🌍 The Kid Explorer Club with Jed

Tag: food

  • Jed’s Dutch Survival Guide

    How to Explore, Eat, and Bike Like a Pro Kid in the Netherlands

    Hi, it’s Jed again! I’ve lived an amazing two years in the Netherlands, and I’m going to miss it a lot. I might not be a Netherlands expert, but I’ve learned a lot about this amazing country and want to share it with you. This guide will help kids prepare for a great visit! And it will help me remember what I learned so that if I forget I can just look back at my blog. Please read and enjoy!

    Getting Around Like a Local

    Before my bike got packed up for our move, I spent my last few months biking to school. There are many Dutch biking tips that I learned over the years. Did you know the Netherlands is considered the world’s most bike-friendly country in the world? And that there are around three times more bikes than people?? Let’s just say that if a Dutch person wants to teach you something about biking, you should listen! But the number one lesson I’ve learned is this: helmets are a MUST. The Netherlands is very safe with biking because they have bike lanes on most streets. But there are still accidents, and you want to be as safe and prepared as possible if this happens. I wear a helmet like this. Without a helmet you have a much bigger risk of getting seriously injured if you got hit by a car, motorcycle, tram, train, etc.

    Other tips are to look for the reddish-brown bike lanes that are on most of the busy streets in the Netherlands. Don’t ride on the sidewalks if you don’t see a bike lane; it’s better to stay to the right side of the street. Cars are used to bikers and they will respect you on the road. Lastly, when you come to an intersection, you will often see a line of triangles painted on the bike path. If the triangles point toward you and look like a set of shark teeth, you need to yield to the bikers and road in front of you. But if the triangles are facing away from you and look like short arrows, you have the right of way and cars or bikes coming from other directions need to yield to you. This is very important to know in the Netherlands!

    Dutch Weather Warnings

    When I think of weather in the Netherlands, one main word comes to mind: RAIN. Because it is located along the North Sea, the weather can be grey, rainy, and cold all year long. And even if you think it’s going to be sunny, do not usually trust the weather forecast. You should always be ready for a surprise rain (or hail or sleet or something cold and wet, but not usually snow)! To prepare for this, I usually wear layers like a hoodie with a T-shirt under it so I can take off the top layers if there is a weather change and I get some surprise sun. Another thing is that I wear light, sporty pants that are good in every kind of weather and dry pretty quickly. On top of that, I have sneakers, a rain jacket, rain boots, and an umbrella if it looks super rainy and I need to walk outside for a while (one of my main chores is walking my dog Theo every day).

    If it’s especially windy and rainy but you still want to go to your favorite Dutch park, the biggest playground in Europe (Linnaeushof ), or your favorite neighborhood theme park (like Duinrell), then you can slip these rain pants over your normal pants! Big lesson here is always be prepared for rain, even when the forcast says warm and sunny!

    Family fun at our neighborhood amusement park, Duinrell! We got lucky this time and had sunshine!

    Food You Have to Try

    Mom and I in Leiden with fresh stroopwafels on a drizzly day.

    There are a lot of fun, yummy foods in the Netherlands. Some of my favorites are Stroopwafels, appleflappen, poffertjes and Hagenslaag. You can make all of them using this recipe book. There are some weird but tasty Dutch foods though, like pickled raw herring (fish), frikandel (a type of sausage that became famous after World War II), and kapsalon (you should google this; but think shawarma meat and French fries and gouda cheese!).  Another snack that they are famous for is black Licorice. They even have a salted version that lots of people like. But take my word for it: DO NOT TRY THE BITTERBALLEN! Some people like them, but to me it tastes like fried mush. I won’t say anything stronger than this because this blog is for kids.

