Growing up, breakfast was a BIG DEAL in my household of 5. We’d rifle through cereal, toast, oatmeal, cream of wheat and fruit during weekday mornings, but come Sunday (after church), we were in for a treat-a grand, homemade, hearty breakfast: my mom’s famous country potatoes and my dad’s ultra famous omelettes. My dad didn’t cook much, but his breakfast, was and is, epic! What’s so great about omelettes, you say? Puh-leeez. If you have to ask, you haven’t had an omelette; you’ve had imitations. Little old me, I paid attention. And I’m proud to come as close as possible to replicating my dad’s famous omelettes.

So, for our last morning in Kona, the S.O. and I perfected breakfast once again; he pulled together the sides while I went to work on my fave way to eat eggs. When all was said and done, we were so satisfied we both almost fell asleep on the deck as fountains cascading in the distance lulled our eyes closed. One warning: this meal may lead you back under the covers. Proceed with caution!

Omelette Breakfast

Ingredients

*ingredients are for 2 omelettes, split ingredients in half per omelette

4 eggs

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 cup chopped green onions

1 chopped bell pepper

1 1/2 cups smoked gouda, shredded (or your choice of cheese, shredded)

cooking oil/olive oil

seasoning salt (to taste)

ground pepper (to taste)

dash of cayenne pepper (optional, I like a little spice)

garlic powder (to taste)

sour cream

salsa

ketchup/bbq sauce (optional)

hot sauce (optional)

hash browns or potatoes (for your side dish)

Preparation

~If you decide to use frozen hash brown patties, which are my absolute fave, put them in the oven BEFORE preparing your omelette, they will take much longer (about 20 minutes baked). The same applies to country potatoes~

After chopping up your vegetables and shredding your cheese, set aside and crack your eggs into a small mixing bowl. For my own omelette, I use 2 eggs, but for my S.O. who has a hearty man appetite, I use 3 eggs.

Season your eggs with seasoning salt, grounded pepper (I use the kind you grind yourself), garlic powder and a dash of cayenne.

For each omelette, you will use 3/4 cup of shredded smoked gouda. (I chose smoked gouda because it is my favorite cheese; it adds a great smoky flavor and you won’t need much because of its richness)

Add half of the shredded gouda to your scrambled egg mix. You will use the rest inside of your omelette. Aside from cheese and seasoning, you will NOT add anything else to your eggs. Scramble your eggs until they are evenly mixed.

Preheat a medium sized non-stick fying pan to medium-low and line bottom with cooking oil/olive oil. You do not want your heat too high, or your eggs will burn and you’ll be unable to flip your omelette closed. This is essential; I still make this mistake, but since I’m a pro, I can recover.

Add egg mixture to pan. Eggs should spread out enough to cover most of the pan’s bottom. Let the eggs cook on medium-low so that they create a flat pancake. If your eggs begin to bubble with holes, your heat is too high.

Use a plastic spatula to separate the edges of the egg pancake from the pan’s sides. You want to be able to flip the pancake in half once you add the ingredients.

Once the eggs have created a solid pancake, you will add the rest of your cheese and your vegetables, placing them as flat as possible on the eggs. You want to still see egg yolk uncooked on top of the egg pancake, this is the secret to a succulent omelette. Add the cheese first, topped with vegetables.

Using a spatula, flip one side of the egg pancake to the other, creating a taco-like effect. If you start to flip one side and your eggs break apart, stop, and let the egg pancake cook longer.

Once you’ve flipped one side over, let cook for another minute. Then, flip the omelette on its open side, so that you create a burrito-like effect. This is the hardest part.

It may take a few tries, but I’m confident you can do it!

Let omelette cook another 2 minutes, and remove from heat. Top with salsa, sour cream, and green onions (I keep some left over).

Pair with the baked hash browns (in which I cover in ketchup or bbq sauce) and bam!

Certified best breakfast ever, and you are now officially a breakfast chef!

the S.O.’s plate (he has a sense of humor-ha ha.)

  the gotta-have sauces

Breakfast in Kona

I write this at the special request of a lovely friend of mine who wanted me to write about how to compose a cheese board for a party.  I’m not a cheese-pert (get it?  cheese expert? Ba-dum-tish I’ll be here all week), but I do love cheese.  I also love me some wine-tasting and nothing really goes over better at a wine tasting than a platter full of exotic cheeses to taste with (or without) your various wines.  So, if this isn’t what she meant about a cheese-platter, then…better luck next time, Joanna.

With this in mind, I’m going to lay out my general requirements for cheese tray composition and my reasonings.

Step 1:  Start with real cheese.  Unless you’re throwing some gross hipster party where EVERYTHING has to be ironic and your cheese tray consists of a block of Velveeta with raisins stuck in it next to a cylinder of Cheez Whiz, you shouldn’t be capable of messing this one up.  A decent rule of thumb is that if your cheese has a European-sounding name, it’s probably a real cheese.  Nobody wants to find out how Kraft American singles, or that individually-wrapped, highly-suggestive string cheese tastes when paired with a Bordeaux.

Step 2:  Pick AT LEAST 3 different kinds of cheese.  Unless you are making a tray where you have a thing of cheese-dip in the center, or something spreadable like a baked brie, give your guests choices.  Yay, choices.

I personally prefer to always offer 4 different types of cheese if I can manage it.  Yes, good cheese is expensive, but that’s why you ask your wine-party guests to all bring a bottle of wine to your house-it works out in the end…. possibly on the floor.

These are the types of cheeses I would recommend.  It’s not comprehensive, nor is it the way to go about learning cheeses in EARNEST.  But it makes for a reliably bangin’ cheese platter.  Cheese trays are also an awesome way to explore the different genres of cheese that exist in the world because cheeses are as different and various as wines, beers, and dogs.

#1: A sweet cheese.  (Britain)

Sweet cheeses are easily accessible and often contain candied fruit.  Shown at top, in the bottom right, is a White Stilton with Cranberries.  It’s the girliest, gentlest cheese on the board, and is sure to please someone.  I’ve seen cheeses with blueberries, candied ginger, and figs swirled inside them and they’re all yummy.  Also, these cheeses tend to be of the crumbly variety such as Stilton, Wensleydale, or Lancashire.  In a word, they hail from fair Albion.

#2: A hard cheese (Italy or Spain)

Here lies a stubborn brick of Asiago, Parmesan, Peccorino, or Manchego.  The kind of cheese that is best slivered off due to its possible potency.  Not every hard cheese is as severe as Asiago, but they provide a very different flavor profile from the sweet cheese.  The texture is grainy instead of smushably crumbly, and the flavor is savory, robust, or sharp.  In the photo atop, I have a Peccorino Tuscano (which means it’s from Tuscany, but you knew that because you’re smart) at the bottom left.

#3: A smoky cheese (Anywhere)

My personal favorite is smoked Gouda.  Oh, I love Gouda.  The smoky cheese is strong in flavor, but rich in texture.  Applewood-smoked, hickory-smoked, porter-soaked.  This is where the sharp cheddar from a hippie-conclave in Wisconsin or Vermont can sing, or some concoction from Scotland that has had dark beer poured into it like the sweet cheese’s berries bellows.  The smoky cheese provides a contrast to the hard cheese both in texture and in flavor profile.  It can point out to your guests that just because a cheese is savory and flavorful, they don’t always taste the same.  In fact, they can be worlds apart.  And this cheese will comfort them after they’ve spent five minute whittling away at the hard cheese.

#4: A funky cheese (France, Belgium, Germany)

I mean funky- like, it smells weird.  This is the room-divider cheese.  On beginner cheese boards, I like for this to be some creamy, French thing like Brie or Camembert.  But, Brie and Camembert still have an odd tang to them from their particular strains of mold.  Patrick and I both HATED Brie for years because we’d only tried the bargain stuff.  And, there are plenty of people out there who still hate Brie and the horse it rode in on.  Other funky cheeses include the Bleu Cheese family (Roquefort, et al.), Limburger, or Taleggio (which I still can’t stomach).  The point of the funky cheese is not to gross out your guests, but to challenge them.  A good funky cheese is a fascinating experience that shouldn’t be left out because it’s initially gross.  The texture of the funky cheese can range from “How is this solid right now?” to “Blue-chez salad crumbles”.  But no matter the texture, there will always be a strange flavor in the funky cheese.  This shouldn’t entail its banishment from the cheese-board, though.  In fact, Patrick has become something of a Brie-fiend, so it just goes to show that once a funk-hater doesn’t necessitate always a funk-hater.  Also, funky-cheese-lovers will flip out that you’ve put something out for them, especially when it goes mostly untouched and they can start cutting big, squishy masses off for their personal gluttony.

