My Arcade aka Doorstep

Was in the Babies' bedroom and looked out of one of their windows. Realised that I haven't had a picture of the arcade taken from the inside before. So voilà.

Don't think that I can live in a modern house or flat after this.

Curry Soupy Days

Japanese Potato & Carrot Curry with Tempura Okra, Sweet Potato, Zucchini & Red Pepper

I've gained 4 kgs in 2 weeks and knowing that Singapore and more kilos are round the corner, I've been trying to eat less for dinner. So this translated to a week of soupy stuff, from Herbal Chicken Soup to Curry Noodle Soup to Bak Kut Teh. Only exception was Japanese Curry but that's ok since we had mainly vegetables (in tempura batter heh heh) to go with it. And no, this diet doesn't seem to work, in case you should want to try.

The Japanese Curry never fails to remind me of my teenage years when I would take a bus to Yaohan Thompson just to eat its Japanese Chicken Curry. I am no longer fond of the sweet and sticky curry as an adult but it does go so very well with the Japanese rice that I am still very fond of today.

Anyway, how I end up making a dish sometimes is weird even for me. In this case I remember that I had some okra. So with okra I normally do a sambal or an Indian curry. Except that I was on the Net and lost track of time and dinner had to be out in under 30 minutes. So I decided to tempura the okra and at the same time cook the sweet potatoes that I've been forgetting to cook for a few weeks now. When you think Tempura you think Japanese so I did a Jap curry aka just dissolve curry cubes in hot water. I attended a Japanese cooking class at the California Sushi Academy in Singapore and trust me, that's how they taught us how to make Japanese curry.

I think I was a bit paiseh about using such a shortcut method so I worked on my rice and spiced it.

Spiced Basmati Rice

For the Curry Noodle Soup, "curry" is a generic term for me not being able to decide if I wanted to do a sayur lodeh or a laksa. So I sort of did both. And even made my own fish cakes from scratch.

Curry Noodle Soup

Fish Paste

Fish Cakes

Meanwhile, I do not know if this is a sign telling me not to get pregnant again or I will be having twins - because one out of 2 eggs that I crack nowadays seem to have twin egg yolks!!! But for that I've been having pretty cute hard-boiled eggs...

The Yahoo Weather Report depicted leaves falling for their weather prediction for today. I was telling myself that there was something wrong with that. That was last night. This morning, leaves all around me did fall and probably half of them turned up at my doorstep.

Octopus Salad

Octopus Salad

I was about to say that the first time I've eaten octopus was on a Greek island when I remembered that my late Grand Aunt in Singapore used to make us soups with this "lucky" hair-like weeds (fatt choy) and dried octopus. I shudder when I remember that so I'll just glaze through this and move on to Greece, si vous permettez.

I've been 3 times to Greece in the last 12-13 years and have visited a number of the islands near to and far from the Greek mainland. On one such trip, I was fortunate enough to be with a friend who's a good ouzo drinker. I'm not fond of alcohol so the ouzo wasn't the highlight, but I certainly stuck to the guy like glue in the evenings when he had his ouzo, as next to his table there would usually be this old Greek woman dressed all in black grilling bits of octopus on a hot charcoal fire. Octopus that arrived with the boats in the morning, that spent the day sun-tanning on top of roofs and chairs on the island and that in the evening ended up on the grill to accompany glasses of ouzo.

And yes, like a little dog I would be around to eat up those bits of free octopus.

Here in Italy, octopus or polpo is big. Usually served as an antipasta, you can find them quite easily at the fishmonger's and of course in the bigger supermarkets. I have been tempted to buy one and prepare it myself, but they are usually quite enormous and I have no intention of spending my week eating octopus no matter how much I like it. But surely the occasion will present itself one day.

In the meantime, I buy it in small portions just simply steamed. And then I will transform it into an Octopus Salad with the usual garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, shallots, balsamic vinegar etc. Very refreshing and serves as a good appetiser or starter.

And it wouldn't fail to bring me back to Greece.

Just Yoopie

Recent Spoils

Yoopie! The UPS guy came by just minutes ago and I got my Yoox packet - just 3 days after I've ordered online!

The Dolce & Gabbana Capri Pants, I'm too short so it's a little too long

The Danieli silk dress, I'm too fat so it's a little too tight

I had been a little apprehensive before that as one never knows how the items will turn out in the real when you buy them on the Net. But they were as I expected, I especially love the D&G corset with its little pearls.

