Food Friday: St. Patrick's Day

No corned beef and cabbage at our house this year, mainly because I wasn't motivated to figure out where to buy it.  I could have been motivated if Peter seemed interested, but instead he told me he wanted bacon and eggs and Irish soda bread.  Easy enough, except in a country which hasn't yet figured out that bicarbonate of soda works as a leavening agent in addition to an antacid.  Luckily I had already thought this through.

A couple of months ago I went on a baking soda mission here.  I knew the American store sold it but, used to paying 50 cents a box, the markup was too much to take.  Then I checked a drugstore here and bicarbonate of soda was 3 Euros for a teeny tiny package.  So, on our last trip to the States we brought back the one box from the apartment.

The other ingredient I had to figure out was buttermilk, but I was pretty sure it's called karnemilk because I overheard a conversation between a flight attendant and a passenger once about a karnemilk mix up (the package is red, so Americans tend to think its whole milk).  At the Albert Heijn I verified my hunch with a worker by asking if it was "sour" and "kind of like yogurt."  He confirmed my suspicions.  I used the River Cottage recipe, and learned that after years of being a pretty good soda bread maker (it was always our go-to homemade bread in our tiny Greenwich Village kitchen) I learned that I wasn't scoring the bread deep enough.

The result was probably the most perfect (so perfect it deserved 2 pics) soda bread I ever made.  My family LOVED it.

Whirlwind Paris

Thinking we haven't been taking full advantage of our European location we took a weekend trip to Paris.  It was lovely; perfect weather, relaxing train journey and great food, even if we did only engage in kid friendly activities.

M on the train, about a 3 hour trip.

Our failed attempt at walking from our hotel to the Arch de Triomphe.
Huge monuments also appear closer than they are.

Paris is full of these little poles on the sidewalk, just perfect for swinging around.

M enjoyed picking a bouquet of dandelions (what he called "daisies") which he presented to the woman working check in at our hotel.

Parc de la Villette is an amazing place with lots of different gardens and playgrounds, and a science museum, Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie.

M and P at Parc Villette

Cite des Enfants is an interactive science museum for kids, with areas designed for each age group.  One of the "centers" at the science museum was an interactive building site designed to get kids working together.  To my great surprise, it worked:  M was cooperating with several little French kids.

M putting on a gigantic coat...

and sitting on a teeny tiny bike.

Daddy on a teeny-tiny bike.

P and M spent a lot of time on the different sized bikes.

M in a shape teepee at the science museum.

The attempt at the hamster wheel ended badly.

Our hotel room was like a little apartment with a living room, bedroom and even a kitchen and dining area!  Look for an upcoming Food Friday post about our best meal in Paris.

Who the f%#* is Mega Toby? Evidently, My Kid

I received a note from school that M will be playing a superhero, Mega Toby, in the nursery production of "Are You My Mother?"  My first assumption was that this was a made up super hero.  Not so.  Mega Toby is the erstwhile love interest (in like 2 episodes) of Mega Mindy, a Belgian super hero.  Why they give this assignment to the American kid I don't know,  except that M does slightly resemble Toby.  M said they got to pick their super hero, which is a plausible story but can't be true because the kid playing Robin has never heard of Robin.

Dutch children frequently wear Mega Toby and Mega Mindy outfits, which are available at Intertoys (our version of Toys R Us).  Loving both a challenge and crafts, I decided to make the costume.  Materials included capri tights, his school uniform knee socks, a long sleeve T shirt, grey briefs, tin foil, a car sunshade, an Albert Heijn bag and duct tape.  Much to my dismay the materials cost more than a store bought costume would have (the duct tape alone was 15 Euro!) but it was really fun to make.  And, I think we can repurpose it for Haloween this year provided it doesn't get too trashed during the two performances.

One of the cutest things about this casting decision is that M has learned a little bit about Dutch culture, and has bonded with a Dutch classmate who is playing Mega Mindy.  After school on the playground she often invites him to play Mega Mindy and Mega Toby.  He even occasionally sings "Ik Ben Mega Mindy," when he thinks no one is listening, which his Dutch friend must have taught him.