    My mom and I will mostly miss the warm, freshly made Stroopwafels. Once my family was at a Christmas market inside a long, winding cave in Valkenburg. We started to smell the most wonderful scent as we walked down the walking path and got close to the end. We were so happy to find a fresh Stroopwafel stand! We bought Stroopwafels, and when we came out of the cave, we saw snow! This was the only big, real snow we saw in two years in the Netherlands. We ate warm Stroopwafels in the snow to heat us up after visiting a Christmas market. It was basically paradise.

    Best Kid Spots

    My siblings and me playing in the Meijendel dunes.

    If you are visiting the Netherlands and you’re hoping to visit the beach, playground, forest and eat some delicious big Dutch pancakes, then I got good news for you. You should go to Meijendel. You can do all of these things and more, like horse riding and visiting a small nature museum. It’s located in Wassenaar, and my parents really like this beach because there are no shops and not a lot of people. You actually have to walk or bike through the dunes to get to the beach. It is gorgeous, and you can spend hours playing in the dunes and enjoying the North Sea. After you’ve worked up your appetite running on the beach, wandering through the forest, and maybe playing a bit at the natural playground called Monkey-Bos (they have a fun zipline!), you can fill your belly at this pancake house.

    Me and my good friend Jake at the pancake house!

    There are so many cool mueums for kids all around the country. And lots of famous parks and activities in Amsterdam and The Hauge. But some hidden gems in Wassenaar where we live are first, Beach Wassenarslag by Meijendel, then Museum Voorlinden, the beautiful Wassenaar town center, and finally the Meijendel nature reserve (Duinreservaat Meijendel-Kievietsduin). In general, if you’re exploring in the Netherlands, here are some tips for finding the best places:

    1. Look for tons of bikes parked by one area
    2. Look for a big forest or nature reserve with TREES
    3. Hear kids playing around and laughing.

    Words That Helped Me

    Dutch and English are the official languages in the Netherlands. Almost everyone speaks at least basic English, so it’s pretty easy to get around. However, Dutch is the heart language of the country. And Dutch is also a hard language. So, it’s good to know some basic words like “hello” (Hallo), and “good morning” (Goodemorgeng = khoo-duh-MOR-ghun). Then some everyday sentences like “May I have the menu please?” (Mag ik alstublieft een menu? = mak ikh AHL-stu-bleeft uhn muh-NEW?) and “thank you so much” (ontzettend bedankt = ont-SET-uhnd buh-DANKT). Finally, “You are so welcome” (Je bent zo welkom = yuh bent zoh VEL-kom). Learning Dutch took me a long time. Even now I am not fluent in Dutch, but I think I could survive a day in a non-English, only-Dutch community. The easiest word for me personally is “Hello” (Hallo) because, well, it is just a change of a vowel! If you are looking for a bit more help before your trip, you could get a book like this. Succes!( suk-SES means “good luck!”)

    Final Tips from a Semi-Pro

    Looking back on my last two years, I think that the Netherlands is a very easy place to live and visit. But if I could tell my old self something important about the Netherlands before I moved there, I would tell myself to learn more Dutch more quickly because it’s a very hard language and it goes a really long way when you use it with Dutch people. But even without the language, the Netherlands is a very easy place to live and explore.

    Well, goodbye Netherlands! I will love you forever and remember you fondly. I know I have a lot of exciting places to see and adventures ahead, but the Netherlands will stay close to me forever for so many reasons. I hope you visit it and love it as much as I do! And please leave a comment below if you have visited the Netherlands and have anything to say or add about the things mentioned in this post!

    🌍 The Kids Explorer Club With Jed

    My siblings and me in Haarlem this spring.

    Tell me something about your travel style or adventures!

  • Suitcases, Sandwiches, and See-You-Laters!

    What it feels like to say goodbye (again) when you’re a kid who moves a lot!

