Today was President Obama's inauguration. Well, the real inauguration was yesterday since the Constitution says that the President has to be sworn in on January 20th, but the big celebration was today. It was also Martin Luther King Day and we had a day off.

During the inauguration many streets in DC were closed of course and there were hundreds of thousands of visitors in the area so it was very busy. In the morning we watched the ceremony and parade on TV. In the afternoon we walked to the Memorial Bridge where we saw a many people returning from the city to the Arlington Cemetery Metro.

A sign in Rosslyn pointed the way.

Nora likes to sit on my shoulders.

The Memorial Bridge was closed for vehicle traffic. We looked at some airplanes from the bridge and then returned home.

This has been a very good week for my Bulgarian. The biggest factor is that we speak pretty much only Bulgarian at home these days but we also interviewed several potential Bulgarian care-takers for Nora.

Yesterday I went to the Bulgarian weekly meetup in the cafe in our building. The other students are mostly people studying to work in the American Embassy in Sofia.

When I came home we watched a very funny TV show, Столичани в повече. It's situated in a small village in Bulgaria and describes a political campaign and two men who are trying to become mayor.

Nora is learning how to stand. She uses her baby fence for support and can stand for long periods of time, even with using just one hand.

We've been practicing the Dutch animal sounds this weekend, and she now knows the right answer to "wat zegt het eendje?" en "wat zegt de poes?". We mix languages sometimes, but she knows what sound an elephant makes: "wat zegt слончо?".

We went to the National Gallery of Art this afternoon. It was the second visit for Nora and we went to see the modern art section this time. To be honest, I am not a big fan of modern art but Nora liked it a lot. She especially enjoyed watching the mobiles and the large brightly colored paintings.

Afterwards we went back to the West wing of the museum with classical paintings. I always enjoy watching the Dutch masters. We also saw a David-Apollo statue that was on loan from a museum in Florence.

De Grote of Sint-Bavokerk by Gerrit Berckheyde.

Yesterday we celebrated New Year's Eve with a nice family dinner with Milan and Nadia. Food was our beloved traditional set of dishes -- mlechna and ruska salad, roasted turkey on home-made sauerkraut and Nadia made a great baklava dessert. A bowl with oliebollen complimented the meal.

I've had a cold the last few days and while I've recovered, Nora just started having a stuffy nose so she wasn't sleeping well. At 11:30 pm she woke up, angry that she couldn't breathe through her nose, and we picked her up and we welcomed the New Year with her. We saw the ball drop on Times Square for a few minutes, and then danced to welcome 2013.

We'd like to wish our readers a happy 2013 and all the best for the new year.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Zane family.

Milan and Nadia left on Thursday morning to New York, so Sasha, Nora and I spent a few days alone and we drove to Secaucus on Sunday afternoon. Packing the luggage took a lot longer than we had expected -- Nora adds quite a few extra items to our packing list. We left around 4.30 pm and had dinner at a highway stop in Delaware. Nora slept most of the time. She was getting a little bored at times but we sang songs and Sasha played with her. We arrived in Secaucus around 10.00 pm.

Jonathan and Irena moved to a new house (in the same complex) and spent the last two months renovating it. The result is beautiful. It was fun to compare the new house to the old one, which has partially the same layout. Nora and her cousins loved spending time together and it was great to see the Zane family.

On Monday we prepared the budni vecher dinner. Nadia made a very delicious pitka -- a recipe I will have to borrow -- and it was a great evening. Nora had some trouble adjusting to sleep on a new bed.

The next morning there were presents under the tree. It was great to see the kids enjoying the gifts. Nora had her first Christmas present ever, and she enjoyed opening it -- although she was distracted by the Santa hat I was wearing. She got great presents, including a pink cuddle cushion, new clothes, beautiful wooden games and several Dutch books.

Nora showed off her new skills. Milan and Nadia have been teaching her: "Колко голяма ще станеш? Толкова голяма!" ("How tall will you be? THIS tall!") and Nora now raises her arms to show how tall. When Irena said "chao chao" to say goodnight, Nora duly waived her little arm. The next day at the dinner time I asked her "Kun jij al pappa zeggen?", and to much applause Nora then repeated "pappa"!

We drove back on Christmas day and there was little traffic. We left at 5.30 pm and arrive at 9.40 pm -- a record.

