Good Things Come in Small Pillows...

...small pillows of doughy goodness, that is. Yesterday I sampled an amazing Dutch treat - poffertjes. 

Poffertjes are sometimes called miniature Dutch pancakes, by that name is completely misleading, at least in my opinion. Maybe because miniature pancakes conjures up images of silver dollar pancakes which are completely different. 

Pancakes, at least the American version, are round and flat, but substantive, like a sweet, spongy frisbee. In contrast, French crepes are paper thin pancakes that are usually filled with fruit or savories and then folded. On the surface crepes and poffertjes but the Dutch mini pancake can thank crepes and Napolean for its existence. 

Crepes were traditionally made from wheat flour. During the Napolenic wars, however, the Fench Army pretty much took all of the wheat flour for themselves. French monks who presumably couldn't live without their delicious crepes began experimenting with buckwheat and yeast to compensate of the lack of wheat flour. 

Necessity really is the mother of invention or the mere of poffertjes in this case. Some Dutch traders who were traveling thought France and got hungry, dropped in on the monka. The monks trotted out some tasty little pillows of yummy and the traders couldn't get enough. This last part might not be entirely true, but Dutch traders did acquire the recipe from the monks and took it back to Holland with them and adapted it to become modern Dutch poffertjes. 

While normally served with butter and powdered sugar, I borrowe a page from those Dutch traders and did some adapting of my own. I added strawberries and Nutella for an amazingly delicious local meal!

Orange is the New King

I'm been in Amsterdam since Wednesday and with each day the preparations for Queen's Day have progressed.  Surrounded by flags and posters and t-shirts all referring to Queen's Day, I thought I'd learn a little bit about it and why it's such a big deal this year.

Queen's Day is like a a big, nation-wide birthday party for the Queen of the Netherlands.  The Dutch dress up in orange, the royal color (since their last name, not coincidentally, means orange in Dutch) and hit the streets for a fun celebration. Queen's Day is traditionally held on the Queen's Birthday, which makes sense, right?  Well, that was the tradition until the current Queen, Beatrix, took the throne.  Beatrix's birthday is in November, which as it turns out isn't the best time of year for a huge outdoor party.  So Beatrix decided to leave Queen's Day on her mother's birthday, April 30th.

This year is the last Queen's day because Beatrix is taking a page from Pope Benedict's 2013 playbook and retiring.  Technically it's called abdicating, but at the end of the day, Beatrix is ready for some R & R, so her son Willem-Alexander is taking over.  This means the end of Queen Day.  It will be replaced next year by King Day.  And since the heir-apparent's birthday is three days before his mother's, the April party will likely continue for many years to come.

The Two Wheelers Don't Stop

So I fell off the wagon again.  That every part of the every day was really working against me.  Despite learning tons and tons of super interesting stuff about things like psychic moments, Book TV, and the Vitamin Vault in the past few months, I couldn't quite get over the idea that I had once again dropped the "every" ball.  Until today, when I decided that nearly everyday was a goal I could live with.  And now that I've gotten that out of the way it is time to get back to learning!

Today is a bit of a summary from the past few days.  I'm in Amsterdam on a business trip.  I have never been to Amsterdam before and though I've had very little time to explore I can already tell that I'll be back.  It is a beautiful city with great architecture lining a series of beautiful canals.  We took a boat ride when I first arrived where I noticed that many of the houses have a giant hook attached to a large beam that jutts out from the top of the building.  I quickly learned that those hooks were originally put there hundreds of years ago so that residents could hoist their belongings up above rising water in the event of what apparently were frequent floods.  After the past two weeks I think some houses along the Des Plaines river back home should look into this technique!

I also learned that the bicycle reigns supreme here in Amsterdam.  Bicycles are a preferred mode of transportation.  All over the city there are dedicated bike lanes for two wheel afficianados.  I was told that there are approximately 1.5 bicycles per person in the city.  And let me tell you there are strength in numbers.  I have been told countless times to watch out for the bicycles.  Cab drivers, the hotel staff, friendly locals are constantly preaching this mantra of safety.  Believe me, it's good advice since cyclists don't stop.  They may ring their bell and yell at you, but they stop only for red lights...sometimes.  You definitely have to be on your toes walking around the city!

And speaking of reign, tomorrow I'll fill you in on the upcoming Queen's Day which I learned about from my cab driver this morning.  Until tomorrow...or sometime close to tomorrow.