We have a king, a queen and three lovely princesses. The queen likes to dress her girls in matching outfits, just as my mother liked to do when me and my sisters were little. I can’t remember whether we loved it or hated it. I do know that as soon as my eldest sister got to choose her own clothes, she wouldn’t wear a dress anymore.
But enough about me and my childhood memories. It’s King’s day next week! King’s day is a national holiday when we celebrate our king’s birthday. It’s one of my favourite holidays because of the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The Netherlands is a small country and we celebrate this day in a typical Dutch manner. There are no military parades, but children decorate their bikes for a neighbourhood bike parade. There are festivals all over the country and flea markets in many streets. City centres will colour orange because our royal family is from the House of Orange.
We will celebrate King’s day in our own neighbourhood. The neighbourhood committee (we are very well organised) is hosting a coffee. We will drink ‘oranjebitter’, a liqueur made from oranges, and toast to the king’s health. There is no dress code, but a touch of orange is appreciated.
With spring, the sun shining and a holiday coming up, I think there are enough reasons to make ice pops. To stay with the theme I’m making orange ice pops but I like to add a lime for extra fresh flavour.
Ingredients:
- 2 oranges
- 1 lime
- 100 grams sugar
Start by washing the fruit. Next, cut the oranges and lime in half and squeeze out the juice.
Make sugar syrup by heating 200 ml of water and 100 grams of sugar in a stainless steel saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves.
Cut the fruit peel in pieces and add to the saucepan for extra flavour. Boil for a few minutes. Then remove the fruit peels from the pan.
Add the sugar syrup to the juice and let it cool in the fridge for a couple of hours. The colder before freezing, the better.
Stir again before pouring into the ice pop mold. Put in the freezer overnight.
Remove the mold from the freezer, run warm water over the mold for 10 seconds, pull the pops out, and enjoy.
What’s your favourite holiday, and does it include any orange clothing?
