Cooking With Sartre

Hell...is other people's kitchens.

Leiden

We had the loveliest afternoon in Leiden yesterday, thanks to Susan who showed us all around her gorgeous city. It was about time we met up, and she was the perfect guide. Leiden is such a pretty place, similar to Haarlem but with cosy narrow streets lined with interesting shops, stunning churches with ceilings as high as the eye can see, and a beautiful castle built in the 11th century. So much history to explore.

Susan is my foodie partner in crime so our first stop was her favourite cafe, Burgerzaken, for lunch in their adorable candlelit basement. Their specialties are interesting sandwiches and we each had a different type - all delicious and very filling. Of course, there was still room for a fresh stroopwafel during our walk through the markets afterwards. Warmed on the griddle, the thin wafel discs are glued together with soft caramel, bliss! We also tried some of Holland's favourite lolly, liquorice dropjes, including the salty kind which were our favourite, but still, can't say we are huge fans of liquorice!

From there, a walk around the city, through streets lined with old-style street lamps and these amazing old trees that look like they've been singed at the branches. Some of the buildings have poems on their outside walls, something I find really enchanting, including a beautiful poem from Russian poet Marina Tsvetajeva. The castle, De Burcht, is in such good condition and afforded stunning views of the city. Of course this is when my camera battery died.

Susan took us to her favourite Italian deli which had so many gems, least being guanciale, impossible to find and which I'll be posting about this week, and wild boar sausage, which I'll post about seperately too. then the Turkish supermarket for some yummy flat bread and those French yoghurts in glass jars I've been after for ages (you know I'm obsessed with glasses). A stop for a refreshing Wieckse witte beer with lemon before saying goodbye and hopping on the train home.

Susan surprised us with a very thoughtful gift, a Dutch cookbook! Thank you so much!

Mmm...lekker!

Am I Missing Something?

From Madame Tussaud's Amsterdam website:

From today visitors to Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam can make a confession to Pope Benedict XVI.
In a suitably papal setting, visitors can kneel at a prie-dieu to pray and/or to make a confession in the presence of the Pope.

Traditional Dutch Cuisine #...?

I've written about erwtensoep, that traditional, if somewhat stodgey-if-eaten-too-much-like-we-did-one-week, Dutch pea soup. We've eaten our fair share of krokets, although they will need their own blog post. Now, in an attempt to cram as much traditional Dutch food in our mouths before we cross the ditch, I present to you: hutspot.

Hutspot is made for Dutchland, a purely winter dish of chunky mashed potatoes mixed with carrot and onions, served with some kind of sausage or meat, in our case with rookworst, the smoked sausage you find in erwtensoep. I also picked up a boerenkool which is mashed potatoes with spinach or kale, this one served with meatballs.

Now, I got them from Albert Heijn on the way home from the library because my laptop weighs more than an elephant and the butchers are miles from here. I take full responsibility for the rookworst and meatballs tasting truly horrible but these are dishes you could easily make at home, with homemade meatballs, stewed meat or your favourite smoked sausage.

aka the worst photo ever

Happy Birthday Dani!

Dani's big 3-0 was on Saturday and after lugging our crap stuff to our new abode, we dolled ourselves up for a night on the town. First stop, a few glasses of Prosecco at Viqh, a new wine bar in Haarlem that is luxuriously decorated, complete with heavy smoke...and dogs (I don't know why you need to bring your dog to a smokey wine bar).

Then into Amsterdam for dinner at Cafe Bern, a popular restaurant famous for fondue, something I thought we definitely needed. A very cosy place with cute pictures on the wall, the fondue was incredible, bubbly cheesey and not too boozey, served with a couple of baguettes. Dani's first fondue - she loved it! We shared a bottle of wine and it was lovely just to sit and chat for hours.

We wandered around Amsterdam for a while, had a drink and headed in. Hope you have a wonderful year to come love!

