What Are We Eating Tonight? Romanesco Cauliflower

Left to right: Romanesco cauliflower, speklapjes, and bread pudding for dessert.

Romanesco cauliflower "bushes" boiled in water until done ( not mushy!). My hub says they taste like white cauliflower and look surrealistic.

A little Tony's cajun spices sprinkled on top and fried in the skillet.

Easy bread pudding recipe: old white bread cubes, 3 eggs, 2 cups skim milk, 1 cup dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, dash of cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons of butter dabbed on top. Bake 45 minutes in a 350F (175C) oven. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

As Fresh As It Gets

We really do try to eat right. Just sometimes we eat MORE right than other times. Finding good, fresh fruit and veggies here in The Netherlands is easy. Healthy stuff is right out on the street.

This is not an "open" market place. This the sidewalk in front of the vegetable store. In most instances, the shopkeeper really does not want you to touch his wares. He will do that for you. All you do is point out what you want. This sidewalk is full, but his shop is even fuller!

And then there is fresh, warm bread! Well, this bread isn't so fresh or warm anymore, but you get the idea. My hub says he remembers when bread bakers went from door to door delivering fresh bread. Kind of like the milkman, which they had here, too.

Eyebrows at Last

I have never had eyebrows that were visible. 

When I was a child and younger adult, I had blond hair and blond eyebrows. 

Now that I am a retiree, I have grey eyebrows. 

But yesterday I got a new pair of eyeglass frames, and now I have eyebrows!

Maybe you remember what difficulties we had ordering new glasses last Spring and Summer, well these new frames ( that is all I needed!) were attached to my trusty old lenses in less than 10 minutes by our friendly Dutch optician. And since the frames are definitely not the latest in glasses frame mode, they were at a reduced price, too. 

But most importantly, my lenses fit perfectly.

And now I have eyebrows, as an extra bonus. ;)))

Booooooo! It is All Hallow's Eve!

Well, it is almost All Hallow's Eve. This evening I plan to take a walk in our neighborhood at the Beltway Apartment to see how many Dutch neighbors have now taken up the Halloween tradition. 

When I emigrated from the US to The Netherlands back in 1979, there were only a few of us Americans here who "celebrated" Halloween. Finding a pumpkin suitable for carving a jack o'lantern was a challenge and expensive. 

At that time in Europe, slices of pumpkin flesh for making pumpkin soup were sold at the vegetable market. Most vendors did not sell whole pumpkins and couldn't even determine the price for one. I think I paid 35 guilders (around 15-20 US dollars) for our first carvable pumpkin in the mid-1980's. And it rolled around so much in the back of our station wagon that our then toddler son kept screaming for me to stop hurting the pumpkin.

Then we moved to an old Dutch farmhouse with a veggie garden and planted our own pumpkins. We had award winning size pumpkins then. Our son and I took a few to his school for their Halloween celebrations when he was in the 1st grade. In the years that followed, we shared pumpkins, gourds, and winter squash with friends and teachers.

As if pumpkins and winter squash had been " recently discovered" in the 1990's they began to appear in Dutch roadside veggie stands, the huge garden centers, and grocery stores. Prices for pumpkins are still much too high, but at least affordable for carving and making pumpkin dishes.

At any rate, I wonder how many goblins I will see on my walk tonight?

And what about "trick or treating"?

Through the Hurricane

When we came here to the Beltway Apartment a couple of weeks ago, we were happy that we had made it through the hurricane season in Louisiana without experiencing a hurricane. 

So what did we wake up to this morning? A hurricane! 

Photo of uprooted trees in The Hague on website www.nu.nl today.

Of course, we had been warned since Thursday that heavy winds were heading our way. And  this evening according to the weathermen, it has been 23 years since the Netherlands has experienced such high winds and damage from downed trees.

My hub and I stayed inside while the rain poured and the wind stripped those beautiful leaves from the trees that I photographed last week. We tried to finish up some tasks that will make it easier for everyone to continue with the remodeling next week. The painters finished their job on Saturday night late, but we spent yesterday and this morning during the storm cleaning up the floors, windows, doors, and baseboards from the paint splatters and dust.

I was awake when the storm blew in at around 3:00 AM, and then awake again when I thought I heard the phone ring around 5:00 AM, and finally awake and got out of bed at 7:30 AM. So I am ready to go to bed very soon.

Burn the House Down!

The painters are here at the Beltway Apartment today. We were informed they would be here around 8:00 AM, but it was more like 10:00 AM. My hub had given up and had gone back to bed when they finally showed up.

After the initial shock of the high, high ceilings and exposed beams that needed to be "packed in" then the painter and his son began the "packing in" process. After a couple of hours, they ran out of packing paper and the son went out to find some. He found nothing, but I had saved a huge roll of moving wrapping paper from last year's furniture move. Luckily they could use that. (Note:I am "packed in" too. I can't get out of the spare bedroom! It is 8:40 PM as I write this blog post.)

New heater "packed in."

Beams, new air conditioner, and windows "packed in."

Intercom, doors, and electrical outlets "packed in."

Around 5:30 PM the painting process began. Darkness falls here around 6:30 PM. Hope they have lamps!

We don't!

Oh, they "packed in" the kitchen hanging lamp, and it was turned on. You guessed it. The packing caught fire! I can smell the awful smoke smell in my temporary "remodeling cave" in the spare bedroom.

My Jysk recliner that we bought last fall.

My chair serves also as my coat rack and has my blanket and shawl. Our computer and dining table are behind our chairs. New (old) door on the left goes out to the foyer. The door on the right now goes to the walk-in closet. 

I hate the accordian coat racks on the doors, but if I remove them I will have to fill in the nail holes and repaint the doors. Painting the new door frames is enough work for me.

A few last words:

This is THE LAST BUILDING or REMODELING JOB I am going to do! Ever! None of these guys (Dutch or American) clean up after themselves! I even scrubbed and washed the plaster from the gipson board trash off the brick driveway to the apartment building this morning!

Thank goodness for our Shop Vac!!!!!

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Well, not I at my age.

But the sunny weather and warm temps here in The Beltway Apartment have forced me back into the bermuda shorts that we leave here in the clothes cabinet, just in case. 

But I must be honest and say that I have a reason for the "light" attire. Today we have a day off. From the workmen, that is. So since 9:00 am I have been cleaning up their mess and restocking the pantry/storage room that we had to empty yesterday for the new heater pipes to be installed.

Although all of the carpet and linoleum will be replaced with engineered wood in two weeks, I vacuumed up as much plaster, wood chips, nails, and work dust that I could. 

The new air conditioner will be installed tomorrow, and then the painter will come to paint the living, kitchen, and foyer over the weekend.

On November 20 I will be ready to go back home for a vacation! Whew!

Hey, what is with Blogger and multiple fonts in my blog post??????