"It's mahvelous?!"

This blog is dedicated to Laura. And Allison. And Kathryn.

When Bart was in Texas for Thanksgiving, we sat down for our second "Thanksgiving dinner" of the week at my dad's house with a big crowd. I asked Bart what the Dutch "bon appetit" was, to tell people to enjoy and to start eating. He responded "Eet smakelijk!" (If you don't speak Dutch, like me, here is what that sounds like: go to google translate, English to Dutch, type in "bon appetit" and click on the "listen" button for "eet smakelijk.") I asked him to repeat it like five times, and finally my little brother Neil, who is 6 and prounounces "R" like he's from Boston (it's adorbs), turned around with a cute puzzled little look on his face and said "it's mahvelous?!"

So, now that's our own little "bon appetit" - "it's mahvelous" - and ohhhh is it.

Anyone who knows Bart knows that he's an amazing cook. He first cooked for me when my friends and I visited him in Amsterdam, and again twice for my family and me while he was in Texas. Everyone agrees. He's awesome! I knew that Bart's cooking would definitely be a fun part of living with him, and I have NOT been disappointed!

I've never been particularly interested in cooking myself. I cooked some in high school, but it pretty much all went away in college. Nicole taught me some things while I was in Switzerland and I began to get a little interested in learning, but I didn't really enjoy cooking for the family and I didn't have a place to cook for friends. But that's different now. I swore at first that I would never cook for Bart, but I did after I'd been here just three days. He's really sweet and loves to try new things, and he really liked the food he had in Texas, so I've really come to enjoy cooking for him.

I've so enjoyed Bart's cooking, us cooking together, and learning more about cooking and trying to do more things on my own since I've been here. Bart really likes to make curries, which I LOVE. He's made incredible curry dishes with potatoes, chicken, and lamb, and other really great Asian-ish dishes like coconut ginger fish, lemon grass chicken, and things like that. He made amazing pad thai a few weeks ago, another one of my favorites.

Another thing Bart enjoys making is risotto (which I had never actually had before I came here) and he made great risotto with parmesan and mushrooms, which I loved. Other Italian dishes he's made include mushroom ravioli and seafood ravioli (that we ended up baking with fresh tomatoes and kind of a bruschetta on top, it was delicious). Last night he made penne pasta with meatballs and tomato/veggie sauce -- also awesome. We want to get a pasta machine so we can make our own pasta eventually. That would be fun. And I would get fat.

Besides Bart's creativity and cooking genius, I enjoy the way that we don't waste a lot. He's made some leftover magic! Usually it's with rando veggies. Once he baked veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.) with some kind of sauce and parmesan on top - delicious - or just a frozen pizza that we added a bunch of different cheeses and veggies to and made it awesome.

Bart has nicknamed me "chef/captain dipsauce" because a lot of the things I like to make are just that... guacamole, humus, 7-layer dip, etc. I did some "sunshine tapas" (a bunch of different appetizers perfect for a sunny day) the other day and he loved it.

We've made some classics together, like hamburgers and fish & chips (and by "together" I mean he made the awesome fish and I picked up the chips from the snack shop haha). Typical Dutch food is funny to me sometimes, but I like it. He made an amazing beef stew with mashed "stamppot" (google it, a Dutch staple!), and my favorite -- FRIKANDEL SPECIAAL! (Another thing I had to hear him say over and over and over.) Google that too. And don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

On the weekends I've made breakfast tacos a few times, which he loved. Bart loves Mexican food (which makes him an official keeper), so I've enjoyed making that for us a lot since I've been here. He made a veggie omelette this morning (another leftover wonder) that was sooo good. We're not huge into desserts, but he once surprised me with chocolate mousse with raspberries and pistachios that I loveeed. At my request he taught me how to make tiramisu, one of my faves. Yesterday he made an apple crumble - delicious again! Soon I'm going to make him a lemon drizzle cake, a cake I made for one of the families I work for.

Well! I could go on and on listing everything I've eaten since I've been here (Laura and Allison would love it!), but that's not the point of this! The point is that I'm really starting to develop a love for cooking. It's so much fun living with Bart because we're always trying to surprise each other and try new things. I think that's the most important thing, too, trying new things. We cook a lot of different dishes with fresh ingredients, herbs/spices, and recipes from all over the world, which keeps it interesting. Food is something so easy for people to enjoy together, whether you're hosting friends and family or it's just the two of us.

We were really into the Australian Master Chef show while it was on, and that gave us new ideas too. I gave Bart a "mystery box" of ingredients that I'd chosen, and he had to make something with it (something they do on the show). He made amazing baked fish & prawns with spinach and potatoes! That was a lot of fun. Yesterday we even started our own herb/vegetable garden, so I can't wait for that this summer!

I'm excited about my new little hobby, and maybe tales of my cooking adventures with Bart will inspire you too. :)

Eet smakelijk!


ps- there are pictures of some of these things on facebook and for any recipe questions... ask Bart!!! ;)