Random Thoughts On Thursday

+ A few words on our flatmate. He is nice and very laidback. French, maybe 24, typically anti-capitalist, thin, with piercings in his lip. He's here to study marine biology or ecotoxicology or something smart involving water, but mostly he studies the art of smoking Amsterdam's finest, or Marlboro Reds (where are the Gauloises?). He's a trust fund bebe of sorts, spending every minute behind his laptop with a headset on, playing online games (haven't I had enough French online gamers in my little life?) and randomly saying things in French (we assume to gamers dropping in and out). We've nicknamed him The Petit Tresor because it's so elementary French and really, it's the funniest thing ever. He only eats frozen pizzas, although when we moved in we were thrilled to see a baguette in the kitchen (it's still there though).

+ I have a love/hate relationship with the word lekker. Basically it means nice, tasty, yum, good, depending on the context, and you hear it all.the.time. It's in every ad, you hear people saying it all the time, and it drives me nuts...yet I can't live without it. I make Dani say it if I haven't heard it for a few hours. Say it three times in a row, with a hard k and r, and you might get an idea.

+ It snowed the other day, then was lovely and warm. Really not sure what to expect.

+ I realised that apart from a handful of exceptions, I haven't worn heels in the past three months. If you know me, this is extremely unusual.

+ I go to the library during the day, it's such a lovely spot. I brush up on Microsoft Office, research London, do some online reading. All this time to write, yet it doesn't come, or it's because I push the thought of doing it away to the back of my mind. There's a La Place restaurant on the top floor with nice views of the city, great place for a cheapish bite.

Rotterdam

We went down to Rotterdam yesterday, something I'd been looking forward to for yonks. At dinner on Saturday night, we got talking to the couple next to us, who when we told we were going to Rotterdam the next day, mock-fainted and rolled their eyes. "Rotterdam and Amsterdam have the same rivalry like Melbourne and Sydney". Uh ha.

I'd read about Rotterdam last year when it was the City of Architecture for 2007, and it looked fascinating. Just under an hour on the train from Haarlem, via The Hague, as soon as we got off the train there was interesting architecture hitting us in the face. Modern office towers sleek with charcoal mirrored surfaces, round lines, colours, it has a very different feel to it than Amsterdam. As we walked down to the port, we realised it felt like Barcelona, and how Barcelona feels more international, while Madrid is pure Spain. It is the same here, Amsterdam is absolutely Holland, with the old, slopping buildings on the canals, the bikes, the autumnal colours. Rotterdam is a mix of old, especially around the port with the ships and the ornate buildings, and new, having been bombed in 1940. We walked across the Erasmus Bridge, with it's pale blue cables melting in with the pale blue sky, an impressive sight.

We felt like tourists, and it was a delight. We went to a frites stand to grab something to eat, and noticing braadworst and knakworst, decided we should definitely have a hotdog. See, we used to think that being next to Germany, The Netherlands would be a haven of grilled sausages on the street, enticing the snack-loving Dutch to warm their hands and tummies with blistering worst of all kinds. Nee. You can munch on krokets and frites and Vietnamese spring rolls and haring but if you want sausage, you better fish it out of the bottom of your bowl of pea soup. So when we saw real hotdogs, and not like the frankfurt hotdogs you can find in Amsterdam, we jumped on it. "Braadworst? Don't you want something Dutch!" asked our man. Yes, of course we do. He started selling us krokets, which we know well. We have eaten all kinds of krokets, from Febo krokets to the ones supplied to the Queen, and to be honest, our stomachs could do without any more. So we kindly declined and pushed for the braadworst, even though he was filled with nationalist pride over the kroket. We went back to get some sauce, tomato please. "No!" Oh, ok. And proceeded to dip a frite into all the sauces and taught us about the different kinds, including 'war sauce', which is pinda sauce, or peanut satay sauce, with mayonnaise, because "it's not pretty". Brilliant!

We walked through the shopping streets, then down to the port, munching on fried dumplings from the Vietnamese stand, warmed up with a coffee (yes I was not dressed appropriately, sometimes I forget where I am), took lots of photos, rode the tram on the way back and saw more beautiful buildings, and caught the train home. Very content.

