Amsterdam Foodie

February heralds two rather depressing things: Valentine’s Day and the dreaded Green Envelope.

For those of you who are not Dutch home owners, the Green Envelope means tax bills. This year, the government has come to the interesting conclusion that, while house prices are apparently falling nationwide, the value of my little apartment has gone up by almost 25%. Which means they get to tax me a whopping €500.

Meanwhile, my friends are busy getting engaged, having babies and generally falling in love all over the place.

Woe is me etc.

So, feeling poor and lovelorn, I decided to go to the Dappermarkt to cheer myself up. I came back with Chinese cabbage, Jerusalem artichokes and a box of oozing unpasteurised Appellation d’Origine Controlee Vacherin Mont d’Or cheese. Ok, so the latter wasn’t entirely credit-crisis friendly.

I ate the cheese with a spoon.

And then I made Jamie’s Chinese Chicken Parcels.

And finally a cheap, comforting, seasonal Jerusalem artichoke and chicken pie.