Monthly Archives: December 2016

Pans by Vivo (Or: Albert Heijn promotion)

Albert Heijn’s latest promotion is saving up for pans designed by Vivo. The last promotion Vivo did for Albert Heijn was kitchen knives. That promotion was kind of funny because people ended up complaining that the knives were too sharp. (Seriously? What did you expect?)

But this time we have luxury pans. Cool.

albert-heijn-promotion-pans-by-vivo

Actually, Marco and I don’t really need anything, so we’ve been saving up for Roger to use them if he wants.

albert-heijn-promotion-stamp-card-pans-by-vivo

Since this photo was taken we’ve collected more stamps – at this point we have exactly enough.

Definitely “luxury” pans – one pan requires 60 stamps. In theory you receive one stamp for every 10 euros you spend, though there are ways to get additional stamps if you buy certain items and sometimes you get more stamps than you should.

We’ll probably keep collecting stamps on the off chance someone else needs them, but I don’t think we’ll attempt to fill another card. However, we have until mid-February so you never know.

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An illusionary pizza (Or: Marco’s latest creation)

Marco made some pizza last night:

slice-of-%22dessert-pizza%22

But this pizza wasn’t what it seemed. This pizza is actually a dessert! The pizza dough is white cake, while the cheese is a yellow cream (it was already yellow, but yellow food dye was added to make it an even brighter yellow). The pepperoni is actually strawberries, though in this case it was preserved strawberries out of a can because they tend to be darker in color. There is a bit of pineapple to look like onions, as well as a bit of mandarin to look like orange peppers. The “spices” on top of the cheese is actually shaved chocolate.

a-look-at-marcos-%22dessert-pizza%22

I never would have thought pizza would go so well with coffee! Here’s a look at his other creation, a dessert “hamburger and fries”.

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Nijntje (Or: Seen at C&A?)

Nijntje (known as Miffy in English) is a small white rabbit who stars in a series of Dutch picture books drawn and written by Dick Bruna. Marco and I were walking past C&A, a clothing store, and noticed the following advertisement:

nijntje-by-ca

Apparently the exclusive rights to the Nijntje clothing line has moved from V&D (a store which closed early this year) to C&A – read more at this article in Dutch.

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Sinterklaas! (Or: 5 December)

Today is Sinterklaas in the Netherlands (Wikipedia: Dutch | English). Mostly celebrated by kids who receive small trinkets in the weeks leading up to the holiday. Everything culminates in tonight – Pakjesavond, or “Evening of presents” as a loose translation. It’s no secret that Sinterklaas is bigger than Christmas for kids, but it’s still weird to realise this coming from the US.

But – one tradition that you’re supposed to adhere to is not putting up the Christmas tree until the day after Sinterklaas leaves.

Erhm.

christmas-ornament-gold-ball

No comment.

 

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Gevulde speculaas (Or: Another dessert by Roger)

Yesterday Marco and I visited Roger and were treated to gevulde speculaas. This translates to “filled speculaas” – the speculaas is filled with almond paste and the speculaas cookie is softer. I liked the homemade version Roger made – it was a lot less sweet than what you find in the stores. It’s mostly made around the the time St. Nicholas visits the Netherlands (5 December, Sinterklaas in Dutch).

Here is a look at the entire piece, before it was cut:

gevulde-speculaas

Almond paste inside, almonds on top…

And a look at a slice of it, where you can more clearly see the almond paste inside:

slice-of-gevulde-speculaas

Delicious!

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