Puke!

Yesterday was a fun day. We went out in search for the perfect pumpkin and found one that was huge! This year we decided to carve it just a little closer to Halloween. I've been known to carve mine a week before! Like buying and putting up the Christmas tree, making a jack-o-lantern is a family affair here. We take turns cutting, carving and scraping. Kirstie loves getting her hands in there although she always has to say "eeewww" the first time she reaches in and feels all the slimy pulp!

With this event goes a Halloweeny meal so therefore I decided to prepare a few treats from Feast for dinner: Blood and Guts Potatoes, Slime Soup and Graveyard Cake! Aside from the cake, which I thought looked pretty cute, the rest honestly looked disgusting,but tasted great. I decided to make the food even more revolting by randomly placing plastic spiders here and there. We are very limited with Halloween candy here in The Netherlands but I did find some foil wrapped Halloween chocolates which I thought looked rather cute on top of the cake. It really was a fun meal to eat and to make.

Happy Halloween!

Girls' Day Out

I am such a lucky girl! My daughter Kirstie is only six but she really is a mini version of me, which means she LOVES to shop! The only difference is that I'm more of a clothes girl while she has a thing for shoes. Yesterday we took a trip to the city together and I told her that she could choose something nice for herself. One thing. She pulled me into the nearest shoe store!

We had such a lovely day. First we went to the bookshop and I got myself Jamie's new book, Cook. Very nice, thick book and just leafing through it assured me I'd love it. After that we went to the cafe upstairs and had our favorite treat, a yogurt-banana shake! I looked through my new book and Kirstie kept looking at the gorgeous, pink creations adorning her little feet.

After that little break, some more shopping! I think it was Michelle on Mr. X's site that mentioned something about Pashmina shawls which got me thinking...I needed a new shawl for the Fall season! Found one! Not a pashmina but a very nice, aubergine shawl. I'll wear it today to my mother-in-law's house (it's always freezing there!). At a little shop where they sell foreign food, I found some more goodies: coconut milk, red curry paste, some decorations for Kirstie's birthday cake and FIG NEWTONS! Ok not the ones from Nabisco, but they look just like my fig newtons and man do they taste like them! Also found myself a very cool, pink pop art apron!

The last thing we needed was something for dinner. Picked up a beautiful, bright orange organic pumpkin and made Nigella's very tasty Aromatic Pumpkin and Chickpea Hotpot! If you don't try it, I'll hold it against you! Really I will! You owe it to yourself! Mr. "Pumpkins are yuck" licked his plate clean. While I was preparing dinner and sipping a glass of Merlot (the horrors! lol! ;)), I felt giddy. That's what mom and daughter shopping can do to me!

PS: I'm off for the weekend to visit my mother-in-law. Will try and take some pics! See you all Monday!

PPS: Sorry that some of the pics are low quality. Resorted to my camera phone as I am in a hurry to get ready and packed for our weekend trip!

Bye, Bye!

The Dunes

Before I met Hans, there was a place he told me lots about- the dunes in Soest, one of the most beautiful places in The Netherlands. This is the place where he would come and walk Meiki and think of me (that's what he told me!). One time he wrote my name in the sand and sat on a hill to look at it, romantic guy that he is! This was one of the first places I wanted to see when I first came to The Netherlands and I still remember how much I loved it there the first time I visited. It is one of our favorite places and sometimes we reminisce about the past and about how far we've come.

It's a lovely place all year round. In the summer, climbing(and sometimes running) up and down those hills is one heck of a workout and in the autumn the scenery is gorgeous, especially with the beautifully colored leaves. There's a Frites stand not too far away and sometimes after a long walk, we treat ourselves to some hot, golden fries with the works: mayo, peanut butter sauce and onions!

Yesterday we spent an afternoon in the dunes and although it wasn't that sunny, Hans still managed to take some nice pictures. Too bad the Frites stand was closed though so when we came home, I baked an apple pie instead! That's what I call a lovely Sunday in late October!

"It'll be OK"

I had a BAD day yesterday. I picked up my little one from school and we got on the train to Leiden to pick up my thesis, as I was told it would be done on Friday. I got to tell you that I had anxiously been waiting for this moment. It’s one thing to see your work on a computer but I could not wait to see it printed. The disappointment was huge when I was presented with four poor quality copies. Everything, and I mean everything was a mess. Who on earth would get it in their heads to print a title page on the back of a cover? Didn’t I say I wanted it printed single- sided? Why did I get double-sided? Why was the print so pale in some places? Not enough ink perhaps? Why was the cover so flimsy? And WHY were my COLOR images black and white?!?!

