Category: Inspiration

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Meet Amsterdam during Covid19

My self-isolation started since March 15thafter a short trip in Paris with my partner. So far, the safety is going well. There are many challenges in this bizarre pandemic outbreak that bring some extend of stress in life, especially when you are part of a risk group. For me it’s definitely the respect of personal space when you go out for a walk or buy your groceries. Some people are not conscious in keeping distance and some just don’t care. I feel upset when that happens and need to be extra cautious in keeping the minimal distance. 

Being in my 10thweek, these extraordinary days has changed Amsterdam city life. I have been out downtown a few times in time slots when you don’t expect many people on the streets. From my experience, walking on streets is much safer then in parks. On sunny days, people start herding and don’t want to think about social distancing because chilling out together is much more fun. 

I remember my 1stwalk in the heart of Amsterdam in our semi lockdown, it gave me an overwhelming strange feeling. I love my city and got more in love seeing the serenity without the tourists and mass of people. A moment I never have experienced before. Ofcourse there are times when every big city has it silence moments at night or early mornings but that is totally different.

Nearly empty streets, empty squares, empty hotspots and an empty central station, places where it was always packed with crowd. Almost a peaceful city where the sounds of cars, scooters, motor bikes and trams make this special moment less attractive but yet …… AMSTERDAM IS CRAZY UNSURREAL AND ABSOLUTELY DIVINE! 

These days, life is slowly getting back to normal having crowded streets, more traffic and more noise but without the tourists.

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Happy Temari Sushi

My weekly dinner with my partner + friends continues in this covid period. We were doubting between cooking a Serbian dish or having sushi 🍣 and decided for the latter. 

This time, curiosity brought us in trying out a new popular place in Amsterdam where they normally don’t offer take away service because it affects the food quality e.g. temperature and freshness. Taking this opportunity and the limited boxes they sell per day, I ordered the sushi boxes a few days in advance. 

Opening the box, the presentation looks so cute! They made Temari Sushi and each sushi was placed in a wooden paper boat. Temari sushi has a different shape then nigiri sushi. It has a ball shape and normally goes with a variety of colorful toppings, and are often served for happy celebration occasions.

Happy, it definitely is😊. If you like to have a happy dinner feeling as well, you can order this sushi box at Ken Sushi.

Itadakimasu! 

Temari Sushi
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Borscht soup with meat

In this covid19 period and having social distancing to keep everybody safe…. me, my partner and his friends started with a weekly virtual dinner meet-up. We mutual agree on a recipe to cook and at lazy times we do delivery/takeaway in a particular kitchen. 

Today, we all cook the famous Ukrainian/Russian beetroot soup, borscht. Each of us makes his own version of borscht. One having meat, with shrimps (my partner’s style) or vegetarian.

Naturally, I go for the original borscht with meat. How can it not go with meat, right? This is my 1sttime cooking borscht and I will never forget this delicious soup when I ate this in Russia. I really hope I will get close to this memorable taste.

The result was surprisingly good, almost close to the one I had in Russia. Maybe next time, when I try again 🙂

Serves 4P and cooking time 1:30-2hrs

Ingredients

  • 300gr unboned stew meat or veal shin (NL: kalfsschenkel) – cut meat in pieces
  • 1L cold water
  • ½ Tbsp salt + more at taste 
  • 2 medium beetroot – peel and grate or cut in bite size pieces
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil2 Tbsp vinegar
  • ½ Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp tomato sauce 1 shallot – fine dice
  • ½ Tbsp butter1 medium carrot – peel and cut in bite size or grate
  • 3 medium potatoes –peel and cut in bite size
  • 1 tomato – optional peeled and cut in dices
  • 1 bay leave
  • ½ tsp pepper 
  • 10gr dille (handful) – chop + fresh sprigs for garnish
  • 1 clove garlic – pressed
  • Sour cream – optional for garnish 

Kitchen Tools

  • Large soup pot
  • Food processor
  • Large bowl
  • Frying pan

What to do?

1) Wash meat in cold water and cut in pieces. Place in a large soup pot with 1 liter cold water +  ½ Tbsp salt. Bring it to boil and remove the foam while it boils. Keep doing this until there is no foam crud as this will be your broth. Then lower the heat and boil for 45min-1hr. Regularly remove crud if needed.