Spring Fever

I think I must have spring fever because this weekend I ran my family ragged. On Saturday M had a birthday party at a local play space.  Despite knowing full well that this would exhaust him I still organized a trip to the pool for the morning.  Our local pool is really amazing--kind of like a water park, including a wave every thirty minutes.  

The Mirandabad, our local city pool.

Sunday we rode about 4 miles to the English speaking church then found a nice playground nearby at Park Frankendael.

Beautiful spring weather meant M could play without a jacket.

We stopped for coffee and M used his Leapster.

Our weekend was so busy that on the ride back from church M fell asleep on the back of Peter's bike.  Then we spent the afternoon watching a movie.

Bakfiets: The €10 Solution

A cheaper cargo bike option

A few months back I posted about my love of the Nihola bakfiets, a family tricycle which I thought was my best option for transporting M.  Despite my best efforts I am not able to balance with M on the back of my bike. The bike seat sits up high on my bike and he's nearly one third of my weight, creating an inverted pendulum that I'm not strong enough to counteract.  Most bakfiets are giant, but the Nihola is lovely and sleek.  It's also €2,100.  But, my reasoning was that we don't have a car, and the bakfiets would be our primary family transport.  It would allow us greater mobility and we'd greatly improve our quality of life.

But I hesitated.  As much as I love the Nihola I kept wondering how long the shelf life would be.  We only have one kid, and with any luck M will be riding his own two wheeler by summer.  And the sides are high--did I really want to be lifting a five year old out of a box bike?  So I tested the Bakfiets.nl short.  Given that it's a two wheeled bakfiets I was surprised how easy it was to ride (of course, I rode it empty).  And, M could easily climb in and out himself.  But, it's still no bargain at €1,600.  This only led to more hesitation.

So, last Friday at the playground a bunch of us moms were talking and I learned the Croozer bike trailer, at €300, is a very cost-effective solution to the bakfiets issue.  M and I took a test drive and we both loved it!  When I returned to the playground a friend told me she had one from the States she'd be interested in selling.

The cheapest cargo bike option.  

The next day I went to pick it up but it (American) wouldn't attach to the axel of my (Dutch) bike.  So, my friend put it in her bakfiets (kind of like the one above but longer) and drove it to the bike store.  One thing I love about Dutch bike mechanics is that they are willing to MacGuyver anything.  So, now I have an option for transporting my kid!  Since then we've been to the pool twice and I've taken it for groceries.

I'm not saying I'll never get a bakfiets but I'm definitely giving the trailer the old college try.  The big downside I see right now is that since only use the trailer a couple of times per week I have to lug it down two flights every time I want to use it--then lug it back up when I'm done.  Also, it's not the Dutch way so it's not really the Dutch experience I was looking for.

But on Saturday as I was cycling with the trailer I heard a Dutch dad talking to his kid.  I couldn't understand what he was saying but by his tone I could tell he was pointing out my bike to his toddler, and was very encouraged that he used the word "bakfiets."

Food Friday: The Vegetarian Edition

Yum!  Lunch!  So good I ate 2 bowls.

I have been very busy with work projects this week, so what did I do today?  Embark on some interesting food projects!  A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook, "One upside to grad school is that my house has never been cleaner."  I think I could post, "I'm in the midst of several large consulting projects and my family has never eaten better."  Everyone loves a distraction.

Carmelizing onions.
Don't add salt or it will inhibit the carmelization.

So, today I made one new dish and one old favorite.  The new dish was Chinese tofu and vegetable soup.  I have been craving this for a few days so I had all the ingredients on hand from my weekly shopping trip.  This was so simple to make and absolutely delicious.  Flying by the seat of my pants (i.e. no recipe) I put about 3 tablespoons of chicken bouillon in a stock pot and added 2 sliced bok choi ribs, on sliced celery rib, one sliced carrot, 3 or 4 broccoli florets, one quarter of a red pepper and one quarter of a green pepper and a handful of pea pods.  I covered the ingredients with water and brought it to a boil.  In a bowl I put several large chunks of firm tofu and a few bean sprouts then served up some of the soup on top, adding about a teaspoon of low sodium soy sauce.

