Before I go...

...just a quick post to make sure I haven't got much of a back log by the time I'll return from Yorkshire next Sunday.

Here's a bit of a random collection of things that I did this past week:

My downstairs neighbour (the family Lucky lives with) is from Calabria (southern Italy). The other day, he knocked and brought me a calabrese specialty, telling me exactly how I should prepare it. The fresa (I think that's what he called it) is a ring of hard bread, sliced in the middle. To enjoy it the classic way, all you need is some olive oil, salt & pepper (garlic wouldn't hurt, either), a bit of water and fresh tomatoes.

Open the tap and quickly wet the bread ring. Don't soak it, just let the water go over it once. Put the ring on a plate. Now, slice and dice the tomatoes (no need to peel them or boil or fry them or anything). Pour a bit of olive oil on the bread ring, which by now has had a few minutes time to soak up the water. I used a brush to spread the oil evenly on the ring, but of course you can simply just dribble it on directly from the oil bottle. Next, add the tomato bits, salt and pepper to your liking, and if you have some fresh basil, that will make it just perfect. Let it all sit there for another 5-10 minutes, and enjoy!

When I was younger, for 10 years I spent nearly every summer on Sicily with what was then the family I had married into. I do recall that, occasionally, we'd have something similar, only that we called it ciambelle.

On Tuesday, after work I met up in town with my sister. We browsed a clothes shop we both like, and I found two bargains I simply could not pass on: two dresses I can wear both for work and play, depending on how I'll team them up or down. 

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I can not resist a nice dress - especially not if it's at a really good price! This one was already reduced (summer sale), and because my sister has a customer's card at that shop, it was reduced even more at the counter. The brand is the same as the polka dot dress.

Last night at 8.00, I ran my hometown's CityRun. That's 10 km, which is the longest I ever run - usually, for my leisure runs out on the fields, I do a maximum of 8,5 km. I wrote about the CityRun before; this year, my gym whose team I usually run with did not set up a team, which meant I did not have to wear their tent-like t-shirt :-) Instead, I wore what I like best for running:

It was a good run. Without really giving it "everything" (what for?), I completed the 10 k in 57 minutes, two brief stops included when I had to re-tie my shoes. It's not a great time; last year, I was 2 minutes faster, but who cares? I did it, and I had fun doing it!

And now, I'll pack my little red suitcase and leave. Read you all again next Sunday!