Little Brown Suitcase

Of pastries past

2010-05-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

To get through the rest of the week, a few pictures of some of the pastries I had the pleasure of meeting last year.

Mi-morning orange scented brioche and cappucino in Ragusa, Sicily.

My last pastry at the airport before leaving Sicily; a cassata nonetheless.

Pain au chocolat and a croissant in Paris.

Homemade profiteroles in Utrecht.

The 10 Best Things to Buy in a Dutch Supermarket

2010-05-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

I like supermarkets. Foreign ones by preference but pretty much any supermarket located in a state or region far from the one where I live holds that special power to make me want to run in and peruse the shelves for products I have never seen before and/or do not know how to use.

Although none of the below items happen to be foreign to me (having been born in the country of windmills and tulips), here are 10 things that you can find in pretty much any Dutch supermarket and that are easily transportable to boot.

1. Hagelslag: these are chocolate sprinkles that the Dutch use as a topping for bread-preferably for breakfast. They taste best on soft white bread but coating brown bread with a sprinkley layer is also acceptable. In fact, Dutch parents often serve the latter to their kids in a health conscious effort. The sprinkles come in a variety of flavors; the classic dark or milk chocolate, but over the past few years the sprinkle makers have come out with a more sophisticated line of adult sprinkles such as mocca, white and extra dark. A pack will cost you about 2 Euro.

2. Appelstroop: this is a thick, sweet, tangy jam like spread made of apples, sugar beet juice, lemon and pectin. It is delicious on bread/toast, pancakes and according to some, on cheese as well. All of that for about 1.25 Euro.

3. Bokkepootjes: “(billy) goats feet” literally translated. But no worries, no goats were harmed in the process. These are crunchy soft meringue cookies, filled with a mocca or vanilla cream and sprinkled with sliced almonds. They have the shape of goats feet-well…sort of. The ends of these yummy biscuits are dipped in chocolate. They will set you back about 1 Euro.

4. Smeerkaas: this is a spreadable, very creamy, yellow cheese. If you are thinking cream cheese, think again-this is entirely different. It is made of melted cheese and comes in a variety of flavors. It is very tasty on bread (especially dark multi grain bread) and is an easy cheese to take along on a picknick. A little tub will cost you about 1.70 Euro.

5. Krentenbollen: these are very soft chewy raisin rolls. A great snack for kids and adults alike, they can be eaten plain, with butter, cheese or with pretty much any other topic of your liking. You can buy them individually from almost any bakery or in a 6 pack from the supermarket for about 1.25 Euro.

6. Nasimix: this is a packaged dried vegetable and spice mix to make “nasi”, a fried rice dish the origins of which hail from Indonesia. 1 Euro should easily buy you a packet.

7. Sambal: chili paste that comes in varying degrees of spicyness and composition. There are many different kinds of sambal. The ones that are most common in the Netherlands are Sambal Oelek and Sambal Badjak. The Oelek is a thin red spicy sambal. Sambal Badjak has been fried and has a full, somewhat sweet, aromatic flavor. Traditionally, the Dutch eat sambal with rijsttafel (a wonderful spread of small Indonesian dishes) and nasi but it has a myriad of uses including, in marinades, sauces and soups and on grilled cheese sandwiches. A jar will cost between 1 and 3 Euro.

8. Dropjes: otherwise known as licorice. The Dutch are allegedly the world’s biggest licorice eaters. Kilos of it are bought by locals of all ages and many varieties exist. The salty licorice is a favorite including: “zoute munten”, “kattekoppen” and “salmiak”. The sweet “kokindjes” and "honing dropjes" are somewhat easier on the foreign palate. A small bag will likely cost under 2 Euro.

9. Zwitsal crème: it is probably safe to say that any Dutch person can recognize this smell instantly. Originally meant for babies, plenty of adults still use the soothing cream. The company has a whole range of products including shampoo, baby powder and soap. The creme comes in a sunny yellow tub with the signature baby face logo and will cost about 3 Euro.

10. Wokkels: chips yes, but glorious ones. They come in plain (“naturel”) and paprika (my favorite). These curly crunchers have lots of taste and generations of Dutch people have grown up on these while watching Wednesday afternoon television. Wednesday afternoons Dutch kids are off school so these chips have a distinctive festive quality. They cost about 1 Euro per bag.

There is no party in the Netherlands without...

2010-05-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

Something flowery and orange;

and;

The tiara shop-this may be exactly why lots of girls expect that they will be wearing shimmering jewels for the rest of their lives.