#5 The fifth cheese (Anywhere)

This is where you can go crazy, or add in a cheese I haven’t mentioned.  Cheeses like Emmentaler, Feta, or Chevre should not be forgotten.  They are also DELICIOUS, but feta is salty, emmental is reliably middle-of-the-road, and chevre can overwhelm guests with its ‘goatiness’.  So, if you’ve got money left in the budget, pick up with weirdest cheese you can find and see if anybody will eat it.

Presentation

The final factor for your cheese board is presentation.  And I don’t mean making it look fancy- I mean making sure your guests know what they’re eating.  I’m lucky enough to have gotten a fancy cheese-board as a wedding gift years back, so I have shmancy ceramic label thingies.  You don’t really need this.  Hell, you can leave the cheeses in their plastic wrap until the guests arrive- so long as they know what’s going in their mouths.  Because really, half the fun of the cheese-board is talking with your friends about which ones you like and which ones taste best with which.  If you don’t know what anything is named, you can never have this conversation.

So, label yo cheez.

Also, provide at least one knife!  Nothing is more awkward than being a guest and trying to break off a serving of cheese with a flimsy cracker.  Or even more guilt-inducing, clawing some off with your bare fingers.  Be kind and sanitary, provide cutting implements.

How to take your cheese-platter to the next level

You could leave it at that.  3-5 amazing cheeses, labelled for your party-mates’ consumption.  But NO!  You are not the ordinary host/ess!  You go above and beyond!  This is going to be a cheese-board that people talk about for MONTHS.  They will copy your ideas!  They just won’t shut up!

Wouldn’t that be nice.

Idea #1:   Provide flavor-neutral carby-munchables.

Crackers, pita chips, and small circles of crusty French bread can be arranged stylishly in the background of the cheese-board.  This is particularly appreciated when paired with the funky cheese, as it can be squashy.  Also, a bland carb is good for clearing the palette between bites of cheese so the guest can enjoy each distinct flavor.  You don’t have to get fancy.  Get a loaf of artisan bread and chop it into bite-sized cubes and put them in a bowl.  Guests will love grabbing a handful to eat between, or in tandem with, their cheeses.

Idea #2:  Provide different kinds of fats and proteins.

The reason why cheese goes so well with wine is the way in which fats react with tannins.  Cheeses keep the tannins in a bold red wine from puckering your cheeks in, and vice versa, the wine will make that asiago less fierce.  But there are so many different kinds of fats.  I recommend putting out slivers of fatty meats or nuts.  For example, chorizo or prosciutto make amazing additions to a cheese board because their flavors are so vastly different from the cheeses, but their fat is comparable.  It’s super cool to taste wines in the context of equal fats, different flavors.  Nuts are also cool because it gives vegans a chance, and they provide a new texture.  Walnuts, smoked almonds, savory pecans, or pistachios all give pizzazz.

Yeah, I just said pizzazz.  Deal with it.

Also, people like my husband will make high-class lunchables with the cheese, prosciutto, and bread slices.  And whatever makes the guest happy….

Idea #3:  Provide a sweet.

Oh Lord, this is where your cheese-board will launch into history or outer-space.  Provide a SWEET.  And by this I will direct your attention back to the photo at the top of this post.  You can see a little silver, metal bowl thingie behind the cheese but in front of the bread.  It’s the thing that restaurants like TGIFridays bring you ranch for your salad in.  Inside is a potent concoction of sweetness for dipping the bread, cheese, nuts, or, heck, even the meats in.  My personal favorite is one I culled from the cheese board served at 622 North Main St. (a swanky restaurant in town).  It is a bowl of HONEY drizzled with BALSAMIC VINEGAR.

You might have just made an icky-face, but wait, friend!  No!  Only a teaspoon of balsamic swirled into 3 tablespoons of honey will make a sweet and sour dip that will blow. your. mind.  You can mix it up.  Try maple syrup with a dash of cayenne pepper on the top.  I haven’t tried that, but who knows?  It could be awesome!

Or you can arrange delicious  bits of fruit such as grapes, berries, or dried mango.  What about candied ginger?  So long as it’s little- comparable in size to a chunk of cheese- sweet things can be… anything!

My point is, by putting out a small, potent, and sweet alternative, it will give the non-savory-loving guests, who have spent all night chomping down the Stilton, an option.  And everybody loves dipping things.  And if you’re worried about the notion of dipping bread in straight honey, remind yourself:  you are working on eating a board covered in cheese.  Nothing but cheese.  Fatty, delicious, cheese.  Chill out about health for one night.

So, there you have it folks.  My personal guide to making an amazing cheese-board for parties (wine-parties, at least).  Make sure you buy enough cheese for everybody, or that you buy cheeses you won’t mind polishing off if there’s left-overs.  Make sure stuff is labelled and of good quality.  Don’t eat it all before your quests arrive.  And ask them for feedback.  It’s fun to learn what kind of cheeses people like or dislike.  The best outcome is introducing somebody to a taste combination they fall in love with.  Few things make me happier than people moaning over food, so see if you can get your guests moaning.  Cheese will certainly get you far.

Made from scratch pizza using local ingredients bought from farmers market. Recipe soon to follow from CK’s Kitchen.

The old nuns’ courtyard which we definitely broke into after hours

To start things off, I wrote most of this blog post over a week ago, but then didn’t have time to finish it up and left it until after my mom and sister visited, so now the whole beginning part is full of lies (not really full of lies, that’s a little dramatic—it just isn’t happening right now). Instead of going back and hanging everything which would be contrary to my never-read-anything-over-a-second-time policy, I thought I would leave it as is and clarify the time difference. So, get ready for a blast from the past.

I’m in the middle of a full snowstorm freak-out here in France right now. And by snowstorm, I mean three inches of snow. Seriously, it snowed three inches Monday night, and so they canceled all the buses and trains on Tuesday. Only twelve kids showed up for school and the heat was broken. And then the trains and buses were canceled on Wednesday, and—you guessed it—the buses were still canceled today, which meant that each class only had four or five kids. I can’t even imagine if they had even one Massachusetts winter, but I’m pretty sure the government would collapse and the euro would be officially finished.

Canals for days

I also went to Amsterdam this past weekend. If you’re expecting to hear about a pot-fueled hooker fest, than read no further, because that’s not what I did there. In fact, I felt like the city has a pretty bad rap amongst American college students. It’s like the main attraction of Amsterdam is the fact that you can smoke pot in public and they have a red light district, and that certainly wasn’t why I wanted to go there in visit. It’s only three hours away by bus, so my friends and I figured, why not? But I was shocked when I arrived at the city and saw how beautiful it was and how much there was to do there. The whole center is pretty small marked out by canals in concentric circles. We spent a ton of time walking around and just looking at how beautiful everything was, even though the weather was horrible and it was raining half the time. On the first day, my friend Megan and I went to the Jewish History museum and the Portuguese synagogue. I always love seeing synagogues in Europe because there’s so many beautiful churches preserved, and so few synagogues, and so every time I visit a city with one it’s really exciting. But the highlight of the whole thing was the Jewish foods exhibit in the Jewish History museum because they had a tasting. So Megan and I crowded around a table with a bunch of old Dutch people and tried some proper Jewish foods, like matzah, candied etrog, maror, and gefilte fish. They also had charoset, which is a part of the Passover sedar. Since everyone I know is Ashkenazi (of European origins), I’m used to the Ashkenazi charoset, which is made with apples, sweet wine, sugar, nuts, and is absolutely delicious. Seriously, I think I ate two full bowls of charoset at last year’s Passover sedar. But here they had the Sephardic (of Spanish/North African heritage) charoset which was made with dates and was completely different to what I was used to, and still really good.

This is the first time I’ve ever smiled while eating matzah

We also tried to go to the diamond museum. We spent a lot of time walking around the city and looking at things, so by the time we got there it was closing in a half hour, but we thought, hey, we can at least check if it’s really closing. So we walked in, and a guard took our names and ushered us through a second set of doors, and we realized that we had actually walked into the high end diamond store instead of the diamond museum. One of the employees came up to us and offered so show us around, and we got to learn about the diamond-making process and look at diamonds costing tens or hundreds of thousands of euros. I didn’t get any souvenirs this time.

Our friend Valerie joined us on the second day for our museum day (she actually had to work the day we were leaving—weird, we’re assistants in France, I didn’t even know that happened). They were going to the Rijksmuseum, which is big, national art gallery with all the Dutch masters. There was only time for one museum, and the modern art museum was right across the street, and I decided that I would take my chances on that one because that’s more my thing. Usually modern art museums are really hit or miss, but the Stedelijk was incredible. There was a great mix of 20^th century paintings and weird stuff that makes you stop and think, “wait, I am in a museum, right?” and I loved the whole thing. It was much better than the Van Gogh museum, which we went to the next day. They’re in the middle of building a new museum, so they had a partial collection in another museum in the city. The paintings were really beautiful, but they charged fifteen euros, which is a pretty ballsy price for a fraction of the entire collection. They did do a good job of showing how his style changed, and I had no idea how obsessed he was with Japan, but the whole time I was a little distracted by the gall they had to charge fifteen euro for the whole thing.

