Wie Zoet is Krijgt Lekkers

It's that time of year again!

Sinterklaas is officially in the country- and this year we were lucky enough to welcome him in my city! I've secretly been wishing for that since I discovered Sinterklaas some eleven years ago! Hans laughs at the fact that I'm still such a kid. Should I be ashamed to tell you that I was more excited than Kirstie when we met one of the most famous Pieten, (Sinterklaas helpers), the very cool Testpiet? Well, I'm not!

To celebrate, Kirstie and I spent an evening baking kruidnoten. It has been a tradition to do this a day before Sinterklaas arrives in the country. We will also be making more next Thursday evening, just in time for the big event on Friday the 5th of December!

Here's the recipe, which is foolishly easy!

Paola's Kruidnoten

250 g self- raising flour
pinch of salt
80 g dark brown sugar
45 g light brown sugar
1 tbsp Speculaas spices
100 g soft butter
3-4 tbsps milk

Preheat oven to 150C and line a cookie sheet with baking paper.
Sift flour, add sugar spices and salt. Stir well.
Add butter, in small pieces, and the milk. Knead well until the dough comes together. I always do this with my Kitchen Aid.
Make small balls the size of marbles and arrange them on a baking sheet with a little room between them. Flatten them a little and bake for about 20 minutes.
The kruidnoten keep well for about 2-3 days.

A Sticky and Lusciously Sweet Pudding Cake

Tell me? How big is your sweeth tooth?

Well, mine just happens to be HUGE! I am a self- proclaimed sugar fanatic who has a hard time resisting things like dulce de leche (straight out of the jar), sugary meringues and bars of cheap white chocolate (higher sugar content). In a perfect world, I would eat nothing but sugar and still be healthy and fit! Alas! A girl also has to eat her fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains.

Recently, I added a wonderful recipe to my repertoire of sinfully sweet desserts. I tried the recipe, courtesy of Greg Patent's book, A Baker's Oddyssey, for the latest issue of Desserts Magazine and oh am I glad I did! This is definitely a recipe I will keep in mind should I find myself going through one of my sugar- crazed moments.

I present to you the lusciously sweet Boschendal Pudding Cake- a soft, syrupy cake which is a dream to make and a dream to eat. You simply make the sponge and then drench it with a sweet, creamy sauce, allowing it to slowly seep into the cake. It is best to serve this cake warm but I find that it goes down just as well once cold. One thing I do recommend is a hearty, face- puckering ristretto to go with it!

For the recipe, please turn to pages 72-73 of Desserts Magazine. This issue, by the way, is their largest ever! Plenty of ideas to satisfy that naughty ol' sweet tooth of ours!

NOTE: In my experience, the amounts given for the sauce are a bit on the generous side. Half of that amount should suffice.

Yes, I'm Still Here!

I know, I know. It's like I totally dropped off the face of the Earth as far as my blog is concerned. Well, I do have plenty of excuses to justify my absence, so read on!

First of all, we are buying a new house! It was a carefully considered decision, and we're both terribly delighted about how lovely it is, but truth be told- I've shed a few tears thinking about the fact that we're leaving behind a place which will always remain my first 'real home', our first home.

So many memories! I don't even know where to begin! Perhaps it's best to begin at the very beginning and rewind back to December 17th, 1997- the day Hans and I decided to spend our first night in the new house, one day before the actual moving day. We had nothing with us except a mattress which we just threw on the kitchen floor! And because it was right around the holidays, our first piece of furniture (mattress not included) was a beautiful Christmas tree! I was 19 years old then, a crazy girl madly in love and totally oblivious to anything except living in the moment. Those days were spent in a rose- colored haze, pretty much until I found out I was pregnant about a year and a half later.

Perhaps the most beautiful memory I will take with me is the birth of my gorgeous child, Kirstie. She was born in our bedroom, on our own bed, on the last day of the past century- December 31st, 1999! I felt so proud to have her here in my own surroundings.

Not to be forgotten of course, is the fact that I learned to cook in this kitchen. The girl who couldn't boil an egg and thought that making pickle sandwiches was cooking (just pickles and white bread, mind you), was suddenly baking chocolate cakes and lusting after kitchen equipment instead of fancy clothes and makeup!

Oh and our garden! A garden which always stuck out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood simply because it was so wild and more importantly, used! I can't even begin to imagine how many meals and how many gallons of wine we've had here- and you know, we've also been sitting outside in the pouring rain, looking like complete idiots but feeling so happy!

Memories, memories! Sure it will be hard to close the door to this house next spring but I take comfort in knowing that new memories will be made in our new house!

The life changes don't stop there though because as of this Monday I will be a teacher's assistant at a Dutch High School! I will still continue with my own company but I'll also be working with a great team of people. I had the interview for the position last Thursday and was told I'd hear from them the following week. The next morning the phone rang at 8:30 AM and yes- I got the job!!

So, I hope you won't hold my absence against me! As you see, I was busy building myself a new life!

Stay tuned for a foodie post!