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APRIL MAY 2020

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Surfacing the most beautiful spaces

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EDITORIAL

This bright February 1977 cover for House & Garden Magazine brings the outdoors in.

Image source: Instagram 70sstyleanddesign.

Bring the outdoors in

REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Marcel Proust.

e enjoy being surrounded by nature.

It makes us feel emotionally better, contributing to our physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. The “biophilia hypothesis” – the love of life or living systems - suggests we love nature because we evolved in it. According to 70sstyleanddesign (Instagram) take a tip from House & Garden Magazine's February 1977 cover and bring the outdoors indoors with full-on florals, a grass-green

carpet, blue paper cloudscape, and silver palm trees!

You can also do this metaphorically - getting the outdoors in – whether it's perusing through old photographs or reading travelogues, or scanning the internet for beautiful places to visit. Take a page from Victor Frankl's famous largely autobiographical book, Man's Search for Meaning, a holocaust survivor of Auschwitz he founded the logotherapy method, where thinking about other places and daydreaming of future plans or fond memories helps you get through the anxieties of the current moment.

ON THE COVER. Wisteria. Private Garden, Malta. April 2020. Photographed by First Magazine.

EDITORIAL CONTENT AND SALES MANAGER SEAN ELLUL SELLUL@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT DESIGNER CONRAD BONDIN CBONDIN@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT PRODUCTION MANAGER ANDRE CAMILLERI ACAMILLERI@INDEPENDENT.COM.MT PUBLISHER STANDARD PUBLICATIONS, STANDARD HOUSE, BIRKIKARA HILL, ST JULIAN’S. TEL: 00356 2134 5888, WEB: WWW.INDEPENDENT.COM.MT FACEBOOK FIRSTMAGAZINE PRINTER PRINT-IT. FIRST IS PUBLISHED AS A COMPLIMENTARY MAGAZINE WITH THE MALTA INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY AND IS NOT TO BE SOLD SEPARATELY. NO PART OF THE PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE PRIOR AGREEMENT OF THE PUBLISHER. 3

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CONTENTS

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Olympics symbols stand out in dow

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Inside Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. Photograph Veit Hammer.

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An extraordinary school-term.

10 Embracing biophilia.

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End of season orange marmalade.

Bored of being bored? Get back in Photograph Markus Spiske.

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Richard Geres on superfoods and their cancer-fighting properties.

CONTENTS

[A P RI L / M AY I S SUE 2 020]

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wntown Tokyo, 1964. (AP File Photo)

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nto the garden!

What we can learn from Marcel Proust on Donald Trump and Brexit.

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, oil on canvas, 1876, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.

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PARIS CALLING

Notre Dame Restoration.

Restoration blues and German help.

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BIOPHILIA

How to bring the outdoors in?

Embracing biophilia to improve our interiors.

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CULTURE VULTURE

Art on demand.

Virtual museums, galleries and institutions in Covid times.

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NOSTALGIA

Tokyo’s 1964 Science Fiction Olympics.

Looking back at the first Games beamed around the globe by satellite.

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EDUCATION

An extraordinary school-term.

In light of the Covid19 pandemic, initiatives taken by Malta’s Ministry for Education.

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LITERATURE

Marcel Proust.

Lessons on what is cool and what is uncool in our times.

38 CURLY. Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam, Germany. 22nd March 2016.

Photo Miguel Flores-Vianna, taken from the book A Wandering Eye: Travels with My Phone. Image courtesy Vendome Press.

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Red&Blue Bonanza.

Superfoods and their cancer-fighting properties.

Richard Geres on pomegranates and blueberries.

What’s in store now.

HEALTH & FITNESS

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26 Biodiversity and the environment.

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GARDEN CROP

End of season marmalade.

DESIGN & TRENDS

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MAKEUP & BEAUTY Chanel’s New Le Lift.

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COFFEE TABLE

A Wandering Eye: Travels with My Phone.

Miguel Flores-Vianna’s takes couch travel daydreams to a superior level.

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ENVIRONMENT

Bored of being bored?

Get back into the garden!

Home cooking with Stephen La Rosa (pictured: Linguine with a Chestnut, Oyster, and Porcini Mushroom Ragu).

HOME COOKING

Stephen La Rosa shows you how to perfect your home cooking skills.

The fashionable history of social distancing. Image: Charles Thurston Thompson, Marie Antoinette, 1865, Albumen silver print, 84.XO.950.4.21.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

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FASHION TALK

The Fashionable History of Social Distancing.

From isolation strategies to pesky suitors.

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WE’RE ALL “CAUGHT” IN THIS SITUATION TOGETHER Let’s face it…life feels unreal right now. We understand COVID-19 is dominating your thoughts at present and public health comes first. However, as individuals we have the power to be the change. To stay safe, everyone is using more water now. We need to wash our hands a lot more and this is ok because it’s the best way to keep this virus at bay.

Nearly everyone is at home, working, cooking, cleaning and so on, therefore our taps, toilets, dishwashers and washing machines are really working overtime, adding a big surge in water consumption and utility bills. For this reason, we need to find a balance. Here are some tips on how to implement water conservation during this situation we’re living: •

We must clean the house very often. Therefore, sweeping before washing the floor will use fewer buckets of water whilst freshening your home.

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We’re also cooking quite a lot. Water used from cooking can be collected. Let it cool down and re-use it to water plants. Plan ahead what you’re cooking and let frozen ingredients thaw overnight in the fridge, instead of running them under hot water.

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Keep an empty jug next to the kitchen tap to collect any water that you run such as when waiting for the tap to heat up or when washing your fruit and vegetables. When full, you can use it to water your plants.

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Planning on doing a home workout and shower right after? Put on your favourite 4-minute song and try to finish your shower before the song ends. Remember to turn the water off in between showering and lathering. Place a bucket in the shower with you to collect any excess water. When it fills up, use it the next time you flush the loo.

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If you are lucky enough to have a garden or a yard with plants, make sure you water them after sunset or before sunrise to reduce water losses through evaporation.

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Take advantage of the fact that you’re not driving as much and don’t wash the car, if you don’t have to.

Re-using water helps us all but remember, it always starts with you. Stay safe!

For further information visit www.water.org.mt

Don’t leave the tap running when washing dishes.

Plug the drain, fill the sink with soapy water, scrub, rinse in clean water and let them air dry.

Or better yet, if you have a dishwasher, wait until you have a full load to wash them.

The Ministry would like to thank all the workers who are still putting their efforts to secure fresh water supply throughout these difficult moments.

YOU NEED TO DO A LOT OF THIS

SO BALANCE THINGS OUT AND DO THIS

Michael Farrugia Minister for Energy and Water Management

KEEP A BUCKET IN THE SHOWER. WHEN IT FILLS, USE IT THE NEXT TIME YOU FLUSH.

EUROPEAN UNION

PARIS CALLING

GERMAN HELP

NOTRE DAME RESTORATION Last year the world watched horrified as Notre Dame blazed in Paris. Now a year later the Gothic cathedral has been left isolated by the Covid19 pandemic that has affected so many people across France. Some of the 40,000 metal bars which were erected for an earlier renovation project, melted in the intense blaze last April. The unstable scaffolding now endangers the Gothic jewel that for many embodies the soul of France.

A rose window inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which stands crippled one year after a cataclysmic fire gutted its interior. Happily, this April Germany has offered to help rebuild parts of Notre Dame and remake some of the large clerestory windows located far above eye level.

