Folklorama: Grand-pères and Bannock

Grand-pères

Happy Canada Day!!

In honour of the occasion I thought we should take a look at the two Canadian pavilions which were held in 1980: the Canadien-Français Pavilion and the Native Canadian Pavilion.

The Canadien-Français Pavilion was held at 340 Boul Provencher in St-Boniface, the French section of Winnipeg.

That’s 340 Provencher Boulevard, if you’re not familiar with the area.

The pavilion was sponsored by Les Danseurs de la Riviére-Rouge, who also performed the gigues.

There were displays of the traditions, crafts, literature, music and history of the French-Canadian community.

Le Beau Temps, “special instruments”, and fiddlers also appeared on stage. 

There was plenty of food: traditional pea soup, six pâtes (composed of meat and pastry), meat ball stew, farmer’s bread, pâte, and corn on the cob, to be enjoyed with the drink, Caribou, along with domestic beers and liquors, juices and soft drinks.

In addition to Grand-pères, there were generous servings of tart au sucre (sugar pie), raisin tarts, and apple and maple syrup pie for dessert.

The show was always lively and the atmosphere filled with the spirit of Bienvenue!

Tansi! The Native Canadian Pavilion, at 465 Alexander Avenue, was sponsored by the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre.

The entertainment there was also energetic, featuring Pow-wow, jigging, and square dancing.

The menu wasn’t as extensive as other pavilions, but it was hearty: buffalo meat and wild rice served with bannock, a flat bread made with oat or barley flour. 

The program noted that: 

“Alcoholic beverages will not be served during the Pow-Wow or after 11:30 p.m.”

This year’s Folklorama has three Canadian pavilions:

Pavillon canadien-français

First Nations Pavilion

Metis Pavilion

Be sure to come by and visit, eh!

Hints:

Here’s the English translation for the Grand-pères (Grandparents) recipe:

Syrup

3 Cups of water

2 Cups brown sugar

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon maple essence

Dough

1/2 Cup white sugar

1 Tablespoon butter 

1/2 Cup milk

1 1/2 Cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Mix in a large saucepan the first 4 ingredients to make the syrup. 

Bring to the boil.

Mix together the ingredients for the dough. 

Using a large spoon, place scoops of batter in the syrup.

Cook 14 minutes.

You’re welcome!

                        Grand-pères 

Syrop

3 tasses d’eau

2 tasses sucre brun

1 c. table beurre

1 c. table essence d’erable

Pâte

1/2 tasse sucre blanc

1 c. table beurre

1/2 tasse lait

1 1/2 tasse farine

2 c. thé poudre à pâte

pincée de sel

1 c. thé vanilla

Mélange dans une grande casserole les 4 premiers ingrédients pour faire le syrop. Emmener à l’ébullition.

Mélanger ensemble les ingrédients pour la pâte. Déposer par grand cuillère dans le sirop.

Cuire 14 minutes.

                        Bannock  

Sift together in a large bowl

3 Cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons baking powder

Melt in a small pot 

1/2 pound lard or shortening

Add to the dry ingredients.

Stir in

1 1/2 Cups cold water

1 1/2 Cups cold milk

Stir until the flour is doughy.

Keep adding flour until the dough does not stick to your hands.

Pat it down into a square pan.

Bake in 400º F oven for 40-45 minutes.

Slurpees and Flapper Pie - Summer on the Prairies

Summer’s just zipping along.

Just a reminder...

Tomorrow is Free Slurpee Day here in Canada!

We Winnipeggers have a reputation to maintain as the Slurpee Capital of Canada and must do our patriotic duty.

As we all know, a brain freeze headache never killed anyone; it just helps to prepare us for our -40º C winters.

And, as we also all know, a slurpee tastes better when it’s free!

Free Slurpee Day is just a fun summer tradition, especially here on the prairies.

Another prairie tradition - great any time of year - is enjoying a slice of Flapper Pie.

Haven’t tasted Flapper Pie? Goodness… you’re in for a treat.