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2) Grate beet in food processor or cut in bite size. Place the beet in a large bowl and add 2 Tbsp olive oil + 2Tbsp vinegar. Stir well and sauté 5min in pan. Then lower the heat, add ½ Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp tomato sauce. Stir well for 10min. Place the beet back in the bowl and set aside.

3) Use the same pan, no need to wash it. Sauté the onion in ½ Tbsp butter for 2min. Add carrot and sauté for another 5 min or until it gets soft. Then add into big bowl of beet.

4) Once the meat has been cooked for minimum 45min, add the diced potatoes in the soup pan and cook for 10min. Then add sautéed beet, onions, carrot and diced tomatoes. Cook for another 10min.

5) Add 1 bay leave, ½ tsp pepper and salt to taste.

6) Add chopped dille and pressed garlic in soup pan. Stir well and cover with lid. Cook the soup in low heat for 20min.

Finally: serve the soup hot and garnish with fresh dille sprigs and a little bit of sour cream (optional).

Borscht Soup with Meat

Eet Smakelijk!

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Walnut Banana Bread

I hope you are doing well in this bizarre and impactful period, in which everybody still has to find his or her way of life in this pandemic outbreak. I have been isolating myself for weeks. I work from home, do my necessary errands every 4-5 days, cook daily three meals, sometimes taking some fresh air and spend lots of time with my savior mister Netflix.

To kill my isolation time with more fun, I baked a delicious walnut banana bread for my tea breaks. Shopping was not required as I had all the ingredients at home. So let’s have some Fika-Time if you are up for baking. 

Baking time approx. 1hrs and serves 6-8 slices.

Tools & Ingredients

  • 1 sheet baking paper
  • 3 bowls (large, medium and small)
  • 1 cake dish ~28cm
  • Whisk (electrical or manual will do fine as well)
  • Wooden chopstick or long bamboo pick
  • 200 gram all purpose flower
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 115 gram unsalted soft butter (or melt the butter)
  • 110 gram brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla powder or pure vanilla extract
  • 4 (half) ripe bananas
  • ¾ coffee cup crushed unsalted walnuts

What to do?

  1. Cover the bottom of your baking dish with the baking paper and along sides.
  2. Pre-heat oven on fan grill function at 175°C.
  3. Whisk 200gr flower + ½ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp baking powder all together in a bowl.
  4. Whisk in a separate big bowl 115gr 110gr melted butter + sugar until well blended.
  5. Add 2 eggs + 1Tbsp vegetable oil + tsp vanilla powder into the butter/sugar bowl and whisk until well blended.
  6. Mash all 4 bananas fine with a fork and mix into the egg mixture.
  7. Add the flower mix to the egg mixture by intervals and stir it until well blended.
  8. Mix ½ cup walnuts to the mixture.
  9. Pour the batter and flatten the mixture into the cake dish. 
  10. Spread remaining walnuts on top of cake dish.
  11. Put the dish in the middle oven section on fan grill function at 175°C for 45 min.
  12. Prick the wooden pick into the center of the bread and see if it comes out dry. If wood comes out sticky and moisty, then bake the cake a bit extra longer and check again after 10-15min.

Finally: let the bread cool down for 15-20min outside the oven before serving for tea.

Enjoy your Fika-Time ☕️

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My favourite Culinary & Cultural spots in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a lively place to live and definitely a must visit in getting inspired by the many wonderful activities this city has to offer. I am not referring to ‘the coffee shops’ or red light district but to history, culture, museum, architecture, flat nature and the charming canals we have. Go sail on the canals, ride on a bicycle, enjoy a stroll in the park, just have a relaxing time and absorb the local vibe.

Not to be missed out are our typical Dutch tidbits e.g. bitterbal, broodje kroket, stroopwafel, haring met uitjes en zuur, patatje oorlog, poffertjes, oliebol (christmas season only) and many more local or international culinary adventures you can try out. Pictures from left to right are in order of the tidbits.

Oh, there is one thing that might not charm you… the quality of customer service can be far below your expectation. I don’t understand either and occasional I also get annoyed by that. It’s quite normal in Amsterdam and people tend to leave it as it is. However, there are fabulous and friendly cosy places to go, so just go to the ones you like. On the tipping part, we do not have a standard custom and most locals round up the bill or tip 10% for excellent service provided.  

