Stormy weather…!

Flash flooding and storms dropping in excess of 42mm of rain hit Malta again today with some devastating effects. Fortunately not all was bad and many saw the funny side, myself included…

 

Parts of Malta underwater, worst affected areas include Msida and Birkirkara.
Parts of Malta underwater, worst affected areas include Msida and Birkirkara.

On a more serious note the stories and pictures relating to this phenomenal event…

42mm of rainfall last night…

and..

Man killed in Zabbar by lightening…

Waterspout photographed off the shores of Malta.
The waterspout photographed earlier by another resident of Malta!

Lastly, a lesson was learned by me today. I have said for a long time if you don’t want something on the Internet don’t post it… Well I posted this image (before editing)… which was all well and good, but the subject of the photo got very concerned when in the first 40 minutes there were over 110 shares and 100’s of likes (On facebook)… concerned it was going viral, she asked me to remove it which I agreed as whilst it is my photo (original and edited) to do with what I please, I agreed with her so I did… But some unscrupulous person had decided to post the picture on her own facebook page and claim her work… a few hours later I was alerted to it, and by that time it had over 500 shares and 1000’s of likes.. Upon asking for it to be removed I was told to ‘F**k off’ and I had no choice to report the picture as a DMCA violation of my rights… 12 hours later Facebook has not actioned the report, I do expect them to do so, but the lesson learned, some people will ignore copyright and polite requests regardless of your intentions. That said the Time of Malta picked up the picture not knowing the original copyright and request and posted it on their website, I alerted them to the problem and within just a minute or two they removed it replacing it with the authorised one at the top of this article. Good on them, at least some people are decent and honorable.

The picture concerned – (C) Copyright Michelle Sullivan 2012

 

This is the article by the Times of Malta:

After the storm… the humour.

Vodka Marinated Steak

 
Vodka Steak
Vodka Marinated Steak

250g Local/Maltese Steak
2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
1 Shot (25-30ml) Russian Standard Vodka
1 teaspoon salt
1 Clove of Garlic
Half an Onion
Half a capsicum (bell pepper)
Stock Cube & Cornflower or Instant Gravy
Half a pint of water (cold if using cornflower, otherwise hot)
Splash of Worcester Sauce

 
 
 
 
First the preparation/marination (24 hours prior to cooking)…
 
Crush peppercorns and Salt together, finely chop the garlic, mix it all together in a small bowl (just larger than the steak) with some olive oil. Put the steak in it, and push it down, turn the steak and repeat until the steak is totally covered (add a little more olive oil if necessary). Put the shot of Vodka in the bowl over the steak add a little more oil so the steak is not quite covered. Cover bowl with glad wrap/cling film (or put it’s lid on if it’s tupperware).. put in the fridge.. 12 hours later give it a shake and put it back in the fridge.. The steak must be left for at least 24 hours.
 
To cook:
 
Heat a griddle or fry pan as hot as you can get it (do not put oil in it).. When hot put the steak in and wait 1 minute. Pour half the marinade on top of the steak.. Wait 2 minutes more, and flip the steak, wait one minute and add the rest of the marinade to the top. Cook to your preference by turning it over no more than once!
 
At the same fine chop the onion and capsicum, fry lightly until the onion starts to go transparent. Add the stock cube and thickening agent (cornflower with water), or the instant gravy (about half a pint needed).. bring to the boil stirring continuously and as soon as it starts boiling pour over the steak which is still in it’s pan (do this about 2 minutes before you remove the steak).. Turn off the heat to the steak and let everything sit in the pan together for 2 minutes.  (It will simmer whilst it is cooling, do not stir, or touch it for the 2 minutes, this will cause parts of the gravy to become thicker than others which what you want.)
 
Serve with chips and vegetables, or salad and put a splash of Worcester sauce in the gravy after serving….

NOTE: If you like your steak more than ‘medium’ don’t bother with this recipe as it won’t work.  This recipe works best for those who like medium-rare steak!

 

Rockestra 2011!!

Some photos from Rockestra 2011… more here: Rockestra 2011

Rockestra 2011
Rockestra 2011
Rockestra 2011!
Rockestra 2011!

Have press pass, will take photos… (Robert A Heinline will be turning in his grave after that one!)

 

Some people have commented about how I have changed, and how my life has changed in the last 2 weeks, and well it has…

St Julians Festa 2011!!

St Julian's Festa 2011
St Julian's Festa 2011
St Julians Festa 2011
St Julians Festa 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well as usual the St Julians Festa was spectacular, this year being no exception. What as different for me was I actually went down to the seafront to take a closer look on the Saturday night… Photos are here: 27th August 2011 – St Julian’s Festa 2011.

On the Sunday night as per last year, Natalia and I organised a BBQ for close friends which was greatly received by those in attendance. Unfortunately the evening didn’t go as planned as I ended up in the Accident and Emergency department getting stitched up for slicing through my thumb!!

Roof top BBQ with home made Pizza!
Roof top BBQ with home made Pizza!
Fireworks!!
Fireworks!!

OrangesAndLemoonsGirl…

“Oranges and lemoons” said the bells of St. Clements
“I have a murky stalker” said the bells of Birkikara
“I wish I’d never seen her” said the bells of Mdina
“She sends me mean letters” said the bells of Valletta
“Did you see what the whore did?” said the bells of Rahal Gdid.
“I think that she saw me” said the bells of old Qormi
Here comes a candle to light you to bed
Here comes a nutter to fuck with your head.

Created just for the St Julian’s stalker, courtesy and Copyright