Catching up
And catching my breath!
Bonjour!
It sure has been a busy last few weeks! Between rounding off the January/February 2023 issue of DUTCH, reviewing submissions from new writers, finishing an upcoming piece for Culture, editing (and writing for) Inside Rotterdam, attending wine tastings and working on my new column for Bouillon (very excited about this!), I’ve barely had time to catch my breath! In fact, I sometimes awake in the middle of the night going over the following day’s schedule or thinking I should grab a pen and jot down that perfect intro for an upcoming article. Coffee (lots of it) helps, as does the occasional frozen pizza. Weekends have also become sacred to me. I used to work straight through Saturday and Sunday, but I’m really making it a point to relax and do absolutely nothing. Taking care of our health is not a luxury but a necessity, and when you run your own business, it’s easy to go full speed ahead and forget that you need time to breathe and recharge.
As you can imagine, I am really looking forward to a long weekend. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, a week late, but it’s not a holiday here in the Netherlands and my daughter couldn’t make it last week. I’ve been living here for 25 years and haven’t missed a single celebration. This will be our first plant-based Thanksgiving, so I am hoping and praying that all my traditional recipes will come out just as delicious in their tweaked versions. Judging from my cornbread, which I baked yesterday and will be used in my stuffing, I think all will be well! It’s funny because the other day I suddenly remembered that my first three Thanksgivings in the Netherlands were actually vegetarian, but then again, there wasn’t much cooking going on there. I was young and actually learned to cook while I was pregnant with my daughter.
So, while you’re reading this newsletter, I will probably be in the kitchen, but before I sign off, I’d like to tell you about a wine I recently tried from Cantina Tramin (which I told you about in last week’s post). On Saturday, we opened the Maglen 2020.
On the nose, this full-bodied pinot nero is replete with morello cherries and ripe forest fruits as well as delicate hints of violets. Complemented by savory highlights of licorice, earth and vanilla, it has an ample palate with supple tannins beautifully balanced by a pleasant minerality. I served this elegant wine with seitan and lentil Swedish meatballs on a bed of celeriac and potato purée, but it will also go very well with other hearty autumn fare such as warming stews, dishes with mushrooms (like my mushroom bourguignon) and fruity cheeses like Comté or an aged Gouda.
Stay tuned because next week I will attend another tasting with Studio Cru. This time we will be sampling some reds from Consorzio Colli Berici e Vicenza!
À la prochaine!