(Photo: Vivienne Walt/AP)

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he restoration of the landmark from the 12th and 13th centuries has been halted and the workers sent home because of France's coronavirus lockdown that began in March, halting plans to start removing the 250 tons of scaffolding.

Happily, this April Germany has offered to help rebuild parts of Notre Dame and the country has suggested that German craftsmen could remake some of the large clerestory windows located far above eye level and designed to let light and air into the cathedral. The German government has said three glass-makers that conduct restoration work for cathedrals in Germany could offer “great expertise� to their French colleagues and Germany's minister for culture, Monika Gruetters, said her country would shoulder the costs.

© 2020 McDonald's Corporation.

Right to your door!

BIOPHILIA

HOW TO BRING THE OUTDOORS IN? “If you have a garden in your library, everything will be complete.”

Cicero (Roman politician and lawyer, 106 BC–43 BC), writing to his friend Varro in 46 BC. Photography by FIRST Magazine.

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BIOPHILIA

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BIOPHILIA

iophilia reveals our innate biological connection with nature and helps explain why crackling fires and crashing waves captivate us; why a garden view can enhance our creativity; why shadows and heights instill fascination and fear; and why animal companionship and strolling through a park have restorative, healing effects.

The American biologist, naturalist, and writer Edward Osborne Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his 1984 book Biophilia. The term translates to ‘the love of living things’ - from ancient Greek - philia - the love of. Wilson proposed the possibility that the deep affiliations humans have with nature as a whole are rooted in our genes.

Biophilia's core principle is to connect humans with nature, and as a result, improve well-being. Incorporating the use of nature into our interiors improves health with possible benefits including reduced heart rate variability and pulse rates, decreased blood pressure, and increased activity in our nervous systems.

With more time being spent indoors, this is the perfect opportunity to embrace biophilia to improve living space, reduce stress, and improve cognitive function and creativity, and can be as simple as having vases filled with fresh flowers, or layering potted plants indoors in windows, balconies, or terraces and verandas. Wooden balconies can be transformed into mini conservatories, and windows into enhanced views, with variegated leaves from different plants manipulating the perspective.

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CULTURE VULTURE

ART ON DEMAND

Virtual museums and galleries in Covid times s the coronavirus outbreak has forced museums, galleries, libraries, and theatres around the world to close their doors, institutions have retaliated with digital solutions and a plethora of virtual tours, online collections, and live-streamed performances. Since as early as the 1920s museums have been using the technologies of the day, at the time presenting lectures on the radio.

Today many museums such as The Prado in Madrid, Spain offer virtual tours and interactive art talks on Instagram. With the coronavirus even more collections and access is available. The Museum of Modern Art in New York is even offering online courses – such as What Is Contemporary Art? and Fashion as Design, and even courses for teachers or parents such as Art & Inquiry: Museum Teaching Strategies for Your Classroom – in their free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on Coursera where you can hear directly from artists and designers and look closely at works in their collection and exhibitions – and you can even get a Shareable Certificate upon completion.

Here are 5 sites with on-demand art.

1. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK. Art is contemplative. Explore the Museum from home and experience the MET’s ART AT HOME hub – with 5,000 years of art online. The hub gives quick access to highlights including the Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History which pairs essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Museum’s collection; and the MET 360° Project – which gives access to the museum’s most iconic spaces in immersive 360° video. Immerse yourself in an iconic piece of New York and explore the hub here metmuseum.org/art/art-at-home 2. RIJKSMUSEUM, AMSTERDAM. The Rijksmuseum is home to Dutch masters: Vermeer’s Milkmaid, Van Gogh’s Self-portrait and Rembrandt’s most well-known painting: the Night Watch. The very interactive site includes Rijksmuseum curators sharing short videos from home with stories about their favourite works of art. In 2012, Rijksmuseum started a revolution in the museum world when it made available more than 700,000 high-resolution images of its collection completely free of charge. Rijksstudio continues to be a major source of inspiration (and distraction) for designers and art lovers around the world. Rijksmuseum’s Gallery of Honour, home of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, The Jewish Bride, Vermeer’s The Milkmaid, among history’s most celebrated paintings, are open to the public around the world via a new online platform Rijksmuseum Masterpieces Up Close. rijksmuseum.nl/en/from-home ▶ 14

CULTURE VULTURE

Irises, Vincent van Gogh 1890, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Adele R. Levy, 1958.

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CULTURE VULTURE

◀ 3. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM BILBAO. Spain’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is the place for Mark Rothco, Jeff Koons and Richard Serra. Although the museum is closed, behind the scenes it is very much alive. The museum has come up with a different way to enjoy art – each week the museum’s art share their most personal views and show you what you can see – and what you can’t. guggenheim- bilbao.eus/en/guggenheimbilbaolive 4. GOOGLE ART AND CULTURE. Explore collections from around the world, from the British Museum to Macchu Pichu. The interactive portal allows you to walk through 16

One of the Treasures Saved During World War II by The Monuments Men: Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), Gustav Klimt 1912–13, oil on canvas, 149.9 x 110.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gift of André and Clara Mertens, in memory of her mother, Jenny Pulitzer Steiner, 1964.

myriad museums and institutions, from the J.Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles to a walk around the top of the Eiffel Tower. artsandculture.google.com 5. HERITAGE MALTA. Heritage Malta’s website now offers virtual experiences of over 35 sites and a vast database of interactive content. With exclusive virtual exhibitions to archaeological lectures, Heritage Malta’s website offers virtual tours, information, and photos of the selected site.

From roaming the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta to exploring the Ta’ Bistra Catacombs in Mosta, experience various cultural sites around Malta. www.heritagemalta.org

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NOSTALGIA

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3 SCIENCE FICTION

TOKYO’S 1964

OLYMPICS

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While the countdown clocks have been reset for the coming Tokyo Olympics, the 1964 Games, the first to be beamed around the globe by satellite, are being remembered across Japan. Photography AP.

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1964. It was the year Cassius Clay won the heavyweight championship and became Muhammad Ali. When Roy Emerson of Australia and Maria Bueno of Brazil took the titles at Wimbledon, when Arnold Palmer claimed his fourth and final Masters, and when the Beatles arrived on a Pan Am flight from London to play their first concert in the United States.

And it was later that same year in Tokyo when Yoshinori Sakai, born on Aug. 6, 1945, in Hiroshima, the day the atomic bomb was dropped on the city, ignited the cauldron in the national stadium to open the 18th Olympic Games.â–ś

NOSTALGIA

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1. Japanese runner Yoshinori Sakai carries the Olympic Torch during the opening ceremonies of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Sakai was born in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, the day the nuclear weapon destroyed that city. (Oct 10, 1964/AP File Photo) 2. The fivering Olympics symbols stand out in the jumble of bright lights in downtown Tokyo. (AP File Photo) 3. A Tokyo housewife watches a TV program on a tiny set she brought along with her to the hairdressers.

The six-pound set, just a little bigger than a telephone, is just about as easy for her to pack around as an average woman's handbag.

