October is month of the yearly Fair. Itinerant salespeople from all over flock Main Street and its surroundings with RVs to sell their ware, from cows to potato peelers. True, the tradition is in peril. Live animals have become scarce, and so has the visiting public. Still, I buy Belgian blue grapes and have typical Fair food for lunch: a bun with fried white or black sausage, a piece of
vlaai (
flan) or a mattentaart (
maton): Belgian baked goodies worthy of a
Bread Baking Babes challenge.
The phrase "Of eggs and milk on makes flans and curds" -
D'oefs et de lait fait on flans et matons (
Van eyeren ende van melken maect men vladen ende wronghele in Middle Dutch) was in the
Bouc van den ambachten -
Livre des mestiers, or Book of trades, a Dutch-French word list dating from 1370 and produced in Bruges, a Berlitz guide for traders and salespeople in the then extremely prosperous town.
Mattentaartjes (
little matons) filled with milk curd would be entirly out of my reach, were it not that 3 weeks ago I laid hands on the
Homarus cookbook devoted to Belgian culinary history:
De keuken van ons moeder - The kitchen of our mom (ISBN 978-90-77695-66-1). Although I eschew baking, this volume on my counter with recipes for
flans and
matons by Moms Who Know the Drill has been quietly making its presence felt. To be continued.
October is month of the yearly Fair. Itinerant salespeople from all over flock Main Street and its surroundings with RVs to sell their ware, from cows to potato peelers. True, the tradition is in peril. Live animals have become scarce, and so has the visiting public. Still, I buy Belgian blue grapes and have typical Fair food for lunch: a bun with fried white or black sausage, a piece of vlaai (flan) or a mattentaart (maton): Belgian baked goodies worthy of a Bread Baking Babes challenge.
The phrase "Of eggs and milk on makes flans and curds" - D'oefs et de lait fait on flans et matons (Van eyeren ende van melken maect men vladen ende wronghele in Middle Dutch) was in the Bouc van den ambachten - Livre des mestiers, or Book of trades, a Dutch-French word list dating from 1370 and produced in Bruges, a Berlitz guide for traders and salespeople in the then extremely prosperous town.
Mattentaartjes (little matons) filled with milk curd would be entirly out of my reach, were it not that 3 weeks ago I laid hands on the Homarus cookbook devoted to Belgian culinary history: De keuken van ons moeder - The kitchen of our mom (ISBN 978-90-77695-66-1). Although I eschew baking, this volume on my counter with recipes for flans and matons by Moms Who Know the Drill has been quietly making its presence felt. To be continued.
No comments:
Post a Comment