Look how Dutch we are

The other big highlight of the weekend was the cheese-tasting. Megan found a store that sold traditional, Dutch cheeses that also held tasting sessions, and so we decided to go to one, since we all really love cheese. The tasting was in the basement of the store, and we all sat at little tables with huge blocks of cheese in front of us. I sat alone, which meant I was able to eat as much cheese as I wanted and there was no one to judge me (or take any of my cheese). The woman was leading us through the tasting, calling our attention to the color or the smell, and we were supposed to write down our observations. I did an appalling job of describing anything about the cheeses; I filled out less than a quarter of the boxes with the least descriptive terms available to me like “yellow.” But even though I was a complete failure as a cheese tester, it was still interesting to taste all the differences, and we learned some cool stuff, like gouda cheeses were invented in gouda, but they never controlled the name. This never would have happened in France, where they have all kinds of laws and sections of the government to make sure that foods made outside of a particular region cannot take the name of the regional food, like how sparkling wine can only be called Champagne if it is made in the Champagne area of France—a rule which the United States blatantly ignores, judging by the disgusting $5 bottles of American-made “champagne” I’ve had the pleasure of tasting during my college years. But the Dutch didn’t think ahead like the French, and they didn’t control the name gouda, so now any cheese that is matured in the giant, wax wheels can be called gouda cheese even if it was made somewhere else. Apparently they’re trying to go back and control the name now but it looks like it’s too far gone for that.

So all in all, I give Amsterdam a thumbs up, and I’m really glad we booked a last minute trip there, because why not take advantage of being so close? It was definitely a lot better than I expected, after hearing most stories about trips to the city revolve around how cool it was to smoke pot in public. And even though we didn’t try out a coffee shop, we did get a little peek at the city’s seedier side when we walked through the Red Light District, which I fondly remember as being featured on an episode of America’s Next Top Model. We went really early, so not too much was happening, but really, it was just kind of startling and uncomfortable to be walking down the street and then all of a sudden someone is moving in the window right next to you and she’s in her underwear. For some reason I was expecting the people to all be in windows higher up, and so it was weird that they were all right there. It was even weirder when, on the first day, Megan and I unknowingly started walking around the Red Light District. We were trying to take a picture of a church, and then all of a sudden a half-naked lady wearing some sort of fishnet creation walked out of the door right behind us. So yeah, I did get to see some of that.

The other thing: Dutch people are so nice. Seriously, I could not believe it. I’ve heard over and over again how nice the people in Amsterdam are, but I still wasn’t prepared for it. Sometimes in foreign cities, I get the feeling that people are really annoyed by all the tourists, and the people working in the tourist industries, especially in stores, are just phoning it in and would rather be anywhere else. But even though Amsterdam was teeming with tourists, there was never the feeling that it was a huge annoyance to the people living there (as opposed to the feeling you would get in Paris) and people went out of their way to help us find stuff.

Almost…

Another good think about the city is that it’s an Olympic city, which I didn’t know until we pulled up at the bus station and saw the Olympic stadium across the street. The games were in 1928, so I didn’t remember them being there—my bad. For all of the loyal readers who have been reading this blog since the summer, and all of the people who know me in real life and have every talked to me during an Olympics year (I suspect those categories will overlap quite a bit), it’s a known fact that I’m obsessed with the Olympics, so that made me love the city even more. We didn’t have time to go into the Olympics museum, but I did go into the stadium and the lobby and took a few pictures before we got our bus.

And I guess that about sums up the trip to Amsterdam, which was probably very choppy and made not too much sense but oh well. I will hopefully soon find the time to write about my mom and sister’s visit, which shouldn’t be too hard because I have tons of classes cancelled this week and next week, and nothing much to do. I’m also almost done with work, which I can’t believe. Sometimes I feel like I’ve hardly worked at all and then I realize that’s completely true. But seriously, I only have three weeks left here, and then I’m leaving France until who knows when? But before then, I am going to eat as many carambar macaroons as possible and enjoy my life of luxury funded by the French government.

When you first see the little fella you can help but grin. After all, who doesn’t like monkeys. But after editing the picture , the sucker could be a mite scary. But monkeys are all cute even the scary ones. They have a full menu. Big salads, little salads, sandwiches and daily lunch specials. Which are five dollars for a slice of pizza of the day, a small salad and a soft drink. That seems like a bargain. But Pat and I wanted PIZZA. They offer a 10 inch pie for $6.85. They also have an extensive list of toppings. From the traditional to the not so traditional. Such as chorizo sausage from Smokin’ Goose Meatery to Cajun sausage from a joint in New Orleans. In addition to the common cheese offerings they also have less common. Feta,smoked Gouda and Gorgonzola. Now I like all forms of blue cheese, but I don’t dig melted bleu cheese; it has a metallic aftertaste to me. The verdict was unanimous. They offer a fine ass pizza pie. The crust is thin and slightly crispy and the sauce is slightly chunky, which gives it more mouth appeal. The toppings are nicely portioned and the pricing is more than fair. Two 10 inch pies with two toppings each totaled less than $18. Now what do you need a chain for when you can get a pizza like this at a mom and pops? And as you can see their pies are quite photogenic.

I did, however, make some smokin’ smoked cheese buns to go with soup last night for dinner, and thought that would be worthy of sharing instead! My husband and I recently visited one of our few Nova Scotian cheese producers and discovered a new favourite cheese. Most smoked cheeses we’ve tried are produced by adding liquid smoke, but the fine folks at That Dutchman’s Farm, who specialize in different types of gouda, actually smoke their cheeses in a smoker after the cheese is made. What a difference!

I usually make biscuits to go with soup because they are much quicker to make, but it’s been a while since I made buns, and I had the time so I thought that would be nice. I made a half whole wheat, half all-purpose flour roll recipe, and simply added about a cup of grated smoked old gouda cheese while mixing. The smoky flavour was noticeable in the buns but not overwhelming. They ended up being the perfect accompaniment to our creamy squash-beet soup!

The site of our lunch was Joseph Phelps, renowned for their reds.  I knew I needed a menu that would support the wine tasting as well as be be served at room temperature (to account for the transport and inability to heat prep when I arrived).  The result was a simple collection of  cheeses, cured meats, salad, and pressed pork belly.  Choosing the cheeses to pair with the wines did take some thought as reds are harder to pair than whites.  I chose a Gouda from Holland, my hubby’s favorite blue, St. Agur, and an earthy mushroom brie.

I would have loved to serve something beefy with Joseph Phelphs’ Rhone style reds, but I promised a lighter lunch so we can continue filling our bellies in Yountville afterwards (hey, don’t judge). =)   So I felt the next best thing had to be pressed pork belly, with garlic wine sauce.  It was served over a quinoa and cauliflower salad.  There was a leafy arugula salad too!

I couldn’t resist making wine charms for our glasses.

We ended with wine cupcakes and a plethora of fruit.  And since this is Napa, staying hydrated is important.  I prepared water bottles for the road.

It was a gorgeous day and many laughs were shared over our simple meals. Food, fun, and my besties, I couldn’t have  asked for more.  If you get a chance to visit Joseph Phelps, I know you will have just as great of a time.   As an incentive, you will be greeted by the cutest and fluffiest sheep ever.  I’m told “baa” means welcome.

De bewoners werden dit niet in dank afgenomen en werden bedreigd en belaagd door marokkanen die de school snachts binnenvielen. Met de nodige dreigementen als :  we gaan jullie neerschieten en we gooien brandbommen naar binnen etc etc. Even later ging er een groot raam aan gort , dit was de druppel. Men moest dagelijks, s nachts politie inschakelen omdat het uit de hand liep. Grote hekken werden om het gebouw geplaatst waardoor het hele pand gebaricadeerd werd en de bewoners zich nog onveiliger voelden omdat men niet meer in en uit kon. Ook de post was een groot probleem want deze kon niet meer de post bezorgen. Twee van de drie bewoners kwamen vanuit een andere stad en hadden net hun uitkeringen gestopt ivm verhuizen en hadden deze in Gouda weer aangevraagd maar wisten niet dat ze binnen een paar weken weer uit het pand moesten,. 

De gemeente beloofde wel een alternatief maar dit werd twee bewoners niet geboden. Sterker nog, de bovenste bewoner kreeg dit alternatief aangeboden door ak beheer maar mocht dit niet verder vertellen aan de andere twee. Waarvan er 1 hartpatient is en minder valide. DIt wist de gemeente maar die hield zich niet thuis en onttrok zich van elke verantwoordelijkheid. Binnekort zullen we hier de gesprekken die zijn opgenomen plaatsen zodat u kunt horen hoe schandalig een gemeente kan omgaan met zijn burgers! Een foutje is menselijk…. maar dit slaat werkelijk alles!! 

