After over two years of recipes, it’s time for me to say goodbye to you. It’s been a pleasure writing for The Source, sharing my stories and learning about new cultures alongside of you. Over the past year I’ve been building my own business, in kitchen literacy coaching and training. The time has come to focus all my attention on my endeavour. If you could use an extra hand in moving away from prepackaged food and bought lunches, you can send them my way at Fare Kitchen Literacy. We can help with cooking skills, meal planning, optimizing your kitchen set up, reducing your food waste, etc.

I will leave you with one last recipe, taken from my own culture. The Dutch are known for their hearty winter fare. We have a tendency to mix any and all vegetables with mashed potatoes, so today I’ll share with you what can be called our national dish: boerenkool. This dish, whose name translates to farmer’s cabbage, is what I turn to when I want a taste of home. It basically consists of mashed potatoes and kale. Yes, we ate kale way before it was cool. Serve with all the fixin’s and some nice smoked sausage. Thank you for reading, and eet smakelijk!

Ingredients

• 2 small bunches of mature curly kale, shredded

• 3 large russet potatoes

• around 3 tbsp butter

• around 1/3 cup of milk

• salt and pepper

Method

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes and place on the bottom of a large pot. Add cold water to just cover potatoes. Salt the water.

2. Add the shredded kale on top and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil, and boil/steam for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

3. Drain the water from the pot and put back on the stove (no heat) without a lid to let the steam evaporate for a couple minutes.

4. Use a coiled potato masher to mash the potatoes and kale together, adding milk and butter to reach a nice consistency, and adding seasoning to taste.

5. Serve with sides of pickles, mustard, and some nice smoked pork sausage (like kielbasa).