Netherlands Meetups

Hello Everyone,

looks like we got ourselves a meet. November the 1st or 2nd. I don't know whether you all prefer afternoon or early evening?

Lugubert is this too short notice for you?

So far the number interested is 6, including my other half.

dishes I will be doing so far are, Alu gobi , saag, dal makhani, masoor dal, with chappattis. I would just like to point out that I'm a complete failure when it comes to cooking rice. If any of you can do this then you can have the job.

ps are you all vegetarian?

I wanted to do Dhokla which is my all time favourite indian snack, unfortunately the indian grocery shop on van woustraat does not stock ENO which is a vital component in this dish.

let me know on the following
novmber 1st/2nd
afternoon/early evening/ (or a good time for you all)
any other dishes you fancy

ps are you all vegetarian?

What's much worse than the rather short notice is that most of the period Oct 27 to Nov 9 will be needed for two university test papers.

There will be more opportunities, I hope. Enjoy the party!

Wow, that was quickly arranged. Way to go, my fellow Dutchies!

Now while I hate awkward business of meetup plans going forever "But... How's about another venue/date/planet...," is it an idea to give it a few more weeks? There are other Dutch members who may yet call in here (and I could send some PM's around), and it might give Lugubert a chance to attend. Weekend of Nov. 14th is not so good for me, other than that I'm fine.

However, not to make things unnecessarily complicated, if next weekend it is, that is fine by me too. If that's what it is, shall we say Saturday then? Handy perhaps for last-minute groceries as well. Well, whatever, Sunday is good for me too. Do you have room for more people? Off the top of my head, I can think of some 4-5 adults and two kids more who might like to attend, and have variously attended previous meetings. Of course, they may not all be able to.

Lugubert btw, isn't there a ferry running Denmark-Holland still?

Yes, good idea. Also, suggest keeping a tab on your shoppings, so we can split the bill.

Yes, I personally eat fish, no meat (and mostly vegetarian beyond that). No good at cooking either of them, not that I mind, just no practice. Well, I can do a fish curry if you give me a recipe.

Keeping it vegetarian is fine by me & would suit all, indeed. If someone's dying for a meat dish however, I don't mind preparing it if someone tells me how to (but again, have no practice whatsoever at it), or better yet, maybe those people can bring their own then. (Moreover, if Chickpea is vegetarian she might not be keen on using her pots for it.)

Yup, already being arranged by PM (thanks Indo) Anyone wants to join us, let us know.

Sounds just great. Maybe we can add vegetable raita, papadams (just pre-packaged to fry yourself, they're good though), raw onions, and some other stuff. Alu matter/matter paneer, something tomato, whatever. I have a recipe for a Keralan coconut curry dish involving banananas and boiled eggs, no idea what a Keralite would make of it, it's quite something else though. Well, I can be in touch with you Chickpea to finalize plans. You normally end up with enough food to feed a small orphanage anyway (--> Thinking now: Pakoras! Oh, yes, fun to make too! If you don't mind stinking up the place with the smell of fried oil, that is. Samosas could be fun for that matter, never tried before though.)

nb I can get fresh paneer here if so required (or we could make our own, no real mind to do it though, rather involved), but then I take it Chickpea does her shoppings in town as well

I'll see if I can have a go at some chutneys or pickles at home then, would be my first time, fun to try though. They get better the sooner you prepare them.

I do a fine rice if I may say so myself, so I can handle that (basmati, of course!) I can punk it up a little, nothing like a real biryani I'm sure, but tasty alright.

If it sounds good to you I could show up early afternoon'ish so we can get busy at something of a relaxed pace. If IJ wants to be there to open up our boxes, so much the better (However, do let us know if you'd rather have the afternoon and/or the kitchen to yourself, of course. Do you fancy the idea of cooking together at all? I mean some cooks would rather have the place to their own.)

I was looking up that Bos where you live on the web, is that a real forest? (--> My Mrs. now tells me it is.) Is that fun for walks? If you're open to visitors in the afternoon, maybe those who want to can show up for a walk first, then others can come as they like for dinner?

Well, I'm looking forward to it all, no matter what date. Looks like another real event.

Cheerio.

Hi everyone

I feel awful because I don't want to leave anyone out. If a later date of 22nd November is better for everyone then that is fine by me. The more the merrier.

Mach you have been nominated kitchen moniter. We can make the last minute dishes together. I'm going to have a go at making pakoras for the first time ever in the next few days.

Haarlemmermeerse bos is the site of floriade 2002, I was there nearly every day during that time. It is beautiful to walk there with lots of child activity areas as well. If we are lucky, there might be sheep and cows grazing. We can also take in a bit of history with Fort Vijfhuizen.

please go ahead and PM other members. The living room can accommodate 20 people or so.

Hola,

Are you crazy?! It's the nicest idea anyone's come up with so far! I really didn't mean to interfere. (I also really appreciated how people are getting down to business about this without much ado. Hate all that jive of yes, but...)

So anyway I truly hope you don't feel interfered with. It is a really nice and, may I say, generous offer.

I'll PM you my phone nr. one of these days, then we can finalize some things, and make sure we're all on the same plane. But it is really your plan, it's really nice, and again I didn't mean to interfere.

(Speaking of which, may I suggest at a more final hour you PM directions and address to all participants? I wouldn't advise you to do that here on the board, you just never know. The people we have in mind now I'm willing to vouch for. & Would probably be able to find if necessary ) --> nb For those wanting to have a remote idea of where we're going, this is the Hoofddorp area I think, is that correct Chickpea? It's a little west of Amsterdam, half hour by train or so. It's near to Schiphol airport.)

