I am researching and diligently exploring my family's history and native culture. This blog includes family stories, memories, Dutch culture, food and traditions...anything Dutch!
I live in Washington State, USA.
The purpose of this blog is to help myself organize all my "Dutch Doings", progress of family research (minus our names to keep family privacy), and Dutch recipe attempts (I couldn't call myself a cook - but I can try!).
St Nicholas is the Christian Advent Saint of kindness and giving. He is also known as a protector of children. He was born in what is present day Turkey to wealthy parents who died while Nicholas was young. He took his inheritance and used it throughout his life to help others and especially children in need. "He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships" (www.stnicholascenter.org). He died 06 December AD 343 but his generosity lives on.
St Nicholas Eve and Day is celebrated with games, gift giving, treats, poems and more. Learn more at www.stnicholascenter.org
Our son is three years old. I thought it would be special to bring some Dutch kids fun into our own family traditions. We did not know how to celebrate St Nicholas' Day. I read about St Nicholas and a few different Dutch family traditions for the day and we made our own fun day.
This year St. Nicholas, who recently learned of our Dutch family research, decided to take the long boat ride to the Puget Sound. He and his horse made their way from the nearest shore, up the hills and winding through the streets to our home. We told our son a couple stories of St Nicholas and Zwarte Piet (and that they would probably be pretty tired from the long boat ride). Our son left a glass of milk and wheat crackers (we didn't get a chance to make cookies or bread because our oven has been broken!) for St Nicholas and Zwarte Piet. For his horse - carrots and a bowl of water.
Our son left a glass of milk and wheat crackers
for St Nicholas and Zwarte Piet... carrots for their horse.
We left our shoes and refreshments on the porch and a bit after dinner, we heard the doorbell ring! When we opened the door, St Nicholas, Zwarte Piet and their horse had already eaten their snacks and left special treats for everyone! They left ginger snap cookies, Wilhelmina Peppermints, Kinder Bueno candy, meat sticks, Gold Coins, Pistachios, etc. They even left treats for our dogs!
We taught our son a bit about the fun of giving to others and exchanged small gifts. Candy Land, the board game, was our gift to our son. We spent most of the evening playing the game after all the excitement.
St Nicholas left treats!
Our son loved it. It was fun for us also but I've already had some better ideas to do for next year!
I had hoped to find some Dutch kids books to give our son to help him (and us) learn some more Dutch words. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any yet. Maybe I can find some before Christmas.
If you celebrate or have celebrated St Nicholas' Day, please share your traditions in the comments below! We'd love to hear of more traditions!
Gouda has been my favorite cheese ever since my first taste (that I remember) in Junior High School. I was doing one of my projects on how my Dutch grandfather immigrated here. I named the project Holland to America. I collected many Dutch things to include in the project - even some Gouda cheese! Even the cheese has made it from Holland to America! It is usually found at stores with a high price tag. Although, in my previous post, A Very Filling Dinner..., I mentioned that Costco carries Gouda for a very good price. Some of the Gouda's they carry are imported from Holland and others are made in New York. Out of curiosity, I always look at the package to see if it is made in Holland (though this doesn't always dictate whether I buy it or not). While many of the imitation Gouda's are very tasty, they are not made of Dutch cow's milk. Dutch cheese farmers have been fighting for a seal of authenticity to protect unsuspecting consumers from buying those imitation cheeses by mistake. Gouda and Edam cheeses will now have that seal and protected name.
Cheeses in Holland are traditionally named after the "mother-cities" where they are made from the cows that live there. However, until now, there has always been a chance of buying an "imitation Gouda" because there is no secret ingredient or recipe to make it. The Gouda's process has been followed in the US, Germany, and Poland to make imitation Gouda. Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports "the European Commission has awarded both of the cheesemaking cities [of Edam and Gouda] a Protected Geographical Indication." This special seal will ensure the cheese you have bought was made in the Dutch city of Gouda. "Dutch cheese farmers are happy with the European seal. Their age-old tradition has now finally been acknowledged in a victory over prefab supermarket cheese" RNW news desk.
I tried all of these recipes a few nights ago. It was a very filling dinner. All named dishes are from Let's Go Dutch by Johanna (van der Zeijst) Bates.
To be honest, I wasn't sure what an endive looked like and I forgot to look it up before I went to the store. The grocery store didn't have them labeled clearly, so I guessed (the cashier didn't know what they were either) - and I was right! The grocery store only had half the endive's I needed for the recipe. I made a lot of extra sauce which I used in a thrown together side-dish. This Gebakken Witlof Met Kaas was very tasty. It's nice to have a new vegetable recipe to add to my favorites.
