First we skate, then we eat!
January 5, 2011 6:13 PM Subscribe
Dutch Winter: Kasper Bak shoots handheld video on skates on frozen Netherlands waters. If you feel cold after watching that, try warming up with some great Dutch winter food.
Wow, that winter stew from the food blog looks amazing. I love hearty winter food like this.
posted by shoesietart at 7:00 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by shoesietart at 7:00 PM on January 5, 2011
Which reminds me -- any word on the elfstedentocht? There was lots of talk about it a couple of weeks ago, but since then, not a word. Anyone know?
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:05 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:05 PM on January 5, 2011
What with sushi and sashimi being the primary Japanese foods that immediately come to mind for many folks around the world, "hearty" is not a descriptor that is often associated with the cuisine of my adopted country, but there are hearty, warming winter dishes here. At chez flapjax, niku jaga, for example, is a wintertime staple. Mmmm!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:09 PM on January 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:09 PM on January 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I wish I had a river canal I could skate away on.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:14 PM on January 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:14 PM on January 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
my favorite stew is made with Venison. and 4 drops of Tabasco, which equals a "bees knees" stew.
posted by tustinrick at 8:04 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by tustinrick at 8:04 PM on January 5, 2011
Dutch dishes are not refined or very subtle in taste
Lighten up on the hard sell there!
posted by theredpen at 8:28 PM on January 5, 2011
Lighten up on the hard sell there!
posted by theredpen at 8:28 PM on January 5, 2011
Which reminds me -- any word on the elfstedentocht? There was lots of talk about it a couple of weeks ago, but since then, not a word. Anyone know?
Everything's melted since then unfortunately.
posted by atrazine at 8:34 PM on January 5, 2011
Everything's melted since then unfortunately.
posted by atrazine at 8:34 PM on January 5, 2011
Um, if any Dutch folks want to trade jobs & houses, memail me.
* sigh *
posted by everichon at 8:52 PM on January 5, 2011
* sigh *
posted by everichon at 8:52 PM on January 5, 2011
That video is just like winter in Canada, except there isn't any jackass red-haired kids slashing people in knees.
posted by i_have_a_computer at 8:53 PM on January 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by i_have_a_computer at 8:53 PM on January 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Dankjewel.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:33 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by humboldt32 at 9:33 PM on January 5, 2011
Beautiful.
posted by Dragonness at 10:10 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by Dragonness at 10:10 PM on January 5, 2011
You can do this on some of the canals in Belgium too. Such a surreal landscape.
posted by phrontist at 10:22 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by phrontist at 10:22 PM on January 5, 2011
Wtf? Is it really like that there? Can I just ice skate to all my new friends houses? Why do I live in traffic ridden Maryland? I'll even be the goalie in pond hockey.
posted by zephyr_words at 11:43 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by zephyr_words at 11:43 PM on January 5, 2011
For reasons I do not understand, the sight of a straight canal, lined with trees, stretching out across the open, flat land, makes me amazingly relaxed. Cover it all in snow and ice, as I've never seen, and it even hurts, with beauty.
posted by Goofyy at 12:00 AM on January 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Goofyy at 12:00 AM on January 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
Wonderful! My favourite part is how there seems to be this quite official looking guy - with a quite official looking piece of machinery - who has the job of preparing the ice for everybody. This is interesting when I recall that this was probably filmed around the point when Schiphol airport was closed down and the Dutch highway system was more or less at a standstill. But the cyclists....no stopping them either.
posted by rongorongo at 12:50 AM on January 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 12:50 AM on January 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
Wtf? Is it really like that there? Can I just ice skate to all my new friends houses? Why do I live in traffic ridden Maryland? I'll even be the goalie in pond hockey.
You can be the whole team if you like, because no one actyually plays hockey over here. (Ice hockey that is. Field hockey is big over here.)
But don't worry, it's really like that only a couple of days a year. Right now we're back to the usual drab, grey and rainy weather.
posted by Sourisnoire at 1:16 AM on January 6, 2011
You can be the whole team if you like, because no one actyually plays hockey over here. (Ice hockey that is. Field hockey is big over here.)
But don't worry, it's really like that only a couple of days a year. Right now we're back to the usual drab, grey and rainy weather.
posted by Sourisnoire at 1:16 AM on January 6, 2011
How do you know it's safe enough to skate on, so you won't break through the ice?
posted by panaceanot at 2:21 AM on January 6, 2011
posted by panaceanot at 2:21 AM on January 6, 2011
Warning: this is NOT stamppot. The "stamp" in stamppot means "to mash".. it's just WRONG to have it served like in that picture. it shouldn't look pretty. Don't overengineer it! (That's my opinion anyway).
That "official looking guy" seems to be clearing a track on the ice. Probably some kind of marathon or race is planned, or its just a local skating club.
Old people like to tell us that winters "used to be like this", and it does seem that in memory, winter would last forever. But really it's often a week at most of ice like this.
And (in Groningen at least), cycling is not really a problem in winter. In the city, cycling lanes are kept clean just like roads are.
So.. do people in Germany or the United States or whatever not go on the ice in winter?
posted by Harry at 2:54 AM on January 6, 2011
That "official looking guy" seems to be clearing a track on the ice. Probably some kind of marathon or race is planned, or its just a local skating club.
Old people like to tell us that winters "used to be like this", and it does seem that in memory, winter would last forever. But really it's often a week at most of ice like this.
And (in Groningen at least), cycling is not really a problem in winter. In the city, cycling lanes are kept clean just like roads are.
