For some reason, the Dutch don’t put *both* meat and cheese onto a sandwich. Lunches at work feature trays of sandwiches with either/or, and I’ve become known as a bit of an ‘ugly american’ for reconstructing ham and cheese out of bits of other sandwiches. I have it on good authority that the British also don’t mix the two…maybe it’s just a US thing.
With Thanksgiving only a month away, thoughts naturally turn towards turkey (kalkoen), but I can’t remember seeing it an any form in the Albert Heijn. Chicken in many forms, and the occasional capon, but no turkey (and no duck). (as an aside, my Van Dale suggests that rood worden als een kalkoen is colloquial Dutch for go/turn purple in the face).
Snack Crackers. I hate to confess it, but I often had a box of Cheez-Its or Oyster Crackers under the van seat for nibbling while I was driving kids hither and yon. Crackers, from Saltines to Wheat Thins to Goldfish to Triscuits to Ritz to Club crackers… I’m cured now to where I really only miss it with a slice of cheese in the evenings. But how did the Dutch manage to miss out on the whole aisle of Nabisco goodies?
Feeling a bit nostalgic, I suppose…
Oreos…did I mention the lack of Oreos…?