Hieronder dan het artikel wat men nooit tegen de bewoners had gezegd en maar waar de gemeente allang van op de hoogte was. De geplande sloop van de Anne Frankschool.

 

 

Goudse Post 23 dec 2011

GOUDA – Het gebouw van de voormalige Anne Frankschool in Gouda Oost wordt in april dit jaar gesloopt. Eén van de huurders is de vereniging R&M. Zij hebben besloten met de sluiting van het pand de vereniging op te heffen.

In april gaat het gebouw tegen de
vlakte.

De komende maanden wordt in overleg met de gemeente en de betrokken huurders gezocht naar alternatieve locaties om de activiteiten voort te zetten, zoals in het onlangs gebouwde Nelson Mandela Centrum.

De sloop van de Anne Frank maakt onderdeel uit van de vernieuwing van Gouda Oost. De wijk groeit door naar een ruim opgezette wijk met onderwijs, recreatie, winkelvoorzieningen en sociale voorzieningen om de leefbaarheid te verbeteren. De wijkvernieuwing brengt de komende jaren sloop van gebouwen en tijdelijke leegstand met zich mee. Zo wordt de Anne Frankschool in april gesloopt. Maar het betekent ook nieuwbouw zoals het onlangs opgeleverde Nelson Mandela Centrum aan het Wilsonplein. Een overzicht van de huidige activiteiten in Gouda Oost is te vinden op gouda.nl/wijkontwikkeling.

After Hannah and her Dad left for Hannah’s piano lessons, I got moving and started making tacos. I was inspired by Ree Drummond’s Salad Tacos, so here, I make them, too.

Ingredients

• 16 whole Taco Shells
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 3 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
• 1 can (4 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• Salt To Taste
• 1 can (14.5 Ounce) Beans (kidney, Pinto, Chili), Undrained
• 1/2 cup Hot Water
• 1 head Green Leaf Lettuce, Sliced Very Thin
• 1 cup Grape Tomatoes, Halved (or Diced Regular Tomatoes)
• 1 cup Grated Cheese (cheddar, Jack, Or Cheddar/jack)
• FOR THE DRESSING:
• 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Sour Cream
• 1/4 cup Salsa
• 1 Tablespoon Ranch Dressing Mix (optional)
• Extra Hot Sauce (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Brown ground beef until fully cooked. Drain excess fat, then add taco seasoning, tomato paste, beans, and hot water. Stir to combine, then add salt as needed. Keep warm.

She included a recipe for the salad dressing but I used a leftover one from my Easy Soft Pretzels that the kids and I made a few days ago. I also used the leftover ground beef from the patty melts I made earlier. (I love using leftover ingredients that are sitting in the ref. I am economical like that ).

I just added a can of white beans, taco seasoning, and tomato paste according to Ree’s recipe. (By the way, I also made my own taco seasoning because the store-bought one has cumin and the family doesn’t like its taste and fragrance).

I was excited to make the tacos because our family has “discovered” a haven for gourmet cooks (like me! ) and the ingredients are really fresh. (By God’s grace, I’m going to post a story about that for the benefit of those local readers who are also wondering where to find fresh, as well as hard-to-find ingredients).

The taco is ready to be built up.

After drizzling the salad dressing, I scattered the grated cheese on top. This way, it will adhere to the dressing and will not fall off.

A close-up because I love photographing my work . It’s my reward!

And here’s Tim with his trademark funny face enjoying his taco. Taco is a great way to sneak in veggies for the kids that otherwise they would find unappealing.

Our family has discovered, too, that in order to eat your taco with a minimum of crumbs falling to the ground, you must eat it at a weird angle as Hannah demonstrates here .

I might be linking up with these lovely blogs.

Journey with Jesus,

And we attempt to interview, and then give up and just enjoy some wine, grilled cheese conversation and other cheese related foods, like food shake and cheesing the night. And Kazastan. NASA. How good is Dallas BBQ, and mcoladas.

But hey we’re here to talk about SOCIAL politics, not ACTUAL politics (though, in this case, they do involve similar levels of scumbaggery), so let’s get started.

We head back to the Favorite’s camp (and I’m going to miss calling them that), in the day for once, due to Brandon’s unconventional ouster, where everyone tries to bond together.  Phillip even does his best Coach (“Survivor Tocantins”) impression, trying to give a hearty speech about loyalty.  Corinne does kind of wreck the moment by getting cynical about Dawn suggesting that she wanted to say something to defend the entire tribe against Brandon, and she actually kind of has a good point.  Dawn’s only wanting to defend certain people kind of marks out who she likes particularly in the tribe, good catch Corinne.  All told, though, the tribe seems to be one big happy family.  Of course, there is a brief scene where Phillip talks about wanting to get rid of Corinne, but that plot thread is forgotten about for a little bit.  YAY, HAPPY!

Now, we can’t have that, can we?  Of course not, the ominous tree-mail music said so.  As if the “Survivor” clichés weren’t enough, Reynold then makes a statement about “wanting something to shift in the game”, that I swear had to be set up, or else take from an earlier (or later) point.  There’s no way, absolutely no way, the producers could have timed things that perfectly.

First, though, we still have fallout from Three-Hantz Island to deal with.  Michael takes his turn at stating the obvious by mentioning how it brought hope to the Fans tribe.  Matt also speaks up, commenting that even he thought that what Phillip took from Brandon is harsh.  Aw, come on Matt, I like you!  Don’t ruin it now by sticking up for Phillip, particularly in the blog where I REALLY lay into his gameplay (some may see that as harsh, given how mean I’ve been to him in the past few weeks, but he deserves it, come on)!

Probst gets it over with quickly, though, doubtless because they have an exciting new way of switching up the tribes!  You know, the tribe switches have become kind of lackluster of late, but this is effectively an “All-Star” season, they pull out all the stops for those!  They must have been saving something… Yeah, it’s the fucking eggs again.  I posted about them in my first ever blog for “Survivor South Pacific”, and I laid into them again for “Survivor One World”, and suffice to say, my opinion hasn’t changed about them. Except now, instead of just being lazy, they’re now being FREAKING lazy, and as we all know from Carl Bilancione (“Survivor Africa”) “It’s one thing to be lazy, but to be FREAKING lazy is another thing entirely.”

So the damn lazy, showoff-y eggs are smashed, with the result that Brenda, Malcolm, Andrea, and Erik join the Fan’s side, while Michael, Matt, and the ever-gorgeous Julia join the Favorite’s side.  Hmm, with the mixer, I suppose I’ll have to learn the ACTUAL tribe names now.  I’ll figure it out eventually, but I think the orange tribe is Goat, and the purple tribe is Lakib.

So, as is his want, Probst must ask the castaways to INSTANTLY size up their tribes, and not wanting to offend anyone, everyone blathers nonsense about their tribe.  Cochran calls it “A new start to the game.” (cliché #564), Matt talks about how all the people he likes are on this tribe, and Brenda comments on how happy she is in general (you know, people talk a LOT on the internet about how there’s been neither hide nor hair of Julia this season, but honestly, what about Brenda?  She’s been mysteriously absent as well, and you’d think that people would notice that as well.  It also seems out of character, particularly given how much of a player she usually is.).  These are bland, boring, political answers, so I will give my own impressions, even though all but the last one are pretty much stating the obvious.

The old Favorites clearly have the advantage, as they were such a united front overall (“Stealth ‘R Us” aside), and they now have the numbers on both tribes, being 4 out of the 7 of each.  Still, there is one bright spot for each tribe: Gouda has Erik and Brenda, who were on the outs, should know they’re STILL on the outs, and could organize a coup to turn things around.  For Bitter , the infighting between Phillip and every sane person on the world (Corinne in particular this episode) could lead to some good things for the Fans who ended up there.

Goober tribe really got the better end of the strength deal, with Malcolm, Erik, Reynold, and Eddie all on one tribe.  Benadryl does have Phillip, Michael, and Matt, but that’s still fairly slim pickings.  They might have a puzzle advantage, but a disturbing and unfortunate lack of puzzles this season means they’re probably in trouble.

Wow, in terms of the people I really like this season, I couldn’t do better than the Bazinga tribe.  You’ve got Cochran, Dawn, Michael, Matt, and the lovely Julia, all of whom I adore (in different ways, of course).  You’ve also got Corinne, who I can take or leave, but it could be worse, and Phillip… Hmm, Phillip is kind of a problem.  Switch him out for Malcolm, and you’ve got a very clear tribe that I want to win.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s people to like on the Gerudo tribe.  I mean, Brenda may yet become a strategist again, Erik’s good for some funny moments, and Sherri has proved herself socially adept beyond my expectations.  It’s just that there’s a fair number of people to really like this season, and my favorites mostly ended up on Blargle-Flargle.