D&G Corset

Now I just need a boob job to go with it.

When you buy a few things to make up for 1 you didn't (couldn't) buy

Cultured Pearl White Gold Ring

The Hub made the mistaking of involving me in his search for Golf Clubs. Because this means starting me on my shopping mood. And once I get started I have difficulty stopping, certainly not at something as boring as golf clubs.

So first I drove an hour to the Max Mara outlet to buy a few scarves and then a few hours on the Yoox website where I shed a few tears. Because I lost a David Fielden red silk dress that I've been eyeing for months. I had it in my shopping basket, but wasn't fast enough in checking it out. Some idiot beat me to it. I tried to comfort myself by getting a pair of capri pants and a corset from Dolce & Gabbana, plus a silk dress each from Zinco and Massimo Danieli, but it's difficult replacing your 1st love, I'm sure you'll understand the feeling.

Then this morning, 6 months after my last Golay Pearls (of Switzerland) jewellery spree, I er went on another one and got myself a few little beauties. I did restrain myself and remove the Tahiti pearls from my basket though (for the next time, I promised myself). Now the only thing left to do is finding some financing for the spoils.

From the last spree : 7mm Akoya Pearl necklace

And a reason for getting them in the first place.

11mm Pear-shaped pearl pendant

150 cm cultured pearl necklace

Should I say that they were for our last wedding anniversary or for my last Birthday? I'm not going to involve Christmas yet as you never know what you may find in Singapore nearer that time. LOL

Boeuf Bourguignon (Burgundy Beef Stew in Red Wine)

Boeuf Bourguignon et Cèpes sur lit de Tagliatelle

Boeuf Bourguignon or Burgundy Beef Stew in Red Wine was one of the first French dishes that I learnt to cook ages ago and my teacher was the Hub himself before he became too overwhelmed by work to cook much nowadays. By popular demand I'm going to post my recipe even though the picture didn't turn out well (was too eager to start eating didn't try hard enough).

Do not be fooled by appearances, it looked like food you'll serve to your favourite dog, but we really didn't have any of it left to share with Brest - our friendly neighbourhood dog who usually cleans up my leftovers. And the Master himself approved of it though I've over the years changed the recipe to suit myself.

1.5kg beef (if you can find some cheeks they'll be really tender, my preferred for this dish)

200g thick smoked bacon

100g butter (if you're health conscious replace with olive oil in a smaller quantity of course)

1 big red onion

30g dried funghi porcini/cepes/mushrooms (soaked for 10 minutes in a small bowl of hot water)

bay leaves, thyme and/or rosemary

60g flour

750ml red wine (preferably from Burgundy)

250ml meat stock

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the beef into medium-sized cubes and marinate them for a few hours in the red wine with a few prigs of fresh rosemary/thyme and bay leaves. Before cooking them, remove from the wine marinade and coat them with the flour. Reserve the wine.

Slice the bacon. Melt the butter and sweat the onions and bacon pieces in it. Remove them and set aside.

In the same fat, brown the cubes of lightly floured beef. When it has turned brown, add in the herbs. Return the onions and bacon to the pot, pour in the warm/hot meat stock and the mushrooms together with its liquid. Followed by the red wine. Simmer for 2-3 hours (depending on the meat). Adjust your salt and pepper. If you prepare it the day before, you'll be able to remove some fat from the dish before heating it up to serve.

Serve hot with a crusty baguette, fresh pasta, mashed or pan-fried potatoes.

Meanwhile I've been really busy spending much of my waking moments hunting for left-handed golf clubs for the Hub and right-handed ones for Eldest Son. They have both picked up golf recently (golf club is just opposite the house) and now have permission to own their own clubs and move out of the driving range. Actually truth is that there are only 2 other left-handed players in the club and the Hub could find nobody's golf clubs to squat on just for practice and will have to buy his own ones. Of course he's probably also quite talented in the sport as he is with almost anything that has to do with a ball (quite the very opposite of myself).

We were tempted to buy the clubs in Singapore where they would be much cheaper than over here in Italy, but then we remembered the Italian Customs and their fame with taxing everything in sight. And it'll be kind of difficult hiding 2 bags with golf clubs sticking out of them, don't you agree?