Ode to the Polar Bear

2010-02-24T14:22:00.001-08:00

Or more accurately; my thoughts on a velvety, sweet, slightly clotted cream like white chocolate concoction on 18th street in Manhattan. The whole month of February is hot chocolate festival at The City Bakery. Yay! The City Bakery website has a handy calendar displaying the flavor of the day (http://hotchocolatefestival.com/) and today when I happened to be in the neighbourhood the flavor du jour was Ode to the Polar Bear Hot Chocolate.

After a brief but intense internal debate about whether or not I could with a clear conscience have both hot chocolate and one of their addictive pretzel croissants, I somehow managed to order just the chocolate with a homemade marshmallow on top.

It came in a small white bowl. Very simple and pretty. It reminded me of Danish design but that must be my current furniture obsession talking. Anyway this picture will attest that the off white of the chocolate combined with the chalky white of the marshmallow really stood out against the sleek shiny ceramicness of the bowl.

Taste? mmwaa I have to conclude. It looked prettier than it tasted I am sad to report. The first sip was surprising in a good way but with each additional sip it started to taste more and more like a (not so good quality) melted white chocolate bar. It was just too rich and sweet. Maybe I should have had it without the marshmallow which added to the sweetness. I like the way marshmallows slowly melt when bobbing around in chocolate so trooper that I am, I drank about 1/3 of the bowl and ate some of the marshmallow but I don't think I would try it again. That said, I am a big fan of City Bakery and pretty much any festival that involves hot chocolate so I will go back before the end of the month and try another flavor.

You can find The City Bakery at 3 West 18th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. My hot chocolate was $5.50.

When in Sicily...

2010-02-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

Make your way to Noto, ignore all the baroque architecture when you get there (for now) and direct your sunglass wearing self to Caffe Sicilia on Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

Order a latte di mandorla and several of the pastries on display inside (my vote would be for at least three) and find a spot on the shady terrace. As you contemplate which palazzo you are going to visit first, a shiny silver tray will be put before you and the feast can begin. Savoring delicate pastry infused with local flavors such as citrus and almond while watching the afternoon sun reflect of the light pink walls of the surrounding buildings is one of my favorite Sicily memories.

Caffe Sicilia also makes amazing marmelades, jams and "creme di frutta secca" (which loosely translates as cream of dried fruit). One particularly tasty one is marmellata di bergamotto; not too sweet with a very refreshing light taste which reminded me a bit of cucumber. I also liked the marmellata di pompelmi rosa; light pink with a slight citrussy flavor but without any hint of bitterness or the presence of thick peel marmelade sometimes has. My favorite however was crema di mandorle brustolite; a thick spread of finely crushed almonds with a burnt caramel flavor. I took some home and I am not even ashamed to say that I never bothered putting it on toast. I just ate it by the spoonful straight from the jar.

Due to the entirely immodest number of pastries consumed I never got to try their famous gelato. Next time.

The Noordermarkt in Amsterdam

2010-02-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

If you find yourself in Amsterdam on a Saturday morning in need of a break from the musea and canal boats or if the mere sight of the queue for the Anne Frank house made you realize that you will need some sustenance before joining it, make your way to the Noordermarkt organic market in the middle of the popular Jordaan neighborhood.

Start with “koffie verkeerd” (warm frothy milk with a little coffee) or peppermint leaf tea and freshly baked “appeltaart met slagroom” (apple tart with whipped cream) at Café De Winkel located on the corner of the Westerstraat at Noordermarkt 43. Many say this is the best apple tart in Amsterdam and the terrace is perfect for people watching.

When you are all sugared and caffeined up, head over to the market and make your way through the alleys with delicious Dutch and foreign cheeses, fruits and vegetables, savory mushrooms, fresh seafood, crusty bread and pastries, just baked quiches, thin crepes, olive oils, various kinds of pesto, herbs, spices and nuts. Try the "Leidsche kaas" (cheese with cumin seeds) and if it is in season, toward the middle of May, “gras kaas”, which is a hard cheese made from the first milk obtained after the cows reenter the pastures following a long winter indoors. Organic red currants, goose berries, medium sized disks of sheeps cheese with thyme and rosemary, pear juice and soft raisin rolls called “krentebollen” are perfect for an afternoon snack along the canals or, if you are going a bit further into town, a picnic in the Vondelpark.

The market is open every Saturday from 9 am until about 3 pm and is approximately 10 minutes by foot from the Westerkerk and the Anne Frank House and approximately 15 minutes by foot from Centraal Station. Alternatively, you can take trams 3 or 10 and get off at Marnixbad from where it is approximately a 10 minute walk to the market.

Welcome

2010-01-31T18:48:00.001-08:00

This blog is about adventures near and far. It is about places, people, objects, sounds, shapes, smells and tastes that caught my attention. Which could be anywhere, anybody or anything. There is so much to discover!