Gebakken Witlof Met Kaas (Creamy Baked Belgium Endive)
I will never buy a boxed-scalloped-potato mix again. This Aardappelen Met Gouda Kaas En Room recipe was scrumptious! *Tip: If you are in search of a less expensive Gouda, I've found 3-4 different imported Gouda's for very good prices at the Costco store near us.
Aardappelen Met Gouda Kaas En Room (Scalloped Gouda Potatoes)
Aardappelen Met Suiker (Sugared Potatoes). This did not turn out the way I think it should have so I will try again another time. The cooking process did not go as planned - I got distracted. I used them in something else the next day.
Aardappelen Met Suiker (Sugared Potatoes)
Here is everything together (except Aardapplen Met Suiker). The Bare Little Bums in The Grass are in the "distance".
I did not get an individual shot of Blote Billetjes In Het Groen (Bare Little Bums In The Grass) because I was hungry, forgot and ate it. It was good. It is white beans mixed with french style green beans... so they look like their namesake!
I made too many white beans, so I contributed them to the other bean dish. This side-dish was made with the other half of the endive sauce, the rest of the white beans and some ham chunks.
Clockwise from top:
Blote Billetjes In Het Groen (Bare Little Bums In The Grass),
the dish I made up (not yet named),
Aardappelen Met Gouda Kaas En Room (Scalloped Gouda Potatoes),
Gebakken Witlof Met Kaas (Creamy Baked Belgium Endive)
The Dutch have been known as some of the most tolerant and friendly people in the world. Amsterdam comes to mind as the extremely diverse and tolerant capital of the country. Although, overall most of the country is conservative, the trait of tolerance has become rather strained in the current climate of religious difference and economic unrest.
The Hague is where the extreme (far right) views of Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) in the Dutch Parliament, have brought to light some deep anti-Islam feelings in a portion of the Dutch population. Mr. Wilders spoke to the American people (not as a representative of Holland - but as himself) at the Anti-Islamic Centre Rally on the ninth anniversary of 9/11 (11 Sept 2010). Relatively unknown, but well received at the protest, Wilders said "A tolerant society is not a suicidal society" (Radio Netherlands Worldwide - Unknown Wilders delivers keynote speech at 9/11 demo by RNW News Desk). "[...] Most Dutch politicians kept their lips tightly shut after the speech by Freedom Party Geert Wilders in New York. Politicians on the right-hand side of the political spectrum were particularly quiet [...]" (RNW).
Geert Wilders faces court Monday "for a total of six days (over the course of a fortnight) on charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims" (RNW)
"[...] It is not just financial and economic developments that have a decisive impact on society. Developments within society likewise affect its quality. Social cohesion often used to be taken for granted in the Netherlands, but in recent years we have realis[z]ed that it is not a given. Even in the past, constant efforts were required to keep conflicts and differences of opinion under control. This is even more necessary today. Providing a counter-voice is the task not only of the government, but also of individuals and the many civil society organis[z]ations in our country. A harmonious society is built on respect, tolerance and common courtesy. It requires give and take, mutual understanding, and also the ability to adapt. This is a responsibility we all share. [...]" (Queen Beatrix' Speech from the Throne 2010, http://www.government.nl)
The State We're In - Keeping the faiths(s) was a very interesting show to listen to.The entire show is worth listening to, but I especially enjoyed hearing of the "unimaginable-to-many" story of a relatively new religion, Chrislam. It is a combination of Christianity and Muslim faiths.
"Christianity and Islam, of course, share the same roots. They're both what scholars call Abrahamic Religions. But what if they joined up and became one religion? It could happen, in fact, it already has... in Nigeria" host, Jonathan Gruber said in Keeping the faiths(s).
The story tells of a Christian pastor who had negative feelings toward Muslims. He ultimately fell in love and married a Muslim woman. "God wants to use me to pass on this message" he says. "Let's unite as brothers and sisters. Let there be no quarrel between Muslims and Christians. Nowhere does it say in the Bible or the Qur'an that you should kill your brother and sister to enter the Kingdom of God. He who kills will go to Hellfire. There must be a way we can speak to their hearts" (Keeping the faiths(s)). The rest of the show talks about proselytizing, atheism, and more.
Another recent story, Secret Jewish heritage converts neo-Nazi by Kristin Cuff, CNN, caught my attention. It's about a Neo-Nazi woman finding out she and her husband are Jewish. Her unplanned discovery is an emotional one. She had to go home to tell her Neo-Nazi husband that they are part of the people who they had hated so much. The couple made a complete life transformation. Their friend and mentor, Cheif Rabbi Michael Schudrich of Warsaw, Poland said, "The fact that they were skinheads actually increased the amount of respect I have for them. That they could've been where they were, understood that that was not the right way, then embraced rather than run away the fact that they were part of the people who they used to hate. I think also it says on a personal level, never write somebody off. Where they may be 10 years ago doesn't have to be where they are today. And the human being has this unlimited capability of changing and sometimes even for the better."Read the full story and see the CNN video clip here.