Tea Leaf Eggs

Lapsang Souchong Tea Leaf Eggs

Quite a number of people who turned up for the gathering last Thursday were allergic to something. But nobody mentioned eggs so I bought 2 dozen of them and went ahead to make something real simple : Tea Leaf Eggs (Cha Ye Dan).

16 Eggs

2 Tbsps Black Soy Sauce

2 Tbsps Light Soy Sauce

1 Tsp 5-Spice Powder

1 Cinnamon Stick

4 Star Anises

2 Tbsp Smoked Black Tea Leaves (I used Lapsang Souchong)

1 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 Tsp Salt

Dried Tangerine or Clémentine Skin

Put the eggs in a pot and cover it with cold water and some salt. Bring them to a boil. When cooked, let them cool a little and then tap them with a spoon to crack their shells (without removing any) or just roll them with a little pressure on the table. Idea is to get a marbled appearance on the eggs later on.

Dry roast the spices and put them into a filter bag with the tea leaves. Tie with a kitchen string. Return the cracked eggs to a pot and add in the sauces, sugar, salt, tea-spice bag and the skins. Cover with just enough water and bring everything to a gentle boil. Simmer for another hour, turn off the heat and then leave the eggs in their marinade for another 8 hours at least, if not for at least 24-30 hours.

Heat up again just before serving, it'll be easier to remove the shells this way. The kids love it, they go great eaten with some Malaysian curry and E's Italian Hubby actually thought that they were real marble eggs...Ha ha!

Apple Tartlets

Apple Tartlets

At this moment, I would see a tractor from every window of my house. You can hear them purring through the fields from sunrise till past sunset, preparing the soil for next year's Barley crops (or so I was told). I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't get out of the house, wave at them and try to make some neighbourly conversation, maybe even serve them coffee and a few tarts. But of course the difference between fantasy and action chez moi is usually wide so I'm only just managing to tell you about this in the comfort of my swivel chair.

But tarts I did make a few lately. It's the cold, I keep looking around for reasons to do some (simple) baking and so bake (simply) I did.

One of the last things I baked : Apple Tartlets. The kind of no-fuss baking I enjoy. Just puff or sweetcrust pastry, fresh apples, brown sugar, salted butter, ground cinnamon, 15-20 minutes in a hot oven and basta.

And was rewarded with the kids gobbling them down in no time, what could make a mother happier, right?

Blind Date II

E, Baby Boy and Crepe with Jam

I've never gone on a blind date in my eligible days. But a few years after getting hitched, you actually see me going on 2 in less than 2 weeks.

It's to prove that I've caught on to the Internet Revolution too, making friends on the Net, through blogs and forums, and then inviting them to my house for a little gathering. The idea crossed my mind to drug and then skin them alive for experimental cooking purposes, but I managed to suppress it just before they arrived.

The first blind date was with our very own Dutchess of Cookalot and the second was with 2 Singaporean girls (E & A) married to Italian men and living in Italy : in Turin and in Padova, to be more precise. Plus a Malaysian family (Singapore PRs) from the kids' school. It was a lovely gathering though with all those kids (3 + 1 + 2) screaming all day long my head is still ringing with it a few days later.

To me a gathering is about meeting people, but very importantly it's also about makaning (eating). Though I've never had so many allergic people under my roof at the same time (e.g. E is allergic to curry and chilli, A to seafood and CL's kids to both meat and fish..!) and planning what to cook on this day turned out to be more of a headache than usual. I had originally planned on making a Singapore feast, but ended up making neither this nor that :

• Sangria





• Tea Leaf Eggs



• Mini-Quiches
  
  
• White-Wine Roast Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes


• Prawn & Lettuce Salad DIY Italian-style
  
  
  


• Curry Chicken (courtesy of CL)


• Ginger and Garlic Fried Rice



• Boeuf Bourguignon (looks horrible but is really good)
  

• Fusion Salmon with Soy Sauce (a hit with everybody)


• Almond Jelly with Longans


• Crepes
  
  
  


• Petits Fours (courtesy of A)

I must admit that I didn't exchange too many words with the Italian halves of those couples as I was more interested in meeting the Singaporean girls. My Singlish at full steam, they all understood me, what bliss.