Have a look at my Rotterdam flickr photoset for more photos.

The Week Away From The Kitchen

We've decided that London is the way to go for us; it sadly hasn't worked out here. Of course the day I apply for the visa is when I get a callback about not one but two jobs, although not in my line of work and in Almere which is quite far. Dani also wants to do it, and we have interviews for the visa in two weeks.

I am very excited about London; while part of me is hesitatant to going through the same experience, it should be a more work-friendly city for us. And we can only try. I've already seen so many jobs that I want to apply for. I have always loved London (not just for Pret sandwiches...although it's a significant reason) and I'm going to work so hard to make this happen.

+++

We're moving tomorrow since we found a cheaper place a few weeks ago 10 minutes down the road, sharing with a laidback French guy. It is a nice place, we'll have our own bedrooms and with stairs to a secret rooftop, not that it's that balmy that we'll be hanging out there too long.

Tomorrow is Dani's 30th so I have a surprise planned, can't wait! And on Sunday we are going to Rotterdam, which we can't wait x 2. We've decided to go somewhere everywhere weekend while we're still here (including catching up with the girls here), and also actually get on a bike. It would be The Stupidest Thing Ever to come to live in Holland not ride a bike at least once.

The Week In Food

We are moving tomorrow so I have been trying to use up the pantry. On Monday I celebrated Dani's first day at work with scallops. They had been my number one lust have item since we got here and I decided to snap up four giant shelled scallops for 10E - they were seriously huge. I pan fried them and served them on top celeriac and potato soup.

We've had Kath's peanut and tomato lamb curry and Donna Hay's ricotta pies. Make your favourite bolognaise sauce (I added peas and grated carrot, onion and celeriac) then top with a tub of ricotta mixed with one egg and mozzarella. Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes. It makes a really delicious crust.

I made chocolate baked donuts which weren't as good as the plain cinnamon sugar ones I made for the Masterchef Challenge; they were more like chocolate dinner rolls. Not having proper kitchen utensils and having to smear the melted butter on with my fingers instead of with a brush was more 9 1/2 Weeks than afternoon in the kitchen.

Vietnamese lemongrass chicken, which I make so often now and have the caramel downpat.

Wanted

A kitchen hand to help a private chef for a home in Sardinia for 5 months.

A lifestyle writer in Dubai for £80,000 tax-free.

On the way, finding this: I said thanks to a ticket machine. I was miles away, and when the ticket popped out, I involuntarily said thanks. Has anyone else had any experience of this? Perhaps with snack dispensers/coffee machines/photocopy card crediters? Do get in touch.

And now, I just applied for a job in...Slough.

Saturday

In our quest to find the best frites in the country, today we went to what many have said are the best, Vlaamse Friteshuis. We'd already been deceived by a frites shop on the Damrak (giveaway?) that calls itself the Best In Amsterdam, but they were rubbish: thick, unseasoned, gluggy sauce.

A tiny hole in the wall in the middle of Amsterdam, the queues gave it away and it was easy to decide between kleine and middel sizes, although not so easy are all the saus choices - what are hannibal, american, samurai? - but Belgian mayonnaise is closest to S&W mayonnaise so that's our favourite. It's a well-oiled (sorry) operation: man takes order and money, girl to his side scoops out frites and dollops on the sauce, two or three guys behind them continuously fry vats of frites.

They were good, if under-salted, but fortunately for us, our local frites place near the Grotemarkt in Haarlem is the best. Consistently fresh, delicious, no oily taste, seasoned just right.

After a decent coffee I left Dani and decided to go to the library that we walked past the other day. Wow. No no, WOW. I have never seen anything like it, and when they get it right here, they get. it. right.

