Apple and passion fruit tartlets

These crisp, custardy tartlets with fragrant sharp passion fruit are sure to win any girl's heart (or man's!!!)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Ingredients For the rough puff pastry

250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
250g very cold butter, cut into small cubes
½ tsp salt
125ml ice cold water For the crème pâtissière
3 free-range egg yolks
120g caster sugar
20g plain flour
250ml milk
½ vanilla pod, split length ways
1 tbsp icing sugar
3 medium Cox apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3 passion fruit, pulp and seeds scraped out, to serve

Preparation method 

For the rough puff pastry, place the flour in a mound onto a clean work surface and make a deep well in the centre using your fingers.

Place the butter cubes and salt into the well and, using the fingertips of one hand, work the ingredients together, gradually drawing more flour into the well with the other hand and working that in until the mixture is loosely but well combined and still with lumps of butter visible.

Gradually add the iced water and mix until fully incorporated in the mixture. (You may not need all of the water. Take care not to overwork the mixture.)

Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and chill it for 20 minutes.

When the dough has chilled, roll it out onto a lightly floured work surface into a 40cm x 20cm/16in x 8in rectangle. Fold the rectangle into three and give it a quarter turn.

Repeat the process, giving the folded pastry another quarter turn.

Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for a further 30 minutes.

When the dough has chilled, roll it out, as before, onto a lightly floured work surface into a 40cm x 20cm/16in x 8in rectangle. Fold the rectangle into three and give it a quarter turn.

Repeat the process, as before, giving the folded pastry another quarter turn (making a total of four turns).

Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For the crème pâtissière, in a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 20g/¾oz of the caster sugar together to a ribbon consistency. You may want to use an electric whisk to do this.

Gradually whisk in the flour until smooth and well combined.

In a saucepan, bring the milk, 40g of the sugar and the vanilla pod to the boil. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, gradually pour the hot milk mixture onto the egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously.

Return the mixture to the pan and bring to the boil again, whisking continuously. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Dust the crème pâtissière with a layer of icing sugar to prevent a skin from forming as it cools. (Once cool, the mixture can be kept in the fridge for up to three days. Remove the vanilla pod before using.)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Roll the rough puff pastry out onto a lightly floured surface to a 2mm/eighth of an inch thickness. Cut out six discs using a 12cm/5in pastry cutter.

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and brush with a little cold water. Transfer each of the pastry discs onto it using a palette knife. Chill the pastry in the fridge for 20 minutes. Prick the pastry discs several times with a fork.

Spread equal amounts of the crème pâtissière mixture evenly onto each of the pastry discs, leaving a narrow margin free at the edge of each pastry disc.

Arrange the apple slices in a fan on top of the crème pâtissière mixture, starting in the centre of each disc and working outwards to the edges.

Transfer the tartlets to the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the pastry has risen and is pale golden-brown. Sprinkle generously with the remaining 60g of caster sugar, then return to the oven and cook for a further 4-5 minutes, or until the sugar has caramelised.

Remove the tartlets from the oven and immediately transfer them to a wire rack, using a palette knife. Set aside to cool.

To serve, place one of the cooled tartlets onto each of six serving plates and spoon over equal quantities of the passion fruit pulp.

Over 2 hourspreparation time
10 to 30 minscooking time
Makes 6

The Legend of St. Valentine

Every February 14, around the World flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England…

The Legend of St. Valentine
The history of Valentine's Day - and the story of its patron saint - is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl--possibly his jailor's daughter--who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and--most importantly--romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Origins of Valentine's Day: A Pagan Festival in February
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial--which probably occurred around A.D. 270--others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

Valentine's Day: A Day of Romance
Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”--at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine's Day should be a day for romance.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

Typical Valentine's Day Greetings
In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings.

Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap." Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

http://www.history.com 

Larnaca Municipality Press Release 11/02-17/02/2013

Cultural Events

For more information call the Larnaca Municipality Cultural Department on 24657745 or 24629333

www.larnaka.com

 

 

Construction work

 

The Department of Construction of the Municipality of Larnaca informs the public that between 11-15/02/2013, the following construction work will be in progress:

• Pavement repairs on Nikodimou Milona street (continue).
• Maintenance works on a public residential building on 28 Loizou Filippou street. (continue) 
• Expansion works on Ag. Georgiou Cemetery. (continue)
• EAC roadworks repairs on Filellinon street.
• Premix roadworks repairs on Kleovoulou Papakiriakou, Iasonos and Kalimnou streets.
• Ramp construction on Papanikoli avenue.

Due to the construction workers' strike, not all the works mentioned in the previous Press Release have been completed.