Alas time flew by as usual and it was soon time for everybody to leave - except E and her Hub who were to be my B&B guests :-). An occasion for me to air the top floor of the house and let in some human presence - as my mother is likely to say.

Cinnamon Rolls using Focaccia Dough

For breakfast, I made more crepes though they were small eaters and didn't want to take me up on my offer of bacon, eggs etc. I experimented on more cinnamon rolls, this time using Focaccia dough and let me tell you that it was even better than with pizza dough!

Thank you, E, A, CL and your respective Hubs for making the journey to my isolated farmhouse. Hope to see all of you again sometime soon!

Halloween

The only butterfly among the ghosts, vampires and witches

When I told Hubby that the Babies had been invited to their 1st Halloween party, his immediate reaction was, "But it's not Italian!"

True, but the family organising it is half American and Halloween is certainly very American.

I accepted the invitation as I've accepted every invitation thus far and I must say that we are quite overwhelmed by the number of parties going on every week. Not to mention the budget for presents. But best of all, one had better be available to sometimes stay on and help out as the monsters guests may be too young and numerous for the host family to cope with.

The Babies, I must say, seem to love attending parties. They are not shy and would forget me the minute they step into the other house. I should be relieved, but at the same time, I'm a bit pissed off that they should so easily forget their mother. Then it probably helped that they are usually invited together nowadays - as I still remember Baby Girl crying at Bday parties in Stuttgart where she was often invited without her brother.

I didn't have any scary costumes for them nor any talent for making one. So I just dressed Baby Girl up as a Butterfly and Baby Boy as a Pirate. They were happy as long as they were dressed up and had no clue what Halloween was about anyway.

My contribution to the party - egg tarts

The party was held in a big villa and I thought to myself at one point that it was ironic going around knocking on doors for sweets when all the villas in the neighbourhood had been designed to precisely keep intruders away. The main door is usually a few hundred metres away from the gate, for example.

Kids trick or treating in front of a fortress villa

The P family is a famous Modenese family. They run a family-owned business. I'm usually quite allergic to very rich people but I really like L, she is nice and friendly, has absolutely no airs and is very approachable.

And she had the smart idea of warning her neighbours about what we were going to do on Halloween and even providing them with the sweets to give away!

Baby Boy had a difficult time during Trick or Treat though as he's so small and never managed to get near enough to the box of sweets to get more than one sweet each time. And Baby Girl even though she may be near the box would never take more than one in each hand, unlike some kids who literally grabbed handfuls leaving nothing else for the rest. Anyway, I'm not complaining about it either as it was horrible seeing all of them stuff themselves sick on candy. And I do not know how but some adult must have taken pity on Baby Boy because he ended up with a pumpkin bucket of sweets from I've-no-idea-where. I had to spend the next few days screaming that my 3 kids trying to stop them from eating all the sweets in one go.

One of the neighbours was so friendly they actually prepared a little feast for us when we turned up : pizza, drinks, chips and of course sweets. We were also invited into an old couple's house where they roasted us some chestnuts in their fire and seemed really happy to see the kids. I'm not surprised, nothing much ever happens around here.

And I of course didn't expect anybody to turn up at my doorstep. You'll need to walk quite a bit before you can get to my door.

Europa 92

I Dolci

I must admit that though I was to celebrate my Bday in a good restaurant on the day itself, I was actually quite Boh-Song about it as the invitation smelt heavily of "afterthought". As such I dragged my feet when it came to dressing up and when Hubby arrived to pick us up he started to nag at me which made me even more Boh-Song, if you wish.

It didn't help that it hadn't stopped raining the whole of yesterday. I was drenched on my way sending Eldest Boy to and picking him up from Tennis class. Went around looking for a place to have some gelato in with the Babies and of course nothing was open. Finally gave up and decided to go watch the boy during practice which could be a pain when you have to hang on to 2 itchy-hands Babies at the same time. Or they would be running into the middle of the Tennis court every minute or throwing stray Tennis balls at the players.

Must say that the Boy wasn't doing too badly for a total beginner. They have 4 mini-matches every session and he's currently in the Finals of every one of them plus would win from time to time. Though as usual he is having problems getting along with some of the other kids, apparently they have been making snide racist remarks at him - nothing new. One of those Italian boys is short, fat and ugly. So I told Eldest Son that he has my permission to tell him that it's better to have a "Chinese face" than be short, fat and ugly. If he complains to his parents, I'll deal with it. God knows I wouldn't mind a verbal fight with someone now.

