The man had the bright idea to go to the Blossom Park in Amstelveen. It was a beautiful sunny weekend day, we felt like a special walk with the dog. It was the perfect day for it.
The whole area of Amstelveen also had that idea, we circled around the parking lots and followed the signs with thousands of others to the entrance of the garden with four hundred Japanese cherry trees, which according to the book had to be at its best now.
There was a stern sign waiting for the dog: he was not allowed in. So the man went alone, I waited outside with a hundred other dog owners. That was an outing in itself. When we were reunited, we walked further into the Amsterdamse Bos. Then no one was there again. Apparently nature is only spectacular when a sign points to it.
Everywhere spring pressed through the withered leaves: juicy fresh flowers, leaves and plants raised their heads to make a new nest for us. Birds chirped and flew busily to and fro with found twigs and old leaves. They cleared up the forest floor and their nests. When I got home I got the same urge: the flower pots and the terrace where I had left the leaves for the overwintering insects were shoveled: old, dry stems out, clean soil and young shoots in it. There is a worldwide sign that points to this moment of the year and has the word EASTER on it. Then everyone participates, because people are more docile than you think.
When I moved from Ireland to the Netherlands as a child, it was first to Limburg. We moved into a house that my parents had temporarily rented near my aunt and uncle. Together with their daughters, my nieces, they had decorated our house: there was a large vase on the table with Easter branches in it, eggs were hanging from it, I had never seen anything like it. We had received a new litter, right in the Easter season. It was a warm, comfortable welcome. We ate rice pie and Easter eggs, and after my garden nesting urge, I also felt like it. It was over forty years later, but it’s never too late to serve my favorite Easter meal again.
Sweet rice with custard and rhubarb
1 l whole milk
1 orange, zest and juice
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
50 + 50 grams of granulated sugar
pinch of salt
100 grams of round grain white rice (risotto rice/sushi rice)
150 ml whipped cream
3 egg yolks
200 grams rhubarb, cut into 3 cm pieces
25 grams of almond shavings, baked crispy
First make the rice pudding. Wash the rice in a sieve under cold water until the water runs clear. Pour the milk with half the orange zest, the vanilla extract, 50 grams of sugar and a pinch of salt into a pan and bring to the boil. Pour in the rice, bring to the boil, stirring, reduce the heat and simmer for 35 minutes, stirring regularly, until the rice is soft and all the milk has been absorbed. Then turn off the fire immediately.
In another bowl, beat the cream with the yolks. Add a ladle of hot rice pudding to the cream-egg mixture and stir well to let the eggs get used to the hot broth. Add the egg mixture back to the rice pudding in the pan, turn the heat to medium-high and keep stirring until the rice custard thickens slightly. Don’t let it boil anymore or the egg will set.
Meanwhile, poach the rhubarb. Put it with the rest of the orange zest, the juice and 50 grams of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for a few minutes and then lower the heat. Simmer the rhubarb for another 3 minutes until it is just soft but retains its shape. Turn off the fire.
Serve the rice pudding with the rhubarb on top. Sprinkle with crunchy almonds and serve immediately.
make-up recipe
Pour leftover rice pudding into a well-greased baking tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees to form a rice cake. Delicious with ice cream and rhubarb.