The 30th of April is since 1949 a special day in the Netherlands; on that day we celebrate the birthday Queen Juliana, who is the mother of our Queen Beatrix. We call it Koninginnedag, or Queen’s Day. If you have ever been in Holland on the 30th of April, than you will know that everybody goes crazy on that day. Most of the activities are outside, people sell their old dusty stuff, you can have a bite and a drink on every corner of the street, kids will play their violin to collect money and there are a lot of parties. All the expectations tourists have of Amsterdam will be confirmed on that day, because it is one big party, with happy people. Some are naturally cheerful, but most had a little help with that.
This year will be the last Koninginnedag and it is going to be extra special, because after 123 years we will get a King. Prince Willem Alexander will be inaugurated and from that moment on we are going to celebrate King’s Day on the 27th of April, because that is his birthday.
Apart from talking about Silvie Meis and Rafael van der Vaart (which is a reason to vote for a customized don’t-ask-don’t-tell-law), our little country is busy with the preparations for this event. If you have seen our people on soccer championships, than you will know how we celebrate things, very loud, wacky and dressed in orange. This is not our daily state of mind, because normally we have a motto, which, badly translated, will be: “Just act normal, than you act crazy enough as it is”.
You will find this motto in our food as well. Originally our meals exist of mashed potatoes and veggies, with a little bit of gravy and a piece of meat, very bland. For this post I have made a Hollandse Salade, which is not spectacular, but very down to earth like the Dutch.
For two persons you will need:
- ½ a crop of Butter lettuce (also known as Boston Bibb)
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- ½ yellow bell pepper
- 2 eggs
- Some garden cress
- 2 tablespoons of yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of water
- Pepper and salt
- Cook the eggs about 8 minutes until hardboiled
- Act normal! Cut all the veggies and the eggs
- Divide them on two plates
- Mix the yogurt, vinegar, water, pepper and salt. Is the dressing to sour? Add some honey or sugar
- Sprinkle the dressing and some garden cress over the salad
- Smakelijk eten! Enjoy your meal!
Room for Food 