On Saturday afternoon, after the obligatory home owner’s trip to Gamma, I decided to go for a foodie stroll, the calories purchased far outweighing those burnt by the exercise. I’m lucky enough to live within a short distance of the Jordaan, Harlemmerstraat, Noordemarkt and Westerpark, which (surprise surprise) is coincidentally the best area for food shopping. First things first, I picked up some vodka and cointreau, having decided to make cosmopolitans that night. But where to find cranberry juice in Amsterdam?
In the Noordemarkt, I came across an organic juice stall, where I paid a whopping €4.90 for a bottle, but then again what better to spend my money on? Having browsed the plant stall and consulted the nice, if slightly mad, gentleman running it, I decided that buying an olive tree for my living room wasn’t all that feasible, but made a mental note to discuss the possibilities of growing a bay tree in a flat boasting neither balcony nor garden with my green-fingered friend Hannah. I picked up an obligatory block of parmesan, and found a good-sized butternut squash to make a spiced squash and goat’s cheese risotto. Anything you can’t find in the Noordemarkt is worth checking for in the Lindengracht market, close by and just in the north of the Jordaan. I didn’t venture too much further south on Saturday but headed up to the Harlemmerstraat which has become my new favourite high street. The Spanish shop towards the Singel end of the street sells not only several varieties of chorizo but also the burnt-sweet piquillo peppers with which I have a slight obsession. I resisted the temptation to go into the cheese shop near the Prinsengracht after I ate a rather excessive amount of Vacharin Mont d’Or single-handedly (or single-mouthedly) last time I visited. At the other end of the street, the Natuurwinkel has a good selection of vegetables and interesting pasta, and next door is an Asian supermarket with all manner of sauces and spices plus my colleague’s famous wasabi peas. After all this shopping, my arms were falling off, so I decided to head home for a cocktail and a few marinated olives…