Heading back first with the new Gulaga tribe, we see that Eddie and Reynold are somewhat excited by the prospect that they now have a strong tribe and, while still in the minority, they do have a chance to turn things around with the old Favorites.  They waste no time in throwing Sherri under the bus, talking about how worthless and scheming she is.  They also think they’ve got the right audience, as they’re talking to Malcolm and Erik, whom they believe to be the strong and the stupid.  The flaw in the plan is that Malcolm, while strong, is not stupid (the jury’s still out on Erik, and thanks to giving up immunity, Erik is now on that jury, somehow, I don’t know, this joke is confused, I’m aborting it here!)

I’d say shame on Eddie and Reynold for so quickly falling for the old Favorites’ charms, but to be fair, given that they were on the bottom, it’s a lateral move at worst.  Also, Sherri is doing the exact same thing with Andrea and Brenda, which I suppose you have to when your entire alliance suddenly goes missing.  However, it’s here that we see the true flaw of the old Fans: disloyalty.  There’s been a lot of internet talk about how pathetic the Fans are, and how they’ll be doomed post merge.  While I admit that the losing streak was rather a bad sign, I personally wanted to reserve judgment.  Losing streaks are to be avoided if possible, that’s pretty basic, but if a losing tribe can pull together post-merge they might still stand a chance, particularly given how eager the old Favorites are to cannibalize each other.  Unfortunately, it seems the old Fans are the same way, and just want each other gone.  Now, in a rare instance, I find myself in agreement with the internet.  As a group, the old Fans are DOOMED!

Over at Billabong camp, we find that the Phillip/Corinne spat was NOT just that one clip shown at the beginning of the episode, but actually related to a stupid bit of gameplay by Phillip.  With the desire to create more nicknames, he apparently tries to induct the fair Julia into the alliance.  Now, while I can understand the draw to want Julia in ANY alliance, I do have to question this, Phillip.  You say you want to play the “Boston Rob” (“Survivor Marquesas”) way, as in build a solid block of 6 and ride it to the end, fine.  It makes for pretty boring gameplay, but it is at least semi-logical, ok.  But then you have to STICK with the alliance, and keep it under wraps, not blab about it to anyone who wanders into the shelter!  It could be argued that Phillip was lulling her into a false sense of security, but I would point out that she’s probably not going to be on the jury, it was hardly a necessary lie, and it might spread the word about an alliance YOU WANT TO KEEP SECRET!  Julia, for her part, plays it cool (with a bit of bad acting thrown in, I must admit), and while she doesn’t know if Phillip is playing with her or not, she thinks it better to go along with him for the time being.

Corinne, however, is not so serene, not that she ever was, as far as I know.  She rightly thinks that Phillip blabbing and inducting anyone into the alliance he wants is a very bad idea, and compromises his integrity.  She even talks about voting him off with her new “Gay Man” of the tribe, Michael.  You may remember that Corinne aligned with Charlie Herschel on “Survivor Gabon”.  You might think this was just a strategic power-play on her part, but nope!  Turns out Corinne just likes to have gay men around.  Well, I’ve seen weirder quirks, and if it’s one that promotes diversity, then power to you, Corinne!

Back at Garrotting Gas’ camp, we get an utterly pointless scene in which Malcolm and Andrea compare notes, find that the old Fans are indeed throwing each other under the bus for realsies, and agree to stick together to defeat the Fans.  Frankly, this exists as padding, so let’s go to the challenge for a welcome distraction.

It seems that, despite his oh so blatant religious side, Brandon Hantz is NOT our messiah (thank God), as his death has not delivered us from repeat challenges.  Yes, it seems the policy of “Survivor” is “waste-not, want-not”, as they’re doing the challenge they were going to do in the last episode, which is the damn box-rolling challenge from “Survivor Tocantins”.  Now don’t get me wrong, it is a fun-looking challenge that’s fairly tough, and does actually include something of a puzzle, even if Probst DOES spoil the solution right off the bat.  The problem with this challenge is that it’s become SO COMMON these days, I’m just sick of it.  What’s worse is the challenge clip they showed going into the tribe swap looked like it might have been a new one (at least I couldn’t recognize it from the aerial), and yet THERE WAS NO CHALLENGE AT THE TRIBE SWAP!  Can I PLEASE get an original challenge?

I expect Bubble-Gum to lose horribly going in, and I’m not disappointed.  While they did a good job showing strategizing on both tribes, we really got more out of Bubble-Up-Pup tribe.  Things start off badly, with the physical advantage that the Gobbledygook tribe has leading to a one-box lead.  Then, some idiot decides that Phillip should run twice in a row, which is clearly a bad idea.  Finally, the stunning Julia gets the wrong solution to the puzzle, but that doesn’t matter, because Phillip insists that no one will listen to her anyway.  Most people say that my darling Julia is what ultimately cost the Bora-Bora tribe the challenge, but I would say that it was a combination of all the above factors.

Depressed, the members of the Bladder Malfunction tribe must now decide whom to vote off, and most of the old Favorites seem set on my poor Julia, as she’s the one they think cost them the challenge.  This would be all fine and good, but Phillip has to go and induct even MORE people into “Stealth ‘R Us”, or at least offer to.  After giving away FAR too much information, he offers Michael and Matt to join up, so long as they vote for whomever the old Favorites tell them to.  He implies that it’s Julia (although Phillip seems to have a problem with names, as he just calls her “the girl”, next thing he’ll be mispronouncing it at Tribal Council), and Matt jumps emphatically on board, thus cementing the downfall of the old Fans.

At first, it seems like our misdirection for the night will be very weak, with Julia suggesting the old Fans vote for Dawn of all people, and see what happens. Julia, I like you, but even you have to admit, that’s a pretty weak, arbitrary plan.  Fortunately, another favorite of mine, Cochran, comes in with some TRUE misdirection.  The old Favorites are getting pretty paranoid about the possibility of one of the old Fans having an immunity idol (the true hilarity, of course, is that none of them do, the entirety of the Budda-Budda-Budda camp is idol-less), but Cochran, after correctly reading Matt’s desperation in trying to save himself, concludes that Matt does not have the idol.  Accordingly, he and Dawn try to talk Phillip and Corinne into voting Matt, and so we head to Tribal Council with the old Favorites divided, though personally, my money’s on Julia going.

Much to my surprise, however, after the dull pleasantries of a boring Tribal, Matt is indeed the one to go home.  Talk about a surprise ending redeeming an episode!

That said, it wasn’t exactly a smart move.  For all that I like Julia, if one of the Fans has to go, it should probably have been her for strength alone.  Furthermore, Matt was most on board with you, a good potential flop for the merge.  On a more personal note, it also stings when someone who shares your name is voted out, particularly when you’ve wanted to be on the show for a few years.

On the plus side, two big things: I get to see more of Julia (I know, I’m weak), and Cochran of all people seems to be in a leadership position.  Look at him, he quite literally changed the course of the vote!  Props my good sir!

Next week: even more strategizing, and I finally figure out the names of the tribe (and more gay talk from Corinne, maybe).

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.

Definition per Dictionary.com:

Dear Macaroni Salad,

If you don’t mind, I’m going to be frank with you — I never really liked you. Now look, I’m not saying this to hurt your feelings, but I’m just trying to establish an honest relationship with you.

It wasn’t your fault, really. I’ve just never really thought that macaroni should be served cold. Macaroni, in my eyes, has always been at its best served hot, slathered in tomato sauce and topped with two or three big ol’ meatballs. Or baked in a plethora of cheeses. Heck, I even enjoy macaroni on its own, with just a bit of melted butter and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

But cold? Macaroni had no business being served cold. And especially not with celery. The starch salad that always won my heart was that of the potato. I know you’ve had your fans, Macaroni Salad, but I was not one of them.

Not until this came along…

This delicious, spicy, smoky, COLD macaroni dish that I would happily make on a weekly basis. This macaroni salad that I made last night and just polished off the leftovers of for lunch. This macaroni salad that you must try to make on your own. Seriously, I demand it.

I wish I could take credit for concocting this carbtastic, macaroni masterpiece. But, like so many other culinary successes, this one was borrowed from someone infinitely more established and tweaked because I invariably find something I don’t like about it (like basil).

Ree Drummond, better known as The Pioneer Woman (who is apparently a freaking superhero and can do 458390 things in the amount of time it takes me to drag myself out of bed after hitting the snooze button three times), posted the recipe for this salad last summer, and believe me, it is the perfect summer side dish. Or main dish, if you’re as smitten with it as I am.