I am not so good at confrontations so I admit, I payed and walked out, and I hated myself all the way home for not standing up for myself and giving that a**WIPE a piece of my mind! (well, I can vent here no? It is my blog!) Comforted myself a bit by getting a Rembrandt mug and a set of Rembrandt napkins and by stopping at a local café to have a fudge brownie and a yogurt shake with my sweetie, but I sort of fell apart at home.

Thank goodness I have a husband who’s one in a billion and thank God he has access to decent printers. He spent the whole Saturday in his office, printing everything the way it should be: beautiful colors, thick paper and the quality cover my thesis deserves. When he came home, I cried. I am lucky and I don’t get tired of saying or acknowledging that. Now the only thing I need is to get it bound, which I will do bright and early Monday morning (shops that do this service are closed Sundays here in The Netherlands). I hope my professors don’t hold it against me that I left the miserable copies in their mailbox and I hope they see the difference in quality. I did mail them as soon as I got home and explained how very disappointed I was in the copy shop of my university.

As I type, I can smell my favorite pasta being cooked by my favorite man. These things happen I know. Things can’t always be perfect. At least in my life, the things that matter most, definitely are.

PS: Did I mention that my daughter surprised me last night with a cover for my thesis which she made herself? She did see me in tears and to comfort me she took out her markers and by looking at the the "bad" cover,she drew her own version and presented it to me. :)

Thrifty Chick

I admit, I can sometimes let money slip through my fingers (hey, it’s mostly on good food- I do have a family to feed), but I still love a good bargain. Some people turn their noses up at thrift shops but I love them. There’s a great one in my city and I seem to find myself there at least twice a month. It’s amazing what I can leave there with, but even better, what I don’t have to leave with-guilt!

As I write, I’m listening to the LP Plastic Ono Band and to my hero singing “Love is you, you and me, love is knowing we can be”. A beautiful record and a collector’s item, and it didn’t cost me 60 euros, but three. That’s not all though. This is THE place to get my fix when it comes to cookbooks, art books and unique pieces of literature. If you see my bookcases at home, you’ll see what I mean. Among my more pricey books, you’ll find original books from as far back as the 19th century. These are the ones I love most because for some reason, I can feel the history at my fingertips. I have reprints from classical pieces of Dutch literature, like my all-time favorite, Gysbreght van Aemstel . They are so beautiful and I can truly enjoy this type of book so much more than a modern day copy.

I’ve stunned more than one professor with my thrift shop finds. Two years ago I had to write a paper and I must’ve walked around for what seemed like ages, desperately looking for a brilliant subject. The weekend before we had to present our topics to our work group I decided to stop by this thrift shop and came across a little old book with excerpts of Dutch literature and there I read about a writer who I’d never heard of, Johannes Kneppelhout. I was thrilled to see that he was not just any writer, but that he had been a student at my university in the 19th century. He wrote some very interesting and at the time controversial pieces of literature. I researched his Studententypen (1839-41) and Studentenleven (1839-44) which he wrote under the pseudonym, Klikspaan (this basically translates to “tattletale”). In these works, Kneppelhout scrutinizes everyone and everything at the university but what I found so fascinating was not that he was so unknown among my co-students but that he didn’t write these books to stir up trouble but actually believed these works had a purpose. They were meant to warn students and keep them on the right path. Needless to say, his co-students at the time thought differently. Anyhow, I found him fascinating, had never heard of him and that one little trip to the thrift store got me a brilliant subject which in turn got me a grade of a 9.5 and huge compliments from my professor. A year later I was preparing a speech on the Dutch romantic writer, Willem Kloos and came across an original copy from 1835 of his very own magazine De Nieuwe Gids. I could barely contain myself and could not wait to let everyone see this baby!

