New Discoveries

Living in a different country, especially one whose primary language is not English, means that each and everyday can be filled with new experiences and discoveries. There have been many throughout the 15 months we have lived in Holland. Some exciting and enjoyable, others so frustrating they produce tears. (only for Kristina of course)

By far, the most enjoyable new discoveries are those that involve food!! We do not go out to eat very often, but have decided that this is something we should aim for at least once a month. For those rare occasions that we have been adventurous and tried a restaurant, there is the issue of everything on the menu being written in Dutch. We usually each decide on a different meal choice, simply choosing it randomly or by recognizing the few dutch words we have begun to pick up. Thankfully, we have yet to be disappointed in any of our choices. While shopping, I (Kristina) tend to have a sweet tooth. I am more eager to buy the pastries than Doug.

For many friends and family members we have already shared with you the infamous stroopwafel cookies and they too have become a favorite for many of you. Recently with the aid of my sweet tooth I have discovered the "Chocolade Knapkoeken" (chocolate cake).



They are not really a cake, but rather crunchy like a cookie. They seem to be a harder sugar cookie with the bottom being coated in chocolate and the top with a thick layer of extra sugar crystals. These are made at the bakery in one of the grocery shops where we have started going. Unlike the stroopwafel, which you can find anywhere, I have yet to find the Chocolade Knapkoeken in other stores.

The next discovery actually happened through Doug's parents after they had "Speculoos Spread" in the United States.
Before it became a spread, Speculoos started out as only a cookie. It is a type of shortcrust biscuit, traditionally baked for consumption on St Nicholas' Eve in the Netherlands (December 5) and Belgium (December 6). In recent decades it has become available all year round. These thin, crunchy cookies are typically made using butter, sugar and a combination of spices including: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and sometimes ginger.










I have seen "speculoos cookies and speculoos spread" multiple times when out shopping, but never bought it to try. Our first taste of this new discovery came after Doug's parents asked us to look for it and bring some home for them when we visited over Christmas. Since returning back to Holland we have bought both the cookies and the spread.

They both have the same taste to them. The cookie is a crunchy biscuit with a honey graham cracker taste, mixed with cinnamon and carmel. The spread has the exact same taste, but is very similar to the consistency of peanut butter.










Our next discover can be looked at as kind of strange, and maybe not a discover so to speak! Both of us are huge lovers of popcorn. Thanks to visits from my mom and both of Doug's parents, as well as a few trips back to the states, we have been able to enjoy microwave popcorn. The only popcorn we could get here was already popped and really didn't taste all that well. We have been rationing our few microwaveable bags untill............THE BEST DISCOVERY YET AT ALBERT HEIJN (albert heijn is the name of one of the grocery stores here).



Zout=salt Zoet=sweet

And finally, this isn't really a new discover, but more or less a new found love for Kristina. While this is done by some in America, neither one of us have ever tried it until me moved here. French fries, otherwise know as "frites"(meaning fries) in dutch, are a huge snack food. At many of the markets there are stands selling just "frites". In fact our retired neighbor has a cart that he travels with to markets in our area and now makes his living selling them.



When you purchase "friet"s from the venders, they come in a cone shaped cardboard container and have a special sauce know as "fritessaus" in dutch, gobbed all over the top of them. The sauce is very similar to mayo and in fact you can just use mayo. At the store you can purchase this special sauce. Although I will always love ketchup on my french fries, the fattening taste of "fritessaus" gobbed on a pile of french fries is quite delicious (although Doug thinks it is gross!).











Here at McDonald's they ask which sauce you would prefer, ketchup or fritessaus. The kicker..........they charge you for either one of these condiments, so enjoy your endless amount of "free" ketchup the next time you stop at McDonalds in the U.S.