The smoky, slightly spicy dressing is incredible, and since summertime in Jersey is the perfect time for tomatoes, both these accompaniments shine, but both are completely upstaged by the cubes of smoked gouda. Holy moly.

This guy also likes smoked gouda, as I learned last night. He also likes grass & rocks, but we won’t hold that against him. Or the gouda.

Spicy, smoky pasta salad (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

12 oz. pasta (such as penne or mostaccioli)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. adobo sauce from a jar of chipotle chilis in adobo
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 1/4 cup of smoked gouda, cubed (this is a lot of gouda. I’m just sayin’. If you’re not a complete cheese fiend, you can probably cut this down so you have an even tomato-to-cheese ratio.)

Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Drain, rinse with cold water, place in bowl, move to refrigerator.

Whisk your mayo, cider vinegar, adobo sauce, paprika, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Add your cooled macaroni, halved grape tomatoes and, the holy grail — smoked gouda. Make sure every piece of pasta, every tomato and every gouda cube is slathered in the dressing.

At this point, you can either serve it or eat it directly out of the bowl, refusing to share. I won’t judge you if you choose to do the latter.

Happy eating!

Ingredients. {makes one medium pizza, for two to share}

• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 3 cups whole meal flour
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of sugar
• 1 1/8 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 60g? shredded gouda cheese
• 60g? shredded mozzarella cheese
• 6 mozzarella sticks
• 140g tomato and basil pizza sauce
• garlic sauce to taste
• as much pepperoni as your little heart desires
• 30g sliced jalapenos

Instructions.

Kay the first thing you have to do is obviously prepare the dough. So in a bowl, whisk the water, sugar, and yeast together until it gets all milky and weird, and then put that shit to the side for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, you can get another (larger) bowl and already measure out your flour and salt. Note: I used whole meal flour, because I like to pretend I’m healthy and also it makes the crust super tasty. But you can feel free to use any kind of flour. The measurements should be the same. I hope. Just try it and let me know.

Okay so now 10 minutes have passed. Take the small gross yeasty bowl, and slowly start pouring it into the flour/salt bowl, gently whisking for even distribution. Your concoction should now be crumbly. I didn’t take a picture at this stage, because I assumed you’ve made dough before, but in retrospect, maybe I should have. Anyway, I stole this picture from the Internets so you can have a visual understanding. I don’t know what’s up with the colour though…

Once crumbly, drizzle the oil in evenly and mix it all up a bit. Then take the whole mess out, slap it on a clean, slightly floured surface (like your kitchen counter), and start kneading. It took me about six minutes of proper kneading to get the dough to the right consistency, but remember I used whole meal flour. The timing might be less if you use all-purpose flour. Just knead till it’s elastic and doughy.

Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and put it somewhere warm for an hour. If you’re keeping it outside, drape a clean kitchen towel over the bowl, to keep flies and other gross bugs out. If you live in Norway or Kazakhstan and you don’t have a warm area, you can stick it in the oven on super low heat for half the time, but natural rising is preferred.

When your dough has risen (it should be like three times larger than it was at the beginning), it’s time to roll it out. Because we are stuffing the crust, you need to roll it out wider than your actual pizza pan, with the extra dough hanging off the sides. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Next, we’re going to stuff the crust. I’ve chosen plain Kraft mozzarella sticks, but you can choose whatever you want, whether it be a different kind of cheese, or even some sort of sausage or hot dog. I like mozzarella because it melts nicely and also tastes good cold (because I can never be bothered to heat up leftover pizza).

Take your stuffing of choice and place it around the edges of the dough. It’s okay if they don’t line up a hundred percent. If you’ve chosen a cheese, it’ll all melt together anyway. If you’ve chosen a meat, it just makes cutting the slices easier. If you’ve chosen a vegetable, you’re very strange.

Now you can fold the excess dough around the cheese, securing the bottoms to the base of the pizza crust (so the cheese doesn’t leak out later in the oven). If you’re fancy, you can make pretty shapes with your dough crust. If you’re like me, it should look shitty and half-assed, like below. This is acceptable for baking, so fret not.

Time to add toppings! First, spread your pizza sauce generously all around the base. I used a normal tomato-based pizza sauce and then added some Nando’s garlic sauce because it’s delicious. Then, because I was making this pizza primarily for Adam, I added a whole bunch of pepperoni along the outside…

…and then a pile of gouda in the middle. The reason why the measurement has a question mark after 60g in the ingredients list because I’m not sure exaaactly how much I used. I just used a lot. Then I added more pepperoni on the pile of gouda in the middle, and poured a layer of shredded mozzarella over everything. You don’t have to use two cheeses, but it makes it more fantastic. Lastly, I added some jalapenos to give it a lil kick. But feel free to be creative and use whatever ingredients you feel like.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C and put the little tray rack thingy in the middle. I always put shit on the middle shelf, because I feel like it’s the safe bet. Then pop in the pizza and set the timer for 15 minutes.

Actual cooking time is about 20-25 minutes, but you’re going to want to check it towards the end, to make sure the cheese doesn’t burn and the crust doesn’t get too crusty (unless you like it that way). So after 20-ish minutes, take it out and let it cool for a minute or two.

Then move the pizza to a cutting board and eat it while it’s hot! If you can, try to slice the pizza in between the gaps of the stuffing. Also, at this stage you can still add more ingredients to your taste, like fresh tomatoes, basil, avocado, etc. Do whatever makes you happy. :)

Enjoy!

Today is the day for channeling the luck o’ the Irish and wearing a bit of green. It’s a time to eat and drink green too… while the recipe I’ve included here is no shamrock shake, or four-leaf clover sugar cookie, I think the green it provides has a natural beauty, and is equally as lucky! I fell into the green trap the other day when I was shopping at Trader Joe’s; they were sampling some green gouda, flavored with basil. And then I found some green lentils, and some vibrant green edamame, and well, I had the beginnings to this lucky green tart.

First, I sliced up a large brown onion and started sauteing it in a non-stick pan over medium heat. No salt yet.

Next, I put on some water and started cooking the lentils. I put double the water, so halfway through they’re 20 minute cooking time I could add the quinoa, and have them both finish at the same time, in the same pan. I also added a vegetable bouillon paste for a flavor punch. You can use vegetable stock instead if you want.

Then I put the cauliflower onto a baking pan and into a 350˚ oven for 20 minutes.

The cauliflower is done once it has some caramelized edges. At this point I took it out and let it cool for a few minutes and then put it in the food processor.

After about 20 minutes, the onions have been sweated nicely. I continued to stir occasionally. I wanted fully caramelized onions with a deep rich brown color. Still no salt, they are still sweating out their moisture.

After the lentils and quinoa were done, I added them to the food processor with the cauliflower, and gave them all a spin.

Once the lentils, quinoa, and cauliflower have formed a paste, I spooned about two-thirds of them into a false bottom pan, and up the sides by about an inch. A lined cake pan, or a springform pan will work too. I then baked this for 10 minutes at 350˚ to take away some of the moisture.

Around 30 minutes the onions are starting to get color and since most of the moisture is gone I went ahead and seasoned them with some salt and pepper. The salt will draw out the final bit of moisture, and allow the onions to deepen their caramelized color.

Here we go… this is what I was looking for… intense caramelized color and flavor. These are ready to add to the tart.

Once I took the crust out of the oven (and I use the term crust loosely), I layered in the onions. I love caramelized onions; they have such great umami flavor.

Next I layered on the edamame. I love that green!

The next layer is half the green gouda. Chedder or your favorite cheese will work here… I imagine green gouda won’t be around much longer.

I then added a cup of basil and two eggs to the remaining lentil filling.

After it took a spin, I layered the basil lentil mixture into the tart.

Finally, the remainder of the green cheese.

Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350˚. Remove tart from pan, garnish and serve. The lentil, quinoa, cauliflower mixture was so yummy I couldn’t keep my fingers out of it. In fact, I had a hard time not just stopping and calling it a day with a bowl of lentils and cauliflower. But I’m glad I kept going because layering all the flavors together made this tart even better than the beginning components. I also discovered it gets better later in the week. The flavors marry together in a wonderful way, and this green food is not only healthy, but very satisfying too.

Lucky Green Tart
9-inch Tart, 6-8 servings | 1 hour 20 min Total Recipe Time | Weight Watchers PP 6 pieces 7 points, 8 pieces 5 points

Crust
½ cup green lentils
2½ cups water
1 tablespoon vegetable broth paste or 2½ cups vegetable broth instead of the above water
½ cup quinoa
2 cups oven roasted cauliflower

Filling
1 medium to large onion
1 ½ teaspoon olive oil
1 cup shelled edamame
5 oz pesto gouda or another favorite cheese
1 cup basil leaves
2 eggs

Caramelizing the onions takes the longest, so let’s start here. Place a non-stick frying pan over medium, to medium high heat, and add olive oil. Peel and half the medium to large sized onion, then slice the onion and add to the non-stick pan. Stir every few minutes. After about 15 minutes turn the burner down to low, and allow the heat to work the caramelization magic. After about 30 minutes most of the moisture will be gone, and it’s at this point I sprinkle with salt and pepper to bring out the rest of the moisture so it can start to caramelize. I ended up getting what I was looking for at about 45 minutes.

