The Roots

With a cup of tea and of course a just freshly baked cookie (thanks to my youngest daughter!), I am ready to start this new adventure. Almost two years ago I started Culinary Calgary; a group of enthusiastic foodies who love to talk food, prepare food and of course eat food! With almost 300 members I felt that it is time for the next step.

Let’s first start with a bit of who I am not. I am not a professional cook, I am not a photographer neither oh and above all, English is my second language so you might find some Dunglish (Dutch English) in my writing. So who am I? Well first of all I am a wife and a mother of 4. Oh and of course the servant of 2 cats and 2 dogs. We immigrated 8 years ago from The Netherlands. And that’s where it all begun. Here my mother taught me to bake, cook, and most of all enjoy a meal together with family and friends. She taught me the importance of food; how it can heal, and bind people together. This is also where I taught my kids to bake their first cake! Later I had the chance to make a living by teaching young adults to cook for sick people. I have always felt that eating is more than just fuelling our body. How often don’t we discussed our feelings while preparing a meal, or have a good laugh while sitting on the dinner table. And of course we learned our negotiation skills by arguing who is going to do the dishes.

Food also brings back memories. We like food to bring us back to places we visited or to moments that have passed. For me the smell of soup or roast brings me back to my mom’s kitchen. Memories of me being taken care for instead of me taking care. My mother passed away when I just got married. I have never had the chance to cook for my mom the way she cooked for me. I miss her, even now after almost 25 years.

People often ask what food we miss from The Netherlands. Well first of all, thanks to a great Dutch store, hidden in an industrial area near the Blackfoot Trail, we still have the chance to get some Dutch in our pantry. This store is also a great place to buy good Gouda cheese. In Calgary we see a lot of people paying a lot for Sylvan Cheese and however this is a good cheese, I find the cheeses at the Cash & Carry just as tasty and a lot more affordable for cheese eaters like us who consummate an average of 2 pound of cheese a week.

Dutch Cash & Carry
3815 – 16th Street SE
Calgary, AB T2G

What I miss the most is the deli meats and of course the wide variety of cheeses. In The Netherlands Saturdays were “markt” days. We would take the kids and go downtown to visit the local market. The market is famous for its cheapness. Fresh good food for a low price, what more do you want! One of the things I liked as a kid was to “proof” the cheese. My mom would ask for a specific cheese and the salesman would offer you a piece to see if you liked it, of course we always ordered different cheeses which meant that there was a lot to “proof”.

Another tradition was a visit to the fish stand, my mom would buy some fish, often baked, to eat later that Saturday. My dad would buy a herring and eat it right away, there is almost an art in how to eat this raw fish: the herring is raw and is eaten by hanging it, tail in the hand, above your face and then lower it slowly into your mouth.