(Hideyuki Mihashi/AP File Photo) 4. The unique three-tiered golf driving range is located in the heart of midtown Tokyo. The driving range is built on the grounds of a Buddhist Temple. Each platform has 50 stations. (AP File Photo) 5. Japan's Shinkansen, a high-speed train, passes by Tokyo's Nichigeki Theater in Yurakucho district shortly after leaving Tokyo Station. (Kyodo News via AP) 6. Japanese runner Yoshinori Sakai lights the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. (AP File Photo) 7. The vast stairwell provides room for dramatic special displays in the Matsuya Department Store in Tokyo's Ginza, this summery one features boats. (Masao Minagawa/AP File Photo) 8. A crowd packs Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium at the opening of the 1963 International Automobile Show. (AP File Photo) 19

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â—€ Japan was back only 19 years after defeat in World War II, and nothing symbolized its rebirth more than the Olympics and the Shinkansen bullet trains that began running as the games opened. The 1964 Olympics were hailed as the "science-fiction Olympics" - the first to be televised internationally using communication satellites, computers and timing devices that could time athletes to 100th of a second, and the Tokyo metropolitan gymnasium shaped like a flying saucer.

Today the 1964 Tokyo Olympics are being remembered following the postponement of the 2020 Games. Images and captions from the time provide a glimpse into the very modern metropolis of 1964 Tokyo, which could easily be mistaken for black and white stills of a modern day city.

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9. Dick Davies, right, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, kneels in prayer on court after the team won the gold medal defeating USSR 73-59. (Oct 23, 1964/AP File Photo) 10. Workers along assembly lines at the transistor radio parts maker take a brief break every hour in this unusual way at the factory of Mitsumi Electric Company on the outskirts of Tokyo. This was helped promote the company's productivity, according to the company officials. (AP File Photo) 11. Pinball games - the poor man's substitute for night clubs in the active after-dark life of Tokyo. Many young fathers bring along a child or two. They may want to spend an evening with the youngsters they don't see during the day or may be babysitting for mothers who work nights. (AP File Photo) 12. A favorite with foreign shoppers in Tokyo is Isetan, in Ginza's shopping district. This was the first store to carry women's clothes in different sizes, instead of the fit-all style in which everything was made until a few years before. (Masao Minagawa/AP File Photo) 20

MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION ASSISTANCE SCHEME FOR ALL FOREIGN NATIONALS EXTENDED UNTIL THE 10TH OF MAY 2020 The voluntary repatriation assistance scheme for all foreign nationals who wish to return to their home country is hereby extended, and applications will be received until the 10th of May 2020.

Assistance is available to all European Union citizens and third-country nationals who have been staying in Malta for different purposes, such as employment, education, family reasons and tourism, among others. Foreign individuals who are not in possession of a residence document are also entitled to assistance.

The application can be accessed online on https://foreignandeu.gov.mt/apply All individuals who require assistance in submitting their voluntary repatriation application may call the helpline on +356 2204 2800, Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 17:00, or send an email to repatriation.mfea@gov.mt.

EDUCATION

AN EXTRAORDINARY SCHOOL-TERM CHANGING EDUCATION STRATEGIES

The closure of schools and educational institutions in mid-March as a safety measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to an extraordinary school-term. Obviously, this affected all students, educators and also parents, and legal guardians, changing their daily school and home routine. However, this also brought about changes in teaching and learning methods. With the traditional classroom environment behind their backs, educators and students have now settled in nicely to what is probably more popular abroad – home schooling.

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his change immediately brought about a change in the schooling structure – the methods of teaching and learning.

Students from kindergarten level up to University and MCAST students had to adapt to online teaching methods to continue with their studies, tutoring, and all pertaining to the ‘normal’ school life. This change was not only from the students’ end but also obviously from the educators’ as well, as teachers and lecturers had to innovate and plan their schoolwork to fit the new online teaching platforms.

Parents also had to adjust their daily routines to accommodate this new experience, especially where younger students are involved.

In all this, the Ministry for Education was proactive to see to all the needs to accommodate and support all students and educators for the rest of this year’s scholastic term. A working group was immediately set up comprising of representatives from the State, Church and Independent Sector, together with the Malta Union of Teachers. The working group’s remit was to explore methods of online teaching during this period, as well as to explore the impact of school closure on the curriculum.

A website and telephone helpline for educators were immediately set up as well as a repository of educational resources at www.curriculum.gov.mt, continually updated by the Education Department. The site is a treasure of information, links support and all that students and educators need at this particular time.

Overall, the sudden closure of schools and educational institutions brought about a learning curve for all involved.

The Ministry for Education is also working on new initiatives that will be announced soon.

All students are on board, as the Ministry also reached out to students with difficulties in accessing online services. Families without internet services are being provided with free internet. Resource packs are being hand-delivered to the homes of these students. Apart from that, free school lunches have continued to be delivered to those students who were eligible for this service at school.

When this period is thankfully over, all will be richer with positive experiences learnt, making this a great educational journey for all.

MINISTRY FOR EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

EDUCATION HELPLINE support line for all your education inquiries

2598 1000 Follow us on social media facebook.com/edukazzjoni twitter.com/edukazzjoni #movingforward

EDUCATION UPDATE

my journey, your journey, our journey

LITERATURE

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (detail), oil on canvas, 1876, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, MusĂŠe d'Orsay, Paris, France.

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LITERATURE

MARCEL PROUST CAN TELL US A LOT ABOUT POLITICAL ECHO CHAMBERS IN THE AGE OF DONALD TRUMP AND BREXIT f you needed any sense of the bitterness of the divisions, just take a look at social media where the two camps slug it out, too often resorting to insult and abuse – the net result being that both sides are driven further apart by this dialogue, rather than being drawn together.

Of course, this is nothing new. What is Trumpism or Brexit now was the “Dreyfus Affair” for the French public in the late 1890s. Dreyfus was an artillery officer who was given a life sentence for treason in 1894. Half of French society defended him, pointing at the very weak evidence that supported this verdict, the other half attacked him and insisted he was guilty.

While the Dreyfus Affair lasted, pro-Dreyfus and anti-Dreyfus people ended up at bitter loggerheads. Close friendships and even marriages broke up and some of the most prestigious salons split in two over it.

Sound familiar? The political divisions these days may be more obvious (you could not read someone’s political views on their Twitter feed at the end of the 19th century) but the poisonous atmosphere is the same. And this is where the author Marcel Proust, a supporter of Dreyfus, comes in.

Hidden deep in his À La Recherche du Temps Perdu (In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past), is a telling anecdote of an aristocrat, Duc de Guermantes, who had slight anti-Dreyfus leanings – like most aristocrats apparently did. He met at a spa a couple of very nice, well-educated and friendly ladies who were pro-Dreyfus.

The punchline of the Proust story is that the ladies did not change the Duc’s mind with their rational argument, but because of their social status. They were “an Italian princess and her two sisters-inlaw” – fashionable representatives of the good society. The Duc, a descendent of one of the oldest aristocratic families of France, was “delighted to be asked to play bridge by the Princess”. And fashionable ladies have fashionable views. If the Princess says that Dreyfus is innocent, then this is clearly the view du jour.

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uspicious minds. At this point, I can reveal an important aspect of the Dreyfus affair: Dreyfus was of Jewish origin.

Many of his opponents were clearly driven by latent or not so latent antisemitism. Their reason for thinking that Dreyfus committed treason was not based on the (as it turns out, forged) documents presented to the court and discussed at length in the papers. Their reason was that a soldier of Jewish origin couldn’t be trusted with issues of national importance.

Antisemitism among the French aristocracy at the turn of the century was rampant and Proust’s fictional characters reflected this

very clearly. He gives an especially vivid description of the cousin of Duc de Guermantes, a prince, who was “antisemitic as a matter of principle” and who justified his friendship with one of the main characters, the half-Jewish Charles Swann, by claiming that he is not in fact half-Jewish, because he is the illegitimate child of a royal.

