That is fascinating Marie,thank you, I was most interested....
It doesn't sound like slimming vegetarian food though...
You must have to juggle a lot to eat the way you want to....
Maureen
On 26 May 2010 01:38, Marie Rieuwers <marierieuwers@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi Maureen,
>
>
> There are several very noticeable differences between living in Holland and
> Australia. It would take me for ever to describe them all but here goes
> with a few.
>
> Four distinct seasons
>
> Housing is in very short supply and people have very small houses - moving
> from a big Aussie house to here was a real culture shock.
>
> The lifestyle is much more formal. Just dropping in to see if someone is
> home and expecting to be welcomed is virtually unknown.
>
> You are offered ONE biscuit if you are invited for afternoon tea then the
> lid is firmly replaced on the tin.
>
> Public holidays are not 'made up' if they fall on a weekend. Imagine what
> would happen in Australia if there was no extra free day when, as will
> happen this year, Christmas and Boxing Day (known here as 2nd Christmas Day)
> are on Saturday and Sunday. There is no extra holiday to compensate for
> this.
>
> As for food, people here tend to cook very simple meals. Oven dishes are
> not very common and, in fact, many people don't have an oven. Kitchens are
> tiny and most people have a small bar type fridge with a grid with 4 gas
> burners on the top of that. Electric frypans are completely unknown (thank
> goodness I brought my trusty Sunbeam along) and crockpots have made an
> appearance on very recently.
>
> Potatoes aren't considered to be a vegetable - they are a category all on
> their own. Supermarkets have G, F & A (groenten - vegetables, fruit &
> aardappel - potato) departments instead of the familiar F & V.
>
> It is very unusual for a Dutch main meal to be served without potatoes.
>
> Despite the proximity of The Netherlands to Greece and Italy, these
> cuisines are much better known in Australia.
>
> Because Indonesia used to be a Dutch colony, Indonesian food is very
> popular here. Although Australia is so close to Indonesia, I had never
> cooked or eaten Indonesian food before I came here.
>
> A favourite winter meal is stampot. This consists of potato mashed
> together with one or more other boiled vegetables. A very popular
> combination is potato, carrot and onion (this combination is known as
> hutspot)
>
>
>
> but there are all sorts of other varieties, the most common being potato
> and curly kale.
>
>
>
>
> A large dollop of whatever vegetable combination is put on the plate then
> bathed in thick gravy and served with a piece of smoked sausage (thank
> goodness there is a great vegetarian alternative available).
>
> Dutch food tends to be what I would describe as hearty peasant food rather
> than gourmet. I must admit I do love a nice stampot in winter.
>
> Sandwiches are seldom, if ever, eaten. Toasted sandwiches are called
> tostis and are very popular but two slices of bread with a filling are
> virtually unheard of. The Dutch put the topping on just one piece of bread
> then eat it with a knife and fork. That is a habit I have still to
> acquire!!!!!! There isn't even a word for 'sandwich' in Dutch. The closest
> is 'boterham' but that actually means one piece of bread.
>
> There are plenty of other food differences but I guess that will give you a
> bit of an idea.
>
> Cheers from Marie
>
> --- On Sun, 23/5/10, Maureen <berrymaur2@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
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