Nor-Cal to North Sea #1: The dairy free answer to nutella's dominance in the Euro-spread contest

Due to the infrequent nature of postings on this blog, my dear paltry readership, you might have guessed that as a single-handedly crafted blog, I had been through a busy period that prevented any sincere efforts to post.

I was engaged elsewhere in a far more costly writerly enterprise, my opus on allogeneic socialities. Yes, pretension abounds, but all in the name of insight into creation and sharing of knowledge. Abstract, much? You know me, we can talk more about my research, mmmkay?

But now after a goodwill Euro/NYC tour, I have arrived back in the beloved city by the bay. Polishing off a shiny new degree and ravaged from many below-the-knee traveling injuries acquired in the past few months, I am taking a much deserved break from responsibility. This certainly means overconsumption of films and tv, desperately trying to catch up after a year living Dutchily without access to US-only television replay. And plenty of time to tend to my long-neglected blogs.

To officially kick off my blogging re-entry foray, I have decided to reflect on my year in a series of posts about what I really got into this year. Renewed loves and fresh discoveries that I want to share with you from near and far, from Nor-Cal to North Sea.

First up I was inspired by a recently published food article in Salon, praising the humble speculoos, hailing it as the best airline snack (though that's a pretty slim pickings area on the deliciousness scale). It reminded me that this is indeed a delightful snack I will miss from living in the Netherlands, where speculaas is widely available (spelling varies by Belgian/NL divide). Not only that, the speculoos spread from Belgium, inspired by the above referenced cookie was one of my most favorite of favorite food products discovered in the past year. If you are ever in that part of the world, do not hesitate to pick it up. I may have posted this at some point already, but this dog pretty much sums it up:



For a more officially sanctioned perspective peep these commercials:

For non-Dutch speakers, the backing track music loosely translates as "Mamaaaaaa, the most beloved in the whole world"



And another:



The slogan is "daar zit de liefde in" or in English, "there's love inside."
You know what I really love that's inside this commercial? The boy runs through what appears to be a topiary maze. Dammit, he's living my lifelong dream of having a house with a topiary maze, not to mention ultimate scrumdiddlyumptiousness at his breakfast table every morning. I envy you, ginger Dutch jongen swaddled in your robe!