A beautiful brand-new building, as I walked in I saw a room filled with kids and parents reading, drawing, having fun. Architecturally-gorgeous and light-filled, a piano player greets you, there's a cafe and you can sit in comfy chairs and lounges with a coffee and browse hundreds of magazines, use the internet for free, people chat and kids play, there's no stuffiness yet it's not distracting. The levels with books (one with new CDs and DVDs) have floor-to-ceiling windows facing all parts of Amsterdam, cosy armchairs with built-in desks, shared tables with plug-ins for laptops, private areas for study.

Years ago I became jaded with magazines. I'd get fooled by covers only to be disappointed by poor writing, uninspiring photo shoots, the repetitiveness. So when in Spain and I saw Charlotte Gainsbourg on the cover of Paris Vogue, I hesitated, but walked on by. Today at the bibliothek, I picked it up and ended up pouring over it, not moving, for an hour. Charlotte's pages of sharing words, pictures, felt open, intimate, an absolute treat. I love her notes on a photo of Yvan, something like "I wish he looked at me like he is looking in this photo, except he is looking at the photographer". And the article on her and Jean Nouvel's plans to turn 5, rue de Verneuil into a museum. Just the other day I was thinking if they do open Serge's home as a museum, I wouldn't like to go. I felt it would be a tacky invasion of his private space, a breach of intimacy. But reading their words made me think I would like to go. The photos of the apartment, by Mario Sorrenti, stunned me with how beautiful it is.

And now, just found that Paris is hosting the exposition Gainsbourg 2008 from October this year. I'm meant to be in Europe!

Disappointing

We went to the Magnum 60 Years exhibition in Amsterdam yesterday and I have to say, it was very disappointing. As a Magnum addict, I was really looking forward to this retrospective. But it was more a timeline of events in the Magnum history, arranged year-by-year along two walls, with limited photos, along with book covers, mostly without captions, placed way too high so we had sore necks by the end of it. A lot of text which didn't always correspond to the visuals. The light was terrible and cast shadows over the photos. Probably worst was the exhibition next door, some modern 'art' installation on noise, blasting said noise (screeching opera, metallic whining) into this room and completely distracting. And a steep 9E.

Perhaps we should've gone next door to the free Scientology-sponsored travelling exhibition, Psychiatry: An Industry Of Death. These people are truly scary.

Today

Dani's Jamie Oliver Meatballs

So delicious! Meaty, herby meatballs + melted mozzarella + buttered spaghetti = full and happy belly. This is one of the best meatball recipes I've had. Recipe here.

Nobu's Miso Cod

Andrew and I went to Nobu while in New York in 2003. Actually, it was Nobu Next Door, since back then the cult restaurant was booked out for months, and this neighbour took no reservations. Just as we were across the road, my heel snapped right off. So we had to cab it back home, get changed, and cab it back. It was full so we had a drink around the corner which involved a very funny case of misunderstanding, then dinner. Back then, the Aussie dollar was a useless 53 cents, and we feared how much the dinner would cost us (especially after one of the worst dining experiences ever at Cafe Boulud). I had the famous miso cod, Andrew a plate of the freshest sashimi. My cod came out on the plate as is, just a fillet of cod, with no vegetables, or decoration - I was cynical. But it was incredible. Tender, sweet, salty cod with nothing to distract you from this delicious new food.

It had always been in the back of my mind to make it, but I felt stocking up on all these Japanese ingredients - sake, mirin, miso - was superfluous. Now I can't imagine a kitchen without them. The fish marinates for 2 days, plus or minus, and 'toughens' up slightly soaking up the flavours for so long. A quick roast under a hot grill, then baking, leaves it flakey and golden. I served it with a little round of brown rice noodles and a dot of reserved marinade. It's a dish to serve someone you love, and that includes a double portion for yourself it's that good. Find the recipe here.

Worst photo ever. The fish was so tender and flakey that it fell apart but it was a rare case of not caring...
I just wanted to eat!

A Request

I just came back from what I was told was a job interview but was actually a cattle call for the recruitment agency. The job I applied for - which I really, really want - is handled by another office and this one didn't know anything about it, but hopefully will pass on how my interview went to them tomorrow. This is where I ask you to send me all your good vibes, any you can spare.

