by Krista | May 10, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
It was the morning of New Year’s Eve 2010, a few hours before my brother Ryan was going to propose to his girlfriend Melissa. My parents and I had been assigned the task of keeping Melissa occupied so he could run madly about Amsterdam getting everything put together.
So we ate a scrumptiously hearty breakfast, Dad pretended he couldn’t wait to see another museum, and we bundled up and trooped out to explore the Zaanse Schans windmills.
It was wickedly cold but we didn’t mind because we actually got to see canals frozen right over!! It was like we’d stepped into a scene out of Hans Brinker.
The first windmill was built along the Zaan River in 1597. Over the next several hundred years over a thousand more would grace its banks. During the 19th century 400 were in operation at one time. Nowadays windmills have given way to more modern operating methods, but they still form an important role in the history and tourism of the Netherlands.
The Zanse Schans is a marvelous place for a day trip. Much like an open-air museum, it features 8 working windmills used to grind mustard seeds, saw wood, and press oil out of seeds. They’ve been moved here from different parts of the country and can be toured for minimal cost.
Other beautiful old buildings have been brought in to form a quaint village full of winsome cottages, arched bridges and tidy gardens. If it weren’t for all the people trooping by, I’d love to live in one of these!!
You can tour museums that teach about Dutch clock-making, baking, arts and crafts, and what it was like to shop for groceries hundreds of years ago. There are also numerous charming shops where you can taste Dutch chocolate and cheese or sip a piping hot cup of cocoa. My Dad happily frequented these spots.
Are you a fan of open air museums? What is your favorite one to visit?
Helpful Information:
- The Zaanse Schans is open daily throughout the year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- There is no entrance fee, however some of the attractions charge an admission fee.
- During the winter months some of the attractions are only opened in the weekends.
Zaans Museum
Schansend 7, 1509 AW Zaandam
Tel: +31 (0)75 681 00 00
Fax: +31 (0)75 617 69 80
E-mail: info@zaanseschans-museum.nl
website: http://www.zaanseschans.nl/
by Krista | May 9, 2011 | Bootstrap Monday
My beloved Grandpa, Harold Roberts, died this weekend.
He was able to see all seven of his children and woke just long enough to tell my Mum and her two sisters he loved them. Then he was gone.
It is strange to think of this world without him. Odd to think of family gatherings without him sitting comfortably in a large chair sporting cowboy boots, jeans, western shirt, bolo tie, and one of his favorite baseball caps, happily visiting with anyone and everyone.
Grandpa loved his family, and prayed for all 90+ of us by name every single day.
He loved the Indian people he lived and worked with most of his life.
He loved Tim Hortons, sipping coffee and visiting with his friends for hours.
He was a most lovingest man.
He’d sit on the couch with me, one arm around my shoulder pulling me close as he held my hand. He’d tell me he loved me and want to know all about what was going on in my life. He did the same for my brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles.
Grandpa did not have an easy life, not by a long shot. Some of his stories still make me shudder and get teary. But somehow he let each painful, gutting thing make him stronger, kinder, more patient and hopeful. He was not perfect, he messed up as regularly as the rest of us, but he loved, faithfully and unconditionally. And that is what made him precious to us.
My three brothers and I have such good memories of our childhood spent with him on the Alberta Prairies.
He had a station wagon back then, and in the winter would fill the whole car with cousins swathed in scarves, toques, mittens, boots, and snowsuits. He’d set our dogs on our laps then off we’d go to the golf course where a measly hill provided hours of sledding pleasure.
In the summer we’d pile in again and he’d take us off into the boonies, bumping down rutted tracks and across fields to abandoned stone houses or weathered farm houses that still had equipment and furniture propped up in the barren rooms. We had a marvelous time exploring and dreaming up all sorts of stories for those old places.
As good Canadians we adored ice hockey and played every minute we could spare from chores and school. Grandpa would come over to our house long before the sun was up to have breakfast with us and take the boys to hockey practice. When Grandpa was there we were allowed to have his signature breakfast: homemade bread toasted and buttered, slathered with peanut butter and topped with a thick layer of brown sugar. We loved it!!! I can still see him sitting at our old wooden table, grinning as he bit into that scrumptious, sugary toast.
After Grandpa died I cried. A lot. And then it was time to celebrate this lovely man, to remember him and be thankful.
So I drove to the store for bread, toasted it in the oven, applied a thick layer of peanut butter and an even thicker one of brown sugar, then got cozy in my armchair and made a toasty-toast to my Grandpa.
I love you, Grandpa. Thanks so much for loving us. XO
Grandpa’s Brown Sugar Toast
Ingredients:
2 slices whole grain bread
butter
peanut butter
brown sugar
Directions:
- Toast bread and butter it.
- Slather with peanut butter.
- Top with brown sugar.
- Smile and eat.
by Krista | May 5, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
Hello dear ones. I wish I could reach through my computer screen tonight and hug each of you so tight.
It’s been a rough few weeks for me and I feel wrung out like an old dishrag. My dear friend died, my Grandpa is dying and will leave us any moment, my uncle is in bad shape in the hospital, and I’m just trying to soldier along as I recover from the ravages of Ecoli.
