The Dutch Files

Hi, it’s Karl and I was supposed to be the Grand Finale for the BlogJackin’ Week here at the Dutch Files. But, um, I am a douche.

My brain is clearly fried. This is the SECOND guest post I have forgotten in as many weeks. I cannot even begin to describe how long this took to put together, though if you read me on Twitter, you might have a teeny inkling.

And now…you get to see just what happened to me yesterday while I was putting this video together. It’s kind of an UNvideo blog, really.

And I TRIED to embed the video, but DutchBitch’s blog won’t let me. So here’s the link. (Dutchie pixie fixed the embedding problem)

Sebring: A Day in the Life (for DutchBitch) from Karl Erikson on Vimeo.

In all the times I have posted for the fabulous DutchBitch, I have always sent her my entry and she will post it for me, timed and all. But this time, she gave me blog power. BWAHAHAHAHA! The things I can do. Of course, since I live in the United States, I forgot all about the time difference, so now, with my ideas in head, here I am scrambling to do a post. But first, let me introduce myself.

 My name is Lynda from Crazy, Nerdy, Beautiful, but you may remember me from such blogs as Lynda’s Great Journey or My Own Little World. Perhaps you have heard Dutchy talk about me. Or read my very first guestpost here, back in 2007 during Dutchy’s BlogExplosion days, when I talked about my coming to America from Holland. Or maybe you remember me telling you about how to recreate the Red Light District in your home during the 12 Days of Anarchy. I don’t know why I didn’t guest post for her last year, but it’s no matter because I was going through some shit of my own. In fact, that could be why.

Today, I was going to tell you all about swearing in Dutch, but Dutchy beat me to it. I had been planning it since she asked me, but since her post was even better than mine, I had to come up with something else. So, let’s talk about water and wooden shoes.

Holland is a small country, and to claim some land, they have pushed the water back from the sea so that the people can prosper and not have to unwantedly become citizens of Belgium, France or Germany. It has been this way for years and years and years, and more of the country is below sea level than above it. Now, if you know the story of Hans Brinker, you probably know he saved Holland by sticking his finger in the dike when he saw a leak, to prevent all of Holland from flooding. Rumor has it that after Hans saved Holland, he still enjoyed sticking his finger in dykes, but that’s a whole other tale. Maybe I’ll share that with you in another guest post….

Anyway, after Hans saved all of Holland from a great flood, a decision was made to mass produce wooden shoes. This way, if there was a national emergency, such as a dike leaking or breaking, the citizens of Holland can just walk across the water to higher grounds. Because wood floats, you see. How else do you think Jesus was able to walk on water? I mean, stuff like that doesn’t just happen!

So, next time  you are in Holland, and you really must visit Holland at least once in your life, be sure to pick up a pair of wooden shoes. It could be a life saver!

Photo Credits:
Hans Brinker photo: learndutch.org
Wooden shoes: www.scrapbookpages.com

Hi everyone!  It’s ZenBitch from Who Stole My Zen!?. I am filling in today for the illustrious DutchBitch. Yes, I know you’d rather have her here, but you’re stuck with me today. Deal with it.

I thought I would use my platform here at Casa de Dutchy to highlight some of my favourite “Dutch things”.   Having had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time in Dutchyland, I’ve developed  a fondness for a number of things that are traditionally Dutch…and unfortunately, most of which I cannot get in the U.S.   I have adapted though.  I have learned to cook the Dutch foods I love and I utilize my own private Import specialist Dutchy for the things I cannot get!  So here are my favorites about Dutchyland.

These are bitterballen.  I love them.  I can eat them by the plate full.      They’re a bit difficult to describe.  They’re an appetizer, deep fried, served piping hot, usually with mustard (I like them with frite sauce).  It’s minced meat mixed with a roux, formed in a ball and fried.  It’s a bit of a weird texture.  The inside is a bit mushy (ok, it’s a lot mushy) but the flavours are fantastic.  Like I said, very difficult to put into words but nevertheless, they’re delicious!  I’ve started making these on my own and seriously, I could make a batch and eat them all on my own, but I do share.  A bit.  Sometimes.  Come to think of it, I’m about due to make a batch.  Mmmmmm

Ahh, Cup a Soup.  I know what you’re thinking.  We have Cup a Soup here in the U.S.  Yeah, we do, and a sorry excuse for it.  Cup a Soup in the Netherlands (as well as other parts of Europe is quite different.  There’s a vast variety of flavours such as Curry, Asparagus, Leek, Wild Mushrooms with Mascarpone, Split Pea, Chinese Tomato…I could go on and on.  Lipton could take a lesson from the Europeans and give us some decent Cup a Soup here in the U.S.  Thankfully my Import Specialist keeps me stocked!

Blof!  My most favourite Dutch band.  Well really my most favourite band period.  I love them.  You should watch/listen!  You probably won’t be able to understand them anymore than I can but it’s alright.  Some things you just don’t need to understand.  However my Import Specialist also does translation services for me.  Be jealous!

Oliebollen!  Dutch doughnuts!  They’re typically served on New Years Day  but you can buy them at stands throughout the cities during the Winter/Holiday season.  They’re so yummy.  Fattening, but yummy.  Big balls of dough which are sometimes filled with raisins or other fillings and then deep fried.  They’re dusted with powdered sugar and then you get a paper bag of them and the paper bag starts to soak up the grease and it’s just a hot bag of wonderfulness.  I have learned to make these at home and I have to say, I don’t do half bad.