Culinary Spots in Amsterdam

Area ‘De Wallen’ (red light district)

  • Wynand Fockink (drinks) – a hidden tiny tavern where you can sip ~70 Dutch liqueurs and genevers. Passionate outgoing staff and definitely a memorable experience. Opens from 3pm and can close early evening. 
  • Restaurant de Compagnon (French) – a hidden gem in the red light district. It is a small cosy restaurant with three floors. You will have a wonderful tasting experience. Ensure a table at the window with a great view on the canal. Highly recommend table reservation.
  • Bridges (Michelin Star* Western) – situated in Sofitel Legend The Grand. This building was the former town hall of Amsterdam. Another marvellous gastronomic experience with excellent service.
  • Restaurant Vermeer (Michelin Star* Western) – situated in the NH Barbizon Palace Hotel opposite of Central Station. A marvellous gastronomic experience with excellent friendly professional staff. Ingredients are locally sourced. Highly recommend table reservation.

Area Jordaan

  • Chocolaterie Pompadour (café, patisserie) – go for a super delicious patisserie experience. They have a small tearoom in the shop. Queues may occur outdoor. 
  • Winkel 43 (café, lunch) – taste the best apple pie in Amsterdam. Freshly baked and delicious with a bit of whipped cream. Long queues may occur.

Area Rokin

  • De Laatste Kruimel (café, bakery) – a charming café having delicious sandwich, bakery and quiche. Not many seats and not comfortable but definitely cosy and a must experience. 
  • Café de Jaren (café, lunch, dinner) – a nice high-ceilinged café ambiance with a sunny canal-side terrace. Just enjoy some reading and the local vibe. 

Area Museum Kwartier (museum quarter)

  • Taiko Restaurant (Asian, Japanese) – situated in the Conservatorium Hotel. Splendid Asian fusion and mostly with Japanese influences. A superb gastronomic experience in a great ambiance. An evening to splurge yourself. Excellent service but some staff can be a bit snobbish. Highly recommend table reservation.

Area Canal Belt

  • Café de Balie (café, lunch, dinner) – have a coffee break and absorb the local life with free high-speed wifi. It’s a cultural centre with diverse programme about freedom of speech, contemporary art, politics, culture, cinema and media. 
  • Tapas Tia Rosa (Spanish) – a nice cosy ambiance with superb joyful staff, good house wine and delicious tapas. Try out the surprise menu. You won’t be disappointed.  

Area Amstel River

  • Café Restaurant De Ysbreeker (café) – in the summer they have a lovely terrace along the Amstel river where you can enjoy the view and the tranquillity of Amsterdam. The food and wine is quite good. 

Area RAI, Rivierenbuurt

  • Hakata Senpachi (Japanese) – a taste of the rising sun. This is my most favourite Izakaya restaurant in Amsterdam. The grilled sticks taste delicious like as in Japan, great sake selection and in weekend they serve Fukuoka ramen noodle lunch. Ambiance setup is a Dutch brown café, simple wooden tables and chairs. There was a fire incident end 2016, reopening will be on Feb 27th2017. I’m so looking forward to it. 

Cultural Spots in Amsterdam

  • Het Concertgebouw – classical music, enjoy a free concert at lunch time on Wednesdays at 12:30pm. Queuing for free tickets starts at 11:30am and there is a limitation of seats. First come first serve basis and only one ticket per person available.
  • Book market, address Oudemanshuispoort – a charming walk on a non-official book market selling old books, music and prints. Location makes it more special, a gate passage dated from 1786 connecting between Kloveniersburgwal and Oudezijdsvoorburgwal. Opening hours from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm and subject to shop availability/season/weather condition.

Tip: daily last minute online tickets offered at http://lastminuteticketshop.nl from 10am. There is a maximum of 2 tickets per transaction and the website is in Dutch only.

Enjoy discovering Amsterdam!

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Asian Pumpkin Soup

Quick and easy in cooking pumpkin soup with an Asian spicy flavour. Serve it for lunch and have some toasts on the side or serve it as starter with a nice home cooking dinner meal. Hope you like this dish.

Serves 4P and cooking time 40min

Ingredients

  • 1x small golden nugget pumpkin
  • 5x tomatoes
  • ½ shallot
  • 200gr shitake mushroom
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • 1x tea spoon Thai red curry paste
  • Garnish with beetroot or red cabbage sprouting seeds or coriander
  • Sea salt to add to taste
  • Potato peeler
  • Soup pan or a big pan
  • Measuring cup
  • Colander
  • Food blender

What to do?