This is eerily familiar these days. The reason people demanded to see Obama’s birth certificate was not because of a well-founded doubt about where he was born, but the clearly racist idea that a black person is not suitable to be the president of the United States of America.

How can we respond to this? Duc de Guermantes had been surrounded by slightly (or not so slightly) antisemitic anti-Dreyfus aristocrats all his life. The fashionable people in his circles were all anti-Dreyfus. But when he met the unquestionably fashionable Princess and her two friends, who were pro-Dreyfus, the tables have turned. Being pro-Dreyfus in his circles had not been an option – at least not a socially viable option. And the three ladies convinced the Duc that it was. Not because of what they said, but because of who they were.

Fashion is a powerful persuasive tool. It was the snobbery of Duc de Guermantes that made him appreciate the (as it turns out, correct) views he heard from the Princess. But these days, it is often difficult to tell whose opinions are to be followed. Given how little meaningful communication exists between Republicans and Democrats or between Brexiters and Remainers, no matter how cool or fashionable someone is, the ‘other side’ will not be moved by what they say.

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eart of the matter. There is a very general lesson here. We do not form our beliefs because we have rational arguments supporting them. We form these beliefs because they satisfy an emotional need. This emotional need may be an unsavoury one (to say the least) – as in the case of the Birthers or the opponents of Dreyfus. But we should also acknowledge that this is true of both sides of the political spectrum.

Left-leaning liberals hold their beliefs for equally emotionally infused and non-rational reasons.

The question is how we can change these emotionally infused beliefs. And Proust’s lesson is that the old emotion vs. reason dichotomy is not what is at work here. Rational arguments can achieve very little. But we do change our minds in response to perceived peer pressure. The best way to stop someone from spreading a view (or even believing in it) is to make it uncool. The problem is that what is cool and what is uncool is becoming very relative in these politically divided times.

“Whenever any revelation came out that was ‘damning’ to Dreyfus, and the Duc, supposing that now he was going to convert the three charming ladies, came to inform them of it, they burst out laughing and had no difficulty in proving to him, with great dialectic subtlety, that his argument was worthless and quite absurd. The Duke had returned to Paris a frantic Dreyfusard.”

Marcel Proust

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Originally published on The Conversation. Bence Nanay is a Senior Research Associate, University of Cambridge, UK.

For many people in the West, the past couple of years can be defined as a period of bitter social and political division. Two of the most important manifestations of this division, at least in public discourse, have been Trumpism and Brexit, writes Bence Nanay.

PROMOTION

BIO AND ENV

T Top: L-Għadira s-safra regeneration efforts.

Above: Threatened species like Malta’s National fish, the killifish have been reintroduced.

Photograph by Ray Caruana/KCP. Left: Planting of saplings at Majjistral park. Bottom centre: Clean-up operations at il-Prajjet.

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he conservation of local biodiversity remains at the forefront of the Government’s Agenda as evidenced through the various measures undertaken in the last decade, such as the adoption of management plans and conservation measures of terrestrial protected areas as well as the announcement of several marine protected areas in order to preserve our sea nature and its related habitats. The Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning (MECP) together with the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) is committed to continuing its work to restore, protect, and enhance biodiversity for the variety of life and the wellbeing of the local population.

A healthy environment implies a rich biodiversity within it.

In this respect, the ministry is working on multiple fronts to ensure such protection, one of which includes the revision and updating of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) which expires this year. The Environment and

Resource Authority is currently assessing the pressures and threats to our natural assets. Such an updated plan will serve as guidance to, not only the Maltese government but to society in general on how we can positively affect the

PROMOTION

ODIVERSITY D THE VIRONMENT Biodiversity is essential to ensure our common well-being.

Biodiversity is important in providing water, food, feed and essentials to our health, livelihood, and wellbeing – for instance, pollinators and plants are key to the production of most of our food; garrigues are fundamental to replenish our groundwaters; valley systems (including our widien) are fundamental in reducing flooding risks; and various species are fundamental at creating soil. Native species, natural habitats, and all biodiversity connect the whole planet together while - at the same time - making us different from other regions in the world. It is our natural capital which should be safeguarded for our future generations.

enhancement of our natural capital through every day actions such as – no littering and no trampling, and shifting towards more sustainable consumption, including how we spend our free time!

In addition to the protected areas, the Maltese government felt that are other species important to the Maltese context that should also be preserved. In fact, ERA has recently declared a number of new protected species, amongst which are a number of various plants (including trees, orchids, and many other flowering plants), corals and fish, and also protected selected wetland species. This was coupled with projects aimed at management of protected areas; the

removal of invasive alien species (IAS: species which are not native to Malta and tend to become invasive and slowly affect vulnerable components of our biodiversity); the reintroduction of threatened species like the Maltese killifish – the national fish, and strawberry trees into the wild, as well as the promotion and financing of management projects, afforestation and clean-ups in various protected areas.

This work is never complete. Through new discoveries and as more knowledge is obtained, there will be live updating of the list of threatened species in Malta; as the most threatened and vulnerable species are discovered and used as a basis for many assessments linked with permitting aspects.

Conscious of our limited land availability and the fine line between urban and rural fabric, the Ministry is working hard to promote urban green infrastructure. This will boost biodiversity and the related public wellbeing and will attempt to attain a green environment within our built environment, providing better air quality and quality of life.

The engagement of each and every one of us is necessary to be able to protect the most precious elements of a healthy environment.

Awareness and engagement initiatives are being carried out and planned to highlight the importance of our biodiversity in terms of culture, environment, national identity, health and wellbeing.

You can also do your part to help preserve biodiversity – visit era.org.mt for more information.

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ENVIRONMENT

Top: Bees typically nest in small tubular holes, items such as a bored block of wood and reed stalks bundled together form a perfect nesting space for solitary bees.

Photograph by Markus Winkler. Bottom left: Milk cartons repurposed as pots. Bottom right: Yellow cassia flowers in bloom. Photograph by Ines Bahr.

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ENVIRONMENT

BORED OF BEING BORED? GO GREEN!

Stuck at home for days may sound like bliss for some, but when reality hits and you are faced with endless hours at home - boredom strikes. The Environment and Resources Authority(ERA) can offer you a possible solution - use that time wisely whilst leaving a positive impact on your environment. ardening is a great example. What time is better than the present to pick up a new hobby or to continue where you left off? Put on some gloves, remove any pesky invasive alien species and bring your garden back to tip-top shape. You can easily start planning your garden to produce a relaxing atmosphere with a variety of local species such as sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, and lavender. These also offer a pleasant fragrance, whilst also being beneficial to other local species such as bees and other pollinators, and may also be used as a private herb garden.

If you don’t have a garden, don’t fret! You can still use pots and planters to create a ‘mini garden’ on your balcony or terrace - just make sure the plants you choose can grow healthily in your pots. Planting various herbs is also advisable in these situations, they not only smell great but can also provide you with the freshest produce for your cooking. Small edible fruit-bearing herbs can also be planted in such balconies and terraces, ranging from strawberries to various types of tomatoes.

Surrounding yourself with plants will not only improve the aesthetics of your personal space but will also attract butterflies and pollinating insects especially if you have flowers in bloom bringing you even closer to nature and boosting your wellbeing.

If you do not have pots at home and you still want to give it a go, you can turn to reusing milk cartons.

Regrettably, when purchasing products, we rarely look into the amount of work it takes to process what remains after we use the product itself.