However, if all that is clear and no problem, is Saturday Nov. 22 a good date then? It will allow those who want to and can to make room for it, and the rest will just have to pass then.

Whoopsie and hola again, I'm not that good a cook Anyway, if we speak live then that should make us more comfortable with one another, and I look forward to having a go at it, and/but explicitly under your guidance. It is your plan, and your kitchen. Mostly, let's just have fun cooking and chatting. And if a dish screws up, hey, we're not on Jamie Oliver's, are we. (I was thinking I'll look up a lassi recipe btw. And there will and must be masala chai, of course.)

Nice one, have fun with it. I find the batter hard to get to be of the right substance, other than that, it's nice to do, and the possibilities of what vegetables to use are sheer endless. They should have a "bite" i.e. be crunchy of course. Well, that includes even mushrooms and stuff (possibly more Chinese or Japanese if treated this way though).

Aha, Fort sounds good too, great. I hear it (the forest) is where that nice petting zoo is too. I imagine us in the kitchen and the others on a walk though, but let's see to it we can walk along

Will do. That's quite the living room btw!

Cheers, Chickpea, and I didn't mean to be overpowering on this. Are you comfortable this way? Really, next week with whoever can make it is just fine by me too. And I'm sure we all appreciate you coming up with this plan at all. It is really excellent, and I'm much much looking forward to it.

ps If some of us are vegan, please let us know in due time. With the Indian kitchen and luckily, shouldn't be hard to accommodate.

There used to be a 36 h ferry from my hometown Göteborg. I used it several times. It's now discontinued, perhaps because of all new cheap airlines. I hope I will have fewer pressing things to do towards spring, and then there is for example the overnight Göteborg-Kiel ferry if I feel like driving.

Aha, I just figured Denmark might be a handy option (if still running) if you're intent on a ferry ride.

More importantly, would this Nov. 22 suit you? I don't have the best experiences with centering things around tentative foreign guests who get you going only to with any luck never call back in at the last moment btw, however if this would suit us all, we can just see if you can make it, and no harm would be done either way, moreover you don't strike me as one of those, given only your above recent messages. And it would be very nice if you can make it, of course. I'm sure some of us would be happy to show you around other parts of the country too.

I can only agree with that! This is an absolutely fabulous offer and a real nice plan.
I think this is a really great way to get to know one and another better.
Going out all together is very enjoyable, but this is much more personal.

I agree on that again. Sending personal information on the forum is never a smart idea.
I've met a couple of people myself and those are great people.


For me the 22nd will do just fine, so for now I'll keep that open (and have entered it in my agenda, since I am a mess with appointments
Maybe I'll ask Indo to send me a reminder by SMS a few hours upfront to avoid the awkward (?) situation I was in once...


Anyway, waht more can I say?
Chickpea, I really love your idea and I'll be there! (If the date changes, I hope I can be informed a bit upfront since I have a too busy schedule and I really wouldn't want to miss this.

Furthermore I'd love to see you and Mach cooking something up
I'd love to help in anyway possible.

Now this is what I found about capabilities:
* Chickpea can organise and cook.
* Mach can be a great kitchen help
* Indo can run to stores and make a mess.
* I can make a mess (Really, that is one thing I am very good in) and I am terrible in telling stories

Allready thanks a lot to everyone and I'll see you all soon!

Must check some uni schedules, and costs for different routes, but so far, 22 looks promising. I've already started a list on people and places to see in neighbouring countries during the following fortnight.

Yodeliho, (would be great if you can attend Lugubert, do try to),

Was in contact with Chickpea. Current agreement:

NL IndiaMike meetup Sat. Nov. 22nd at theirs (Hoofddorp area I believe. Details will be sent to attendants at a later date).

Pour in around 15:00 for easy settling in & possible walkabouts.
Dinner at 19:00.
Home-made extras or desserts and the likes welcome, no need to bring main dishes. (Adamant meat eaters might want to bring their own of the latter though.) Dinner will otherwise be vegetarian (should we add again that in regular parlance here that doesn't mean vegan or "strictly vegetarian" as some would call it, i.e. avoiding dairy and any other animal products? Let us know in time if that's what you want, this would be arrangeable with little effort.)
Bring your own alcohol. There are shops within 2 minutes' walking distance (they close by night no doubt), so you might as well get them as well as other last-minute shoppings there. We could pitch in to get a crate of beer and the likes on the spot no doubt.
No shoes allowed inside; bring slippers or warm socks if you feel necessary (well, I'm sure the hosts survive without).
The hosts as well as yours truly are cigarette smokers; we will adapt and go outside if this is a major problem to some guests.
Oh btw at an overly sufficient attendance sitting on the ground may be required, I'm sure none of us would mind. There will be seats and a table for those who can't.

I'll be PM'ing some more folks and then we'll see who responds. Keep an eye here.

The meet up looks great but unfortunately I have already a party on that date.
We are quite busy those weeks since we leave on December for another three months trip to India

Heheh, so when are you not in India?

That's nice of you to be in, Vonkla. I received word about a possible occasion in April for another esteemed member, how's that for you?

Cheers peeps.

Hi there,

So nice to read about this in Amsterdam.
I've been there for very long.Now I'am in Goa...enjoying the goan life....
Totdan.....

Hi,
If by chance ur are in goa, so contact me....
Its nice to meet someone from Holland....
Enjoy ur stay in India..
Veel plezier...