Flapper Pie has a graham cracker crust with a creamy custard filling, topped by a huge meringue and a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs.

Well, some folks in Saskatchewan top the custard with whipped cream, but they still call it Flapper Pie. It's a free country, after all.

Some prairie women like to guild the lily and add a generous layer of whipped cream on top of the meringue.

As the saying goes: too much of a good thing is just... too much of a good thing!

The recipe became popular when it was on the Paulin’s Graham Wafer box in the 1950s. Paulin’s products were produced here in Winnipeg.

Flapper Pie was made regularly in the winter because homemakers didn’t always have fruit on hand for a filling but they always had eggs, milk, butter and sugar.

Flapper Pie used to be staple at Box Socials and Fall Suppers and could be found on the menus of nearly every small town prairie cafe and restaurant.

For the full experience one should have hamburgers with cooked onions followed by a generous serving of Flapper Pie.

The Salisbury House Restaurant, known for their burgers with fried onions - which they called ‘Nips’ - included it as Wafer Pie on their menus.

Hey, even the folks at Salisbury knew the best recipes come from food boxes.

Another prairie tradition is eating it warm, straight from the oven, for breakfast.

Think of it as a very, very fancy quiche.

Hints:

This pie is best made the day you serve it, but the crust can be made in advance.

The recipe on the box has the crust unbaked. It’s easier to cut this way.

If you prefer, bake the crust for 8 minutes at 350º F before adding the filling.

Let the pie cool on the counter for 3 hours, then add the meringue and bake.

Not into making custards? Some women have used boxed vanilla pudding.

They would bake the crust for 7 minutes, then let it cool completely in the refrigerator. Then they’d add the custard and meringue or whipped cream topping.

If you’d like a softer custard, instead of 1/4 Cup cornstarch use 

1 1/2 Tablespoons flour and 3 Tablespoons cornstarch.

Feeding a crowd? Use a 9 x 13 cake pan with triple the filling and meringue amounts.

If you’d like a stronger cinnamon taste you can add a bit more in the crust and also add 1/4 teaspoon (or more) to the custard.

Other variations include:

• using brown sugar instead of white
• using lemon pie filling (Yes, that’s basically a Lemon Meringue Pie)
• adding chocolate to the custard
• adding 2 Tablespoons butter to the hot custard after it’s been removed from the heat
• adding a layer of banana (mashed or slices) underneath the custard
• adding finely cut coconut to the crust 
• adding coconut to the custard and sprinkling coconut on top of the meringue or whipped cream topping (This was called a Gigolo Pie)
• not adding the meringue or whipped cream topping, but serving a slice with a dollop of whipped cream and sliced strawberries 

Do you remember a recipe that used Zwieback crumbs instead of graham cracker crumbs and was served in a deep sided pyrex casserole dish?

That was called a Cream Torte.

                        Flapper Pie

For the Crust

Melt 

1/4 Cup butter

In a medium bowl combine
1 1/4 Cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Add the melted butter and combine well.

Setting aside about 3 tablespoons to sprinkle on top of the meringue, pour the remaining crumb mixture into a 10 inch pie plate.

Press the crumbs across the bottom and up the sides of the plate.

Refrigerate or bake 8 minutes at 350º F (see hints).

For the Filling   

In a medium bowl mix together 

1/4 Cup white sugar

1/4 Cup cornstarch
pinch of salt

Whisk in

3 egg yolks

Mix until well combined.

Combine in a medium saucepan

2 1/2 Cups milk

1/4 Cup sugar

Cook over medium heat, stirring until it just starts to simmer and sugar is dissolved.

Temper the yolks by spooning a small amount of hot milk into the yolk mixture while continuously whisking.

Continue adding a small amount of milk into the eggs until the temperature of the eggs feels about the same as the temperature of the milk. Whisk in the remaining milk. 

Pour the egg / milk mixture back into the saucepan and place it over medium heat. 

Whisk constantly until the mixture starts to thicken, then lower temperature slightly.

