the Dutch cuisine

When you’re in Amsterdam or anywhere in the Netherlands you should be aware of the food. So far I’ve tried frieten (fries) with peanut sauce, traditional peasoep (peasoup) and bitterballen.

The Fries are amazing, a very lovely snack or a meal if you really like carbs. However the peanut sauce is a bit questionable. As the conservative food critic as I am, I prefer peanut sauce served with rice and some kind of meat but it wasn’t horrible. The Dutch people also like their fries with mayo, but I will continue eat my fries with ketchup.

The Dutch peasoep is very different from the Swedish one. First of all it is green. Who eats green food? The soep is made with Dutch sausage and pork, so nothing for the vegetarians. I have to say that it was pretty ok, not really my cup of tea, but eatable for sure.

At the ISN (International Student Network) intro, my coach ordered bitterballen which is deep fried balls consisting a mix of some mashed undefined thick paste with beef. Yummy! It’s served with a bowl (not the part of the smoking pipe) of mustard. Bitterballen is ordered for a snack to your beer. I liked it, but it wasn’t a culinary experience that teased my taste buds. Then I tried it again. Still, pretty okay. It's Dutch so I'm happy.

Amsterdam so Far

Since I've been in Amsterdam for almost two months (!) I thought my first post would be small collection of photos. Above is a picture from this awesome bakery (I think Bakken met Passie but I can't remember) my dad took me to. The heart shaped cookies were a soft shortbread filled with a raspberry compote. Think of those Knott's Berry Farm Raspberry cookies, but on crack. I also tried the pink version of the heart shaped cakes. Also amazing. It turned out to be a lemon pound cake, with raspberry jam in the middle, encased in a sweet raspberry marzipan (I think I might have a raspberry problem). There also may have been a chunk of rosemary focaccia and a berry meringue involved as well....
Here's a picture of my stir fry from Tasty Asia, near Rembrandtplein. It's with a green curry sauce and tofu, and it's crazy good.
This is a picture of the "American Dinner" my roommate and I hosted. We made hamburgers, veggie burgers, green beans with lemon and butter, and the worst macaroni and cheese I've ever made. My kitchen doesn't have an oven or microwave, so we tried to make stovetop mac and cheese. Here's a fun fact: even if the recipe says you should cook the noodles in the milk, don't. It can ruin mac and cheese for you!

My favorite I-don't-feel-like-cooking-tonight take out place, Wok to Walk. I usually get the rice noodles with tofu (and sometimes mushrooms) and chili sauce. I think Cecilia had shrimp in this photo.
This was probably the best meal I've had so far. It's from Bazaar, on Albert Cuypstraat. On the menu it's called the Mosàmma, and it's a vegetarian casserole. Filled with tofu, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, hazelnuts and covered in cheese, it's nothing but deliciousness. It also comes with some amazing basmati rice, olives, tzatziki, and a haydari pepper. So good!
Okay, I only put this picture up because I love carrot cake so much. We found a really cute cafe in the Jordaan that had homemade carrot cat and scones. The coffee was alright, but nothing can top carrot cake.