    1. The Top Slice: Saying Goodbye

    Hey, Jed here again! And guess what? I’m writing to you from an empty house! I’ve lived in the kingdom by the sea, The Netherlands, for two years now, and I am going to leave at the end of this month. I move a lot, so moving is used to me and I have to get used to it. I am going to miss a lot of things though, including my friends, teacher (Mrs. Mattson), my favorite Dutch snacks like stroopwafels or hagelslag, and my favorite places that make the Netherlands “home,” including my school, house, park and Luciano’s ice cream shop. But when you’re a Diplo-kid, you know that moving is just part of life even when it’s hard and sad. From my experience, it’s helpful to have a goodbye party so you get a chance to hug and play with the people you love, and to do fun and special activities like a final bike ride to school or a climb up your favorite backyard tree. When you’re doing it for the final time, remember to tell yourself that’s the last time you’ll do it so you can really remember it and keep it in your heart.

    2. The Filling: The In-Between Days

    Before you pack your house up, it’s a good idea to imagine what it will look like when it’s empty. Let me tell you, it’s going to look very weird and unfamiliar! During the pack-out, or my fun nickname for it “The Great Pack,” you might feel a lot of emotions. You will probably feel smushed together like a sandwich.  A very emotional sandwich that feels big things like: excitement, sadness, nervousness, boredom, happiness, etc. Like my mom says, “You can feel more than one thing at the same time.” And that’s definitely true when you are saying goodbye to your home and friends. To make you feel not so nervous and emotional you can start a family tradition. For example, my family asks our friends to write notes to us at our goodbye party and then we pack the notes deep into our suitcases without reading them. Once we get to our next destination, we read the kind, heartfelt notes. Some of our friends write down funny memories, too. That’s great for a laugh at a time when you might be feeling a little scared or unsure or your new home. By the way, my new home is going to be Abuja, Nigeria. I think it’s going to be very different from the Netherlands!

    So what do all those feelings add up to? A moving sandwich, of course! Here’s a recipe to guide our way!

    Jed’s Famous Moving Sandwich Recipe

    Warning: may cause feelings. Best served with hugs and snacks (like the ones we talked about in my first blog post).

    Ingredients:

    • 2 slices of “See-You-Later” bread (preferably toasted with love)
    • 3 tablespoons of excitement for new adventures
    • 1 overflowing scoop of goodbye tears (I hate to say it, but it’s bound to happen)
    • A pinch of nervous butterflies
    • 4 memories you don’t want to forget (folded gently)
    • 1 crumpled packing list you lost but found again
    • A sprinkle of “I’ll miss you” messages
    • Optional: melted chocolate to remind you that sweet things still happen

    Instructions:

    1. Start with a slice of goodbye—this part might feel heavy.
    2. Layer in the feelings: stack your excitement, nerves, and memories any way you want.
    3. Add a generous helping of hugs, favorite songs, and one inside joke from your old home.
    4. Top with your second slice—hello, new place! Press down gently. Wrap in kindness, pack with courage, and take a big bite.

    Serving tip: Best eaten with your favorite people (even if it’s over video call).

    3. The Bottom Slice: What’s Next

    You always need to look forward to what is coming next. I am going to spend my summer in the USA before we move to Nigeria. Of course, I am looking forward to things like the Maple Bacon Duck Donut or the famous Cosco hotdog. Not only that, but I’m also excited about seeing my cousins and making new friends at Summer Camp. Also, of course a shopping spree at Target and Trader Joe’s. Other than summer in the States, I’m really excited about Nigeria. My new school, teacher, friends, community, house, etc. But there is a lot that I don’t know yet, like what my neighborhood will look like, when our shipping container will arrive, and who my new best friend will be. Lots of mysteries to be revealed. I guess you could say, “The sandwich of goodbye is messy, but it’s also full of flavor.” I don’t know exactly what’s in the next sandwich… but I’m hungry for it (just hold the pickles)! Yummmm.

    Thank you for reading! I’ll have more content up soon. Please come back!  And check out the new coloring pages on the Badges and Games page!

    🌍 The Kids Explorer Club With Jed

  • Tastes of the World: 2 Awesome Recipes I Tried and Loved!