Continue whisking until the mixture begins to bubble. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes.

Take the saucepan off the heat and whisk until smooth. 

Whisk in 

2 teaspoons vanilla

Pour the hot custard into the cooled crust and and spread over the crust.

Allow the pie to chill in the fridge at least an hour.

For the Meringue Topping

Preheat the oven to 350º F

Place in a medium mixer bowl
3 egg whites, room temperature

Beat at medium speed until stiff peaks are formed.

Add gradually, beating constantly
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp of cream of tartar

With mixer on high speed, beat egg white / sugar mixture for 5 minutes, until the meringue forms very stiff peaks.

Pour the filling into the crust and cover with the meringue, making sure to reach the crust edges. Don’t smooth it - you want the pointy bits so that they will get extra brown when it’s in the oven.

Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top of the meringue and slide into the oven.

Bake until the meringue browns, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it - ovens vary.

Remove and serve immediately.

Slice with a sharp chef’s knife that has been dipped into hot water and dried.

Enjoy BeaverTails during Canada’s 150th Birthday / Watch the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower

I first tried BeaverTails when we went to Ottawa for our fortieth anniversary back in 2012. 

They are a Canadian treat, a flattened piece of dough that’s fried then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. 

That’s the classic version.

But they’ve gone very creative withe the toppings and you can enjoy yours topped with anything from chocolate or caramel sauce to fresh fruit.

We also enjoyed BeaverTails when we vacationed in Quebec City last Fall and here in Winnipeg during Festival du Voyageur last February.

BeaverTails are truly a Canadian favourite!

Angel Wing Cookies - Polish Chrusciki - is another doughnut recipe. 

They are delicate, perfect with a cup of tea, and were a great favourite at gatherings at St. Fidelis Church. When Ma saw us going for seconds - and thirds - she asked a neighbour for the recipe.

A Maltese doughnut recipe - Imqaret (Deep-fried Date Slices) - has a bit of heft to it, more like a jelly doughnut. Imqaret is fried with the filling, made from dates, already in it. There isn't any yeast in the dough.

Speaking of Jelly doughnuts, they were pretty popular when I was a kid in College Point. My German friends had plenty of jelly- or custard-filled doughnuts. They called the doughnuts bismarks, or Berliners, or long johns.

In Manitoba jelly doughnuts are called jam busters, while in Nova Scotia they are called Burlington buns.

Ah, doughnuts! who doesn’t love them!

Hints:

If you’re using a mixer you’ll need the dough hooks. 

If you don’t have the hooks, use a wooden spoon.

If you don't have a deep-frying thermometer, test the oil by slipping a bit of the dough into the oil.  It should sizzle and float to the surface in 1 minute.

You don’t want the oil too hot. If you see it smoking, take the pot off the heat to cool the oil before frying.

If you don’t want to deep fry, you can cook as you would pancakes, in a lightly greased pan. They will be a bit different, with a bumpy surface and unevenly brown colour, but you can add toppings to hide that.

If you want a bit of variety, you can also top with lemon and sugar, Nutella, maple syrup, melted chocolate, caramel sauce, toasted nuts, or jams or anything else that strikes your fancy.

                        BeaverTails

Makes 8 doughnuts

In a large mixer bowl place

1/4 cup warm water

1/2 Cup warm milk

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Let stand about 10 minutes, until the mixture is foamy.

While the mixture is standing, melt

2 Tablespoons butter

Add

the melted butter

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 large egg

Beat at medium speed until just mixed.

Add

1 Cup flour

Mix the flour in - you’ll need the dough hook at this point.

Mix until the dough comes together and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Knead for about 6 minutes in the mixer

Turn out and knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes.

Use extra flour if the dough is sticky. You want it to be smooth, but not dry.

Lightly oil a bowl, then place the dough in it and cover with a damp towel.

Let the dough rest in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size. 

Punch down the dough and it place on a lightly floured flat surface.

Cut the dough into eight equal sized pieces.

Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece of dough into an oval shape, about 1/4 inch thick.

Place the oval on a lightly floured baking sheet.

Repeat with remaining dough pieces.

Cover with a tea towel, until all the pieces have been rolled.

Keep the rolled out dough covered and leave to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

While the ovals are rising, make the Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Place in a medium bowl

1 Cup sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Mix well.

In a deep saucepan or deep fryer pour

2 inches vegetable oil

Heat to 350º F on a deep-fry thermometer or test with dough (see above).

Carefully slide 1 to 3 doughnuts into the hot oil.

You don’t want to crowd them and you want to be able to remove them as soon as they are done.

Fry on each side for 1 to 2 minutes, until each side is a light golden brown.

Remove the doughnut with a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs and drain on paper towels.

Dunk them in the cinnamon sugar topping and toss to coat (or see above)

Just before serving, sprinkle them with lemon juice (optional)

Best when fresh and warm.

About the sky this week and next, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

July 5 - Tonight, look to the south in the evening to spot star Antares and Saturn. You’ll be able to see them even though the Moon is nearly full. Antares is a star, so it will twinkle with a reddish hue, while Saturn, a planet, will glow with a steady golden light.

July 6 - The waxing gibbous Moon is at apogee, its farthest point from Earth in its orbit. An easy way to remember: Apogee has an “A” = Away.

July 7 - Look to the south right after sunset to see the waxing gibbous Moon, the planet Saturn and the Antares. They will be remain visible until well past midnight.

July 9 - Full Buck Moon at 12:07 a.m. The visible Moon is fully illuminated by direct sunlight. Learn how this Moon got its names.

July 12 to mid-August - Delta Aquarids meteor shower. On July 28-29 it peaks. Best viewing is looking to the south, after midnight until 3 a.m. This is a good year to view them at their peak as there won’t be any glare of the Moon! There’s a possibility of 10-15 meteors per hour. These showers cross paths with August’s Perseids.  

Toast Canada's 150th Birthday with a Caesar on Victoria Day

This year Canada is 150 years old!

The Caesar Cocktail was created in Canada.

National Caesar Day is the Thursday before the Victoria Day long weekend, the kick-off to our long awaited summer.

Why not toast Canada’s 150th birthday with a Caesar Cocktail or two!

Ah, the Caesar Cocktail… it was one of those great moments in Canada’s history…

Walter Chell wanted to celebrate the opening of the Calgary Inn’s new Italian restaurant in 1969.

His invention - the Caesar Cocktail - quickly became a popular mixed drink.

It’s been said that over 350 million Caesars are consumed annually in Canada.

Chell said his inspiration came from the Italian dish Spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with tomato sauce and clams. 

He thought that if the mixture of clams and tomatoes made a good sauce it would make a great drink, so he mashed a few clams and then mixed the goop with vodka and other ingredients.

Brilliant or what!!

Well, Chell was a genius.
The drink was an immediate hit with the folks who went to the Calgary Inn.

Within five years the Caesar became Calgary's most popular mixed drink. 

Okay… here’s where it gets Karmic.

In 1970 Motts was developing Clamato, a mixture of clam and tomato juices.

That’s right, this happened one year after Chell created his cocktail.

Like I said, Karmic.

Clamato wasn’t as popular as Chell’s Caesar. 

But then somebody got a blast of inspiration and realized he could use Clamato to make the Caesar Cocktail.

An easier way to make an alcoholic drink?
Of course word spread like wildfire!

By 1994 half of all Clamato sales were made in Western Canada.

Motts claims that the Caesar is the most popular mixed drink in Canada.

The thing is, very few people outside of Canada know about the Caesar Cocktail. 

In the states it’s only known in bars along the shared border.

Most Americans just make do with a Bloody Mary. How sad!

Some say the Caesar is a hangover cure.
A 1985 University of Toronto study showed that drinking a Caesar when taking aspirin could protect a person's stomach from the aspirin.


