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Olieballen (Dutch New Year’s Fritters)

01.01.2013 by J. Doe // 2 Comments

A friend of mine posted on Facebook the other day about his plans for New Year’s Eve cooking. I was a little surprised, mostly because I didn’t know he could cook,  but also because he was researching and making a traditional Scottish New Year’s Eve pudding.

I don’t have any traditional New Year’s Eve recipes. I’ve cooked a lot of dishes for New Year’s Eve dinners and parties over the years, but something that welcomes in the New Year as part of a traditional, annual celebration – I don’t have a thing.

Well, maybe one.

When I was married to The Foreigner, I received two copies of the exact same Dutch cookbook. This shouldn’t surprise anyone as, to be blunt, there isn’t a lot of variety in Dutch food and it isn’t very interesting. Hearty, yes, and to a Dutchman,  comforting and homey – but they’ll be the first to admit that if you want truly good food,  it’s no more than an hour’s drive to Belgium from anywhere in The Netherlands.

For New Year’s Eve, he wanted me to make one thing, and I obliged: Olieballen. They are fritters, a yeast-raised dough containing a bit of lemon peel and assorted dried fruits (raisins and currants usually), deep fried in oil.

They were good and I liked them, and foolishly tried to make them on some random Sunday. The Foreigner got very upset and insisted that I not make them that day. They were for New Year’s Eve and only New Year’s Eve. Any other time was messing with tradition. He was adamant and though I couldn’t quite see his point, I obliged.

I made them on New Year’s Eve for him – the one or two years we were home for it, at least – and then when we divorced, banished the cookbook to storage and promptly forgot all about it.

Until I started reading about my friend’s traditional Clootie Pudding on Facebook.

Then I thought, well, perhaps The Child would enjoy being exposed to her Dutch heritage. It’s not like The Foreigner is going to do it – he didn’t even bother with sending her a gift this year for either Dutch Sinterklaas or American Christmas.

She and I didn’t have any plans, so I thought, it will be a nice way to spend the evening.

Except that, unlike me, she got an invitation for a sleepover at the last minute, leaving me home alone with a bowl full of rising dough. I set it aside and spent the evening watching a Doctor Who marathon, and enjoying the quiet house.


IMG_8577

In the morning, the bowl was waiting for me. You’re not supposed to make Olieballen New Year’s Day. Maybe it’s a law? Something must be against the law over there.

But it’s perfectly legal here, and I made them as the sun rose on the first day of the New Year, and thought to myself: Tradition is good, but so are fresh starts.

And when you figure out how to adjust the tradition so that it fits comfortably into your life , wherever you find yourself – and it won’t be where you planned – well, that’s the best.

Happy New Year, one and all.

Olieballen

Olieballen (Dutch New Year's Fritters)
 
Print
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
35 mins
 
Olieballen are traditionally served on New Year's Eve in Holland. They are very similar to Italian Zeppoles, so I like to coat them with powdered sugar after they've cooled - it's not called for in the recipe, but only the most tradition-steeped Dutchman will complain if you do.
Author: Sprung At Last
Ingredients
  • 1 tsp dried yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ cup plus 2 tbsp milk
  • 1⅔ cup flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ cup currants
  • ¼ cup finely minced candied ginger
  • vegetable oil for deep frying
  • powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
  1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the milk, set aside.
  2. Mix the flour, salt, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, blending it partially in. Beat the eggs lightly, then add to the flour mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until the ingredients form a smooth batter.
  3. Mix in the fruit.
  4. Cover and leave dough to rise until doubled (several hours or overnight).
  5. When ready to make them, heat oil in a deep pan until very hot (375 deg.). Using a spoon or small scoop dipped in the hot oil, scoop out small egg-shaped pieces of dough and drop into the hot oil. Cook until nicely browned, turning as needed and being careful not to crowd.
  6. Drain on brown bags.
  7. If you wish to toss them in powdered sugar, put the olieballen into a large brown paper bag and add powdered sugar. Shake the bag a few times until coated.
Notes
If you don't dip the spoon into oil as you scoop out the dough, your olieballen will be somewhat deformed. They'll taste as good, with some extra crunchy bits.
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Categories // The Joy of Cooking Tags // holidays, recipes

Alice in Wonderland Ornaments

12.21.2012 by J. Doe // 3 Comments

Today, I am joining together with other bloggers to show support for the victims, family, and community of the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. For further information on this effort, please visit:


If you would like to help those directly affected by the Sandy Hook shooting, please visit:


If you’re on Twitter, please look for hashtag #BloggersforSandyHook.

*****

As a child, I loved Alice in Wonderland. My mom had an antique copy of the book with a loose binding and color pictures printed occasionally on shiny paper. I used to read it endlessly.

In college, though, I really came to appreciate Alice. My Freshman English class decided to chuck the “official” book, a long-winded memoir by an anthropologist, and instead voted to read Alice in Wonderland. Because school – even college – should be enjoyable. Fun, even.

