrated. What better way to celebrate all these feasts than with some

sweets? In fact this issue is all about sweets, treats and nice meals. Whether

sweets are to be shared with family or friends or whether it’s that special

treat to give to your loved one on Valentines Day, you will surely find

something you’ll like in this issue!

Do not forget to send us your pictures, requests and comments so we can

post them on the Ask us something page. We are hoping that by time the

page can develop into a type of blog were anything food related can be dis-

cussed.

Now enough teasing, we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed

producing it for you.

Welcome

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Breakfast:

Blueberry and

Banana

Chocolate-chip

Pancakes

2

Sweets: Carni-

val Caramel

Apples

3

Sweets:

Sweet

Lasagne Mille

Foglie

3

Sweets:

Prinjolata

4

Tip of the

Month

5

Sweets:

Xkunvat

5

Coffee

Special page:

Benefits and

Curiosities

6

Dinner:

Pepper-Crusted

Beef Filet with

Chocolate-Port

Sauce

8

Dessert:

Chocolate

Fondant

9

Ask us

something:

Healthy Fruit

Snack

10

What Librarians Eat! F E B 2 0 1 3 I S S U E 2

P A G E 2

“The only

time to eat

diet food is

while you're

waiting for

the steak to

cook.”

― Julia

Child

Blue be rry and Banana

Choc o lat e -c h ip

Panc ake s

Breakfast

Ingredients: (Makes up to 8 fat pancakes)

100g Self-raising flour

100ml Milk

Banana and Blueberries

Honey (optional)

Ice-cream (optional)

Chocolate-chips or bashed up chocolate

bars.

W H A T L I B R A R I A N S E A T !

Wisk the flour and milk together. If the consistency is too thick add some water until you

have a smooth batter. If the consistency is too runny add some more flour as we want them

to fluff up nice and even.

Add in the chocolate chips or bashed up chocolate bars. Wisk until everything is mixed in

well.

In a frying pan add a small nob of butter and coat the whole bottom of the pan. This

should be done on a medium to high heat.

Using a ladle add in some of the mixture in to the pan. By using a ladle we are making

sure we have even portions of equal size.

Fry off on each side for about 1-2 minutes until thick and fluffy.

Serve them with chopped bananas, blue berries, a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of

honey.

Everybody likes pancakes whether they

are thin and crispy or thick and fluffy.

They make the perfect breakfast on spe-

cial occasions and even a great dessert.

There are many different flavour combi-

nations one can try. Here I listed my

Miss’ favourite ones but one can always

substitute the fruit for whichever they

prefer.

P A G E 3

Ingredients: (serves 10-12 depending on how many

apples you use)

1/2 cup Butter, cubed

2 cups Brown sugar

1 cup Light corn syrup (corn flour with water)

Dash salt

1 can (14 ounces) Sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp Vanilla extract

10 to 12 Popsicle sticks

10 to 12 Medium apples, washed and dried

1 cup salted peanuts, chopped

Sweets Carnival Caram e l

Apple s

Sweets Swe e t Las agne Mille Foglie

Ingredients:

A couple of lasagne pasta

sheets

Mascarpone cheese

Dark chocolate (melted)

A couple of oranges

Whipping Cream

Par boil the lasagne sheet in some boiling

water for a minute or two.

Drain them well and pat them dry.

Cut them across into four oblongs and fry

them, either shallow or deep fried until

crispy and golden.

Drain them well on some kitchen paper.

Flavour the mascarpone cheese with some

orange zest.

Whisk up the double cream until stiff.

Layer the fried lasagne sheets up like a

sweet lasagne, filling a layer with mascar-

pone and a layer with the whipped double

cream.

Drizzle the melted chocolate on top and

finish off with some sliced oranges.

A twist on the classic lasagne and

the Mille Foglie dessert, for all the

family to enjoy. It is a very fun quick

dessert ideal for the carnival week.

Stir in the condensed milk and cook

until the mixture becomes a caramel.

It is important to stir continuously to

help speed the process.

Remove from the heat and stir in the

vanilla.

Insert Popsicle sticks into the

apples.

In a large heavy saucepan, melt the

butter.

Add the brown sugar, corn syrup and

salt.

Cook and stir over medium heat

until the mixture comes to a boil.

(about 10-12 minutes)

Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture and turn to coat the

apple evenly.

Dip bottom of apples into the peanuts.

Place on a greased waxed paper until set.

These are perfect for impress your loved ones.

Also except for all the sugar, it’s healthy since its basically

an apple, right?

P A G E 4

Some cooks

stir chopped

candied

cherries into

the cake

mixture and

stick some

whole

candied

cherries onto

the sides of

the cake as

part of the

decoration

Prinjo lat a

Making the Italian Meringue

Put the sugar and water into a pan and dissolve over

a low heat.

Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until firm peaks

form.

When the sugar syrup starts to boil, remove the pan

from heat and immediately resume whisking the egg

whites.

With the beater at its lowest speed, pour in the

melted sugar in a slow stream until it is all absorbed.

Carry on beating until the meringue is tepid.

W H A T L I B R A R I A N S E A T !

