Monday, May 11, 2009

A trip to Holland, Michigan and a box of windmill spiced cookies

We drove 7 hours to Michigan. All for the sake of seeing my favorite flower- the tulip.

I was really disappointed that the field had scanty patches of tulips. I hated their fields(As you can see in the first snap)Maybe it's because I've visited Netherlands and seen their vast vast fields of tulips in bloom. I didn't care much for these here.

I thought that our trip would go to the dumps. But, fortunately, for us, the Windmill Island pepped up our day. Windmill Island features a 240 year old working Dutch windmill "De Zwaan" (meaning graceful bird).

It is the only authentic Dutch windmill in the USA. It was brought in parts all the way from Netherlands and rebuilt here.

Next came Neli's Dutch village. A lot of dutch dancing and fun rides. Nothing worth mentioning.

The stunner was Lake Michigan Light house. It's called the "BIG RED" and it's one of the most photographed light houses in Michigan. It looked cute. The best part was sunset. Oh! It was so breath taking and romantic ;)

Finally, about the cookies part. I bought a cute box of some authentic Dutch cookies from the Windmill Island. They were imported cookies which were made in Netherlands. Boy, they were awesome!
They were spiced with ginger and cinnamon and had that wonderful taste of dark brown sugar. They had a very crispy crunch too.
On the whole, it was a pleasant weekend.















Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha
Scribbled by saffronapron.blogspot.com on Monday, May 11, 2009
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40 comments:

  1. AnyaMay 11, 2009 at 8:45 PM

    and i have seen all these places only in google maps :)

    nice snaps

    chriz

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  2. Sweta (My Indian Dietitian)May 11, 2009 at 8:45 PM

    The tulip festival here in OR was great-vast fields of tulips. Almost sang the "Silsila" song,except that AB was nowhere in sight ;)

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  3. Ria MathewMay 11, 2009 at 9:16 PM

    But I liked the fields :) Nice pics!!

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  4. RushMay 11, 2009 at 9:49 PM

    if u love tulips...botanical garden in Chicago,IL is the place..http://www.chicago-botanic.org/
    thats one definite thing i miss moving out of chicago :(
    great pics...dutch cookies...neat!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. ParitaMay 11, 2009 at 10:08 PM

    Nice pics...

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  6. Varsha VipinsMay 11, 2009 at 11:06 PM

    Nice pics..u cud have come over to Seattle..it was beautiful..but then ofcourse no yummy dutch cookies here..:)

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  7. Lena JayadevMay 11, 2009 at 11:08 PM

    wowww..nice snaps... :)

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  8. Priya SureshMay 12, 2009 at 2:44 AM

    Awesome clicks, beautiful!

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  9. Gita JaishankarMay 12, 2009 at 2:55 AM

    Awesome pictures Smitha...the windmill island looks so idyllic...I must visit those places when I make a trip to MI :)

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  10. Ramya VijaykumarMay 12, 2009 at 3:11 AM

    Smitha you look cute in the pic, looks like a long shot...Dutch cookies are simply the best oh you guys should have had a great snack time party...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ramya VijaykumarMay 12, 2009 at 4:34 AM

    Hey Smitha, after chopping off the Plantains you can mix Water and salt and just sprinkle a lil, you can wait for a few mins if you want they dint splutter in the oil... Or you can just slice them and drop them in Water mixed with turmeric and salt and remove let it stand for a few mins b4 frying (this is how my Mom does) but I wasnt patient enough to do all that...

    ReplyDelete
  12. PoojaMay 12, 2009 at 4:53 AM

    Good shots! And great places to visit! The cookies look awesome :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Renus KitchenMay 12, 2009 at 6:40 AM

    nice pictures!

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  14. SuparnaMay 12, 2009 at 7:11 AM

    Hi Smitha,
    lovely travel read and nice pics ...Thanks for sharing
    Enjoy the week ahead.
    TC

    ReplyDelete
  15. chef and her kitchenMay 12, 2009 at 7:48 AM

    Lovely fotos smitha..Those cookies look great lol..
    @ ur query, regarding the rice for that dosa, you can use any normal rice like sona masuri,kolam,ponni but not the idli rice or boiled rice.