Sort the lentils and remove any debris, then rinse and put in a medium saucepan with 2½ cups of water or vegetable broth. Bring the broth and lentils to a boil over medium to medium high heat. Once a boil is reached, turn down to low and simmer for 20 minutes. While the lentils are cooking, break cauliflower up into small pieces and place on a baking sheet. Salt and pepper the cauliflower and then bake at 350˚ for twenty minutes or so. Cauliflower should have some caramelized edges. After 20 minutes, add the quinoa to the lentils and cover and continue simmering over low for another 10 minutes. Remove cauliflower from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Once lentil and quinoa mixture is cooked, place mixture with cauliflower into food processor and combine until it is a smooth paste.

Prepare a 9-inch removable bottom pan by wrapping in foil, or 9-10 inch round 2 inch deep tart pan, or use a 9-10 inch pie pan. Take about two cups of lentil mixture and spread over the bottom and up the sides by an inch. Bake at 350˚ for about 10 minutes to dry the crust out a bit.

Layer in caramelized onions, then edamame, then half the cheese. Add basil and eggs to the remainder of the lentil, quinoa, cauliflower mixture, and layer into the tart. Add the remaining cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, and serve. Flavors get better the next day, so it’s a great make ahead dish. Can be used as an entree or side dish.

I’ve only seen this fact written once, so it might not even be true. But let’s go ahead and give it to 1184. It doesn’t have much else going for it.

Gouda is a traditional Dutch cheese, named for the city in which it was most commonly traded. In the 17^th century – or, as you might happen to know it, the ‘Dutch Golden Age’ ­– merchants from the cheese porter’s guild – or, as you might happen to know them, kaasdragers – would drag piles of Gouda wheels into the town center on sledges to be sold. At the market ­– or, as I’m sure you’re aware, the Goudse kaasmarkt – teams – or vemen, as you know – of kaasdragers, delineated by differently-colored straw hats, negotiated with buyers until a suitable price was met. Negotiations took place with a rather odd-looking hand-slapping, price-shouting ritual that we all commonly know as the handjeklap. Once the handjeklap was concluded, the vemen of kaasdragers drag the kaas through the markt to the Waag to be weighed. What occurs after the weighing is unknown to me, because every available summary of the 400-year-old ritual seems to end precisely there. I assume the cheese just gets eaten.

Vemen of dragers drag-ing the kaas at the kaasmarkt.

Gouda is still sold in this fashion today, at the kaasmarkt, with all of the slapping and hollering. Perhaps the ceremonial chaos of whacking and yelling was a bit intimidating for Dick and Helene Willems, because in the late 1970s these Dutch caterers moved to County Cork, Ireland to begin making cheese.

Cúil Aodha is a ‘townland’ in the Irish-speaking, Gaeltacht region of West Cork, just beneath the Derrynasaggart Mountains. The Willems family initially began making cheese to suit themselves, but the cheese quickly gained itself a following among friends and neighbors. Soon, their cheese became known by the town’s anglicized name, Coolea (like Kool-Aid, without the ‘d’), and Neal’s Yard Dairy, Britain’s preeminent cheese retailer, picked it up and began selling it all over the world.

What makes Coolea so special is its ancient Dutch recipe combined with its distinct Irish heritage. In 1999, Dick and Helene passed on the family business to their son, Dicky, and his wife, Sinead, who now manage all of the cheesemaking on the farm. The Willemses use milk from the Friesian-Holstein cows on a local farm, which lies directly atop a ‘peaty, moist’ Irish bog. Dicky’s method is intensely rigorous and, I have to say, pretty inspiring. The recipe is based on Dutch Gouda, but incorporates the delicacy of the unique Irish climate. Dicky diligently monitors the acidity of the milk prior to curding. When the acidity is high, the milk will curd more quickly. On these days, Dicky cuts the curds into smaller portions to allow for more thorough drainage. He also records the weather daily. On sunny days, the cows are likely to graze across the entire pasture, consuming a greater quantity of healthy grass. On rainy days, the cows tend to graze beneath trees and hedges, where grass is more sparse and less nourishing. The quality of the grass affects the quality of the milk, which, of course, affects the quality of the cheese.

Quality is something of a tradition in the Willems family. Coolea has won so many awards in its long career that their website doesn’t even bother to list them all. They do, however, give a few highlights: In 1983, (just four years after Dick and Helene began making cheese) Coolea was named the best farmhouse cheese in Ireland; in 1990, Coolea won first prize in the London International Cheese Show; in 1992, the British Cheese Awards thought Coolea was so good that they gave it two prizes – Best Modern British Cheese and Best Irish Cheese; in 2000, the British Cheese Awards named it supreme champion; and in 2008, Coolea outperformed its Dutch competitors at the World Cheese Awards, winning the prize for Best Mature Gouda.

Coolea is a golden, semi-hard cow’s milk cheese with a light, savory flavor that offsets its pleasant creaminess. The cheese is quite dry, a bit crumbly, and performs best when sliced thinly. Coolea is often described as having a sweet, butterscotch flavor, but I must admit I had to put this thought in mind before I could taste the butterscotch myself. I’m a bit thick when it comes to gustation, so I’m perfectly certain that everyone else is right about this. Indeed, once I meditated on butterscotch for a minute, I tasted it right away. There is a slight nuttiness, as well, and a tangy earthiness just before it all tapers off.

I must admit that before I got into all of this, the idea of a cheese tasting like butterscotch would have been deeply confusing; and it still is, in its way. If there is no butterscotch in the thing, I’m not quite certain how the thing can taste like butterscotch. However, people have been eating things a lot longer than I have and know a lot more about neuro-sensory experience than I do, so it’s clearly me who needs the work. I’m a few months into this project and it’s all I can do to avoid writing ‘the cheese has a distinct cheesy taste’. All of this is confounded by the fact that taste is an entirely subjective experience in the first place. It’s a small miracle that any two people can agree on anything at all when it comes to taste. I confess I need some prompting if I’m going to produce a phrase like, ‘this aged Cheddar, made from old milky cow fat, injected with bacteria and left to sit until hardened, reminds one of salted caramel and pine nuts, does it not?’ But then, some people are a lot smarter than I am. And it’s good that they are, because, of course, they’re completely right. Coolea, a wad of rotten mammary fluid, does, against all odds, taste like butterscotch.

Coolea is a truly fine cheese. It plays brilliantly for the unsophisticated (like myself), but rewards inquiry with its subtle complexity. I put a bit over some pasta and found the experience delightful. It certainly redeemed my poor cooking. It also works perfectly on its own, if you’re looking for an addition to your cheese plate. Irish Gouda from a small Cork dairy may sound difficult to come by, but don’t fret. Your local cheese shop, if it knows what’s what, probably buys from Neal’s Yard Dairy, so if they don’t have a wheel of Coolea on the shelf, they can likely order it. Don’t hesitate to ask them. You will be doing them, and yourself, a favor.

—

Coolea (Dicky and Sinead Willems)

Coolea is made from pasteurized cow’s milk with traditional (animal) rennet.

 
This has become one of my favorite dinners , Progresso Kitchen Favorites Classic Lasagna! It’s very easy to make as the dinner kit contains the Lasagna Pasta, Tomato Herb sauce, Ricotta Sauce Mix, and Grated Parmesan Cheese. I added 1 lb. Jennie – O Lean Ground Turkey, 1 Cup water, 2/3 Cup 2% Milk, 1 (8 oz.) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (2 Cups), 1 cup Shredded dutch Gouda, and I also added a bit more seasoning (McCormick Grinder Italian Herb). I combined the Mozzarella and Goda Cheese. Gouda is such a great tasting Cheese and is a perfect melting Cheese. Basically you just layer your ingredients in a 8″ square baking dish and cover and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes and bake an additional 10 minutes uncovered. The product description along with full instructions are at the bottom of the post.

Prepared by the instructions it was 390 calories but I cut that and the calorie and carb count down by using Honeysuckle White Extra Lean Ground Turkey instead of Beef and Sargento Reduced Fat 2% Mozzarella Cheese. The Lasagna came out delicious every time! Everyone really loves this. The flavor as always is excellent. The Sauce is thick and well seasoned and the same for the pasta, perfect, plus plenty leftovers to freeze for later. I had a side of Walmart Bakery Garlic Knot Bread. Just heat on 425 degrees for about 6 – 8 minutes and serve.