Back to my Bday celebration, we arrived at the Restaurant-Club Europa 92 at half-past eight, quite cold and wet. It was situated in a renovated circa 1600 horse stable and the food is what you would call "Modenese revisited". You get pictures of Pavarotti here and there and his operas to accompany your meal. It's his restaurant after all. Stars like Jon Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Eros, Sting, Bono, Lady Di, Zucchero and Ricky Martin have all dined in, for example.

The service was friendly and fast. A bit too fast if you should happen to be there to kill time - which of course we weren't. I had a Potato Velouté with Mushroom to start, followed by Lamb Chops with Fried Croutons. There was a free flow of the Modenese specialty Gnocci which is a bit like Youtiao (dough fritters) in taste. The meat was good and properly cooked and we ate it with a good bottle of Montepulciano which on its own cost more than 2 main courses. Hub had a Gongonzola Soufflé to start followed by Roast Goose. The kids had excellent grilled Beef Steaks. No pictures here as none turned out (didn't use flash and the lighting's insufficient).

The positive thing about this Bday celebration was that for once the Hub had gotten smart and has engaged the help of his Assistant in organising the dinner. She called up the restaurant, booked the table and tried to get me a Birthday cake albeit without success. What they did though was actually serve up a fake decorated cake for me to blow my candles on (there were 3 of them and Baby Girl exclaimed : "Mum, you're 3!") and then they removed it and I got to choose my dessert like everybody else from the dessert trolley. Not stupid.

My mood improved significantly by the end of the meal and I actually had the grace to thank the Hub for it. One never knows. Maybe next year he'll get yet a little smarter and may even buy me a gift to go with the meal.

Restaurant-Club Europa 92

Stradello Nava 8

41100 Modena

Tel : 0039 059460067

Another Quiet Birthday/ Marital Conversation II

8:00

H : I won't be back for dinner this evening.

M: (One eye open) Ah bon.

H : (Sudden realisation) Oh, it's your Birthday!

M: It's not important.

H : We can always eat out tomorrow.

M: No, forget it, I have to cook up a feast tomorrow for Thursday.

H : We'll have to eat out tonight then.

M: No, it's OK. I'm making Chicken Tikka Masala. (Went back to sleep)

12:00

H : (phone) I've reserved dinner at Europa 92 (Pavarotti's restaurant)

M: Didn't you say you won't be back for dinner?

H : I've cancelled the dinner.

M: Are you sure you can do it? What kind of a dinner is it?

H : No, it's not important. I've cancelled it (Me : raised eyebrows)

M: As you wish.

The difference between Hub and I when it comes to Birthdays is that I've always celebrated it as a kid (e.g. little Lotus at the Zoo with personalised T-shirt etc) and as a young adult, whereas I believe that it has always been a non-event in his family. My sister-in-law (SIL) was born 10 years and 2 days before me and when I asked my MIL a few days ago if they were going to do something for the lady's Bday, she said no without any hesitation. This year, I didn't remind the Hub about his sis's Bday so I am quite sure that he wouldn't remember to ring her and at least send her his good wishes.

Added to Bdays being a non-event is the fact that he wouldn't remember anybody's Bday except his own. Every single time he had to fill out the kids' Bdays on some form, you can be sure to have him call you to check out the dates. And each time he would valiantly try to get them right - but to no avail.

So he is pretty practical on the subject as he is on almost everything else : remember your own Bday, buy your own gift and reserve your own babysitter and restaurant - if you want to celebrate your Bday.

Only he has married a Singaporean girl. And back where I come from, we like to have the best of both worlds, if possible have the cake and eat it too, if you wish.

So I want HIM to remember my Birthday, I want my present, and I wouldn't mind a little celebration too. Or even better, a cake with candles to blow out - like when I was a little girl.

And I really hate it when one doesn't remember when my Bday is, when I have to remind the person, and then receive a prezzie or a cake like some afterthought.

So I've obstinately refused to go hunt for a babysitter and reserve a table on my own Birthday. Or tell him where to buy a Bday cake at the last minute. And I almost never have a present on the day itself - usually it'll be grouped with Christmas and other forgotten occasions and be something I'd buy and then put it down as a present from the Hub.

