Zuurkoolschotel

One of my favorite dishes growing up in Holland was "zuurkoolschotel." I still ask mom to cook it everytime I come home. Now she sent me the recipe and I cooked my favorite dish for my Japanese friends. That's sauerkraut, ground beef, onions, garlic and mashed potatoes cooked and layered and finished in the oven. It is a hearty, tasty meal and I was curious if Kaz and Noriko would like it. Well, they ate like they hadn't eaten for a week, starting with a small portion at first but then taking seconds and thirds. They mentioned that the flavors are actually similar to what they eat in Japan. Also, the Maggi I put on the table turns out to be a household item there too! How funny. Anyway, it is such a pleasure to have Kaz and Noriko over that they are coming by for some Boerenkool tonight.

Zuurkoolschotel following mom's recipe. When I googled the dish I found various variations, but I don't think those would be as good as this plainer dish. (Google showed me one example that adds Ketjap and sambal, for example.)

Shuttle Nightmare

Beware of South and East Bay Shuttle in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sure, they're fine if you just hop on while you're at the airport, but whatever you do, never prepay a return trip.



Here's my nightmare, a note to their manager "Donia" trying to get a refund after not using a return. This was when I finally spoke to her in person early this week after calling at least three times and being promised calls back from the manager to handle the refund. When I spoke with her, she asked me to send a fax (talk about old fashioned.) Below is what I faxed and e-mailed:

"Hello Donia,

I'd like to request a refund of $36 to my credit card for an unused
prepaid return.

My reservation ID was "XXXX" and this was for a pick-up at SFO on
Sunday, Jan 6 for an arrival at 11.30 PM.

I was unable to use this return because there was essentially no
shuttle service at the time. I waited for an hour and a half in the
rain outside the international terminal in the middle of the night,
calling the dispatcher every 20 minutes because he promised a van
would be there in 20 minutes.

I let several Supershuttle vans to the South Bay drive by when finally
a South & East Bay Van did show up after 1.30 AM. However, the driver
was going to the East Bay (Emeryville) instead of the South Bay. He
said I could hop on, but it would be "a very long ride."

By now I desperately wanted to go home. I thanked the driver for
nothing and spent $140 on a cab, disillusioned with the service
offered by South & East Bay and with no other options available
(Supershuttle had stopped coming by then.) I learned that I should
never prebook and prepay a return in the future.

Now, I have called at least three times requesting a refund and have
been told each time that you would call me back to settle this. That
has never happened.

Since I spoke with you directly, I am now hopeful that you will be
able to rectify this and provide me a refund as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Joris Evers"

Well...There has been no refund and no call back from South and East Bay. If this takes much longer, I'll send a note to the San Jose Mercury News and ask their consumer advocate to get involved and give the shuttle guys some bad publicity. Maybe that'll do the trick. Geez.

Weeralarm

That's Dutch for "weather alarm" and its what's going out in California right now because the state is being hit by some major winter storms. That's good news for those who like to ski, since the mountains are getting a major dose of new snow. It is bad news for those who live in areas affected by wild fires, because torrential rain may cause mudslides.

It may be bad news for me since I am flying into SFO while the storms are on. There have been warnings of severe delays.

Motorists are consumed by a wave as they watch high surf near the Golden Gate Bridge
during a rain storm Monday, Jan. 4, 2007, at Fort Point in San Francisco.
(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

In Quito the weather has been fantastic the past few days with amazing views of the surrounding mountains. I've enjoyed playing tennis with my parents, playing in a park with my two year-old niece and shopping at the artisan market in the modern center of the city.

Last night, thanks to the recent availability of broadband Internet at home, I watched Dutch Comedian Youp van 't Hek with my mom and dad. We really enjoyed his latest show, available on Uitzendinggemist.nl for a limited time. (In Dutch tradition, TV stations air stand-up comedy shows on New Year's eve, they made those available online for us expats, thanks!)

Youp also talked about weather alarms. Apparently the Dutch weather agency has been issuing too many of those. A bit of rain now triggers an alert, Youp complained. My parents said its true!

(For those of you tracking the troubles in my gut, they've gone! :-))

Ano Nuevo

Un Feliz Ano Nuevo a Todos!

We burned the traditional Ano Viejo dolls at midnight in Tumbabiro, Ecuador, at the beautiful Hosteria Pantavi. The dolls represent a person disliked in the past year. The choice wasn't ours, but on the fire were Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and a person we couldn't recognize. (I am not a Chavez champion, I do agree with a lot of what he has done and disagree with many things as well. If you want to hear more, you'll have to buy me a beer.)

Masks for the Ano Viejo dolls on sale in Ottavalo.

Anyway, the ceremonial burning took place after our hosts at the hosteria--the very friendly Dutch owner Marjolein and her extremely courteous staff--treated us to a dance performance by an Afro-Ecuadorian group from Mascarilla, a nearby town where you can also buy some great works of art. (Soon to be on display in my home.)

I didn't participate in all of the New Year's celebrations due to the continuing problems after eating something bad on Friday, but was up at midnight to watch the fire and subsequent fireworks and wish everyone a happy New Year.

The New Year's trip was in succession to the tour of the Valley of Longevity. We stayed away for three nights, one in Otavalo at the Casa Sol (great rooms and architecture, but lousy food and so-so service) and two at the previously mentioned Pantavi. In Otavalo, known for ponchos, its animal market and its artisan fair, we also visited the Condor Park, a refuge for birds found wounded or otherwise in need of help before being let back into the wild.

Otavalo's market

At Pantavi I mostly rested and read Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" while the rest of the group went for a hike in the blazing sun, shopped and swam in the pool.

All in all, a good start to 2008, especially now that my intestine starts to calm down as well.