Recipe: Cool, Crunchy, Colorful Coleslaw

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• pour :

  to cause liquid, granules, or powder to stream from one container into another.

• slice :

  to cut into thin pieces using a sawing motion with your knife.

• whisk :

  to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.

History of Coleslaw!

• Coleslaw or just "slaw" is a salad made from a "cole" plant of the Brassica species, like broccoli, cabbage, and kale.
• The word "coleslaw" came from the Dutch "koolsla," from "kool" for "cabbage" + "sla" (shortened from "salade") for "salad."
• A 1770 Dutch cookbook, The Sensible Cook, has a recipe with thin strips of cabbage, melted butter, vinegar, and oil. Common ingredients today are shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, onion, sugar, and black pepper, dressed with vinaigrette or mayonnaise and cider vinegar.  
• You can eat coleslaw alone as a side salad, popular at picnics and potlucks. You can also put it on a sandwich, like a barbecue pulled pork sandwich. The Rachel sandwich, a counterpart of the Reuben sandwich, has coleslaw instead of sauerkraut and turkey or chicken instead of corned beef.

Let's Learn About the Netherlands!

• The Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe. The North Sea is on its west and north border, Germany on its east, and Belgium on its south. 
• The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state consisting of four constituent countries, including the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. 
• There are 12 provinces in the Netherlands and three Caribbean islands, which are special municipalities: Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. 
• The two provinces of North Holland and South Holland have dominated Dutch culture, economy, and population, causing "Holland" to become synonymous with the country. In 2020, the Netherlands officially stopped supporting the use of "Holland" as the name for the whole country.
• The country's government is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. It has a king or queen, a prime minister, a legislature, and a supreme court. It is part of the European Union, and its currency is the euro. 
• Amsterdam is the capital and largest city. The Hague is the government seat, administrative center, and capital city of South Holland. 
• The total area of the country is 16,164 square miles. Its size is about halfway between that of the US states of Maryland and West Virginia. It has a population of over 18 million.
• The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands and make up about 72 percent of the population. Inhabitants of the Netherlands are also referred to as Dutch. 
• The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch. There are three regional languages: English, West Frisian or Frisian, and Papiamento (a Portuguese creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean). 
• The country has a temperate climate with cool summers and mild, wet winters. It often has cloudy skies, although rainfall is average. It receives occasional snowfall.  
• "Netherlands" ("Nederland" in Dutch) literally means "low countries." Twenty-six percent of the country is below sea level, and the land is mostly flat. Because of their low sea level and encroachment from the North Sea and rivers, the Dutch people began reclaiming land, enclosing it using dikes (embankments) and draining it using windmills. These protected areas of reclaimed land are called "polders." 
• The Dutch are proud of their land reclamation and have a saying, "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands."
• Agriculture, banking, fishing, shipping, and trade have been the main factors in the Dutch economy.
• Windmills, tulips, canals, and wooden shoes or clogs have come to symbolize Dutch culture and the Netherlands. 
• Art and literature flourished during the Dutch Golden Age, lasting from about 1588 to 1672. 
• Famous Dutch painters include Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516), Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569), Rembrandt (1606-1669), Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), and Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).  
• Dutch-processed cocoa was developed in the early 19th century by Dutch chocolatier Coenraad Johannes van Houten. It is made by treating cocoa solids with an alkalizing agent (alkali) to reduce their natural acidity, giving the cocoa a less bitter taste and making it darker in color.
• When Dutch-processed cocoa is added to a recipe with baking soda as the leavening agent, an acid must be added, like cream of tartar or buttermilk. No acid is needed if using baking powder. Dutch-processed cocoa has one-third less caffeine than cocoa processed without an alkali. 
• Dairy products like butter and cheese are staples in the Netherlands. Dutch cheeses include Edam, a semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the town of Edam in North Holland, and Gouda, a semi-hard to hard cow's milk cheese from the city of Gouda in South Holland. 
• "Stamppot" is considered the national dish of the Netherlands. It is a traditional Dutch winter comfort-food dish consisting of mashed potatoes and vegetables (like kale, endive, sauerkraut) topped with smoked sausage. "Hutspot" is a side dish of boiled and mashed potatoes, carrots, and onions, often served with beef, pork, or sausage.  
• Other Dutch dishes include "pannekoeken" (Dutch pancakes), "poffertjes" (small pancakes cooked in a special cast-iron pan), "soused herring" (herring fish preserved in a vinegar marinade), "slavink" (seasoned ground beef and pork roll, wrapped in bacon), and "snert" (pea soup).

What's It Like to Be a Kid in the Netherlands?

• School begins for Dutch kids at 4 or 5 years of age in kindergarten. They attend elementary school until age 12 or grade 8. There are three types of secondary schools, depending on academic ability and goals. They last from 4 to 6 years, from ages 12 to 16, 17, or 18 years old.
• The sports Dutch kids participate in include football (soccer), field hockey, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. They may play "sjoelen," a table-top shuffleboard game.
• Kids and families may enjoy visiting amusement parks, beaches, lakes, and museums, like the NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam. 
• Efteling, in the town of Kaatsheuvel, opened in 1952 and is one of the oldest theme parks in the world and the largest in the Netherlands. It was the most visited theme park in Europe until Disneyland Park in Paris, France, opened in 1992.
• Madurodam is a miniature park in The Hague in South Holland. The miniature buildings are built at a scale of 1:25 and include replicas of famous Dutch cities and landmarks.
• For breakfast, kids may have bread with various toppings like cheese, chocolate spread or sprinkles, jam, or peanut butter. They may also eat pancakes or yogurt, fruit, and cereal. 
• Kids typically bring their lunch to school, which may consist of "boterhammen" (sandwiches), fruit, and milk or juice. 
• For sweet treats, Dutch kids may enjoy "bankets" (almond paste-filled treats), "oliebollen" (Dutch doughnuts), "speculaas" (spice cookies), and "stroopwafels" (two layers of sweet dough with syrup between, pressed in a waffle iron).