travel food!!!

I have so been looking forward to this!!! High on my list of priorities for my European Winter adventure this Christmas: FOOD!

It is currently day 2 in Amsterdam, so far I have eaten a lot of Kaas (cheese), mainly Gouda!! As in a lot, breakfast, lunch and dinner (and free tasting cheese too!). Last night we had homemade Dutch Cocoa from our lovely host Anne, it. is. the.shit! It makes the cold disappear, if momentarily. And my lovely travelling companions and I have been sampling all the deep fried classics of the region; frites (fries) with mayonnaise and Oliebolen (dutch doughnuts) which were consumed clutched in my gloves hands walking along the freezing street, a perfect picture! Luckily we are walking a lot to compensate!!

Today, in amongst an amazing adventure of walking the streets, Anne Frank Haus and The Van Gough Museum, I had an awesome lunch, a dutch classic that reminded me of my (non dutch) childhood. Erwtensoep: pea and ham soup with sliced sausage though it. I would say floating but that gives the wrong impression. This soup is super thick, a soup you wade slowly through and that fills you all day, the polar opposite of a broth! Pea and Ham soup is a special food memory of mine from my childhood, it was a dish my parents would cook on wintery Saturdays or long holiday days, starting on the stove mid morning with split peas, ham hock and onions, and slowly bubbling it's way to a thick goodness by dinner. Around lunch time the flavours had developed enough to start sneaking spoonfuls, which we would do all afternoon until dinner. It was wonderful to have such a lovely memory of home in a foreign place.

With the soup I had fresh mint tea, nothing new, but perfectly light and refreshing to balance out the thick, flavour intense soup!!! Still to try while in Amsterdam; croquettes and a gin tasting experience at the House of Bols (super excited about this one!!!).

So I may not be able to blog much, am currently lucky to be staying with free wifi, but with Paris, Budapest, Prague and Milan on the agenda there shall be more food stories to come, even if it must wait until i'm home!!!