Fortunately, most packaging material can be reused or recycled. Once emptied and washed, milk cartons can be filled with soil and compost to make the perfect planter for growing seeds. Doing this not only saves you from throwing away the packaging but it also means you do not need to waste money on buying small pots which will need to be changed as your plant grows.

Other packaging items can be used to make insectfriendly products such as bug hotels which are perfect for bees and ladybirds which require much needed shelter. Since bees typically nest in small tubular holes, items such as a bored block of wood and reed stalks bundled together form a perfect nesting space for solitary bees.

Although considered trivial by many, these small

Bee feeding on lavender. Photograph by Wolfgang Hasselmann.

actions will bring nature closer to your home, creating a whole new ecosystem with food and nesting spaces for insects. Remember that battling your boredom this way may give you new perspectives and improve your mood in the process.

For more information on how you can better your environment visit era.org.mt

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GARDEN CROP

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GARDEN CROP

End of season

MARMALADE With everyone spending more time at home, this is the perfect opportunity to try your hand at homemade marmalade and jams. If you still have end of season bitter oranges on your tree (or know someone who does) you're still in time to make a really good marmalade that tends to be less sweet than what you can buy at your grocery store. It is important to use non-pesticide oranges when you can when making something like marmalade because you are eating the cooked peel and boiling the pith, so any pesticide residue will end up in the final marmalade. Homegrown bitter oranges rarely have pesticides as the orange trees are usually left to their own devices.

Photography and cooking FIRST Magazine.

This recipe makes roughly five to seven jars.

1kilo organic Seville oranges (homegrown with no pesticide use) 1 lemon 1kilo white sugar 500g raw unrefined cane sugar several clean jars 1. Scrub the oranges in warm water to remove any dust.

Take off the crown of the orange. Cut the oranges in half and squeeze, straining the juice and saving all the pulp separately.

2. Scrape the inside of the orange halves clean, using a spoon or your thumbs, saving all the pith.

3. With a sharp knife sliver the orange peel into long threads according to taste depending on whether you like a thick-cut or thinner, finer marmalade.

4. In a saucepan add 1.5L of water together with all the strained juice of the oranges, and the juice of 1 lemon. Add all the orange peel shreds and simmer for 2 hours.

5. In a separate saucepan add the pips and strained pulp, as well as the scooped out pith of all the oranges and lemon with

1.5L of water and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to avoid burning or sticking at the bottom of the saucepan.

After two hours strain the liquid from the pulp and pips through a fine sieve - this has all the pectin that sets the marmalade. Using a wooden spoon squeeze out as much juice as you can from the pulp and pips through the sieve.

Add this to the saucepan with the orange skin and juice.

6. When you see that the rinds have softened enough add the white and unrefined cane sugars (it is important to add the sugars at the end of the simmering process, otherwise, the orange skin will harden and won't soften enough), stirring continuously over low heat until you have reached the setting point of the marmalade. To test this either use a sugar thermometer at 104C; alternatively, freeze 2 small side plates and place a dollop of the marmalade on the chilled plate, return to the fridge and if you have wrinkling or crust after a minute in the fridge then you know that your marmalade is set. At that point, you can pour the jam into sterilized jars and seal tightly.

\ ˈmär-mə-ˌlād \ First known use of marmalade circa 1676. History and etymology: Middle English marmelat quince conserve, via French from Portuguese marmelada, from marmelo quince, from Latin melimelum, a sweet apple, from Greek melimēlon, from meli honey + mēlon apple. (source Merriam-Webster) 31

MINISTRY FOR THE FAMILY, CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AND SOCIAL SOLIDARITY

SOCIAL SECURITY COVID-19 BENEFITS

MEDICAL BENEFIT PARENT BENEFIT Parents employed in the private sector, with children under 16 years of age, who are not able to work from home, and who due to the impact of COVID-19, after 8th March 2020 cannot go to work to take care of their children, may apply for this benefit.

Persons employed in the private sector, who after 27th March 2020, due to impact of Covid-19 are not going to work because they are ordered by the Superintendent of Public Health not leave their home, are not able to work from home and are not being paid by their employer during their absence from work.

ADDITIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT Persons who due to the impact of Covid 19, lose their job in the private sector after 8th March 2020, may apply for this benefit.

PERSON WITH DISABILITY BENEFIT Persons with disability employed in the private sector, who after 8th March 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19 cannot go to work on medical advice and are not able to work from home, may apply for this benefit.

More information and eligibility criteria can be found on:

www.socialsecurity.gov.mt 153 / 25903000

APPLICATIONS CAN BE DONE ONLINE

HEALTH & FITNESS

RED&BLUE BONANZA

Superfoods and their cancer-fighting properties

In recent years extensive research has been carried out on identifying so-called superfoods that may have healthpromoting and disease-fighting properties. Although there is no such thing as a scientifically proven ‘superfood’, some research is showing that certain foods may, in fact, have some disease-fighting properties. Many of the experiments are carried out in laboratory in-vitro settings (i.e. ‘test-tube’ experiments), rather than in actual human beings, and results achieved in experiments do not always carry over to real life. Nevertheless, it is worth noting such foods, and including them in your diet as part of a healthy, well balanced and varied diet is your best recipe for enduring health and well-being writes Richard Geres, Fitness Consultant & Registered Nutritionist.

P

omegranates.

Researchers at City of Hope Cancer Institute have found that the pomegranate appears to stop and prevent certain breast cancers from growing. In a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., director of the Division of Tumor Cell Biology, research fellow Lynn Adams, Ph.D., and their colleagues found that pomegranates contain six compounds that may prevent breast cancer growth by blocking aromatase, an enzyme known to play a key role in most breast cancers. Aromatase converts androgens to estrogens, and most breast cancers depend on estrogen to grow.

Of these six substances, one called urolithin B (UB) has the most powerful impact, inhibiting several estrogen-producing mechanisms that fuel breast cancer’s growth. Chen and his team found that UB prevented the proliferation of estrogenresponsive breast cancer cells in the lab.

“By suppressing the production of estrogen, urolithin B and other phytochemicals found in

pomegranates can prevent hormone-responsive breast cancer tumours from growing,” said Chen. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring plant compounds that may benefit health.

The other phytochemicals in pomegranates found to inhibit aromatase activity are urolithin A (UA), methylated UA, acetylated UB, methylated UB, and UB sulfate. Previous research has shown that pomegranate juice is rich in active antioxidants and its compounds may slow the growth of human breast and prostate cancer cells. “The results of this study suggest that pomegranate intake may be a viable strategy for preventing breast cancer,” said Chen.

B

lueberries. Possessing a navy hue and a powerful punch, the blueberry is one of the most potent and popular diseasefighters available. Now, City of Hope researchers have found another weapon to add to the blueberry’s arsenal of diseasefighting properties: the ability to control tumour growth, decrease

metastasis and induce cell death in triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Results of a recent study build further evidence for the cancerfighting power of blueberries. The so-called “superfood” showed significant activity against breast tumours, according to City of Hope scientists who reported their research in The Journal of Nutrition.

Blueberries have long been deemed a potent part of the diet because of the brightly coloured compounds called flavonoids and proanthocyanidins they contain.

Previous studies have shown that these compounds can affect growth and death in healthy cells as well as fight damaging chemical byproducts called free radicals.

Scientists thought that these abilities might mean the compounds could be effective against cancer as well.

Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., director of the Division of Tumor Cell Biology at City of Hope and senior author on the paper, has shown in past studies that blueberry juice could inhibit cancer cell survival and growth in the lab. The latest research went one step further and tested concentrated blueberry

powder against aggressive cancer cells in mice.