Sweets The Prinjolata is a traditional Maltese Carnival time

sweet. Originally the Prinjolata was made with butter

cream and the main reason was that even though one

did not store it in the fridge it would not go off.

Of course there are many other variations but even

though this recipe makes a very simple one it is so

stunningly rich that a small piece goes a very long

way.

Ingredients:

The Cake

200g Butter

250g Icing sugar or Caster

sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence or

Vanilla pod

1 tsp Milk

4 Packets Pavesini or 30

sponge fingers

75g Pine nuts

75g Flaked almonds

50g Glace cherries, chopped

(optional)

Italian Meringue

60g Sugar

5 tsp Water

1 large egg white

Icing and Decoration

400g Icing sugar

1 large egg white

Food colouring

100g Dark chocolate (melted)

100g Pine nuts (toasted)

Making the Icing and

Decorations:

Put the egg white into a bowl and whisk lightly just

till it begins to foam a little.

Start adding the icing sugar a little at a time, whisk-

ing well in between each addition until it thickens

nicely.

Spread it carefully over the half ready cake and

decorate it by drizzling with colour, sticking the nuts

all over the side and then dribble over melted choco-

late.

Making the Cake:

Beat the butter and sugar together until

very white and fluffy.

In the meantime, lightly roast the nuts

and then chop them up roughly.

Crush the Pavesini or sponge fingers

with your fingers till they resemble very

rough breadcrumbs.

Fold the Italian meringue into the butter

cream followed by the nuts and biscuits,

and form a sand castle shape on a plate

Cover with Icing and decorate as you

please.

P A G E 5

Ingredients: (Serves 6)

200g of flour

25g of butter

1 egg-yolk

1 tsp of sugar

Anisette

Oil for deep frying

honey or golden syrup

Coloured sugar

It is very important to add

herbs to our recipes. Not

just because they add flavor

but because they also have

health properties. In the

past people have used herbs

as medicine and some com-

munities still do.

When cooking, try using

different herbs or spices and

vary them throughout the

week. The use of herbs and

spices add to a balanced

healthy diet and also help to

prevent common illness.

Tip of the

Month

Sweets Xkunvat

Rub the butter into the flour,

Stir in the egg-yolk and enough anisette to make dough

Knead it briefly and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.

Roll it out very thinly and cut it into strips with a pastry-wheel.

Bring the oil to the boil. Roll up the strips and drop them into the boiling oil,

where they’ll take on the traditional twisted shape. Be careful not to let them

over-fry.

Remove them once they are golden and drain them on kitchen paper to re-

move excess oil.

These are very quick to make and traditionally were made by the Knight of St.

John during the Carnival month.

When they are cool, pile them up on

a plate and drizzle on some honey or

golden syrup, and scatter them with

coloured sugar or hundreds-and-

thousands, which will stick to them.

P A G E 6

N E W S L E T T E R T I T L E

Get numerous

benefits from coffee!

P A G E 7

Get numerous benefits from coffee! Research shows that in many

cases, more is better when it comes to coffee improving health.

Here are some of the benefits.

Coffee Lowers Risk of a Variety of Cancers

Coffee drinking has been associated with a lower risk of lung,

prostate, breast, endometrial, pancreatic, stomach, and colon can-

cer. In some studies the association is robust, while others have

shown no benefit from coffee, which could be due to many rea-

sons. But, it seems clear that coffee can be protective and does not

increase cancer risk.

Coffee Lowers Risk of Heart Disease & Heart Attack

Coffee intake is highly protective for the cardiovascular system

and has been repeatedly found to decrease risk of heart disease

and death from a heart attack.

Coffee Improves Vascular Health & Does NOT Raise Blood

Pressure

The caffeine in coffee has actually been shown to improve the

health of the blood vessels because it increases nitric oxide pro-

duction in the endothelium (the thin layer of cells that line the

interior surface of blood vessels), which improves vascular mus-

cle tone. Coffee also supports healthy arterial pressure, lowering

blood pressure over the long-term.

Coffee Improves Cholesterol Health

The antioxidants in coffee can improve total cholesterol, raise

“good” HDL cholesterol, and lower inflammation related to heart

disease. In one study, regular coffee drinkers were asked to in-

crease their coffee intake to 4 and then a whopping 8 cups a day.

This dosing improved the ratio between “bad” LDL and HDL

cholesterol by 8 percent.

Coffee Improves Body Composition & Elevates Fat Burning

There is compelling evidence that coffee increases your metabolic

rate so that you burn more calories, and it can help shift the body

to burn fat rather than glucose for energy. In addition, coffee

modulates blood sugar and can improve insulin sensitivity.

It is always important not to drink too much coffee. This

applies to everything. Something is good for you in proper

amounts only. When we overdo it, we loose all the benefits

which we were taking advantage of. Whereas coffee is

good for you, overdosing it with sugar does not render the

same health benefits

P A G E 8

Pepper-Crusted Beef

Fillet with Chocolate-

Port Sauce

Brush the tenderloin fillets on all sides with some olive

oil.

Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper.

Add the steaks to a hot pan, and cook to your desired

degree of doneness, for example 4 minutes per side for

medium-rare.