    Welcome to the ultimate food face-off: Maqluba vs. Pannukakku!
    One is a giant, upside-down tower of rice, chicken, and veggies from the Middle East. The other is a sweet, puffy pancake from Finland that’s basically a giant sweet cloud you can eat.
    I’ve cooked both, I’ve tasted both… and now it’s time to share the two recipes every Kid Explorer needs to try!

    Let’s start with the savory superstar…

    My dad and mom lived in Bethlehem for a few years for work. While they were there, they learned to make lots of yummy dishes. Maqluba (pronounced “mock-LOO-bah”) is one of our all-time favorites. Besides Palestine, it’s also famous in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and other countries in the Middle East. And each family has their own spin on the recipe, sometimes using different veggies like fried cauliflower or carrots (which you could try, too, if you like better than what you see below).

    In some Middle Eastern families, flipping the Maqluba at the table is a big event—everyone gathers around to watch and cheer as the cook flips the whole pot upside-down without spilling a grain of rice!

    🍚 Maqluba (Upside-Down Rice Dish)

    Ingredients:

    • 2 cups rice (soaked in water for 30 mins, then drained)
    • 1 medium eggplant (sliced)
    • 1 medium potato (sliced)
    • 1 onion (sliced)
    • 2 cups cooked chicken or beef (shredded or chunks)
    • 4 cups chicken broth
    • 2 tsp ground allspice
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • Olive oil for frying
    • Sliced, RAW tomatoes for bottom of the pan (optional)

    Steps:

    1. Fry the eggplant, potato, and onion slices in olive oil until lightly golden.
    2. In a big pot, layer the fried veggies on the bottom.
    3. Add the chicken or beef on top of the veggies.
    4. Spread the soaked rice evenly over the meat.
    5. Sprinkle allspice, salt, and pepper over the rice.
    6. Pour the chicken broth over everything.
    7. Cover and cook on low heat for about 45 minutes until the rice is tender.
    8. Place a large serving dish over the pot and carefully flip the whole thing upside down—this makes the Maqluba!

    *Pro tip: my mom says that her friends in Jordan and Bethlehem line the bottom of the pot with sliced, raw tomatoes. Cover the entire bottom surface, then add the fried veggies, meat, and everything else. The tomatoes create a barrier between the heat and the veggies and keeps the dish from burning or sticking to the pan when you flip it upside-down.

    Serving Tip:
    Top with chopped parsley and a a side of plain yogurt (you kind of swirl this into the rice as you take bites). My mom toasts almonds or pine nuts in a little oil on the stove to sprinkle on top. It’s delicious!

    Now for the sweet champion! This is one of our family’s favorite new-ish holiday breakfast traditions. It started when I was 7-years-old. I brought this international cookbook home from my school library (Cairo American College) and found this fun treat. We all loved it so much, we have it with our Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter breakfasts.

    In Finland, Pannukakku is often served for special breakfasts or even as a dessert. Some families pass down their own secret versions of the recipe for generations!

    🥞 Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake)

    Ingredients:

    • 4 large eggs
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1.5 cups milk
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 4 tbsp butter (melted)
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

    Steps:

    1. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
    2. In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla (if using).
    3. Gradually add the flour and mix until smooth.
    4. Pour melted butter into a 9×13 inch baking dish, tilting the pan so the butter coats the bottom. (You can also put cold or room temperature butter into the pan and slide it into the oven so it melts while you mix up the other ingredients. Either way.)
    5. Pour the batter into the buttered dish.
    6. Bake for 20–25 minutes until puffed and golden brown.
    7. Serve hot with syrup, powdered sugar, or berries.

    Which recipe will you try first? Let me know in the comments and earn your Junior Chef badge!

    If you want to do more recipes like this then get some books on amazon like this, this or even this!

    Thank you for reading! I’ll have more content up soon. Please come back!  

    🌍 The Kids Explorer Club With Jed