Chen and the team performed two studies. In the first study, the scientists fed three groups of mice a diet that contained either no blueberry powder, low levels of blueberry powder or high levels of it.

They found that tumour size decreased significantly in mice fed blueberry powder compared to similar mice that ate no blueberry.

Importantly, molecular analysis showed that blueberry consumption altered expression of genes important to inflammation, cancer, and metastasis (spread of cancer) in a way that would lower cancer risk.

The second study compared cancer metastasis, or spread, among mice fed blueberry to metastasis in mice that ate no blueberry. Like the first study, the results showed a significant decrease in metastasis in mice that ate blueberry powder compared to those that did not.

Based on these promising results, further studies are being carried out to study blueberries’ cancer-fighting abilities and its potential in preventing or treating breast cancer in women.

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DESIGN

CUSTOMISE YOUR VERSATILE Cement patterned tiles have been used in the Mediterranean since the early 1900s and throughout the years, these tiles have been used to adorn palaces, houses, mansions and commercial outlets. With their Versatile range, Halmann Vella have revived century old traditions that otherwise would have been lost and forgotten. Today, Halmann Vella’s expert artisans skillfully handcraft these little charms one by one, giving them individuality and prestige. These tiles are available in antique, classic and contemporary styles and are produced in a vast selection of colours. Customise your ideal design and colour combination with Versatile by Halmann Vella, their expert craftsmen will take care of bringing them to life.

Try Halmann Vella's Versatile simulator www.versatile.com.mt

Are you planning your dream home? From virtual showroom walkthroughs to choosing colour schemes online, Halmann Vella can help you, and can also arrange a private site visit in total safety.

Email info@halmannvella.com or phone 2143 3636.

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TRENDS

2 1

3 1.

WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY. 100 Masterpieces in Detail.

If you thought these paintings were familiar, look again, and look closer. Part art history, part detective work, this fascinating collection explores 100 worldfamous works of art through enlarged details, revealing the fashions and lifestyles, the loves and intrigues, politics and people that truly make a masterpiece.

What Great Paintings Say. 100 Masterpieces in Detail. Rainer & Rose-Marie Hagen. Published by Taschen. Hardcover with fold-outs, 24.4 x 34 cm, 762 pages. € 50.

4 2.

NARCISO RODRIGUEZ FOR HIM BLEU NOIR EAU DE TOILETTE EXTREME. An iconic fragrance line continues to seduce and surprise.

Introducing for him bleu noir eau de toilette extreme – an intriguing fresh scent that’s both enigmatic and strong. Crisp, cool and vibrant: signature musk remains at the heart of the fragrance and is juxtaposed with icy citrus notes of mandarin green and basil, and animated by sensual woody notes of blue cedar, black ebony and citrus.

Bleu Noir Extreme lends new elements of mystery and magnetism and signals fierce confidence.

Exclusively distributed by C+M Marketing Ltd., tel: 2142 4079/80.

3.

FLOWER BY KENZO POPPY BOUQUET. Kenzo introduces a new fragrance from the Flower by Kenzo collection launching on the 20th anniversary. This new edition is called Poppy Bouquet. Top notes: Nashi Pear. Heart notes: Bulgarian rose and Gardenia. Base notes: Almond wood.

Exclusively distributed by C+M Marketing Ltd., tel: 2142 4079/80.

4.

MARNISI ORGANIC. Marsovin’s Marnisi is the first Maltese wine falling in the premium wine category to be certified and awarded the official seal of ‘Organic Wine’. The 8.5 ha Marnisi Estate is situated near Marsaxlokk in the South of Malta. Marnisi is a blend representative of the 3 grape varieties on this Estate made from 100% organically grown grapes which include over 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, about 30% Merlot and smaller quantities of Cabernet Franc. This wine has a deep colour intensity, aromas and flavours of black fruit character with complex hints of leather, smoke and spice. Twelve months ageing in French oak barrels give it a velvety finish on the palate and excellent ageing potential.

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MAKEUP & BEAUTY

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CHANEL LE LIFT LIFT YOUR BEAUTY Mademoiselle Chanel envisioned skincare products as “lifestyle” products to allow women to retake control of their beauty. Active, superactive, even hyperactive... Full of energy, desires and ambitions. Today, women want their appearance to reflect their true selves.

They want to show their best face at every age.

Instead of enduring time, they want to use it to reveal who they are and assert their beauty.

Photography courtesy of Chanel.

MAKEUP & BEAUTY

he new generation of LE LIFT skincare harmonizes beautifully with this confident and mastered way of approaching life and the passing time. It invites women to retake control of their beauty, without having to choose between naturalness, performance and sensoriality.

To solve this subtle equation, the Crème and the Crème Yeux are now reinvented in the LE LIFT line.

The new LE LIFT skincare products feature an active ingredient extracted from a plant grown in France: alfalfa. Minerals, trace elements, vitamins, amino acids…

This frail-looking plant owes its nutritional richness to a highly developed root system able to draw nutritive elements from the soil to nourish its every cell. A common element in healthy diets, alfalfa is usually ingested in the form of sprouts. Alfalfa botanical concentrate, the quintessence of the plant, is extracted from its seeds using green chemistry.

With its “gentle power,” the alfalfa botanical concentrate active ingredient unites performance and beneficial action on the skin. Like retinol, the benchmark anti-age molecule, it works on two levels, targeting both the epidermis and dermis.

LIFT YOUR EYE CONTOUR

The eye area is the first to reveal signs of aging and fatigue. Over the years, wrinkles and fine lines, dark circles and puffiness, as well as sagging eyelids, begin to appear. To provide a targeted response to each of them, CHANEL reinvents the Crème Yeux in the LE LIFT line.

All it takes to look younger and more radiant is fresh and luminous eyes with a smooth and even eye contour, free of wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles and puffiness. This is why LE LIFT Crème Yeux focuses on loss of skin tone and brightness around the eyes, while ensuring comfort and uniformity. Specifically formulated for this ultrasensitive area, this smoothing and firming cream combines botanical ingredients, in their most effective concentrations, with high-tolerance formulas that give pride of place to natural-origin ingredients.

Enriched with beeswax and shea butter, the delicate, melt-away texture of LE LIFT Crème Yeux envelops the eye area in a comfortable firming veil and perfectly prepares skin for makeup. Gentle on the eye contour area, its fragrance-free formula is suitable for sensitive skin. On application, it is instantly absorbed. With its blurring-effect soft focus powders, it instantly evens out the eye contour and makes the eyes sparkle even more.

Chanel is distributed by Alfred Gera & Sons Ltd. 37

COFFEE TABLE

38

COFFEE TABLE

ON THE COVER. SANSSOUCI PALACE. Potsdam, Germany. 22nd March 2016.

Far left: CURLY. Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam, Germany. 22nd March 2016. Bottom left: HEAVENS ABOVE. Villa Medici, Rome, Italy. 23rd July 2014. Bottom right: A MELTEMI WIND REFUGE AMONGST THE CLASSICS. Archaeological Museum, Chora, Amorgos, Greece. 27th August 2017.