In 2009, the Caesar Cocktail’s 40th anniversary, a petition to make it Canada’s official mixed drink was launched. Calgary’s Mayor, Dave Bronconnier, celebrated the drink's anniversary by declaring May 13 as Caesar Day.

Contests held across Canada in 2009 encouraged variations. Some ideas:
the glass being rimmed with Tim Hortons coffee grinds
Caesars with maple syrup
Caesars with bacon-infused vodka

Hail, Caesar!!

Want something to eat? Serve your Caesar with a Caesar Salad.

Hints:

The Caesar can be mixed in bulk and stored for a period of time before drinking.

Tabasco sauce and horseradish are frequent additions.

Vodka is occasionally replaced with gin, tequila or rum.

If you replace vodka with beer it’s called a Red Eye.
A drink without alcohol is a Virgin Caesar.

                        Caesar Cocktail

Moisten the rim of a highball glass with a lime wedge and dip into celery salt. 

Add 

1.5 ounces vodka

2 Dashes of Hot Sauce

3 Dashes of Salt and Pepper

4 Drops of Worcestershire sauce

5 ounces Mott’s Clamato 

ice 

Stir and garnish with a celery stick and a lime wedge.

                        Caesar Cocktail II

Moisten the rim of a highball glass with a lime wedge and dip into celery salt. 

Add

6 ounces Mott’s Clamato 

1 to 1 1/2 ounces vodka

2 Dashes of Hot Sauce

4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Celery salt

Freshly ground pepper

ice

Stir and garnish with a celery stick and a lime wedge.

Manitoba Tourtière Pie by Margaret Ullrich

On Sunday we enjoyed a day at Festival du Voyageur.

We were celebrating a very important part of Manitoba’s history.

The festivities took place in St. Boniface, the home of Winnipeg’s French community.

We had a lot of fun and enjoyed some great food including tourtière.

When we moved to Winnipeg in 1975 we learned about Saint Jean Baptiste Day.

In 2014 I posted the recipe for Tourtière, which had been given to me by a neighbour.

Ma regularly served meat pies as a dinner dish when I was growing up.

In addition to the traditional Maltese Corned Beef Pie, Ma would make meat pies using whatever she had in the house.

Both her corned beef and meat pies were very good.

Tourtière is a meat pie recipe which was created in Quebec.

The name comes from the dish in which it was originally cooked, a tourtière.

What went into the dish depended upon what was available locally.

Well, the recipe travelled across Canada and throughout the New England area, and - just as with any really good Maltese recipe - each area added its own special touch.

On the coast, including the New England states, tourtière is made with fish, such as salmon.
In Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Eastern Quebec the tourtières are deep-dish meat pies made with potatoes and various meats, including wild game, cut into small cubes.

In Montreal tourtière is made only with finely ground pork. After the meat is browned, water, cinnamon and cloves are added to the filling. 

It is served with any of the following: ketchup, maple syrup, molasses, mango chutney, or cranberry preserves.

Acadian tourtière is a pork pie that may also contain chicken, rabbit and beef.

Here in Manitoba tourtière is regularly served during the holidays in Francophone communities. The browned meat is then well seasoned before being added to the crust.

Basically tourtière is a delicious way for thrifty housewives to use whatever they have on hand.

Now that is something Ma would really have understood!

Hints:

The dough for the crust can be made two days in advance.

Don’t skip chilling the filling. This prevents the crust from becoming soggy. 

The dough that is leftover from trimming can be used to make decorations for the pie.
Either roll flat and use cookie cutters or roll the dough into a rope to make spiral decorations.

To freeze an unbaked pie: wrap well and freeze for up to one month. 

Defrost in refrigerator for 24 hours, then bake.

                        Tourtière Pie

Crust

Cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3/4 Cup solid vegetable shortening

Chill 30 minutes.

Also chill 1/2 Cup water.

In a medium mixing bowl blend

2 Cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Using a pastry blender, cut the chilled shortening cubes into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.

