Happy Halloween

Spooky, kooky, creepy and fun,
Halloween is the time to frighten your Mum!
Witches and Wizards come out to play,
With Ghosts and Goblins - keep out of their way!

The 31st of October is drawing near,
Time for you to dress up and make everyone fear!
So make sure you're ready with pumpkins and bats,
Silly-fun tricks and scary looking hats!

English books online

HAPPY READING!

Breakfast

Click here to enter my  

expatwithkids recipe book

or click on the photo 

to get directly to the recipe.

Each recipe can be printed individually

by clicking the "Print" button at pink page bottom

in Google pages.

(This recipe page is still under construction.)

National dishes

Click here to enter my  

expatwithkids recipe book

or click on the photo 

to get directly to the recipe.

Each recipe can be printed individually

by clicking the "Print" button at pink page bottom

in Google pages.

(This recipe page is still under construction.)

Desserts

Click here to enter my  

expatwithkids recipe book

or click on the photo 

to get directly to the recipe.

Each recipe can be printed individually

by clicking the "Print" button at pink page bottom

in Google pages.

(This recipe page is still under construction.)

'Tis the chestnut season

LA CASTAGNA CICCIOTELLA (The fat chestnut)

La castagna cicciottella

si lamenta che sta stretta

dentro al riccio poverella

e di uscire ha una gran fretta

Quando è autunno inoltrato

con compagne e le sorelle

fa un bel salto giù nel prato

divertentendosi a crepapelle

Fra le foglie si nasconde

e le altre stanno all'erta

cade il riccio dalle fronde

ride e resta a.. bocca aperta

Ma per poco durò il giochino 

le raccolsero in un cestino

e la castagna cicciottella

si trovò in una padella.

From computer to chestnuts! Admittedly my tastes are to put it mildly: eclectic. The way I dress, my choice of music, down to my interests. I adore my computer and I love home-cooking.

A typical Ticino product is the chestnut. The local custom has the children collecting chestnuts in the woods to roast or to create decorations. Chestnuts are used as flour, bread, cakes, pasta, jam, oatmeal and even schnapps. It is also used in recipes for marron glacé or to accompany a delicious platter of game.

Throughout the streets of Lugano the flavor of roasted chestnuts accompanies autumn days.

My favourite Chestnut muffin recipe:

Ingredients:

250gr melted butter

250gr sugar

200gr ground almonds

300gr of chestnut purée

4 eggs

Preparation:

1.) Mix egg yolks with sugar

2.) Add melted butter, ground almonds and the chestnut purée

3.) Mix well

4.) Whisk egg whites until peaked

5.) Add egg whites delicately to the chestnut mixture

6.) Pour into muffin mold filled with muffin cases

7.) Bake in preheated oven at 200°C for about 30 minutes. 

Meet the author

“Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish in the crowd.” - I Ching

Born an expat to an American father and a very British mother I was raised in Zurich, Switzerland. Having completed my Swiss degree, I fled to the United States to university and came running back “home” to Europe 2 years later to finish my studies in Italy.
I found myself a job in the International city of Geneva where my Marketing&Sales career blossomed for nearly 10 years when I fell in love with a gorgeous Italian man.
I turned my whole life around, abandoned my career in fragrance and cosmetics and with THE ring on my finger said goodbye to friends and family before being swooped off to our first expat destination, my dream port of call: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Our son was born a porteno and proud of it. Two years later we moved to Paris only to move again after six months, this time to Milano where our daughter was born. A real Milanese.
Enjoying a three year stint in Madrid - a city all 4 of us fell hopelessly in love with - we are now based in the Metropolitan city of Lugano, Switzerland.
Without planning I have returned back to my roots so to say and my husband and kids are getting a healthy dose of Swiss discipline and education.
Personally I am lacking the hustle and bustle of a big city and therefore decided to undertake some territory discovery of my own via a blog.

Welcome to my world....Expat with Kids!

Learning on the job

"Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.” 

Gen George Patton

After having shipped my daughter off to a birthday party and my son to play football on the local pitch, I spent the entire afternoon drafting my new blog. You have probably guessed my favourite colour by now: PINK!

Following are 5 sites that I found really useful while setting up my blog.

http://learn.wordpress.com/

http://tips-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com/

http://www.bloggertipsandtricks.com/

http://www.ebloggertricks.com

http://www.problogger.net/

The best info was provided by the competition: word press. Why did I choose to go with blogger anyway....it seemed more user-friendly for a beginner. The Word press introduction, however, is clearly written, very graphic and helps you plan a strategy followed by a rapid implementation. Yes, there is some strategy behind my madness.

I went one step further by adding my own signature. Nothing beats a touch of personalization.

http://www.mylivesignature.com/

I have added a computer shop link to my Lugano links list. "AV informatica" is an authorized Apple dealer although they could do with a facelift. My absolute favourite computer shop and the place I run to for help when I am desperate is Crusader Sagl in Vezia. They have been around for over 10 years and are wizards.

I never could resist a challenge.....and this blog is turning out to be fun! 

Starting with a bang!!!

“Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish in the crowd.” - I Ching

So, here goes my first blog ever.

Let me introduce myself:

Born an expat to an American father and a very British mother I was raised in Zurich, Switzerland. I fled to the United States to study and came running back “home” to Europe 2 years later to finish my studies in Italy.

I found myself a luxurious job in the International city of Geneva where my career blossomed for nearly 10 years when I fell in love with a gorgeous Italian man.

I turned my whole life around, abandoned my career and with THE ring on my finger said goodbye to friends and family and was swooped off to our first expat destination, my dream port of call: Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Our son was born a porteno and proud of it. 2 years later we moved to Paris, France only to move again after 6 months, this time to Milano, Italy where our daughter was born. A real Milanese.

Enjoying a 3 year stint in Madrid - a city all 4 of us fell hopelessly in love with - we are now based in the Metropolitan city of Lugano, Switzerland.

Without planning I have returned back to my roots so to say and my husband and kids are getting a healthy dose of Swiss discipline and education.

Personally I am lacking the hustle and bustle of a big city and therefore decided to undertake some territory discovery of my own via a blog.

Welcome to my world....expat with kids!