A WANDERING EYE

TRAVELS WITH MY PHONE Renowned photographer and editor Miguel Flores-Vianna’s childhood in Argentina was marked by two constants that he believes shaped the life he chose to lead: travel and books. Perhaps because the country feels like it is located at the end of the world, most Argentines are born with a good dose of wanderlust, and Flores-Vianna had a higher dose than normal. This irresistible collection presents a visual diary of his travels, shot with his iPhone. Coco Chanel famously said: “Traveling is so complicated. There are so many people everywhere. I make my best journeys on my couch”. Flores-Vianna’s takes couch travel and daydreams to a superior level. Photography by Miguel Flores-Vianna, courtesy of Vendome Press.

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COFFEE TABLE

Top left: RELICS OF THE PAST. Château de Montigny, Les Cent-Acres, Normandy, France. 31st May 2014. Above: OSTERLEY HOUSE. Isleworth, Middlesex, England. 15th March 2016.

Far left: ABU HAGGAG MOSQUE AMONGST THE RUINS OF ANCIENT THEBES. Luxor, Egypt. 9th February 2019. Left: CACTI. Hydra, Greece. 22nd August 2016.

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COFFEE TABLE

Above: VEDUTA DI TORINO. Turin, Italy. 29th December 2017.

Left: ROCKING IN THE CASBAR. Tangier, Morocco.

16th January 2017.

Bottom: MIN HOGG'S FAVOURITE GRAN CANARIA RESTAURANT. Hornos de la Cal, Arinaga, Gran Canaria, Spain.

15th January 2017.

iguel Flores-Vianna, one of the most sought after contemporary interiors and lifestyle photographers, now turns his painterly eye to the world at large in this vivid personal tribute to the places he loves best.

Roving across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, and using only his iPhone, he captures the eternal beauty of civilisation and the natural world, from its grandest heights to its humblest form.

His photographs are not intended as documentary; rather they create a heightened sense of their subject matter, transforming the banal into beautiful, the ordinary into extraordinary, and the splendid into sublime.

Architecture, interior vignettes, still life, patinas, patterns and spontaneous moments in time – these and more are transfigured in front of FloresVianna’s lens.

Miguel Flores-Vianna’s perception of the world was shaped by his childhood in Argentina. Growing up with a sense of isolation in the southernmost reaches of the Americas, he yearned for travel. Books helped him discover distant destinations, and he nurtured romantic visions of the lands he longed to visit. In the years since then, he has documented his peripatetic life photographically, with the aim of recording places as he feels they should be rather than as they are.

In this soulful volume, Flores-Viana shares his favorite images in the hope that the viewer will come to see the world through his eyes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Miguel Flores-Vianna has been a photographer, writer, and editor for more than twenty years. His first book, Haute Bohemians (Vendome, 2017) was selected as the design book of the year by T Magazine. His photography is regularly published in Architectural Digest and Cabana. He lives in London.

A Wandering Eye: Travels with My Phone. By Miguel Flores-Vianna.

Published by Vendome Press. Hardcover with jacket, 288 pages, 250+ colour illustrations, 203 x 254 mm, GBP £30.

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HOME COOKING

HOME COOKING Mediterranean Culinary Academy’s Stephen La Rosa shows you how to perfect your home cooking skills with ideas on how to cook with sustainablysourced, local, seasonal produce.

Photography by Stephen La Rosa.

LINGUINE WITH A CHESTNUT, OYSTER AND PORCINI MUSHROOM RAGU This comforting combination of roast mushrooms, silky linguine and plenty of Parmesan is the kind of dish you look forward to after a long week. This will work with most combinations of mushrooms, the secret here is to get some really nice colour on them, beautiful brown mushrooms mean wonderfully meaty flavours. The addition of dried porcini to make a stock amplifies the flavour.

SERVES 2-3 250g dry linguine 150g chestnut or button mushrooms, chopped into 1cm slices 150g oyster mushrooms, torn into bite sized pieces 15g dried porcini mushrooms 2 sprigs parsley, chopped roughly 1 stalk green garlic, sliced finely 1 onion, minced 40g finely grated Parmesan butter or extra virgin olive oil as needed salt and pepper to taste 1. Chop the porcini mushrooms using scissors and place into a bowl.

Pour in 200ml of boiling water and allow them to steep to create a porcini stock.

2. Place a pan over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Add the button mushrooms and season with a pinch of salt. Do not crowd the pan and allow the mushrooms to brown well, working in batches if necessary. Repeat with the oyster mushrooms.

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3. Remove the mushrooms and add a little bit more oil or butter. Add the green garlic and onion and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 3 minutes or until softened.

4. Add the mushrooms back to the pan with the soaked porcini and stock.

Keep cooking over medium heat, stirring until you’re left with a reduced sauce. (The sauce can be refrigerated and used within 3 days.)

5. Cook the linguine in well-salted water for 10 minutes or until almost cooked. Strain, reserving a cup of the cooking water.

Add the pasta back to the pot along with the sauce.

Heat together with a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water and a few tablespoons of butter or a light drizzling of olive oil.

Mix constantly to combine and make a sauce. Once most of the liquid has reduced and you are left with a wonderful consistency turn off the heat and add most of the grated Parmesan.

6. To serve, garnish each plate with chopped parsley, freshly ground black pepper and more Parmesan.

HOME COOKING SPANISH CHORIZO AND POTATO STEW

SERVES 2-3 150g chorizo, chopped into bite-sized pieces 2 large potatoes, chopped into bitesized cubes 2 sprigs spring onion, thinly sliced (slice the greens of the spring onion thinly, reserve for a finishing garnish) 2 sprigs spring garlic, thinly sliced 3 large button mushrooms, quartered 2 bell peppers, diced 100ml canned tomato (roughly Âź of the can) 1.5tbsp smoked paprika a few drops of lemon juice to taste salt and olive oil as needed

This stew is quick and easy to put together but the flavours of the finished dish would have you believe it was simmering on the stove for hours. Much like most stews, it tastes even better the day after you make it, with lots of crusty bread for mopping up those juices!

1. Place a medium-sized pot over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chorizo and stir while cooking to allow the fat to render out.

2. Once the chorizo has some light colour, remove from the pan, leaving all the delicious chorizo fat in the pan. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms, season lightly with salt, and allow to colour well for 3-4 minutes.

3. Remove the mushrooms and add to the chorizo. Add the peppers, garlic, and onion to the pan. Add a small pinch of salt and cook while stirring to deglaze anything off the bottom of the pan.

4. Allow to colour and add in the chorizo and mushrooms. Add the smoked paprika, coating the vegetables liberally.

Cook for 1 minute to toast the spices. (If you like a little extra kick this recipe works well with additional chili powder, chili flakes or fresh chili added at this stage or finished with your favourite hot sauce.)

5. Add the tomatoes or a tablespoon of tomato paste and cook for a minute or two and add the potatoes. Stir and top up with water until everything is just submerged. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring up to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cooking until the potatoes are completely tender, for 3040 minutes.

6. To serve, add the reserved spring onion greens as well as an optional dollop of yoghurt and some chili.

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HOME COOKING ROAST CAULIFLOWER FUSILLI WITH GREEN GARLIC, CAPERS, TOASTED ALMONDS AND PARMESAN BREADCRUMBS This is essentially a cauliflower mac and cheese that’s been dressed up a little. By roasting the cauliflower and spring garlic we really bring out their flavour, and by finishing with lots of crunchy ingredients the combination of flavours and textures is just something else!