On a happy note, my dear German penpal didn't forget the occasion though. Never did, as a matter of fact. Sent me an email yesterday though he's really busy. He's a Catholic priest in charge of annulments etc - surely some of them must include forgotten or hastily-remembered Bdays as a reason.

Marital Discussion I (Pastéis de Nata/Portuguese Egg Tarts)

Lotus' Pastéis de Nata

20:30

Hub : What are we having for dinner?

Me : Tandoori Chicken.

H : What with?

M : Cucumber.

H : That's all?

M : What did you mean by that? You said that you wanted to eat light at night...

H : Can we make a raita? How about fries too?

M : ....

21:30

H : What's for dessert?

M : What do you mean dessert? You said you wanted to eat light...

H : There's nothing to eat in this house. Did you not just go to the supermarket?

M : I did, I went to get eggs, milk --

H : You came back late and still there's nothing to eat.

22:00

M : My dear Master, allow me to present you with your dessert.

Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese Egg Tarts) :

Puff Pastry

Icing Sugar

Ground Cinnamon

2 Eggs

2 Egg Yolks

60g Sugar

140ml Whipping Cream

200ml Milk

A few drops Vanilla extract

We've been to Lisbon twice and one of the things we would keep popping into our mouths in between meals of gorgeous seafood and bacalhau dishes was their absolutely yummy Egg Tarts. Our favourite was the old establishment Pastéis de Belem in the capital.

I will not dare to say that I've gotten the recipe right, since the original recipe is still a closely guarded secret. And how you like the egg custard is really a matter of personal taste. I'm not too much into very smooth custards, and so will not even bother to strain or pre-cook my filling. I beat all the filling ingredients together till smooth, that's all.

What is more important to me is the crust. It has to be very crispy and I am happy to say that I got it right. The trick is to pre-heat your oven to between 220 and 250ºC and then bake your tarts for the 1st 15 minutes in this temperature. Some would even pre-bake the pie crusts but I do not think that this is really necessary. Then finish the cuisson in a lower temperature (150-180ºC) for the last 5-10 minutes. Mine were small, shallow tarts so I adjusted the cooking time accordingly. Sprinkle the tarts with a ground cinnamon-icing sugar mix before serving. Truth be told, I used the mix even for the pie crusts and the filling. Just love it. And it's just as good eaten cold, actually.

Ferrari 2007 Finali Mondiali (and Schmoozer Award)

My Badge

Let me put it on the record that I'm no F1 fan. Will probably have just as much fun hunting down a wild hare in the chemical dung-filled fields around my house. But if you saw me at the Ferrari 2007 Finali Mondiali races in the Mugello autodrome on Sunday, just know that it was the President's free lunch that made me tug at the line.

Those races actually lasted 4 days (25-26-27-28 October). We had access to the Paddock on all 4 days, but the kids had school and the Hubby needed to work in the office in Maranello. No time for socialising (many of his important suppliers were there). And we would have turned up on Saturday night for the Gala Dinner if we had a reliable babysitter, but we didn't. So we spent the evening watching DVDs.

The Dining Hall in the Terrace

On Sunday, we were among the priviledged few invited to the President's Lunch and as kids were also invited, we happily set out at 9:30am (we were actually late as usual, but with the time change we ended up leaving on time) for Mugello which is slightly more than an hour's drive from home. It's just before Florence when you're coming from Emilia Romagna.

The Babies

Arrived at past 11 though as we lost our way as we entered Barberino di Mugello and as the roads leading to the races tend anyway to be congested. If you do not need to stay in a jam for 2 hours, you'll have to count yourself lucky. Saw lots of Ferraris along the way, of course.

We had an easy time parking though as we had been allocated P1 which had direct access to the tracks. Mugello is a beautiful autodrome set in the mountains and it was amazing seeing the cars racing around us on different levels. The noise however was quite unbearable, in fact ear plugs are indispensable in F1 races or you'll go deaf in no time.

View of Pitlane and Race Tracks from the Terrace

We were ushered up to the Terrace where the lunch would be held. From there we would watch the races as you have a marvelous view of everything (plus a few plasma screens for close-ups), it was heated, there was a continous supply of coffee and drinks and hors-d'oeuvres both sweet and salty. From where we were, we could see the rest of the folks in the stands on the ground and you see that Hubby wasn't joking when he complained (when he was a "commoner" at the Monza Races) that there was a lousy and expensive sandwich stand with long queues and nothing else. Ahem!

