My Favorite Recipes: Meet Anne Visser

Most teens in the United States who are a couple weeks away from their 18th birthday have been driving for a couple of years or at least have plans to start driving soon. That is not the case with Anne Visser. Not only does Anne not have plans to obtain a driver's license in the near future, but she can't wait to get back home to the Netherlands and hop on her bike. It is the item she has missed the most over the past six months.

Anne is from Uden, Netherlands. It is a place she describes as "bigger than a small village, but it is a small town" of just 40,000 people. She explains that the streets are full of bikes, and if you are not riding a bike there is a good chance you are taking public transportation. Anne left Uden in July after graduating from high school and ventured to America for an additional year of high school.

Anne laughs as she describes her dreams that began when she was 12-years-old after watching TV, to come to the United States and go to an American high school. She was motivated by the fact that she wanted to experience what it is like to have a locker, ride a school bus and participate in a sport, as well as feel that "hometown spirit" that was demonstrated on every show she had seen. Anne has since experienced all of those things she dreamt about for so long. She explains that the school system in the Netherlands is set up a little differently.

While students attend school every week day, they do not attend the same classes daily. Instead it is a system similar to the way colleges operate, and you have certain classes on certain days. This adds a little variety, but the thing that Anne noticed that is different in the U.S. versus her school at home is the fact that the students seem to bond more to the teachers they see daily. Anne adds that it can become a little boring attending the exact same class day after day, but there are benefits and downfalls to both systems. She also went on to describe that students go through testing at the age of 12 that will then determine the track they attend in high school and, ultimately, higher education. She relayed that when she was tested at 12, the results were below-average, which put her on a four-year high school track. But she continued to take more testing and with determination and hard work was allowed to attend on a five-year track which will allow her to go to college and pursue a four-year degree. Some students who score high enough on the testing at age 12 are put on a six-year track of high school and that puts them on track for University education and more advanced degrees.

Anne has spent the last week touring the Palouse region and seeing a majority of the towns that make up Whitman County. She enjoys seeing as much of the United States as she can. Anne has been able to travel with her family throughout many countries including France, Iceland, Austria, Canada, United States, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and a few others.

She said one of her favorite trips was a bike-cation that her family took on which they rode bikes starting in Vienna, Austria, and ending in Budapest, Hungary. Her family would ride through the day and then rest in four-star hotels at night. This gave them the ability to see the countries in a close-up manner and really take in the beauty. Anne encourages everyone to try to travel and see as much of the world as they can.

She advises students who would like to participate in an exchange program to do their research first and then go with an open mind. She stated that she would never have chosen to go to a small, rural community because she considers herself to be a city girl, but because of her experience going to Spencer, Wisconsin, and now touring the Palouse, it has opened her eyes to the vast differences that both lifestyles offer. It also has helped Anne to see a more realistic picture of a large portion of the United States than is offered through television.

Recipes

Pannekoeken

(similar to an American Pancake)

Recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

4 Tbsp. cold butter

1/2 cup whole milk

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

3 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

Powdered sugar, for serving

Whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and apples to a pan. Sauté the apples over medium-low heat until slightly soft, three to five minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the batter. Mix the milk, vanilla and eggs in a bowl. Add the flour, granulated sugar and salt and whisk lightly (some lumps are ok but not too many.)

Increase the heat under the apples to medium and add the brown sugar and butter. Cook until a syrup forms, about three minutes, then add the batter all at once to the center of the pan. Swirl the apple syrup mix through the batter, using a heatproof spatula, to form ribbons (you do not want to fully combine the apple-sugar syrup into the batter.) Cook until small bubbles form around the edge.

Finish cooking the pannekoeken in the oven, 12 minutes. To serve, invert a 12-inch plate over the pan and flip the pan to turn out the pannekoeken. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, top with whipped cream and enjoy!

Dutch Apple Pie

(Oma's Appeltaart)

Recipe adapted from geniuskitchen.com

Dough

2-1⁄8 cups self-rising flour

3⁄4 cup butter or 3⁄4 cup margarine

1⁄2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

Filling

2-1⁄4 lbs. apples

3⁄4 cup raisins, washed and dried

1⁄4 cup granulated sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon, to taste

2-1⁄2 tsp. lemon juice, to taste

1 egg

3 Tbsp. semolina (to absorb the juices)

Dough: Sieve the flour, brown sugar, vanilla and the salt into a bowl. Cut the butter or margarine into small cubes and add these to the flour mixture. Beat the egg and add 3/4 of it to the flour mixture (you will need the rest for the top.)

Using two knives, mix the butter/margarine and the flour mixture. Using one hand, kneed it to form the dough - you should be able to form it into a ball (this may take quite long.)

Put the ball of dough in the fridge for about an hour, in the meantime, make the filling.

Filling: Peel the apples and cut them in cubes (allow the sizes to vary- it will taste better. In a large bowl, combine apple, raisins, granulated sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and half of the semolina. Mix well and allow the flavors to blend, stirring occasionally.

Butter a 9-inch round springform cake pan, or spray it with a non-stick spray. Line the pan bottom and sides with about 3/4 of the dough. As long as the pan is covered, the layer need not be very thick. Cover the bottom with the remaining semolina. Add the filling, but try to leave the juices out.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the remaining dough until it's less than 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into strips and layer them over the apple pie to form a raster, covering no more than one third of the surface - you should be able to see quite a bit of the apple pieces. If necessary, use some of the remaining dough to make the edges a bit higher. Use the remaining egg to coat the dough strips.

Bake the pie at 340 degrees F, just below the middle of your oven, for about 75 minutes.

If you have any dough left, roll it out, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (or left-over apple mixture) and bake it on baking paper for a few minutes.

Remove the springform only after the pie has cooled. Serve warm (reheat in oven or microwave) or cold, with whipped or ice cream, or freeze.