  1. —— Prepare Pumpkin ——
  2. Put the pumpkin in microwave for 2min/900W. This is too soften the skin so you can easily peel the skin.
  3. Remove top and end of pumpkin.
  4. Cut pumpkin in half and remove fibers and seeds with a spoon.
  5. Cut pumpkin in blocks.
  6. —— Continue With Cutting ——
  7. Wash and cut tomatoes in quarters and remove stem/core.
  8. Fine dice shallot 
  9. Cut shitake mushrooms in thin slices.
  10. Wash and drain the garnish on a kitchen paper towel.
  11. —— Start Cooking ——
  12. Fry shallots in olive oil.
  13. Add pumpkin and tomatoes in pan.
  14. Add curry paste and stir well.
  15. Add 400ml water.
  16. Cook for 20min on medium/high heat.
  17. Blend ingredients in pan into puree.
  18. Add shitake and cook 10min on low/medium heat.
  19. Stir from time to time.
  20. Pre-taste and add pinch of salt to taste

Finally: fill up soup bowl and garnish with sprouting seeds or coriander.

Asian Pumpkin Soup

Eet smakelijk!

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Beetroot salad & Carrot-Ginger dressing

This dressing is delicious! Years ago, I tasted this in a Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. Since then, I haven’t been able experiencing this unforgettable salad dressing in any Japanese restaurant I go. A mystery and at some point I gave up. Probably it has no relation to the Japanese cuisine. Recently, I found this salad dressing recipe at one of my favourite food blogs where I explore cooking inspiration. I was so happy, I wasn’t imagining in my head! And yes, it is related to Japan but created in the States.

The combination of carrot and ginger is so refreshing with a light flavour of spiciness. You can dress it up to most simple salad creations. The original carrot-ginger dressing I tasted was much more fine in texture. I think the chef used a rasp grater. Anyhow, the food blender is much easier and still tasty 🙂

Cooking time 30-40min with raw beet. You can also buy pre-cooked beet in saving time. Personally, I like cooking beet fresh. This taste so much better then the preserved beetroot you get from the supermarket. Salad dressing takes 10min.

Ingredients Salad

  • Raw yellow beetroot
  • Iceberg lettuce
  • Alfalfa sprouting seeds
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Few sprigs thyme
  • Plastic sandwich bag
  • Aluminium foil

Note: you can preserve the beet for a few days in the fridge. Serve it cold or warm it up next day (1min/600W)

Ingredients Carrot-Ginger Dressing

  • 3x giant carrot ~20cm each
  • ¼ red shallot
  • Fresh ginger ~1,5cm block, not too much as it will make it too sharp
  • 1x table spoon sugar
  • 5x table spoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2x table spoon white miso paste
  • 1x tea spoon sesame oil
  • ½ coffee cup of rice vinegar ~100ml
  • Pinch of fresh ground pepper
  • Food processor
  • Potato peeler

Note: you can preserve the dressing for about 1 week in the fridge by using a containment food box. Recipe is up to ~10 portion.

What to do?

  1. —— Prepare Beetroot ——
  2. Pre-heat oven on fanned function at 180°C/356F
  3. Mix beet, thyme, olive oil in a sandwich bag.
  4. Pack beet and thyme in aluminium foil. You can pack them in pair or per portion.
  5. Heat in oven for 30-40min. Beet is cooked when you can fork in.
  6. Unpack foil and cool down for 10min. The extra package, just open the foil a bit to cool down and re-pack for next day.
  7. Peel beet, the top and the end.
  8. Cut beet in slices or blocks.
  9. —— Prepare Carrot-Ginger Dressing ——
  10. Peel and cut carrot in pieces.
  11. Cut shallot in pieces.
  12. Peel ginger skin with a knife.
  13. Put all ingredients in food processor.
  14. Blend for 5min until all ingredients are smoothly mixed.
  15. Pre-taste dressing, add extra vinegar or pepper if required.

Finally: mix the beetroot, salad and the carrot-ginger dressing in a bowl. Dress up all ingredients on a plate and bon appetite!

Beetroot salad with carrot-ginger dressing

Eet Smakelijk!

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