Groentesoep met Hollands Brood

Food is an important part of my life.

One of the greatest things about growing up was that both my father and mother enjoyed cooking, and they were good at it.

Shot in my kitchen; Canon 7D; 18-55mm (at 42mm) lens;
ISO 200; f/5.6; 1/100 sec. I fired two flashes; one was above,
slightly behind, and to the right of the bowl with a small,
handmade beauty dish. The other was fired at a white board above
and pointing down (from camera left) at the bread.

My father learned to cook from his mother, who was from German stock. However, he was born and raised in New York, so there were also a lot of influences throughout the communities he lived in, socialized in and worked in. Although my father cooked a variety of things, one of the constants was that he cooked A LOT of it. It was as if he was cooking for the troops every time he made something, whether it was a roast, soup, pancakes…but, with three growing boys in the home there had to be plenty of food. What wasn’t consumed right away may have been sealed in jars or frozen, or eaten as leftovers the next day. If it was simply put in the fridge, it wouldn’t last very long.


My mother came well equipped with a number of European dishes, having been born and raised in the Netherlands. There is such a variety of foods that come from that culture, due to their proximity to other countries’ influences, the country having been a Colonial Power and their connection to the early trade routes. My mother’s meal plan was a bit different from my father’s. My father might have cooked a couple of large, hot meals a day, whereas my mother would be fine with some bread and cheese (perhaps some lunch meat) in the morning and then in the afternoon, but then prepare a hearty, hot meal in the evening.
One of the common items in the Birdsall Kitchen was SOUP! Between the two of them, there were several different types of soup that we would enjoy. They were typically robust and it didn’t take much to fill you.

Groentesoep
(balletjes, carrots, cauliflower, celery, onions, tomatoes)

This is one of the soups my mother would make and I remember enjoying it every time. The actual name of it could be slightly different, depending on whom you ask. It is a Vegetable Soup (Groentesoep), but it also has meatballs in it (Balletjes). The Groentesoep and Balletjes Soep (Vegetable Soup with Meatballs) are made from a beef stock; whether you use bouillon cubes or boil a soup bone of some type. The vegetables could vary, but they seem to share carrots and celery, as well as rice (I know it’s not a vegetable, but it is a common ingredient).

My mother refers to this soup as Groentesoep, even though they always put balletjes in it. One of the great things about cooking is that you can change things around to suit your own liking. I chose not to put any rice (or fine noodles, like my mother does) in my soup, since I had put in so many vegetables. I started by boiling a piece of meat, on the bone, with a couple of bouillon cubes. Once the meat was ready to fall off the bone, I took it out and added my vegetables; carrots, celery, onions (my mother does not use onions), diced tomatoes and cauliflower (put this in later, because it cooks quickly).  While that was cooking, I was cutting up the meat and also making the balletjes (season the meat the way you would like), which are simply put in the pot and allowed to cook in the soup.

Hollandse Brood
Rolled oats, flour, honey, salt, yeast & water.

With all of the vegetables, and the meat, the soup is very satisfying; however, it was not uncommon to have bread on the table as well. A great memory of growing up was the smell of fresh bread being made by my parents. I’ve wanted to do it myself, for some time, and figured now, with the Groentesoep in the pot, was as good a time as any. I pulled out one of my Dutch cookbooks, found a recipe for Hollandse Brood (the book says Dutch Homemade Bread), went to the store for some ingredients and set off to make some bread. This was a relatively simple bread (rolled oats, flour, honey, salt, yeast, water), but it was a good one for my first one.

Although there is some physical labor involved in making the dough (all of the kneading), the toughest part is the waiting. I mixed all of the ingredients and then had to set the dough aside to rise (two hours). After that, cut into it, divide it (yielded two loaves), put it in the pans and then set it aside to rise AGAIN. Meanwhile, the smell in the house is already creating a Pavlovian response, and I haven’t even started baking it yet. About an hour-and-a-half later, I am finally ready to put the bread in the oven…another 50 minutes…ugghhhh. I will say, the 4 ½ hours did give me plenty of time to clean the kitchen counters, the kitchen floor, the two and a half bathrooms (including the floors and tubs) and the floor in the laundry room, with some time to rest.

When I told my older brother that I was making homemade bread, he said he remembered all of the time and energy our parents put into making the bread, which we would consume in, what seemed like, ½ and hour.

By the time I was done cleaning, I was ready to eat.  The bowl of soup and two thick slices of bread were more than enough to satisfy me.

Eet Smakelijk - Good Appetite