    ReplyDelete
  16. SanghiMay 12, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    Mmm lovely clicks. yummy cookies too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lena JayadevMay 12, 2009 at 9:10 AM

    hai smitha..thank u 4 d suggestion for my post mushroom fried rice..i never use ajinimoto..but i just write it down in d recipe as its a chinese dish....its better to avoid ajinomoto.. :) thanks again 4 d suggestion.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Savi-RuchiMay 12, 2009 at 9:55 AM

    look at the sunset there.., awesome & truly romantic.When I was working in India, the HQ of my company was in Netherlands. I used to get all these cookies from Netherlands often then.., I'm missing them a lot here now.
    Very nice Smitha

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ria MathewMay 12, 2009 at 9:55 AM

    Hello Smita!! I wanted to mail you abt the info u needed but I couldn't find ur email id..I bought mine from Mysore. Where exactly is ur sis? Maybe I could give you more info then :) Mail me at airmathew@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. YasmeenMay 12, 2009 at 6:18 PM

    Pretty snaps and the sunset looks spectacular.
    about your query,the dried prunes can also be used for making Jam. check my recipe of Jam here with dried figs.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Vikis KitchenMay 12, 2009 at 8:51 PM

    Windmill Island sounds interesting . Love those Dutch cookies. Sunset view is superb.
    Nice post.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Vikis KitchenMay 12, 2009 at 8:51 PM

    Moreover I am hosting an event called 'The potluck - chicken' . It is my first time to host one. Expecting your suggestions , support and yummy dishes . Hearty welcome dear.
    http://elitefoods.blogspot.com/2009/05/announcing-event-express-potluck.html
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Poornima NairMay 12, 2009 at 11:56 PM

    Sounds like a wonderful trip...great pictures and the cookies look awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Mangala BhatMay 13, 2009 at 12:18 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Mangala BhatMay 13, 2009 at 12:18 AM

    Wow! Smitha u look very very cute in the pics ...Hey awsome cookies ...Thanks for the recipe

    ReplyDelete
  26. ARUNAMay 13, 2009 at 12:32 AM

    hey Smitha, did u like the tulips.....somehow i was lil dissapointed when i went there u know!Did u go to the dutch village?

    ReplyDelete
  27. ARUNAMay 13, 2009 at 1:02 AM

    wow din't read ur post properly first....hmmmm looks like we both r in the same boat.....so drove 7hrs for this haan!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. anudivyaMay 13, 2009 at 8:17 AM

    Just from the pictures I have seen that my friends send of the tulips from Netherlands, I must say the ones here don't even come close. But we have what we have...sigh!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Purva DesaiMay 13, 2009 at 6:53 PM

    nice clicks gal......good to know u enjoyed the trip

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  30. Pavithra ElangovanMay 13, 2009 at 8:38 PM

    Great pictures smith..lovely ..paintin, cookies everything are so good and offcourse u too

    ReplyDelete
  31. VrindaMay 13, 2009 at 10:57 PM

    Thanx for visiting my blog Smitha..Liked ur blog too..Awesome clicks and yummy cookies..

    ReplyDelete
  32. AletaMay 14, 2009 at 1:38 AM

    My Dad's favorite flower is the tulip. He wants to go to Holland to see them. I think they are lovely flowers too. Thanks for sharing the picture.

    ReplyDelete
  33. KParthasarathiMay 14, 2009 at 5:22 AM

    Came through Rush blog.Iam not into culinary but would read with interest your other posts.The initial impression of your blog is one of happiness

    ReplyDelete
  34. vidhasMay 14, 2009 at 9:26 AM

    Hi Smitha, Awesome clicks, Wish i could also visit those places.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Vishwanath SeshadriMay 14, 2009 at 1:54 PM

    I love to travel myself and found your post very interesting.. Have made a note of it as reference for my next trip :)

    cheers

    Vish

    ReplyDelete
  36. KParthasarathiMay 15, 2009 at 5:40 AM

    Thanks for leaving a comment in my blog.Your mom is a rare exception not ordinarily seen.It also speaks highly of your grandma.I was just reflecting in the story what is happening around.
    kpartha12@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  37. Lena JayadevMay 15, 2009 at 12:48 PM

    something special for you in my blog.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  38. Swapna Raghu SanandJune 10, 2009 at 9:22 AM

    Awesome pics. Your writing was also very engaging. Keep writing.

    Best,
    Swapna

    ReplyDelete
  39. AbhilashAugust 3, 2009 at 10:15 PM

    I was reading your recipe and the image down says.. you might also like... and I reached here..

    I like the biscuits displayed there above...

    Pappu also brings the same type of biscuits...mm..pappu the biscuit wala who comes with his "thela"(vehicle for transforting food items).

    ReplyDelete
  40. AnonymousAugust 4, 2010 at 1:42 PM

    Sorry our tulips disappointed you. We've had a few too many "Stem Fests" in a row. But our tulips this past season were just as lovely as the ones back in the homeland, from what i can remember. Hopefully you will come again. We have so much more to see here in Holland. I am glad you got to see Big Red. If you ever come back, make sure you hit up Mt. Pisgah. There are a lot of stairs to climb but the view of lake michigan from the top is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete

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