Today’s finds weren’t as spectacular, but they were pretty good:

-Plastic Ono Band
-Cuisine Actuelle
-Quiches
-Lekker Vegetarisch (Delicious Vegetarian)
-Koken op z’n Spaans (Spanish-Style Cooking)
-Gucci, mode-poepjes en de juiste bone-structure (Gucci, Fashion Farts (!) and the Right Bone Structure) … I have a feeling I’ll enjoy this one just as much all that intellectual reading!)
-Seeing Through Clothes. Fashioning Ourselves. An Intriguing New Look at Image-Making (a history of changing images through fashion. Pretty cool.)
-Rembrandt. Leven tussen licht en donker (Rembrandt. Living between Light and Darkness)

Nice that I have some time on my hands, no?

Going back to my (culinary) roots

As many of you know, I come from a Colombian-American family. I grew up eating staples of Colombian fare like arepas, pan de queso and empanadas. My father was always very keen on telling me stories about Colombia and sharing bits of historical information but that was about as close as I got to my roots. I long to go and find those roots some day but the situation still makes me iffy to get on a plane, even though my Colombian friends tell me it's perfectly safe as long as I don't wander into the jungle!

What fascinates me about Colombia is the country's rich culture. Botero, Marquez, the various types of music and yes, even our pop sensations like Juanes and Shakira! And not to forget our family friend, Mr. "100% pure Colombian coffee" Juan Valdez (Carlos Sanchez)! It's a shame that people are quick to judge Colombia, but in a way, I understand. The dirty deeds of some have tainted the country's name and that's really a shame, especially when it's such a rich and beautiful land.

Anyhow, I was browsing for new culinary reads the other day and came across what seemed to be a beautiful book written by a young Colombian cook, Patricia Gallo. She traveled all through Colombia and gathered various recipes typical of the places she visited. Some I can still remember, like my mother's arepas (corn cakes) which we ate for Saturday breakfast hot from the grill with butter and cheese and washed down with frothy Colombian hot chocolate. I look forward to getting this book and to traveling back to my birth country, even if just through the tastes and smells which are so much a part of it. I will enjoy reading about my culinary heritage. One which I am proud of.


And for anyone interested, here's Patricia's recipe for those famous arepas!

Arepas de Maíz
(Yellow or White Corn Arepas)
Recipe from: Secrets of Colombian Cooking
by Patricia McCausland-Gallo

These are traditional arepas made from dried corn kernels, nowadays prepared that way mostly on farms. They are served with cheese on top, added after cooking. They are cooked on the grills directly over the heat, or on an asador de arepas*, a special cooking pan that is basically a flat-surfaced pan made of very thin metal, which has over it another very thin metal rack.

You can also form arepas with cheese already mixed into the dough. In that case, add about 1 cup (1/2 pound) of grated white farmer’s cheese to the corn after it has come out of the grinder, and before forming the balls.

Maíz peto is what we call the corn that is dried and sold in bags at the market.

Makes Sixteen 4-inch arepas

• 2 1/2 cups (1 pound) white or yellow dried corn kernels* (maiz peto)

• 1/2 teaspoon butter

• 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more for cooking

• White farmer's cheese* for serving

• 4 tablespoons melted butter

1. DAY 1: Wash the dried corn kernels with plenty of water. Place in a bowl with enough water to cover them, and let sit for 24 hours. This will rehydrate the corn a little.

2. DAY 2: Drain the corn and discard the water.

3. Place the corn in a medium pot or pressure cooker, and add 8 cups of water. If using a regular pot, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 21/2 hours; keep adding water, 1 cup at a time, if it dries out. If using a pressure cooker, cover and cook under pressure on medium heat for about 1 hour. The corn should be very soft; if not, return the pot to the stove and cook 20 minutes more. Let cool, uncover, and drain the corn; you will have about 8 cups of corn

4. Pass the corn through a molino* or meat grinder into a bowl. Add the butter and salt; mix well to blend evenly.

5. Form the ground corn mixture into a log; divide it into 16 pieces. Form each piece into a ball.

6. Place the arepa balls between 2 sheets of plastic and with a heavy pan or pot cover, flatten to the thickness you desire, from 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

7. To cook the arepas, place them on a rack directly over a very low flame and cook about 5 minutes, until they look dry on the outside; brush melted butter and sprinkle salt, turn and cook 5 minutes more on the other side.

8. Serve with white farmer’s cheese.

Here's the link to her website. Many of her recipes on the site don't really look Colombian but they do look beautiful! http://www.creativeculinary.net/index.htm