 

 

Administration Department

 

Larnaca Municipality is accepting offers for the rental of the following municipality building.

A twin shop (90 sq.m. plus a 48 sq.m. mezzanine floor) on the ground floor of the Municipality Multi-Storey Car Park on Pavlou Valsamaki street. In their rent proposal the interested parties should include the amount of rent offered as well as the purpose of the shop which must adhere to the Larnaca Municipality Plan. In the area outside the shop there is space available which may be used by the tenant as long as such use adheres to the shop's terms of use. An extra amount should be paid to the Municipality per square metre for the use of the aforementioned exterior space, in accordance with the relevant Municipality Plans.

The tenant may inspect the shop after contacting the Municipality on 99099657 during working hours (7:30a.m. – 2:30p.m., Monday to Friday). For any alterations inside and outside the shop, the tenant should first receive the approval of the Municipality.

The proposals must be sealed, in an envelope that reads "Shop Rent Proposal" and be in the Proposals box of the Municipality by 9a.m. on Friday, 15th February 2013 the latest.

Larnaca Municipality has no obligation to accept the highest offer or any other offer.

     

 

Finance Department

The Larnaca Municipality Finance Department informs the public that the payments of the Municipal Private Property Tax, Refuse Collection Tax, Corporate Tax and Business Premises Tax for the year 2012 as well as previous years can only be made at the Larnaca Municipality offices. A 10% fine will be added on the initial tax amount.

The public should settle their payments to Larnaca Municipality on time and within the given deadlines to avoid added legal costs.

 

Sewerage and Sewage Disposal Works Department

The Department of Sewerage and Sewage Disposal of the Municipality of Larnaca informs the public that between 11/02 - 16/02/2013, the following construction work will be in progress:

• Artemidos Avenue: Traffic lights at Faneromeni Avenue junction.

• Okoullar street from Zia Giokalp to Artemidos Avenue.

• Oum Harram street between Papoutsalik and Teprim streets as well as Papoutsalik street.

• Archbishop Kiprianou avenue (part).

• Leontiou Mahaira street (part).

• Part of Faneromeni avenue where the left roundabout exit (towards Cineplex from the Faneromeni Church) will be closed. Also part of the Faneromeni avenue from Kalimnou to Aigaiou with both streets open to traffic. Single lane open to traffic from Faneromeni Church to Cineplex.

 

Translation kindly provided by

Eri Constantinou

 www.greek4kids.eu 

Spiced beef stir fry wraps

These spicy beef wraps with wasabi mayonnaise make a tasty snack or packed lunch.

Easy recipe for Chinese New Year :)

Ingredients for the beef stir fry

400g beef fillet

2 tbsp groundnut oil

1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

1 tbsp light soy sauce

pinch sea salt

1 large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 spring onion, finely sliced For the wasabi mayonnaise

1 tsp wasabi paste (available from some supermarkets and Asian grocers)

3 tbsp mayonnaise

pinch caster sugar For the spicy coating

1-2 tbsp ground cumin (to taste)

1-2 tbsp dried chilli flakes (to taste)

1 tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp sea salt To serve

warm flour tortilla wraps

Preparation method

For the beef, prepare the fillet by flattening it with a meat mallet or rolling pin, or cut it in half horizontally. Cut into wafer-thin slices.

For the wasabi mayonnaise, mix all of the wasabi mayonnaise ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

For the spicy coating, mix all of the coating ingredients together on a plate. Roll the beef slices in the spice mix, then shake off any excess.

Heat a wok until smoking and add the groundnut oil, then add the beef and stir-fry for one minute, or until browned. Add the rice wine and season with the soy sauce and a pinch of salt. Remove from the heat and stir in the coriander and spring onion.


To serve, wrap the spicy beef in the tortillas and top with the wasabi mayonnaise. Serve immediately.

Less than 30 minspreparation time
Less than 10 minscooking time

Serves 2

Enjoy!!


Marilyn x

Leisure & Lifestyle Weekly Highlights - Week 6

Week: 7th February - 13th February 2013

In this roundup we are sharing the Leisure & Lifestyle weekly highlights that all LPN Members can take advantage of!

Cyprus Revealed: Don't miss this opportunity to experience the Treasure of Troodos on 9th February with an English speaking guide. Info: click this link.
Green Monday: Discover the magnificent city of Vienna in special 3 day package holiday. For more information: click this link.
25th March: Take a 3 day trip into the wonders of Malta on this long weekend Info: click this link.

Our contact details are as follows:

• Email: service@leisurelifestyle.info
• Tel: 70000667 
• Skype: leisure.lifestyle 

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