TracyFood

Foto Friday: Oma’s 80th birthday 24 July 2009 8:33 am

Posted by Tracy in : cooking,eating,events,family,Holland,Netherlands,pictures,potatoes,salad,travel , 4 comments

According to my mother, the original plan for Oma’s 80th birthday was to keep things simple. Sure, we rescheduled a bit, since December 29 is a terrible time for family gatherings for reasons at least equal in number to the strong personalities involved in such a gathering, and June decreased the likelihood of lousy Dutch winter weather cramming us all indoors together. The date decided, Mom proposed a family meal at a nice restaurant, only then… well, neither she nor my aunt Ingrid are willing to take or give any blame about this development, but next thing anybody knew, a small family get-together had turned into Oma inviting everyone she knows and loves for drinks and munchies in Ingrid’s back yard. What can I say? My Oma loves being in the middle of a crowd, especially a crowd of family and friends, and celebrating someone turning an age with a zero in it kind of means doing whatever they want. (Have I mentioned that I turn 30 in August? But that I don’t know what I want?) Oma wanted a party, and a party she got. (more…)

(Belated) Happy Pi Approximation Day! 23 July 2009 12:16 pm

Posted by Tracy in : baking,cooking,dessert,events,geekery,pictures,seasonality,whoops , 1 comment so far

I meant to post this yesterday, but then I got distracted, perhaps by the delicious desserts…

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Mathematically inclined readers probably already know about celebrating Pi Day on March 14 (ideally at 1:59 in the morning, for more decimal places). What a good excuse for pie, right? Pie for everyone! Yay! Somewhat lesser-known but no less delicious is Pi Approximation Day, July 22. You see, 22/7 = 3.14285… etc. So how does one celebrate the approximation of pi? T-Rex has one suggestion over at Dinosaur Comics, but I prefer to approximate the baked good with other baked goods that are not quite pie: cobblers, crisps, and tarts. Given my history of struggling mightily with pie crusts, 22/7 is my kind of holiday. So yesterday I hit the Union Square Greenmarket with fruit on my mind, and returned home with six beautiful peaches and about a pound and a half of blueberries. (Also a quart of buttermilk, in case I decided to go the “blueberry cobbler with biscuit-y topping” route.) Then I broke open my trusty copy of Baking Illustrated, and (more…)

Tuesday tasting: bike trip beers, part one 14 July 2009 3:17 pm

Posted by Tracy in : food snobbery,geekery,Holland,local food,Netherlands,reviews,taste test,travel , add a comment

I learned a new appreciation for lagers on this bike trip in Holland, which is that hoo lady do they ever go down deliciously on a hot, sweaty summer day. In particular, I have never enjoyed a Heineken as much as I did with our rijsttafel dinner in Hoek van Holland — but honestly, my judgment was probably completely ruined that night by all the babi pangang spek. NOM NOM NOM. Anyway. It turns out I’m way too long-winded to write just one post about all the beers I tasted during Bike Trip! Holland! 2009! so I will break things up into shorter posts, organized in chronological order. Our first stop is

Erik de Noorman, Huisbrouwerij Klein Duimpje

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Monkey Monday: Michael Jackson edition 13 July 2009 9:09 am

Posted by Tracy in : cheese,eating,events,fangirl,Holland,monkeys,news,random,travel,video,weird , add a comment

I was eating popcorn when I finally and unexpectedly got emotional about Michael Jackson’s death. Not yucky microwave stuff, but real popcorn, homemade in a pan on the stove, with salt and pepper and nutritional yeast. That’s what makes this a food story. I’m posting it this Monkey Monday because it’s not going to get any more timely, and because it’s pretty freaking random (also, y’know, Bubbles). Anyway. Here goes.

When I got home from Holland last Thursday, (more…)

Very quick hit: live from Oud-Ade, NL 8 July 2009 10:05 am

Posted by Tracy in : family,Holland,hot mess,Netherlands,random,travel , add a comment

We celebrated my grandmother’s 80th birthday on June 28th, Peter’s birthday on Monday, and now I must run back to my grandparents’ house to keep celebrating my mother today. Here’s a very little bit more about what I’ve been up to for the past two-odd weeks. Also here’s the last thing I cooked before going on the trip (consider it a promise to post more pictures of what I’ve cooked and eaten over here):