Once done, remove the steaks from the skillet and put

aside to let the meat rest.

For the Sauce:

Stir in the chopped shallot in the same pan with a shot

of olive oil, and cook for 1 minute.

Pour in the Port wine and balsamic vinegar.

Simmer until the wine reduces to the consistency of

sticky syrup, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the beef stock and rosemary, and return to a sim-

mer.

Once the sauce has begun to simmer, whisk in the

chocolate until it melts and slightly thickens the sauce.

Pour sauce over steaks to serve or place it in a container

aside.

W H A T L I B R A R I A N S E A T !

Dinner

A special dinner to impress on Valentines Day. This

recipe includes ingredients which both partners can

indulge into. It is also designed to stimulate the appetite

for a gorgeous follow up dessert.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

2 Fillets of good quality beef

1 tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp Peppercorns

(cracked)

1 Shallot or small onion

(finely chopped)

1 glass of good quality red

wine (preferably Port wine)

1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

60ml Beef stock

1 tsp Fresh rosemary

(minced)

20g Bittersweet chocolate

(chopped)

“I cook

with wine,

sometimes

I even add

it to the

food.”

― W.C.

Fields

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now

and then doesn't hurt.”

― Charles M. Schulz

Serve with some roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables or

a fresh salad.

P A G E 9

Dessert Chocolate Fondant

This is the first request of this foodletter.

Requested by Sarita Piscopo the recipe is

taken from Chef Gordon Ramsey.

The perfect dessert for Valentines Day.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

50g Melted butter (for brushing)

Cocoa powder (for dusting)

200g Good-quality dark chocolate

(chopped into small pieces)

200g Butter

200g Golden caster sugar

4 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks

200g plain flour

Caramel sauce and vanilla ice-

cream to serve

Getting the moulds ready.

Using upward strokes, heavily brush the

melted butter all over the inside of the pud-

ding mould.

Place the mould in the fridge or freezer for a

couple of minutes.

Brush more melted butter over the chilled

butter, then add a good spoonful of cocoa

powder into the mould.

Tip the mould so the powder completely

coats the butter.

Tap any excess cocoa back into the jar, then

repeat for the next moulds.

Preparing the Fondant.

Place a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, then

slowly melt the chocolate and butter together.

Remove bowl from the heat and stir until smooth.

Leave to cool for about 10 mins.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and yolks together

with the sugar until thick and pale and the whisk leaves a

trail. This can be done with an electric whisk if you want.

Sift the flour into the eggs, then beat together.

Pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture in thirds,

beating well between each addition, until all the choco-

late is added and the mixture is completely combined to a

loose cake batter.

Tip the fondant batter into a jug, then evenly divide be-

tween the moulds. The fondants can now be frozen for up

to a month and cooked from frozen. Chill for at least 20

mins or up to the night before.

To bake from frozen, simply carry on as stated, adding 5

mins more to the cooking time.

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place the fondants on

a baking tray, then cook for 10-12 mins until the tops

have formed a crust and they are starting to come away

from the sides of their moulds. Remove from the oven,

then leave to sit for 1 min before turning out.

Loosen the fondants by moving the tops very gently so

they come away from the sides, easing them out of the

moulds. Tip each fondant slightly onto your hand so you

know it has come away, then tip back into the mould

ready to plate up.

To Serve

Using a large spoon dipped in hot water,

scoop some vanilla ice-cream carefully plac-

ing the ice cream on top of the fondant, add a

drizzle of caramel sauce and then serve im-

mediately.

Repeat with the rest of the fondants.

“Ask Us Something!” We had a lot of positive feedback about the foodletter, however we did not receive any

questions. So again we came up with one on our own. Please let’s keep this foodletter in-

teractive and feel free to share with us. We want to know your comments, recipes

and queries.

How do I make a fruity healthy snack?

Hope you enjoyed this month’s issue. Please send us your feedback, requests and questions so

that we can keep improving and also continue to learn together about food. Next month’s is-

sue will feature some Easter goodies, picnic treats, some proper comfort food and also your

own recipe requests and questions.

Hmmm something fruity? Something healthy? In the

form of a snack? …. Why not try some fruit leather!

Leather? I know some of you might be confused but

really, this is something that has been around for gen-

erations. It is something like candy but without the

sugar and extra calories.

Basically you select which fresh fruit you want to

use. Such as apricots, peaches, plums, berries, apples,

pears, grapes, strawberries, mango, etc... Deseed

them or remove the stone.

Chop them up.

Add into a pan.

Add a half cup of water for every 4 cups of chopped

fruit.

Bring it to a simmer, cover and let it cook on a low

heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked

through.

Purée it thoroughly in a blender or food processor.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with sturdy plastic wrap

(the kind that is microwave safe). Pour out the purée

into the lined baking sheet to about an 1/8 to 1/4 inch

thickness.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake at a low

heat for about 6-8 hrs until completely dry.

When the fruit leather is ready, you can easily peel it

up from the plastic wrap. To store it, roll it in its plas-

tic wrap, put it in an airtight container and store in

the refrigerator or freezer.

And there you have it! A fruity

healthy snack which you can store

and use whenever you want.