SERVES 2-3 250g dry fusilli roughly 250g of cauliflower, cut to bite-sized florets 2 stalks of green garlic, chopped to 2cm pieces 1tbsp capers in brine 30g shaved almonds 30g breadcrumbs 40g Parmesan, grated butter or extra virgin olive oil as needed salt and pepper to taste 1. Preheat oven to 200C. Place the cauliflower and the green garlic on a rimmed baking sheet and season well with olive oil, salt and pepper. Keep separate, allowing enough space so they can colour well. Roast and check after 20 minutes since the green garlic cooks quicker.

Remove the garlic when cooked, allowing the cauliflower to keep cooking until nicely charred, roughly 20 minutes more.

2. On a separate baking sheet lay out the almonds and breadcrumbs and reduce the heat to 160C. Cook gently for 15 minutes or until light browning begins to show.

Add a light sprinkling of Parmesan and return to the oven for another 10 minutes until the crumb is nicely coloured. Remove and break up any large shards of cheese.

3. Cook the fusilli in wellsalted water for for 9 minutes or until the pasta is almost cooked. Strain, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta back to the pot but do not heat. Add a few lugs of olive oil or a few tablespoons of butter along with a few tablespoons of the pasta water and the grated Parmesan. Stir until everything is well combined.

4. Add the capers, roast cauliflower and spring garlic along with 2 tablespoons of the almonds and Parmesan breadcrumbs. Stir to combine and add a little bit more pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce.

5. To serve garnish each plate with torn parsley and more of the almond and Parmesan crumb, as well as freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

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HOME COOKING SERVES 2-3 4 eggs 1 can of tomatoes 2 coloured bell peppers 1tbsp ras el hanout 1 large onion, sliced 1 stalk of green garlic, chopped to 1cm pieces 1 stalk of spring onion, chopped to 1cm pieces olive oil and salt to taste 2 sprigs of fresh mint

SHAKSHUKA. EGGS POACHED IN A SPICED TOMATO AND CHARRED BELL PEPPER STEW

This Maghrebi favourite is the perfect combination of simple to prepare but wonderfully complex when prepared well. Delicious by itself – even better with plenty of crusty bread, some extra hot sauce and some thick yoghurt.

These recipes were produced for Mediterranean Culinary Academy’s new concept: Recipe Box. Recipe Box contains everything you need to prepare delicious food, conveniently delivered right to your door. Just like their hands-on cooking classes, most of the ingredients are locally sourced and each box contains most ingredients (except pantry basics like olive oil, salt and pepper) to prepare 3 recipes feeding 2-3 people each. If you like the sound of all of the ingredients for 3 different recipes (like these featured) delivered to your door each week for just 30 euro, check out mcamalta.com for more information.

1. Preheat oven to 250C. Rub the bell peppers lightly with olive oil and place onto a tray lined with foil and onto the top shelf of your oven. Cook for 20 minutes or until the skins are nicely blackened.

Transfer the peppers to a mixing bowl and cover with the foil they were baking on to allow them to steam.

2. Place a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat and add a generous lug of olive oil. Once the oil has heated, add the onion, spring onion and garlic.

Cook while stirring until they have softened, and the onions are translucent and sweet.

3. Add the ras el hanout, coating the vegetables in the spice mix. Allow the spices to toast for a minute or two while stirring to prevent them from burning.

4. Add in the tomatoes, breaking up any chunks.

Rinse out the can with water to extract all the tomato and add in. Cook over medium/low heat until the stew has thickened to the point where if you drag a spatula through it, liquid doesn’t pool back into the pan.

5. While the stew is simmering, remove the peppers from the bowl and pull out the stems and seeds, allowing any liquid to drip into the mixing bowl.

Place the peppers onto a chopping board and gently remove the charred skins using a small knife or a piece of paper kitchen towel. Chop the peppers into 1cm wide strips and add to the sauce.

6. Cook the mixture together for 5 minutes or until the consistency of the sauce is nice and thick. Turn the heat off and using a spoon, create 4 openings of roughly an inch wide for each of the eggs. Crack the eggs into the openings and season well with salt. Place a lid over the pan and cook over low heat or in an oven set to 180C for 5 minutes or until the egg whites have set but the yolk is still runny. Serve with Greek yoghurt and plenty of crusty bread.

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THE FASHIONABLE HISTORY OF SOCIAL DISTANCING As the world grapples with the coronavirus outbreak, “social distancing” has become a buzzword of these strange times. Instead of stockpiling food or rushing to the hospital, authorities are saying social distancing – deliberately increasing the physical space between people – is the best way ordinary people can help “flatten the curve” and stem the spread of the virus. Fashion might not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think of isolation strategies. But as a historian who writes about the political and cultural meanings of clothing, I know that fashion can play an important role in the project of social distancing, whether the space created helps solve a health crisis or keep away pesky suitors. Einav Rabinovitch-Fox explains.

Constantin Guys (French, 1802 1892), Woman with a Parasol, 1860–1865, Watercolor over pen and brown ink 27 × 18.4 cm, 2003.134. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

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lothing has long served as a useful way to mitigate close contact and unnecessary exposure. In this current crisis, face masks have become a fashion accessory that signals, “stay away.” Fashion also proved to be handy during past epidemics such as the bubonic plague, when doctors wore pointed, bird-like masks as a way to keep their distance from sick patients. Some lepers were forced to wear a heart on their clothes and don bells or clappers to warn others of their presence.

However, more often than not, it doesn’t take a worldwide pandemic for people to want to keep others at arm’s length. In the past, maintaining distance – especially between genders, classes and races – was an important aspect of social gatherings and public life. Social distancing didn’t have anything to do with isolation or health; it was about etiquette and class. And fashion was the perfect tool.

Take the Victorian-era “crinoline.” This large, voluminous skirt, which became fashionable in the mid-19th century, was used to create a barrier between the genders in social settings.

While the origins of this trend can be traced to the 15thcentury Spanish court, these voluminous skirts became a marker of class in the 18th century. Only those privileged enough to avoid household chores could wear them; you needed a house with enough space to be able to comfortably move from room to room, along with a servant to help you put it on. The bigger your skirt, the higher your status.

In the 1850s and 1860s, more middle-class women started wearing the crinoline as caged hoop skirts started being massproduced. Soon, “Crinolinemania” swept the fashion world.

Despite critiques by dress reformers who saw it as another tool to oppress women’s mobility and freedom, the large hoop skirt was a sophisticated way of maintaining women’s social safety.

The crinoline mandated that a potential suitor – or, worse yet, a stranger – would keep a safe distance from a woman’s body and cleavage.

Although these skirts probably inadvertently helped mitigate the dangers of the era’s smallpox and cholera outbreaks, crinolines could be a health hazard: Many women burned to death after their skirts caught fire. By the 1870s, the crinoline gave way to the bustle, which only emphasized the fullness of the skirt on the posterior.

Women nonetheless continued to use fashion as a weapon against unwanted male attention. As skirts got narrower in the 1890s and early 1900s, large hats – and, more importantly, hat pins, which were sharp metal needles used to fasten the hats – offered women the protection from harassers that crinolines once gave.

As for keeping healthy, germ theory and a better understanding of hygiene led to the popularization of face masks – very similar to the ones we use today – during the Spanish flu. And while the need for women to keep their distance from pesky suitors remained, hats were used more to keep masks intact than to push strangers away. Today, it isn’t clear whether the coronavirus will lead to new styles and accessories. Perhaps we’ll see the rise of novel forms of protective outerwear, like the “wearable shield” that one Chinese company developed.

But for now, it seems most likely that we’ll all just continue wearing pajamas.

Originally published on The Conversation. Einav Rabinovitch-Fox is a Visiting Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University.

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