Lentils on the boil with a couple
of bay leaves and a pinch of salt.

This was absolutely delicious and totally satisfied my craving.  Die hard veggies could probably use veg stock or maybe just rely on the flavor of the vegetables.  Also, next time I'll add the pea pods at the end since they got a little done.

Since my little boy is very fascinated by "super foods" these days, I plan to serve him the leftovers tonight with his sardines on toast, and call it "Super Soup."  I feel like I got a full day's serving of vegetables, plus lots of magnesium in the tofu which is great for my migraines.  I suspect that's why I craved the soup.

Saran Wrap lined container

While this soup was cooking I also made what I like to call Vegetarian Pate, which is also known as Mandy Patinkin's Chopped Liver.   About 15 years ago I saw Mandy on a channel 13 cooking show called "Cucina Amore."  He made what I assume is a family recipe that calls for a cup of cooked lentils,    3/4 of a cup of walnuts, 3 hard boiled egg whites, one carmelized onion and some salt and pepper all whooshed together in a food processor.   Over the years I have perfected this recipe mainly in presentation, although I now use 2 whole hard boiled eggs as opposed to just the whites.  I originally served it in a bowl at a cocktail party and no one touched it because it looked very disappetizing.  I now blend the ingredients while warm them form it in a saran wrap lined mini loaf tin (or, since I left all those back in New York the plastic container from Albert Heijn ice cream).  This also makes it easier to slice for sandwiches once it has cooled, which are delicious with some lettuce, butter and grainy mustard.

I heart New York

We just returned from a marvelous week in New York, in our neighborhood and our apartment.  A surprisingly marvelous week for all of us.

Perhaps inspired by the movie Madagascar,
M was thrilled to visit the Central Park Zoo

From the moment we arrived I noticed a difference in M.  Not only was he thrilled to be there but I observed his neurons firing differently.  Not two months ago in Amsterdam he could remember neither the names of his teachers last year nor the color of the playground slide which he visited almost daily. The moment he arrived in New York he began to remember trivial details of his life there:  not only the names of his teachers but the names of their children, not only the names of various businesses we used to frequent but their specialities, not only the names of our neighbors, but which buildings they live in.

Despite jet lag and no naps, M was eager to
"climb the mountains" in Central Park

M also seemed different, and it took me a few days to realize he was happy and relaxed.  I think he was picking up on our emotions, but also really felt he was home even though he had only lived in that apartment for a year before we moved.  He watched very little television and couldn't seem to get to the playground fast enough.  (In his defense New York style playgrounds are in short supply in Amsterdam and vastly superior to anything you'd find there).

and Washington Square Park

A trip downtown for Bulgogi at KuKu Canteen...

Thanks to Wiggles and Giggles, a great local business in our neighborhood, M had a "camp" that he looked forward to attending every day.  In truth it was an after school program for pre-K, plus some afternoon enrichment classes, but he went to camp there this past summer so that's what he called it.  So, Peter and I got a lot done.  Peter went to work every day (and only Thursday wasn't a full day) and I stopped by my work, taught two workshops, and got everything done I wanted to do (haircut, eyebrows, cleaned out the kitchen, etc.)  We also not only got to see our great sitter but hire her for two mornings!

M and his friend ME picked up
right where they left off

We also reconnected with our great neighbors, in some instances more closely than we had when we lived there. Our next door neighbors had us over for dinner, then drinks, then had M over to finish watching a Thomas movie he began watching during dinner.  We also got to see two new neighbors, born 5 and 6 months ago, and some of the "no matter what kids;" M's name for his friends who, like him, spent a lot of time at our complex's playground.  Oh, and since we missed Kindergarten registration because of school vacation one of our great neighbors is taking care of that for M this week.

Of course, like any trip to New York certain gross aspects were unavoidable:  the poop that stayed in the subway station for 3 days (and is likely still on the wall), the crazy street people we recognized, the people who don't clean up after their dogs, etc.  but some of that is certainly forgivable when you go home.