Sprinkle over the flour mixture

4 Tablespoons cold water

Using a fork stir and draw the flour from the bottom of the bowl to the top, distributing the moisture evenly into the flour. 

Add more water by the tablespoon until the dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.

Divide the dough into two pieces, making one piece slightly larger than the other. 

Flatten into 1/2 inch thick disks, and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. 

Chill for 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

Filling

Finely chop 

1 onion 

1 stalk celery

2 cloves garlic

Thinly slice 

6 mushrooms

Peel and grate 

1 medium potato

In a dutch oven place

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Heat oil over medium-high heat. 

Add 

1 1/2 pounds ground pork, beef or veal or a combination

the chopped onion, celery and garlic, the sliced mushrooms, and the grated potato

Stirring frequently, cook until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. 

Add 

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Pinch nutmeg

Pinch cloves

Pinch cinnamon

Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the filling from the heat and chill in the refrigerator until cool, about 30 minutes. 

While the filling is cooling:

On a lightly floured surface roll out the larger piece of dough.

Fit the dough into a 9 inch pie plate. 

Spoon the cooled filling into the pie plate. 

Roll out the remaining pastry and place it over the filling. 

Seal the edges, then trim and flute the edges. 

Cut steam vents in the upper crust.
Add the extra dough decorations (see hints).

Preheat oven to 425°F 

Beat together

1 egg

2 teaspoons water

Brush the egg mixture over the top of the pastry, including the decorations. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. 

Leaving the pie in the oven, reduce the heat to 375°F.

Bake for an additional 45 - 50 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Tourtiere Pie, in all its variations, is a delicious meat pie recipe.

I still prefer Ma’s Timpana recipe.

As I once said

Maltese cooking is heavy on simple carbs. 

Maltese go beyond simple into downright retarded.

Well, I’m Maltese, not French.

About the sky this week, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

Before sunrise, look south to see the waning crescent Moon, Antares and Saturn form a trio. Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius. Seeing Antares and Scorpius before dawn signals that the shortest days of winter are behind us.

February 26 –New Moon at 9:58 am.

February 28 – Look to the west at dusk to see the tiny, waxing crescent moon pair up with Venus. Then once night falls, grab your binoculars and try to locate the Mars and Uranus above the pair.

French Canadian Tourtiere Pie by Margaret Ullrich

Summer is just zipping along.

On June 24, folks in Quebec will be celebrating the holiday Saint Jean Baptiste Day.

According to the Jesuits, the first celebrations occurred on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River in 1636, with a bonfire and five cannon shots.

It’s now celebrated with parades, bonfires, fireworks, feasting, drinking, musical concerts, flag waving, patriotic speeches and contests.

And Tourtiere Pie.

Winnipeg has a very strong French community across the river in St. Boniface.

So, when we moved to Winnipeg in 1975, we heard about  Saint Jean Baptiste Day.

One of our new neighbours gave me a Tourtiere Pie recipe.

Wanting to take part in the local festivities - and, as any other Maltese, eager to learn a new meat pie recipe - I decided to try it.

I invited some friends to come and celebrate.

And that’s a nice Canadian thing to do.

                        Tourtiere Pie

In a dutch oven combine

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound lean ground pork

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 Cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon sage

Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until mixture boils. 

Reduce heat and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes.

When the meat is almost done cooking, preheat oven to 425º F

Roll out

400 g flaky or puff pastry

Line the bottom and sides of a baking dish with 3/4 of the pastry.

Pour in the meat mixture.

Cover the top with the remaining pastry.

Brush the top of the pastry with

1 beaten egg (or milk)

Prick the top pastry with a fork so steam can escape. 

Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes. 

Remove foil and return to oven. 

Bake an additional 20 minutes until golden brown. 

Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Tourtiere Pie is a delicious meat pie recipe.

But to be honest, I prefer Ma’s Timpana recipe.

As I once said

Maltese cooking is heavy on simple carbs. 
Maltese go beyond simple into downright retarded.

Well, I’m Maltese, not French.