During the class discussion of Alice, another student pinpointed Alice’s magic:  She wasn’t a whiner like Dorothy. Although he stated it rather cynically, he nailed it. Alice didn’t spend her time wishing she was somewhere else: She chased a rabbit into an unexpected world, and once she got there, she kept exploring and discovering, all the time asking curious questions. It was an adventure, and she embraced it. Alice epitomized childhood innocence.

We were all reminded this past week how quickly childhood innocence disappears; I wanted to preserve a bit of it in remembering those who perished at Sandy Hook Elementary. I thought back to Alice in Wonderland and by chance was able to find my old college copy of the book – battered and yellow and perfect for upcycling. I used it to make Christmas ornaments.

I’m not very crafty, so this is a pretty simple project. You will need:

  • An old book, or magazine, or catalog.
  • Modge podge.
  • A brush.
  • An ball-shaped ornament. I used clear plastic ones from Ben Franklin, but you could also cover an old ornament.
  • Very fine glitter. I used a champagne color because it works well with the yellowed pages.

alice4

Put something down on the table, you’re going to make a big mess.

alice3

Tear the pages you want to use out of the book. Trim away excess margin and white spaces, as shown above, then tear the pages into strips (so that you can read sentences). I liked the torn-edge effect, but if you prefer, you could use scissors or a paper cutter.

Remove the metal tops from the plastic balls.

Paint the modge podge on the back of the strips. Let it sit a few seconds; the paper gets softer and easier to work with. Starting from the top, lay the strips down on the ball, covering all the plastic and slightly overlapping the pieces. Smooth out any lumps or bumps, adding extra modge podge to the top if you need to soften the paper. There’s no real science to this, just as long as the look of it pleases you.

Once the entire ball is covered with paper strips, turn it upside down and let it dry for a bit.

Coat the entire ball with a generous layer of modge podge, and using a shaker top, shake a thin layer of glitter over that. Turn the ball back upside down and let it dry completely (overnight).

Dip the metal caps into the modge podge, and then dip into a bowl of the same glitter. You want a thick coat of glitter here so don’t be shy.

When everything is dry, put the metal caps on the balls, and hang on your tree. You can also add little tags to the top using twine or ribbon, perhaps identifying the book or simply with a holiday greeting.

alice5

The finished balls are more glittery than they appear in the picture.

***

One final thought: Today is the 24th anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 innocent men, women, and children lost their lives. One of them was my dear friend Rachel, age 21. I miss her every day, but especially today.

I wish you all a safe and peaceful holiday. Thank you for visiting.

Categories // Uncategorized Tags // crafts, holidays

Hot Chocolate on Blue Wednesday

11.23.2012 by J. Doe // Leave a Comment

The Child is on a mission: she needs money.

In the summer, she sells sno-cones on the street behind our house. She does quite well with this, raking in sixteen dollars on one particularly hot day last summer; she sold sno-cones to the mailman, a grandma with a car full of grandkids, and a local Got Junk franchisee. A picture of The Child, her sno-cone stand, and the truck’s driver ended up on the Got Junk Facebook page that day. She was both rich and famous.

Sno-cones in November, though, are not a good business model, even when you live on a busy street. The Child develops a new plan: Hot chocolate. She spends days working on a sign, nagging me to buy her a supply of mix and hot beverage cups, and badgering me into buying her a little table for her business. She needs something to keep the cocoa hot, and receives my old slow cooker from the yard sale pile in the garage.

She’s ready.

The day before Thanksgiving, she hauls everything out to the corner, and eagerly jumps up and down in the icy drizzle with her sign advertising hot chocolate.

An hour later, she comes back inside, despondent.

Nobody wants to buy hot chocolate, she says.

Don’t worry about it, I tell her. Try again on Friday.

She frowns. This will not do.

I need a way to earn money, she says. What if nobody wants my hot chocolate on Friday, too?

Well, then you’ll have to find a new business plan. Keep trying until you find something that works.

She doesn’t like this idea. I need money sooner than that, she says.

A bell goes off in my head, and an angel gets its wings: Christmas is coming.

I get on the phone with my father, mostly to tell him this story because I think it’s cute. She doesn’t understand, I say, parents don’t want anything that costs money. We like the stuff they make.

That’s not true, he says. We like expensive things. Me, for example, I like expensive woodworking tools. Take note.

I have a garage full of expensive tools, I say. I’ll send them to you.

Those tools are crap, he says. The Departed bought lots of tools for his shop, none of them worth owning, according to my father.

That may be, I say, but they cost me a fortune and I want them out of my garage. Anyway, you said expensive, not good quality.

Noted, he says. Put The Child on the phone.

I get The Child and make myself scarce, as instructed.

Later, I ask her if there is anything I need to know or help with.

You need to take me to the mall on Sunday. Early, before it’s crowded, she says. Also, if an envelope full of money should maybe happen to  come in the mail, it’s not for you.

Got it.

Categories // All By Myself Tags // holidays, single parenting

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