Recently I attended an after New Years party. Here is a look at one very pretty lamp, shrouded in darkness:
Unfortunately no one knows where it was purchased.
Stir frys (Or: Garlic, chili and broccoli)
Marco surprised me tonight with a stir fry for dinner. He altered the receipe slightly, adding rice and a bit of chicken to change it from a side dish to a full meal:
Garlic, chili and broccoli stir fry
Yum!
Categories: Food
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Souvenirs (Or: Way more Delft blauw then a person ever needs)
I recently went to Xenos to look for chocolate chips for baking. I didn’t find any, but M&Ms from Albert Heijn did just as well in the end. While wandering around I came across what I call the souvenirs/Delft blauw section:
It is of course much cheaper to buy these items here than in a souvenir shop. I try to keep that in mind when we visit other countries. Always try and find the discount stores as it is possible the same souvenirs are there.
Some items are pretty cool too. At the bottom left there are some The Hague mugs with drawings of some of the more famous spots in the city. We gave one to my sister-in-law when we visited for Thanksgiving.
Categories: Shopping
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Saving up for luxury knives (Or: Albert Heijn action)
The weather is absolutely, positively cruddy today. It’s been raining all day — even pouring during the evening commute. Yuck!
On another note, it is my 4 year anniversary by WordPress today. Hard to believe.
Albert Heijn (a grocery store) has been running a promotion the last few months. Save up 50 stamps and you can exchange them (for a bit of money as well) for luxury silverware. You can get one stamp for every €10 you spend. Don’t get me wrong – it’s an expensive way to get the silverware. But if you don’t change your buying habits just to get more stamps it works out. Marco and I have about two cards full (with help from Roger and others). Marco is specifically saving up for a few of the knives.
An Albert Heijn stamp booklet
A look at the knives on offer
Some of the knives are so sharp they even come with instructions on how to get them out of the packaging safely.
If you are also saving stamps — happy (future) slicing!
New rule in the Netherlands (Or: No more free plastic bags)
As of January 1st, Dutch stores are required to charge for plastic bags. Here is an advertisement at the tram stop:
Advertisement in the Netherlands for “no more free plastic bags”
It basically says “You (will now) pay for your own plastic bag” and underneath in small letters “your own bag, better for the environment”.
I think it is a good law change. Marco and I almost always have extra bags with us (I have one at work in my drawer and one permanently stored in my backpack) so there isn’t much effect on us. I did find it funny to go to Action (a “dollar” type store) as the sign said the charge for one bag was 3 cents. We don’t even have pennies in the Netherlands — thankfully! I wish I had taken a picture of that sign.
Most stores have had signs up for a few months now, so it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.
Lebkuchen (Or: A German Christmas cookie)
Over the weekend Marco and I visited the Fred, a shopping area close to (but not quite in) Scheveningen. The name comes from the Main Street it is on, or Frederik Hendriklaan.
One of the stores we visited was Simon Lévelt. We were able to pick up a package of lebkuchen, a traditional Christmas cookie in Germany.
Yum! Made with lots of tasty spices (cardamom, aniseed, ginger, etc.).
Gather round to bake your own pizzas (Or: Pizzaretta oven)
Marco and I received a pizzarette oven as a Christmas gift from his father and his father’s wife. How awesome! It is similar in concept to the gourmet sets that I wrote about a few days ago. This particular set was a four person set (4 mini pizzas can be cooked at the same time). On Saturday Marco and I used it for the first time.
A look at the tables – complete with the mini oven and the toppings ready to go
You assemble the pizza on the provided spatulas and then set it in the device to allow it to bake.
A close-up look (no tools needed for assembly)
Small pizza with jalapenos, paprika, onions, and cheese
Small pizza with paprika, ham, bacon, cheese and chili rings
Small pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and cheese
We made more than enough mini pizzas on purpose, so now we can also enjoy the pizzas again tonight!
Categories: Food
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Local fireworks in The Hague (Or: 2015 New Year’s celebrations)
Marco, Roger and I went outside on New Year’s Eve this year to see the fireworks being shot off this year. Here are some of the photos I took, although in some cases they are a bit blurry.
A photo of the fireworks sparking up as someone stirred up the fire with a stick:
Christmas trees usually end up in most fires as you can see in this family photo:
Random look at ground fireworks:
Random look at fireworks from a distance:
Someone was stupid enough to try and drive their car over a fire in the middle of the road. They drove through quickly and then got out to inspect the damage. Admittedly those streets are narrow and it would be almost impossible to turn around.
Building a fire (early on in the evening):
Here’s a look at a the remnants of the fireworks surrounding a bike, the day after:
Until next year’s festivities!
2015 holiday decorations in The Hague (Or: ‘t Goude Hooft)
Earlier in the month I was walking around the Grote Kerk area in The Hague when I came across holiday decorations at one of The Hague’s more popular restaurants, ‘t Goude Hooft. (Full disclosure: I’ve never been to this restaurant. I only know it as the restaurant where all of the outside seats face outwards, to view the trams and people walking past. It’s slightly eerie.)
You know you’re in The Hague (or the Netherlands in general) when you have advertisements at the bottom of the photo imploring bicyclists keep the entrance to buildings free/accessible. It is quite crowded in that area.
How to “gourmetten”, Dutch style (Or: New Year’s Eve 2015)
A lot of Dutch have a New Year’s Eve tradition of dusting off their gourmetten sets to grill up mini meats, fish and vegetables, similar to the New Year’s tradition of consuming oliebollen. I’ve written about it a few times, but here’s a look at how it went this year.
First we start with a clean set. This set in particular is good for 3-4 people and has 8 pans underneath for extra grilling potential:
Here is a look at the underside so you can see the pans:
And a look at the meat we grilled up:
Dutch supermarkets sell a lot of gourmet mini sets with items that are pre-cut and otherwise packaged in small containers (meats, sauces, peppers, onions and similar). They are frequently sold as “buy 2, get 1 free”.
The gourmet set in action:
And the most awesome thing ever? Grilled pineapple at the bottom (which I have never had until Marco and I went to Rodizio).
And also underneath – shoarma and mushrooms. Yum. Not shown – bread with a choice of garlic butter, aioli and sweet paprika sauce.
Until next year!
Life in the Hague 