Progresso Kitchen Favorites Classic Lasagna

Directions
Ready to bake in about 20 minutes. You Will Need: 1 lb lean ground beef; 1 cup water; 2/3 cup milk; 1 bag (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups); nonstick cooking spray and foil. Sauce: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Brown beef in 10-inch skillet, breaking up beef into small pieces; drain. Stir Tomato Herb Sauce and water into beef; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, mix Ricotta Sauce Mix and milk in liquid measuring cup or small bowl, using whisk or fork. Layer: Spray 8-inch square glass baking dish with cooking spray. Layer lasagna: Spread about 2/3 cup beef sauce in dish. Layer with 2 uncooked Pasta sheets (side by side), 2/3 cup beef sauce (cover Pasta with sauce), 1/4 cup ricotta sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers twice, starting with Pasta. Add remaining Pasta, beef sauce and mozzarella. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. Kitchen Tip: Substitute 1/4 cup dry red wine for 1/4 cup of the water.

Progresso Kitchen Favorites Classic Lasagna

Product Details
Add beef & cheese! Quality Foods. Quality ingredients included. Lasagna pasta; tomato herb sauce; ricotta sauce mix; grated parmesan cheese. Exchanges: 2 starch, 3-1/2 medium fat meat. Carbohydrate Choices: 2. Made with quality ingredients. Progresso Kitchen Favorites dinners combine high quality ingredients to create delicious meals that become family favorites!

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 0.167 pkg
Servings per container: 6
Before Preparation

Nutrient Qty %DV

Calories 390 – Prepared
Calories from Fat 10
Total Fat 1 g 2%
Cholesterol -5 mg 1%
Sodium 510 mg 21%
Total Carbohydrate 23 g 8%
Dietary Fiber 2 g 8%
Sugars 6 g
Protein 4 g
Vitamin A 6%
Vitamin C 20%
Calcium 6%
Iron 4%

http://progresso.com/

(Jax House)

Of all the things Wisconsinites are proud to claim as their own (the Green Bay Packers, Harley-Davidson, Laverne & Shirley, Mark Ruffalo) perhaps the one nearest and dearest to our hearts is our intense love of cheese. So of course, it’s only fitting that a Wisconsin cheesemaker’s aged gouda just took the top prize at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, held in in Green Bay, natch. [Green Bay Press Gazette]

( van Corrupte News of The World redactie)

Amsterdam-Noir-  Peter R. de ‘Rebel’ medewerkers in de bak.
Het Kruitvat ontkent alle betrokkenheid in deze.

De twee  jarenlange ‘medewerkers’ van de bejaarde Maffiajournalist en politie-informant Peter R. de Vries gaan voor lange tijd de cel in als aan het ‘SBS-OM’ ligt.
‘Man-vrouw’ en o.a. ‘Bodyguard’ van Peter R. de Vries  Koen Scharrenberg gaat voor 12 maanden de cel in.

De huurmoordenaar van Maffioso Peter R. de Vries en Maffia-Boss John de Mol Rob Zigerius maar liefst voor 20 jaar. Nou, Peter R. is de komende jaren in ieder geval druk, druk verplicht zijn ‘redactie-medewerkers’  Koentje en Robbertje in de cel te bezoeken en kantine geld te gaan storten, zodat zij geen opening van zaken gaan geven over hun misdaden tijdens hun lidmaatschap voor de ‘Misdaadgroep Peter R. de Vries’, zoals bijv. de moord wurg-aanslag op Steve Brown.

Peter R. de Vries en Bas van Hout laten Steve Brown wurgen door hun Knokploeg.
Tegen Peter R. zijn Amsterdamse beroepscrimineel en huurmoordenaar Rob Zigerius heeft het ‘SBS-Openbaar’ Ministerie (OM) vrijdag 20 jaar gevangenisstraf geëist.
Rob Zigerius  (54) is de spil in een megadossier dat het landelijk parket onder de codenaam Yellowstone heeft opgebouwd tegen in totaal 12 verdachten, onder wie een kroongetuige “Junkie Richard T”.

Tsjakka in de Baka.
Positiviteitsgoeroe Emile Ratelband is ook verdachte, in één van de vele feestelijk  ‘SBS- reality’-deeldossiers. In zijn geval draait de verdenking om een poging tot brandstichting van zijn huis in Huissen. Het ‘SBS-OM’ eiste 12 maanden cel tegen hem, waarvan de helft voorwaardelijk. Ratelband, die alles heeft ontkend, was vrijdag niet in de zittingszaal in Amsterdam aanwezig.

De zwaarste feiten in Yellowstone zijn een aanslag met een handgranaat op een kantoorvilla in Amsterdam-Zuid en een poging tot liquidatie in Gouda, in respectievelijk juni en juli 2010. Volgens de ‘SBS-officieren’ van justitie Koos Plooij en Joris Beliën is  Peter R. zijn huurmoordenaar Rob Zigerius ook daar het brein achter geweest.

Een bijzondere positie in het geheel van feiten heeft advocaat Edwin T.
Hij is volgens justitie zowel slachtoffer als dader: de granaataanslag was voor hem bedoeld, maar hij zat ook in het Goudse moordcomplot. Daarnaast wordt hij beticht van oplichting, afpersing en witwassen. Eis: 10 jaar cel. De 42-jarige T. heeft zich teruggetrokken uit de advocatuur, maar om te voorkomen dat hij het vak binnen afzienbare tijd weer uitoefent, eisten de beide aanklagers ook nog een beroepsverbod van 12 jaar tegen hem. Er wordt wel gekeken of hij t.z.t. als juridisch deskundige bij “RTL-Riool Boulevard” kan aanschuiven.

Hof voorkomt zelfmoord Panorama journalist Koen Scharrenberg.
Rob Zigeruis  wist ook ‘Vod-Panorama’ misdaadjournalist en jarenlange billemaat van het andere “Panorama journalist het Hoerenjong Bruine Rat Bas van Hout” aan zich te binden voor wat centen zwart. Hij betrok ‘Vod-Panorama’ Leugen-verslaggever ‘man-vrouw’ Koen Scharrenberg in diverse oplichtingspraktijken en o.a. bedreigingen tegen econoom en ing. Steve Brown, aldus het ‘SBS-OM’.

Man-vrouw Koen Scharrenberg was een vriend van Ratelband en is volgens  de ‘SBS-showbussines officieren’ Plooij en Beliën betrokken in het brandstichtingsplan in Huissen. De ‘Vod-Panorama’  misdaad-‘journalist’,  ‘man-vrouw’ Koen Scharrenberg publiceerde in 2002 een Leugenboek over/met Rob Zigerus. – auteur en onderwerp zijn goed bevriend geraakt tijdens het fabriceren van het fantasie onzin boek, maar waren al jaren beide lid van de ‘Misdaadgroep Peter R de Vries’.

Hoe houdt het OM Koen Scharrenberg in leven.
Het SBS-OM eiste 18 maanden tegen ‘man-vrouw’ Koen Scharrenberg, waarvan 6 maanden voorwaardelijk en is zich aan het beraden hoe zij  ‘man-vrouw’ Koen Scharrenberg in leven kunnen houden tijdens de detentie, aangezien hij de laatste keer binnen een dag onder zelfmoord wacht moest worden gesteld.

Rob Zigerius  liep in het verleden al tegen in totaal 22 jaar cel op, voor uiteenlopende misdrijven, waaronder huurmoord(en). ,,Onverbeterlijk en onverbeterlijk gevaarlijk”, zo typeerden de officieren hem.

De ‘SBS-Offcieren’ Koos Plooij en Joris Beliën zwegen  beide als het graf over het algemeen bekende feit dat Peter R. de Vries Rob Zigerius de afgelopen decenia dat hij in de cel zat soms bijna wekelijks bezocht. Waarom?

Ook zwegen de ‘SBS-officieren’ Koos Plooij en Joris Beliën over het feit dat de vrouw van Rob Zigerius al redactielid was bij Peter R. de Vries sinds de jaren ’80 van de vorige eeuw bij het  ‘Super Vod-blad Actueel’  totdat zij recentelijk zelfmoord pleegde in de gevangenis van Breda.

Eerder in het proces eiste het OM 6 jaar tegen kroongetuige Junkie Richard T. Het gaat daarbij om een gehalveerde strafeis.

Afijn, het ziet er naar uit dat het 100 jarige bestaan van het ‘Vod-Panorama’ door de toilet gaat als het Leugenblad dat zijn misdaad artikelen bij elkaar liet en laat fantaseren door Kruimel Criminelen als Koen Scharrenberg, Peter R. de Vries en Bas van Hout. Wij zijn benieuwd of ‘Vod-Panorma’ nog een klein beetje fatsoen heeft en zijn z.g. Crimipedia gaat aanpassen met hun eigen medewerkers.