Dutch food remembered by an immigrant kid.

 Although Dutch by birth, I was only 20 months old when we immigrated to Canada.  I learned the Dutch language and culture from my family there.

We ate lots of Dutch candies especially peppermints,  salted licorice, and lots of almond pastries (after all my father was a baker). Mom fed us the basic food she knew. For breakfast there was bread or rusk with hagelslag (sprinkles -chocolate or fruity), or an occasional egg, for lunch we got cheese sandwiches,  Gouda, of course, and for dinner it was always boiled potatoes and gravy, vegetables and some meat .,.not too much.  In grade school, I remember that for supper  on Wednesdays we had Dutch pancakes with bacon cooked in them. It was a real treat! On Sunday there was always a big pot of homemade vegetable soup, with maggi on the table to add some extra seasoning if you wanted. 

It wasn’t until high school that I introduced the family to spaghetti and meat sauce - it was an assignment from my home economics class. 

Beans were never served at Mom’s table unless they were green beans. As a girl guide I was saved from great embarrassment by a neighbor girl. We were going a field trip to earn badges for campfire making and cooking outdoors. Each of us was asked to bring a can of beans and naturally I was going to bring a can of green beans! The day before the adventure I discovered that ‘beans’ were pork and beans. To this day, I remember my salvation from mortification! 

My mother never served us beans or porridge of any kind! That was food for poor people. Oatmeal, cream of wheat, and barley were staples in many other immigrant family homes. Brown beans and bacon with syrup was a dish commonly served for dinner. 

To this day, I dislike porridge of all kinds, but my Dutch-Canadian husband loves them.  

We do eat beans after living in Latin America for many years but not canned pork and beans. 

Tonight dinner was reminiscent of dinners that Mom served: boiled potatoes and homemade gravy, vegetables (endive for the hubby and asparagus for me), meat, and homemade applesauce! Good memories!

On occasion. I still make Dutch soup. Thanks Mom!