Second Only To Castro Standing Down

A lovely little article on the semi colon from the NY Times; it's about time I read Eats, Shoots and Leaves...

6.25pm

The light has been incredible tonight, pink and green and yellow all in one, and then suddenly, the sky was a velvet grey and the moon was beaming a bright light into our loungeroom. The craters are so detailed, it looks like it's just there.

6.35pm

From the backyard, 6.40pm

I call them witches' hair.

In Pictures

The Happy Pig

Ballet in the windows of De Bijenkorf
(mannequin to the left, ballerina to the right)

View from Sint Antoniebreestraat with NEMO in the distance

Broodje met kip sate = slow cooked chicken satay goodness


Lots 'o people at Albert Cuyp

Cheap herbs

Three types of knoflook (garlic)

Potatoes and more potatoes

Fish

Singel

Puccini Bomboni

Treats

Delightful

There is a favourite scene in one of my favourite movies, The Spanish Apartment, when Romain Duris arrives in Barcelona, walking through the train station wide-eyed and talks about how all the names, everything, is foreign to him but he knows in a year's time it will all be familiar, be his. I felt a little like that today, spending the day in Amsterdam, a little more familiar with this city, one of it's people.

To say it was a beautiful day is an understatement. It was gorgeous. It was almost-bitterly freezing cold, 4C and warranted a coffee stop halfway through to defrost my gloved-yet-numb hands, but the blue sky and sunny air was bliss. Everyone was out, and I mean everyone. The streets were hard to navigate, thick with accents - French, Russian, Liverpudlian lads on sex-and-smoke weekends.

I said goodbye to Dani in Chinatown and took my time in my new favourite shop, Toko Dun Yong, an emporium with every Asian grocery you could ever want, with really good prices. Fresh blocks of tofu, white miso, pale stalks of lemongrass. Isn't lemongrass the prettiest thing?

Nearby the Nieuwmarkt stalls had organic fruit, vegies, cheese and breads, and then I discovered what could be my new favourite bite in Amsterdam. Tokos are Indonesian eateries with choices of curries, noodles and snacks, usually to take away, and I tried a broodje met kip sate (bread roll with chicken sate) at Toko Joyce just off Nieuwmarkt square. A crunchy bread roll filled with succulent chicken satay for only 2.80E. Yum.

I walked over to Waterlooplein, stopping to admire the lovely view at Sint Antoniesbreestraat, and decided to save a stroll through the giant flea market for Dani as there were too many crazy nicknacks to admire alone. A coffee break to warm up, then through the Dam over to the Singel which was lined with busy terraces. I found my destination easily. Puccini Bomboni is allegedly one of the top ten chocolate shops in the world and well, I had to decide for myself. Unlike some chocolate shops, there was no snobbiness and the girls that worked there were lovely. The counter was lined with their famously-interesting flavours of bonbons - I chose vanilla and poppyseed, lemongrass and honey for myself and lemongrass, tea and cranberry for Dani, as well as a block of Valrhona and chocolate drops for cooking. I saved them for when I got home, so, are they that good?

Yes. The chocolate was pure, smooth, not richly sweet. Lemongrass had a fresh citrus zing and honey, my favourite, was just that mixed in with bittersweet chocolate with tiny chocolate curls. It is preservative-free so I might just have to stop here the day I leave and pick you all up some.

From here I took the tram down to the Albert Cuyp markets in De Pijp and boy, was it jam-packed! It was almost too hard to walk down with some stalls too crowded to see what was on sale. But amongst the usual crap on sale in markets the world over, the produce stands are worth the pushing and shoving. Bargain vegies, corn fed chicken, and I really wanted some fish - cod especially, but I didn't know the Dutch for cod, so I tried my luck asking and was hacked off a lovely piece of kabeljauw.

Heavy with shopping, I headed home. A really lovely day.