This story was especially interesting to me since one of my great grandmothers (*my MPM) (the one from Ede, NL) had hidden Jewish roots as well. I believe my Grandfather did not find out until her funeral in Iowa. I'm not sure when or exactly why she decided to hide it. I don't know who, besides herself, knew of it - but that is what I am doing now - investigating the reasons why.
The capital city of the Netherlands is Amsterdam. However, the Royal family and seat of government are in the Hague (Den Haag). The government is a Constitutional Monarchy (CIA - The World Factbook).
The government fell in February 2010 after a 16 hour cabinet meeting discussing a compromise extension of the Dutch military mission in the Afghan province of Uruzgan. Twelve Ministers and State Secretaries of the Labour Party (PvdA) resigned. This is the third time Jan Peter Balkenende's cabinet has fallen. Elections were held in June to form a new government but party leaders have not been able to come to agreement. As scheduled, the Dutch military handed operations in Uruzgan to the United States and Australia in August.
The third Tuesday of September, known as Prinsjesdag, is normally the most important political day of the year. This is when the government presents the new budget for the next fiscal year. The Queen gives a speech from the throne and the budget sets the government's goals for the entire year. This Prinsjesdag the Dutch are still without a new government. Dutch Caretaker Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's (Christian Democrat Party) has presented his last budget to Queen Beatrix. The 2011 budget includes cuts of over 3 billion Euros.
Today, the 111th day of formation of the new government, coalition talks "appear to have resulted in a right-wing government supported by the far right" (RNW - Dutch right-wing parties reach agreement on coalition by Nicola Chadwick). [...] "Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders called it a historic moment," He said "who would have thought that the Freedom Party would have a huge amount of influence in government a couple of years ago." (RNW) The new Prime Minister is said to be Mark Rutte. Maxime Verhagen is the new Christian Democrats (CDA) leader. Mr. Rutte is the leader of the Liberal Party (VVD) which have not possessed the position of prime minister since 1918. The new coalition government, Rutte says, "will be named Rutte-Verhagen", after the two leading parties.
First of all, I love my family. I am very fortunate to have such a large family that loves one another as they do.
Second, we do not have plans to move to Holland. Just happy little thoughts and dreams of doing so.
My personal experience in Holland left me with a feeling that I belong there. It has been six months since we were there, although we were there so briefly, I still have that same feeling. If we had the chance and courage to emigrate there, I believe we would go. It would be very hard to leave my family here - but at the same time, how often do I see my family in the states? I do not know but one or two in passing of my family in *Iowa and...*Michigan is it? It is even rare to see my "more immediate extended family" (who live in Washington state along with me) more than once or twice a year. I do see my brothers and their families more often than anyone - maybe once a month or sometimes more. My parents are now in Alaska so I see them very rarely, too. I realize that families grow up and out and as they get larger we have to focus energies on more specific targets and people, but I wish we all had enough time (and money these days) for all the extended family gatherings. I would love to meet all my family in middle-America, wherever they are... though I don't know if they feel the same way. There's only one way to find out - to be that one weird, distant relative who asks!
"What is the purpose of this post," you say?
Well, I came across a story at Radio Netherlands Worldwide in This Week in the Netherlands (by Davion Ford) of Caroline Pelders who, after living in Canada for thirty years, is emigrating back to the Netherlands with her husband and youngest daughter. She says "I've never had the feeling that I really belonged here. [...] I could try waiting for another 30 years, but then I would have been here 60 years. But if I still felt the same way, it would really have been a waste of my time" (taken from subtitles on video clip). It's interesting to know that the Netherlands has a similar "pull" for others as the one I feel (even though I have never lived there). Watch the video clip here:
The video clip also talks about Learning Dutch, Prescription Pot, and Spotting Child Abuse.
I tried Coby's Gemarineerde Komkommers (Coby's Marinated Cucumbers) tonight. This recipe is from Let's Go Dutch by Johanna (van der Zeijst) Bates. This recipe has a photo in the book of how it's supposed to look. The photo is in a different part of the book and I did not see it until after I was done. My attempt does not look like the book's photo. I will try it again next time I have a cucumber ...or three medium cucumbers (since that's what I was supposed to use in the first place).
I used one large(ish) cucumber and I read through the recipe before starting. I should have read it twice. I sliced the cucumbers too thin and I was not supposed to mix everything together at once, but I did. I still liked the finished product but it's very acidic so I could not eat a whole lot of them. Again, I will try this again and follow the directions better next time.
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