Vintage Ferraris personally sent off by the President

As it was too early to eat, we procured ourselves special Passe-partout passes (both Hubby's PAs were on duty so it helped) and set out to visit the boxes where all the racing Ferraris were parked. I was told that many people would buy racing Ferraris that they would be unable to drive on the roads and these cars would be stored chez Ferrari who will organise a few events like this throughout the year to allow these rich guys to get to drive their racy cars on the tracks.

Look carefully, you'll see the President, Todt, Massa and Kimi

I must say that the ambiance was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it much to my surprise. Though the noise was even more deafening when you were in the Pitlane (yes, we were standing right next to the cars just where they set off to join the race tracks situated a few metres away). When a driver starts his engine, the noise is really really loud, goes all the way to your heart.

Like on TV

F1 Racers being prepared for the races

M. Schumacher's Car

Schummi being interviewed

One of the FXXs

We were able to touch the cars, watch them get ready, hear their (horribly loud and powerful) engines revv up just before they zoomed off and of course we saw Schumacher's black race car (Nº 30) though the sneaky guy managed to escape before the car was returned to its parking lot. We saw him in person later on, just a few metres from us as we climbed the stairs to lunch.

Massa and Kimi

In fact we also saw Massa and Raikkonen though I didn't recognise the latter and didn't take his picture. There was a moment when the idea of asking for their signatures crossed my mind - because M (who came to my house for dinner a few weeks ago) was literally standing next to the drivers - but I thought better of it knowing that Hubby would be horrified if I ever try to take advantage of personal friendships to get what I want. He is very strict about such things - which makes him stand out like a sore thumb in Italy where nothing works without relations. In fact, thanks to guys like him the (wonderful - if you ask me LOL) Ferrari tradition of making generous gifts to its employees may soon be a thing of the past. I've arrived at a bad time, boo hoo hoo.

The President signing autographs on his arrival

We returned in time for lunch and sat next to the Financial Director and his lovely family (he's Italian but the wife's American). The meal's the usual Italian except for the desserts which were really good (for once) and which had a French touch to them. Quite impossible to talk during the meal though as the races were on and the noise was deafening. The President of the company Montezemolo came by and shook everybody's hands and seemed quite taken with Baby Girl (the apple of her father's eye). He's as old as the company but is still very suave with flowing blond hair and a svelte silhouette and apparently kids as old as my Babies from a new marriage. J. Todt swept through the dining room like a tornado, shaking a few hands and signing a few autographs and then disappearing again. The kids all received a Ferrari gift at the end of the meal.

We left the races before the end with the hope of avoiding the leaving crush, but still ended up stuck in a jam for nearly 2 hours. Tough luck. But I'll be back in Mugello at the next opportunity. It had been fun.

And believe it or not, I won one of my rare "lucky" draws in East meets West Kitchen's twin raffle over the weekend. My "ticket" was picked by one of her cute little girls to receive a Blogging Community Involvement Award for the Power of Schmooze. Thank you V for having thought of me and for putting my name in the basket. Maybe this is a sign for me to go sign up for the lottery as God knows I'm in need of some cash after paying for the air tickets to Singapore.

The award is for those with good social and communication skills in the blogging community, good at socialising and making friends and at introducing others to more bloggers/friends and so on. The Hub would choke on his expresso if he knew that I've won myself this award as he likes to tell me that I'm anti-social. You know, because I like my own company very much - and that of my blog. Though he fails to understand how well we could learn and make friends through blogging. A case in point : I was just thinking of the Dutchess of Cookalot as I was typing this out and Rrrring...she phoned me!

It is now my turn to pass on the award which is not a difficult job as bloggers socialise and communicate in their own way, otherwise they wouldn't have a blog in the first place, right?

Fellow Schmoozers :

• Lily's Wai Sek Hong : probably a reference for many food bloggers out there. Always so ready to explain and help other bloggers needing cooking tips and just for sharing all her wonderful recipes and experience with all.
• Jaden's Steamy Kitchen : communication-savvy, wonderful recipes, full of funny repartees, great fun.
• Rasa Malaysia : who doesn't know her? Great recipe ideas, beautiful photos, like I said, who doesn't know her?