Expat in Holland

about me

I am an American living in the Netherlands. I have been in Holland about 4 years now and I am adjusting to the big difference in country, culture and weather. I think that this has been a good experience to live abroad. Nothing like moving away for a reality check and appreciating home! I feel that I may live in Holland for now, but there is no place like home! That will always be where my heart lies. I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder!


I love to cook and I believe it is in my genetic makeup. I started as a small child helping my mother in the kitchen. She was a wonderful cook and she loved to bake. My grandfather was a baker by trade as well. I do bake, however it does not bring me joy..guess that gene skipped my generation. lol Mom cooked mostly traditional Spanish food, she learned from her mother and sister. I still have several generations of family living in Northern Spain! My cousin, who lived next door, cooked traditional Italian dishes. Mom's best friend was a true Southern Belle and cooked fabulous southern foods. I was always in one kitchen or the other helping & learning about those foods. I was surrounded by different cuisines, different languages and great women cooks. Mealtime was always a celebration with lots of family, friends, food, and wine. Mom's saying was 'the more the merrier'. Dinner time consisted of fantastic ethnic meals, wonderful conversations, with lots of love and affection mixed in! I do try to replicate this tradition in my home with family and friends from around the world. They are invited anytime and I carry on the motto 'the more the merrier'. Thank you mom, for passing on such a wonderful tradition. You will always be in my heart and I miss you very much!

I grew up in Florida. Since then I have lived in 5 cities the last 29 years. Four cities around the U.S. and now one in Europe. My longest time was spent in Minneapolis, twice, for over 16 years and that is where I now call home. While I was living in different cities one of my hobbies was to take classes from different cooking schools. I adore learning about different types of cuisine. To name a few, I have taken Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Swedish and American Bistro classes. I also have been fortunate enough to take classes from some of my favorite restaurant chefs, when they were offered.

I early retired recently from an airline, after 25years of service. I did not think I would miss my career as much as I do! During my career I collected cookbooks and travel guides from cities I visited around the world. I started traveling in my early 20's. I read these books like most people read novels. Luckily my husband now frequently travels for business, so I try to tag along now as often as possible. I still have the travel bug, and I am still collecting books!

I find cooking in Holland to be fun and it has been a bit of a challenge. I have learned to convert recipes from the U.S system to metric, fahrenheit to centigrade, and look up ingrediants in a dutch dictionary in order to find them in grocery stores. I have also become adept at making substitutions for items which are not available in Holland. I do try to make several new recipes each week. My husband enjoys trying all my new recipes and is my best taste tester.

Some of my passions beside cooking are wines, yoga, gardening, ballet, music, reading and traveling...not nessasarily in that order. I also love the arts. I frequently visit museums, attend concerts & symphonies, operas and ballets each year. Whatever else that I can fit in is just icing on the cake, of what we all call life!

Favorite Foods:

My poisons of choice are good chocolate (Lindt), raw oysters and french champagne. Love them! I will never be able to get enough, either! lol

I enjoy all different foods and there is not much I will not try at least once. Seriously there is not many dishes I do not like either. I am open to trying foods of different countries and cultures. My husband and I enjoy dining out at fine restaurants and I often come home and try to recreate some of those fabulous dishes at home.

I thought I would provide a list of some of my favorite restaurants in cities I have lived or spent alot of time in.

Minneapolis/St.Paul;
Kincaids, Palominos, Forepaughs, Oceanaire, Manny's, Fuji Ya, The Vintage, Zanders Cafe, St.Paul Grill, JD Hoyts, Sawadi, San Pedro Cafe(Hudson Wi.) Goodfellows was a favorite, although sadly it has now closed.

Seattle;
Etta's, Dahlia Lounge, Lola's, Wild Ginger, Anthony's Homeport, Chez Shea, Salty's on Alkai, Andaluca.

Reno;
LaStrata, Rapscallions, Cafe De Thai, Louis Basque Corner

Lake Tahoe/Truckee;
Lone Eagle Grill, GarWoods, Jake's, The Passage, Rainbow Inn, The Squeeze

Tampa;
Berns Steak House, Columbia Restaurant, Donatello, Carrabbas.

Napa Valley/Sonoma;
Mustard's Grill, Bistro Don Giovanni, Domaine Chandon

Holland/Amsterdam;
Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Restaurant, El Gauchos Steakhouse (Spui), Song Kwae, Zushi, Japanese Restaurant Ans, Kelderhof (best Tapas!), Molenaarsbrug (Alphen a/d Rijn), Alfreds Dinner (Alphen), De Monnick (Alphen), HongKong City (Alphen), Olympia (Alphen), De Jong Dikkert (Amstelveen), Allemansgeest (The Hauge), Tijdloos(Groningen).

Favorite California Vineyards;
Domaine Chandon, Domaine Carneros, Roederer Estates, Rombauer, Clos du Val, Ferrari Carano, La Crema

French Champagne Vineyards;
Bollinger, Louie Roederer, Laurent Perrier, Ruinart, Veuve Cliquot, Moet Chandon

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