So.. do people in Germany or the United States or whatever not go on the ice in winter?
posted by Harry at 2:54 AM on January 6, 2011
pretty much looks like the commute I'm going to have this morning.
posted by HuronBob at 3:01 AM on January 6, 2011
posted by HuronBob at 3:01 AM on January 6, 2011
"...the Rangers are starting to breathe through their mouths. Their strides are getting shorter. Do not give these guys too much respect! THEY DIDN’T PULL THE DOG SLED DID THEY? THEY DIDN’T SKATE THE RIVER!"
posted by NoMich at 3:59 AM on January 6, 2011
posted by NoMich at 3:59 AM on January 6, 2011
How do you know it's safe enough to skate on, so you won't break through the ice?
Someone, usually in coordination with local authorities, drills a little hole to check how thick the ice is. Then news gets around. I've never seen it happen, but when there are people on unsafe ice I suspect the police/fire-department stop it soon enough I imagine.
posted by Marcc at 4:02 AM on January 6, 2011
Someone, usually in coordination with local authorities, drills a little hole to check how thick the ice is. Then news gets around. I've never seen it happen, but when there are people on unsafe ice I suspect the police/fire-department stop it soon enough I imagine.
posted by Marcc at 4:02 AM on January 6, 2011
Harry: "So.. do people in Germany or the United States or whatever not go on the ice in winter?"
There aren't that many canals in Germany. Those that are there are actively used by commercial boat traffic, so freezing is highly unlikely.
posted by brokkr at 4:39 AM on January 6, 2011
There aren't that many canals in Germany. Those that are there are actively used by commercial boat traffic, so freezing is highly unlikely.
posted by brokkr at 4:39 AM on January 6, 2011
I know what I'm making for dinner tonight. That stew looks fantastic.
I like listening to or reading Dutch. It seems close enough to English that I can understand every fourth or fifth word. That's a lot better than my success rate listening to my sister-in-law speaking Cantonese (0%).
posted by double block and bleed at 4:55 AM on January 6, 2011
I like listening to or reading Dutch. It seems close enough to English that I can understand every fourth or fifth word. That's a lot better than my success rate listening to my sister-in-law speaking Cantonese (0%).
posted by double block and bleed at 4:55 AM on January 6, 2011
Oh man, I'm going right home and turn my hose on out in the street. Hope all my neighbors have ice skates.
posted by orme at 5:29 AM on January 6, 2011
posted by orme at 5:29 AM on January 6, 2011
Biking with studded snow tires on the frozen Charles River in Boston:
Ice Ice - Lucas Brunelle (youtube)
posted by jjj606 at 5:35 AM on January 6, 2011
Ice Ice - Lucas Brunelle (youtube)
posted by jjj606 at 5:35 AM on January 6, 2011
Skating on Lake Superior happens some winters. It's not nearly as smooth, but the winter this vid was recorded, you could see people skating out for miles out toward Wisconsin. It was fucking awesome.
posted by RedEmma at 5:59 AM on January 6, 2011
posted by RedEmma at 5:59 AM on January 6, 2011
Lots of stories of winters from the "Days of Old" come from the Little Ice Age. Apparently it got so cold one year, Narragansett Bay froze so solid, they were able to move a whole house from Newport to Jamestown - no small feat, as it's a deepwater port. This is probably where Hans Brinker and other similar stories got their origin - when the canals in the Netherlands could be relied upon to be frozen from December to March.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:31 AM on January 6, 2011
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:31 AM on January 6, 2011
Which reminds me -- any word on the elfstedentocht? There was lots of talk about it a couple of weeks ago, but since then, not a word. Anyone know?
Everything's melted since then unfortunately.
Translated as "Eleven Cities Tour", Elfstentocht is a massive race/tour on canals connecting eleven towns in Friesland. Good ice doesn't happen too often in Holland, so the tour hasn't happened since 1997. It requires both 15 cm of ice throughout the route, and no snow on the ice (or a pretty huge effort to sweep snow off the entire 200 km route). Wikipedia. Because conditions are so ephemeral, you basically register for this race years in advance, and are ready to go on very short notice.
posted by beagle at 7:01 AM on January 6, 2011
Everything's melted since then unfortunately.
Translated as "Eleven Cities Tour", Elfstentocht is a massive race/tour on canals connecting eleven towns in Friesland. Good ice doesn't happen too often in Holland, so the tour hasn't happened since 1997. It requires both 15 cm of ice throughout the route, and no snow on the ice (or a pretty huge effort to sweep snow off the entire 200 km route). Wikipedia. Because conditions are so ephemeral, you basically register for this race years in advance, and are ready to go on very short notice.
posted by beagle at 7:01 AM on January 6, 2011
My illustrated guide on how to make Dutch pea soup.
posted by monospace at 8:25 AM on January 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by monospace at 8:25 AM on January 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
This is probably where Hans Brinker and other similar stories got their origin - when the canals in the Netherlands could be relied upon to be frozen from December to March.
Maybe, maybe not. Hans Brinker, along with the boy who plugged the dyke, are 19th century American fables. Like as not you'll get a blank face if you mention either to a real Dutchman
posted by IndigoJones at 11:58 AM on January 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Maybe, maybe not. Hans Brinker, along with the boy who plugged the dyke, are 19th century American fables. Like as not you'll get a blank face if you mention either to a real Dutchman
posted by IndigoJones at 11:58 AM on January 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Thank you for the recipes! I have put them on my project list.
posted by halonine at 2:57 PM on January 9, 2011
posted by halonine at 2:57 PM on January 9, 2011
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