In the brief two weeks of being here, I've already developed a few nice routines, like taking the time to get to work early to drink espresso and hang out before my shift, and visiting the Cuyp Market fruit and veg vendors almost daily. It has been great to leave behind all the hectic distractions of my former life. I feel like I had the right priorities in Portland, but I still didnt have the pace I do now. Every night, I'm taking the time to create great dinners and prepare for big breakfasts. I'm normally a serious snooze-button abuser, but here I've been giving myself so much time in the morning to get dressed, cook, even put on makeup occasionally... It's been awesome to restructure my habits so drastically.
Sunday I tagged along with Zachary and Katie to the first ever Underground Farmer's Market in Downtown 75, a gallery on Rokin near de Dam.
http://www.talkinfood.nl/weblog.php
(Is a list of all 30 vendors)
Up the stairs, and down the red hallway....
To Katie and Zachy about to slow-brew your face into a wild grin
This woman sold chickens for 10 Euro! Awesome signage of happy pigs..
There was everything from antique wares, lemon curd, savory cornbread cupcakes, pies and sausages, chocolate truffles, seaweed desserts, artisan salts, and our very own slow bar!
We made over 50 cups of pour-over for folks. I have been a barista at many different events, but usually I'm manning an espresso machine - my natural setting compared to preparing cup after cup of melitta! It was my first time working a slow bar, and was fun and fast. As with working a busy bar, there is a rhythm to be found, where proper multitasking and prioritizing mean noone waits too long for their precious cup. Of course communication is invaluable, and Zachary and Katie made it flow nicely. We chose to make Guatemala Santa Cruz for most of the day, because as pour-over, it makes a balanced smooth cup with enough body and sweetness for the average Dutch consumer (we felt), but it also has a wonderful tropical citric acidity that can helped but be noticed by any layman's tongue! People didn't know what to expect but were blown away. A lot of folks took home beans.
So many people came up laughing and taking pictures, saying that our pour-over was so "old fashioned." They marveled that this old traditional way of making coffee which they had seen for generations was the method we were choosing to showcase our coffee that day. I think you can evaluate people's response to your coffee by their cups. Our cups were allllll empty, just like they've been in the cafe.
I left the farmer's market with 3 new cookbooks (SE Asia seafood, Two Fat Ladies, Sweet Potato Queen's Big Ass Cookbook), some portugese red pepper sauce (Piri-piri), Harissa from Hell and a sweet chili jam, smoked sea salt, and a tea set of 5 mach-sized cups, 6 saucers, one teapot and sugar bowl ... all GOLD!! Such precious cargo...
We came home from the farmer's market at almost the exact same time as the Frankie's, who were visiting for the weekend. The Frankie's are Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, who run Frankie's Spuntino, a few renowned Italian joints in NYC. They rolled in with grocery bags full of goodies to make their famous meatballs and gnocci.
Of course, they started with the red sauce, since it needs the most time. While it began, they made the meatballs, complete with pinenuts and raisins. Then they started making the gnocci by first pressing boiled potatoes through a little sieve from our kitchen. They were laughing at this, because at home they'd certainly have a ricer or other tool; you would never make it like entirely by hand in a restaurant. The meatballs were browned, and then put into the oven. Finally, they finished pressing the potatoes (after recruiting Katie as sous-chef) and combined them with flour, more pecorino and seasonings. They rolled this into snakes and then cut into tiny gnocci which cooked quickly. Truly, being part of this dinner, smelling the marinara develop and helping roll out meatballs, took me back to my childhood, of spending all day with my mother, or my Italian step-gramma as they made "gravy." I was shocked by how nostalgic and heart-warming the whole evening was. This apartment already had a family feeling, but this evening solidified it even more.
The feast fed everybody in the house (12), except me. If I had anything less than a severe gluten allergy, I'd have gorged myself until I was distended and plesantly moaning, like everybody else. All day today, everybody's been raving about the meal. Folks had meatballs for breakfast and finished off the rest for dinner. They're coming out with a cookbook in the next month! It will contain the amazing meatballs and other secrets, and is supposed to be very reasonably priced. I desperately need to make a gluten-free version this week.
http://www.frankiesspuntino.com/
I opened the cafe today, which started busier than previous Mondays. We already have so many regulars and now have a Mayor, from Four Square! The coffee was about a week old today, but so killer! I've always loved the Hairbender at 3, 4, 5 days when it has lots of pop, with citrus and floral aspects to balance the carmel and milk chocolate... but it ages so gracefully. If anything, the less acidic coffee aligns better with (what I'm being told is) Dutch preference for sweet, chocolately smooth espresso.
It's fun to be making coffee a little differently. Away from home, rather than have a static blend of 3/4, 4/5 day old coffee, we're getting to pull the same batch day after day and really appreciate its changes and experiment with it. I'm surprised at the dose and volume I'm using with this older coffee. I'm surprised how great it is every day. And so many people are so stoked on the coffee, raving about their shots and ordering more under the giddy madness of espresso inebriation. As is the trend, today's cupping was attended by another local coffee professional desperate for community and quality focus and an educated customer base. This couple owns a little shop outside Antwerp which also sells ice cream. I wish I could pronounce the name to remember it better.
Everyday, we polititely interrupt customers to invite them to cup and people are always willing to join the ritual. I love provoking them to share their impressions and favorites. So many people here like the gamey Indonesian Gajah Aceh! They love a "bold" coffee you can nurse for hours, where every sip tastes "memorable" and "powerful". It's very funny to me. I totally understand liking a full-bodied heavy coffee. I enjoy a stiff brew now and again, but usually only when I improperly use my mazzer-mini to grind for french press at home. I look forward to shifting some people's bias towards subtle, clean coffees. This is already happening.
I got off work and wandered in a local park with Zachary. We got frites and then sat at a local cafe, sipping cola and sparkling water in the afternoon sun, watching herons fight over scraps from the market. I will never tire of majestic herons as ubiquitous as pigeons in this city.
I biked home with a backpack full of fruit and a little fillet of white fish (zoot-something), and attempted to recreate a Portugese fish-potato dumpling I had at the underground market on Sunday.
I boiled 500g potatos while frying fish over low heat, then mashed the potatos and gently flaked in the fish. I added a small diced red onion, 3 cloves minced garlic, a little salt, pepper, basil and a good bit of chili pepper, and 2 eggs. I formed little dumplings and fried them in vegetable oil. After resting on a paper towel to remove excess oil, I added a few drops of lemon, some piri-piri sauce (red pepper, lemon, garlic, onion blended with vinegar) and salt, with a sprinkle of raw red onion for garnish.
The attempt was a success, and these little fish-latkes will probably be in regular rotation now.
I am too full and have rambled with these happy hands too long. Just one more pot of ginger tea before bed.
Another week of vacation-work begins.
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