This is Apple Pie.  But it’s different than American Apple Pie.  It’s better.  And it’s not what we typically know here at Dutch Apple Pie.  Putting a crumbly mixture of something on top doesn’t make it Dutch.  Or good.  Dutch Apple Pie is more like cake I think.  It’s not overly sweet and sugary but just sweet enough.  It’s best with some whipped cream on top and a cup of good Dutch coffee.  I haven’t tried making this at home yet but I’ll be getting the recipe from my Import Specialist soon and giving it a whirl!

Speaking of good Dutch coffee.  I cannot live without my Koffie Pads.  I have a Senseo machine.  I can get Senseo coffee pads here but truthfully, they suck.  The Dutch ones are far superior in taste to what I can get here.  Even the store brand of coffee pads over there are delicious.  They’re so full of flavour and the dark roast pads are the best.  I have a very hard time keeping people out of my private stash that I try to keep hidden away.  Even my 10 year old niece has developed quite the fondness for Dutch coffee.  She knows how to operate the Senseo machine and she makes me a cup every morning and occasionally sneaks herself a cup.  What can I say, the kid knows good stuff when she tastes it!  As far as I’m concerned, American coffee doesn’t hold a candle to coffee from Europe.  Never has, never will.

Gouda Cheese!  Love it!  Love it!  Love it!  It’s in every market and honestly, it’s a fraction of the price there that it is here in the U.S.  Guess there’s something to be said for not having to import good European cheese in when you actually live in Europe.   It’s my all-time most favourite cheese and whether it’s on a sandwich or a cracker or melted in an omelet … it’s da best!

I can’t have a love of all things Dutch and forget about Tulips.  They’ve been my favourite flower long before I ever placed foot on Dutch soil.  They’re just beautiful to look at and if any man ever wants to win his way into my heart, a bouquet of tulips will do it every time.

Last but not least, my favourite on the list of all things wonderful from Dutchland… Dutchy herself!  She’s my confidant, Import Specialist, Recipe Trading, Man Trouble Story Sharing, Blog Manager and my best friend.  I think any of you who have met her will agree that she’s a kick-ass woman and personally, I’m very lucky to have her in my life!

So there you have it.  My list of all things Wonderfully Dutch.  Make mental note.  Write them down.  Find some recipes (or ask me for mine) and most of all, realize that while it may be small in size, Dutchyland is a country packed with  fabuloscity!

It’s Turnbaby and I’m posting late but thanks to Jill’s prompt at least I am getting it done. *grin*

We felt so privileged to be able to open our home in June to Dutchy and a slew of others for Con Fab, Baby. On Saturday morning of that weekend Dutchy and I were able to go downtown and check out the Lexington Farmer’s Market.

We walked and talked in the cool of the morning, two friends enjoying the other’s company amidst the gentle hum of activity that is universal where like minded folks gather in pursuit of small treasures.

We tasted, we sniffed, we watched yarn being spun and found tomatoes and cucumbers and Vidalia’s and lovely bread made a block away that very morning.

We people watched, exchanged stories and had a giggle or three. We shared the time and the space on that easy level friends enjoy when they feel perfectly comfortable with each other.

Dutchy is an amazing woman and friend. It does not matter that she is from DutchyLand and I am from the US. In getting to know each other and being friends to and for each other we have discovered that we have far more in common than not.

I see folks making connections like this all over. I think it’s wonderful, this making the world a little smaller. It puts a face, the face of an individual, a friend, on what might have been just an anonymous ‘country’ before.

On the smaller scale I am simply glad Dutchy is my friend and honored to be hers.

The world is a better place because of her.

Back in June I (that would be me, Becky of Midnight Cliff) had the pleasure of meeting our beloved Dutch Bitch. Originally we were scheduled to share a bed (le rowl), but when I considered a brazillion people in one house with one hot water heater I opted to do the hotel thing. Because we weren’t staying under the same roof I didn’t get to spend nearly enough time getting to know the magnificent woman that is our Bitch. Sure, I knew I instantly loved her as much in person as I did in chatrooms, comments and here, but I was bummed that we didn’t get to spend nearly enough time together.

I think Imma change that. Next year Diana (the spectacular Geeky Tai Tai) might be living over there, or at least visiting?, and I think it would be cool to run around town with the Bitch and possibly a Geeky. The tourists probably all pile in when the tulips are blooming…should I go then or a different time when I can have less foreign fuckers getting in my way?

Speaking of travel, my dream vacation has always been to see Alaska. And not just see, but truly experience. I’d love to cruise around there for a bit, then find a sweet train ride for several days seeing the Denali and Kenai Fjords National Parks before ending up in some cabin in the middle of the wilderness, fly fishing for days. It would thrill me to see so many bald eagles that I would be reminded of pigeon flocks in downtown Pittsburgh, to witness the whales in the open ocean, to not pee my pants when I finally get to see a polar bear in their own wide open space instead of the boring confinement of a zoo. I want to meet the people and find out first hand how their lives differ from mine, to ask how they deal with the constant darkness / light. Being able to fall asleep after just viewing the Aurora Borealis? I can’t even fucking imagine.

Sheesh, I’m rambling. Point is, I have big plans, lots of travel that I want to do. Whether it is to see our Bitch or the Northern Lights (or the great pyramids or the Australian Outback…damn, don’t get me started!), I have places to go. Where do you wanna go, what do you want to see?