Sometimes it really does seem like too much to bear.
As I was thinking of what to post tonight, I spent a while scrolling through pictures until I found these beautifully peaceful ones in Ireland. Just looking at them made me relax.
I started thinking of the Irish, of the terrible things they have gone through: civil war, famine, poverty. That sent me on a search for Irish poetry and I found this beautiful Funeral Prayer that made me teary and smiley at the same time. I think it was actually written by an Englishman, but we’ll just keep that between us.
An Irish Funeral Prayer
Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Everything remains as it was.
The old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no sorrow in your tone.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effort
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting, when we meet again.
Whatever you are going through today, I hope your heart is comforted, your spirit strengthened, your body restored.
Thank you for being part of my life. xo
by Krista | May 4, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
“Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men and animals.
Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression;
some are pensive and diffident;
others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock.”
– Henry Ward Beecher-
Dear ones, I’m not doing so well today, so I thought lingering among these bright and cheery sunflowers might be the very best thing to do. I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are, secure in the knowledge you are loved, you matter, and this world is better because you are in it. xo
by Krista | May 3, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
After a veritable torrent of rain, the clouds parted and the sun shone through just in time for Cooking Club this week. Yay!
My friends and I gathered at Darren’s house, arms filled with all sorts of ingredients to make a delectable array of soups and sushi and appetizers.
Nicole started us off with a big bowl of salted tortilla chips and her refreshing Bell Pepper Salsa.
I made an African Chickpea Soup made with Cumin and Ras al Hanout and served it with scallions and capers. It is my new favorite soup and the thing I crave when I’m not feeling so good.
Darren made a salty and warming Miso Soup that was the perfect start to a night of sushi.
Cameron, Robin, Kat and Ed worked like fiends slicing and dicing all sorts of seafood, fresh tuna, vegetables, and seaweed, turning out the most gorgeous platters of stunning color and texture.
They made Ball Sushi topped with Tamago Yaki (rolled sweet omelette) and Prawns…
…and regular sushi stuffed with cucumber, carrot, and seafood…
…and bar sushi topped with seared tuna and wrapped in seaweed strips.
Michael made a splendid Eel Sauce to accompany each morsel and before long we had eaten those platters clean.
Don ended our evening with a round of his famously stout Cosmopolitans and we all relaxed and visited until it was time to go home.
Are you a sushi fan? If yes, what is your favorite kind?
Krista’s African Chickpea Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups chickpeas (soaked overnight or 2 cans rinsed and drained)
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped fine
2 pints chicken broth
2 cups water
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp Ras al Hanout
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1 small jar capers (rinsed)
Directions:
- In soup pot heat olive oil and bay leaves, add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add chickpeas, broth and water. (If using canned chickpeas, omit water) Bring to boil and simmer covered about an hour.
- In small bowl mix garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and Ras al Hanout.
- When hour is up, add spice mixture to pot, stir, and continue cooking 20 minutes more.
- Taste and add salt if necessary.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with scallions and capers.
Darren’s Miso Soup
Ingredients:
8 cups water
8 Tbsp miso paste
2 scallions, sliced thin
1 cup chopped shrimp
Directions:
- Combine everything in saucepan and bring to boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes.
Kat and Ed’s Rolled Sweet Omelette (Tamago Yaki)
(Can also be served as a side dish with sushi)
Ingredients:
4 eggs
dash of salt
15 ml (1 T) water
30 ml (2 T) sugar
10 ml (2 t) soy sauce
45 ml (3 T) sake or dry white wine – we used chardonnay
Special Equipment:
(we used none of these, and it turned out fine, but if you’re going to be a purist…)
a square frying pan
a bamboo sushi rolling mat
chopsticks
cheesecloth (optional)
Directions:
- Beat the eggs in a bowl and add a pinch of salt
- Add water to the egg mixture and beat until fluffy.
- In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the soy sauce and sake or wine, and lightly stir into the eggs.
- Heat a square frying pan over medium heat.
- Oil the pan very lightly (a small piece of cheesecloth is useful to do this)
- Pour in a third of the egg mixture to cover the entire pan. Cook over medium heat.
- Before the surface begins to dry, roll or fold the egg mixture towards you in thirds.
- Now, move the rolled egg away from you to the far end of the pan (or you can cheat and just turn the pan 180 degrees like I did 🙂
- Oil the empty space.
- Tilt the pan, adding another third of the mixture under the rolled egg – you can lift it with chopsticks. Continue to fry the mixture.
- Now roll the omelette away from you again.
- Oil the front half of the pan once more.
- Add the balance of the egg mixture – be sure to roll it under the omelette again.
- Just before the mixuter dries, roll the rest into the already-quite-fat omelette.
- Slide the roll so the its final join is underneat and cook for 10 seconds.
- Remove the roll from the pan and out onto the bamboo mat and roll up tightly.
- Press it neatly into a rectangular shape and set aside until cool
- Slice the cold omelette into 1 in thick pieces. (We did thinner. Maybe 1/2 inch)
