After Paris, we went to meet my family in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. My mom is from here and the rest of her family still lives over here. The first thing we did was visit her home city and get a traditional Dutch food.
This is a kroket. It’s a fried cylinder of yummy savory goodness inside. I’m not quite sure what the filling is exactly, but I think it’s something like potatoes and shredded meat with spices. I remember eating this a lot as a child when we would visit and I always loved it, so I had to get one.
It’s often served with mustard and bread to make an open-faced sandwich. On the side we had a really yummy cabbage salad.
Here they are served with mayo and mustard and they are dipped rather than smeared. They are a popular bar or late night snack food.
After grabbing a bite, we visited my aunt’s flower shop (pictured below).
Later that night, we met up with the rest of my family at my grandpa’, or opa’s, house. We had a “grille” night. Everyone kabobs what they want and puts them on the hot plate. This is a popular way in the summer to have dinner. A great and easy way to provide food while entertaining guests.
My cousin and uncle are pictured flipping the meats.
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The next night, we went out for pannekoeken, or pancakes in Dutch. Near my opa’s house is a Pannekoekenhuis, which just means pancake house. Fancier than an IHOP, these are quite a popular going-out-for-dinner restaurant over there.
You typically order one pancake because it is a lot bigger than the ones we’re used to. The pancakes, savory or sweet, are filled with delicious combinations of mushroom and onion, ham and cheese, cheese and mushroom, and many more. Or for a sweeter meal, they serve apple and pineapple with cinnamon and sugar (pictured directly below) or cherry and apple that catches fire around the edge (pictured 4 down).
I split a sweet one and a savory one with my mom. One pancake is usually filling, though it seems it wouldn’t be. But paired with a Heineken, this makes for a great Dutch dinner.
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One of the days we were there, we took a day trip to Amsterdam. We toured the city and stopped by the floating flower markets on the water. They weren’t as impressive as I was hoping, but they all sold beautiful plants, and many different seeds and garden accessories. A lot even had tulip bulbs for sale that were pre-packaged and Customs approved.
These are some nice pictures of pretty flowers drying and covering the ceiling .
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We also toured a few grocery stores. Shown below is a pharmacy convenient store. I took a picture of this shelf because at the bottom of it are bottles of CBD capsules, creams, and tinctures. I was just surprised to see this form of medicine so openly available there, while in the US, that plant is still associated with federally criminal offenses. How funny the difference in our perspectives is all.
These next pictures are from the grocery store. This was a display of their produce. Seems similar to what we’re used to, maybe a little more rawness–bins showing, unbagged grapes and beans.
Here’s the refrigerated section. They optimize the glass space on their doors, which is nice. Here they have bagged and pre-cut produce, which isn’t always available as an option by itself. To me, the grocery stores seem to use a lot of only plastic for packing items. Just an interesting observation.
Here we have the fish, cut and prepared many different ways. I do like how many of the packages and fully clear without obnoxious logos. It makes it easier to see what you’re buying.
Next were packaged meats. They have mostly the same cuts as we’re used to, but there are a few differences. One common Dutch meat I enjoy is called fillet americain. It’s a ground up version of steak tartare and spread over bread or crackers.
Moving on, this is all the hummus, olives, tomatoes, some cheese squares–hors d’oevres kind of food. Again, simple and clean packaging–it seems to make it easier to make decisions because you just buy what you need and don’t worry about this brand or that brand.
Of course, lots and lots of cheese, and many different kinds of it.
More cuts of meat.
And also of course, lots of beer. This was only the one brand’s display. There was lots more.
I love all the foods I’m used to in Holland and it’ such a treat when I do get to have them. It was fun to think about them from an agricultural lens and especially to visit the grocery stores with more behind-the-scenes experience in produce.