To be clear, Halloween is not an enjoyable observance in our household. Our dogs
routinely go berserk over squirrels and lizards so it’s easy to understand that
the sounds of strange voices and the sight of masked children at the door would
cause panic. Then there’s the leftover candy…
As a very young child, I used to hide behind a large upholstered chair
in our living room on Halloween night because the trick-or-treaters made me
nervous. Michel doesn’t have childhood Halloween memories because it wasn’t
part of his culture. (Spoiler alert: We are not fans of pumpkin pie, pumpkin
bread, etc., and we’ve never tasted a Starbucks “pumpkin spice” beverage. Can’t
do it.)
Dutch children have a much less frightful way of soliciting treats
from neighborly adults, i.e., an
alternative Halloween. In some parts of Holland and other Northern European
countries, November 11th is observed as Saint Martin’s Day.
 |
Amsterdam, 11 november 1954.
Collectie AHF / Ben van Meerendonk / negative number AHF 12900
|
The
story goes that, while riding his horse through a snowstorm, St. Martin used
his sword to slash his cloak in twain and gave half of it to a freezing beggar. That
night Martin had a dream in which Christ was wearing half a cloak and telling
his angels that Martin had given it to him.
 |
| Tapecaria St. Martin (Google Images) |
That’s all good and well, but how to you get from cloak to
candy? Dutch children (kinderen) walk
through the streets carrying paper lanterns on the ends of sticks that look
like very small fishing poles. Sometimes the lanterns are made at school,
sometimes at home. The participants sing familiar songs about Sint Maarten as they go from door to
door, whereupon they are treated to candies and fruit--usually tangerines.
One of the most familiar tunes is about November 11th
(the lantern light) and November 12th (the treats). You might be
amused to note that “eleven” translated to Dutch becomes “elf.”
Elf November is de
dag,
Dat mijn lichtje
Dat mijn lichtje
Elf November is de dag
Dat mijn lichtje
branden mag.
Twaalf
november is de dag
dat ik mag snoepen
dat ik mag snoepen
Twaalf november is de dag
dat ik mag snoepen de hele dag.
dat ik mag snoepen
dat ik mag snoepen
Twaalf november is de dag
dat ik mag snoepen de hele dag.
Another favorite song has to do with the story of Sint
Maarten and his cloak.
No matter how you choose to celebrate the sensory delights
of autumn, you will find this colorful salad a satisfying dish. We eat it as a
main course but it would also make an impressive side dish for any (dysfunctional)
holiday gathering.
You will need:
for the salad
2-3 cups of cubed butternut squash
1 small head of radicchio, cut into pieces
2 cups of baby arugula (or adult arugula cut into pieces)
½ cup pecan halves
½ cup pomegranate seeds (a/k/a arils)
to season the squash before roasting
honey
chili powder
red pepper flakes, preferably smoked
salt
olive oil
for the salad dressing
juice of ½ a lemon
2 garlic cloves, pressed
“a little salt”
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Place squash cubes on foil-lined baking sheet.
Drizzle and sprinkle squash with modest amounts (!) of olive
oil, honey, chili powder, smoked red pepper flakes, and salt. Stir gently to
coat the squash pieces, adding salt, etc. to taste. Roast for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the radicchio and arugula. Place in your
favorite salad vessel along with pecan halves and pomegranate seeds.
Mix the salad dressing.* As noted in the previous post
(delicata squash), Michel is not picky about measuring when he cooks. He
sometimes uses balsamic vinegar infused with fig; it’s especially nice with
relatively bitter ingredients like radicchio and arugula. Generally, he puts lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and garlic (or whatever he’s using) in a
small plastic container with a lid and shakes it up. Then he tastes it.
Sometimes he adds a little something to get the result he wants--shaking, tasting, adding as needed.
*I’m not the boss of you (nor anyone else—not even our dogs)
so please make your salad dressing any way you want to.
When the squash has finished roasting, stir in the salad
dressing to coat the radicchio and arugula then gently add squash pieces to the
mix. Eat.
