Graduated.

Almost two months since a post. A first on the Meals with Morri site.

I’ve completed the Conflict Analysis and Resolution MS Program. My last class technically finishes on Wednesday, but I turned in my assignment early so I would have the weekend devoted to catching up on sleep and spending time with CK. This will be our longest time spent together, and my first summer spent with a partner ever, so you can imagine my excitement.

A lot has happened in two months. I took six credits worth of highly intensive schoolwork (as in, two graduate-level classes in the half the time) alongside working part-time and full time at my internship. I wasn’t sleeping well. I stopped exercising. I was a nervous wreck. I struggled.

But I did it. I’m done. Now, halfway through my internship, I feel like I can enjoy Malta for the rest of my stay.

I’m a bit behind in recipes, and I’m still processing the post-Graduate inevitability (sound familiar?), so please bear with me. My goal is to resume regular posting in August. For now, I'll be editing the website and brainstorming ideas on how to refine the Meals with Morri focus as well as what in the gods' names I'll be doing as a career.

In the meantime, thank you for visiting my area of cyberspace, and feel free to email me suggestions on what recipes you'd like to see in the upcoming months.

Risotto is an Italian classic, and one of my favorite rice dishes out there. CK and I have made it over Skype and together, and it’s one of those dishes that is easy to make and easy create variations with little to no effort at all. Pea and mint is a fantastic combination, and recipes for this risotto variation can be found everywhere.

Sweet Pea and Mint Risotto

25 g salted butter (or olive oil for a dairy free and vegan risotto)
1 Red onion, finely diced
400 g Arborio rice
1 glass of white wine*
200 g Fozen peas
1 tsp. dried mint
1 L water, hot (preferably boiling)**
Sea salt and cracked peppercorns, to taste

Parmesan cheese, to top***

Finely chop the onion and “sweat” (known as soffrito in Italy) it very gently in the butter over medium heat in a large saute pan or pot.
Add the rice and cook until it has a transparent look (this shouldn't take long) followed by the mint, wine, and peas.
When the wine is more or less gone, add the water (or stock) a little bit at a time (never submerged).
Keep stirring it and keep adding more liquid as it cooks away, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Taste to see if the rice is done: the rice should be soft, but have enough bite to it to feel the individual grains of rice.
Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese*** on top.

Makes 4 – 8 servings.

*A traditional risotto usually calls for a dry to semi-dry. I had a bottle of Maltese white wine that was sweet but with a dry aftertaste. It gave the risotto a wonderful depth of flavor that harmonized well with the sweetness of the peas and the coolness of the mint.

** One easy way to maintain the heat is using an electric kettle.

*** For a dairy-free/vegan cheese replacement, I recommend nutritional yeast.