Nora is 10 months old today. She has started crawling around the room, and we have blocked off our plants and the bookshelves.

She is pulling herself up on our coffee table, and likes to try to grab things from it.

Today we went to the Dutch embassy, Sasha, Milan, Nora and I, to apply for her Dutch passport. All my paperwork was in order so things went smoothly.

In the seventeenth century, Dutch merchants and traders conquered the world seas, and the lasting legacy of this period can be found in paintings, writings, and historic cities throughout the Netherlands. This wonderful new book by Donna R. Barnes and Peter G. Rose explores a fun but lesser known aspect of seventeenth-century Holland: what was it like to be a child in the Dutch Golden Age?

The book is structured around 54 paintings, prints and drawings of children's activities. After introductions by the two authors - whose backgrounds as a professor of education and as a food historian complement each other well - the paintings are discussed in eight groups: Infancy; Saint Nicholas; Celebrations and Music; Toys and Games; Animals as Pets and Companions; Inventing Fun, Games, and Mischief; Shopping for Food Treats and Winter Activities: Outdoors. The book concludes with a short biography of the painters and artists whose works were used, and finally includes several recipes. Those are explicitly chosen to be suitable for cooking with children.

We received a review copy of the book, and spoke with Mrs. Rose. She explains: "My colleague Donna Barnes has always been very interested in how children were raised in the Netherlands in the 17th century. It is clear that a lot of attention was given to child rearing. When Donna approached me for this book, I was immediately excited. I greatly enjoyed looking at these paintings and drawings, and figuring out what they were cooking or eating ".

The sheer joy of eating a crunchy, sweet carrot.

This book is full of interesting facts and pieces of history, and the illustrations are beautiful. The authors are well-known in their fields, and their research is impeccable -- so this is a very entertaining book. The joy the authors had in writing it is apparent on every page. Mrs. Rose: "My favorite drawing is that of a young boy at the farmer's market. On his face you can see the sheer joy of eating a crunchy, sweet carrot".

The book has background stories for each of the illustrations. For example, in the Saint Nicholas section there is a short history of the speculaas cookie, which also provides a possible explanation for the name speculaas. For modern-day parents, it is fun to see the baby-walker on wheels (loopwagen) and the play chair (speelstoel), from which the baby had the freedom to "rule" his or her siblings.

The painting The Newborn Baby by Matthijs Naiveu is used to explore childbirth and rituals around it. Dutch readers will see that the contemporary "beschuit with muisjes" tradition traces back to the 17th century, when sugar-covered anise seeds were served after the birth.

The other illustrations in the book explore games and toys such as kites, marbles, dolls and doll houses, as well as outdoor activities such as horseback riding and ice skating. Dutch cooks will love the recipe for the "Doornick Apple Tart", from a 1667 cookbook -- it is very similar to modern Dutch apple pie recipes, and provides a culinary bridge to the feasts of four centuries ago.

About the authors

Donna R. Barnes is professor of education at Hofstra University. She has lectured on Dutch art and daily life at the Amsterdam Museum, the Rembrandt House Museum, and the Center for the Study of the Golden Age at the University of Amsterdam. She has curated seven exhibits of seventeenth-century art in the US and the Netherlands. Food historian Peter G. Rose is the author of The Sensible Cook: Dutch Foodways in the Old and New World and six other books. In 2002 Barnes and Rose collaborated Matters of Taste: Food and Drink in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art and Life.

This book makes an excellent gift for new parents or grandparents, Dutch immigrants, and anyone interested in the ways of the Dutch. The background stories for the illustrations make it a book you'll reach for again and again, and the practical and fun recipes in the back allow for fun parent-and-child cooking adventures. It is a must-have for those interested in Dutch life in the 17th century.

Childhood pleasures: Dutch children in the seventeenth century
Donna R. Barnes and Peter G. Rose
Paperback, 184 pages, $29.95
ISBN 978-0-8156-1002-1

Two new e-books about famous Dutch-Americans are now available on Amazon. The author, Professor Emeritus Carl Pegels of the University at Buffalo, is a well-known researcher of Dutch-Americans who has written numerous books and articles.

Last year Mr. Pegels published "Prominent Dutch American Entrepreneurs", which had an emphasis on business people and entrepreneurs. The two new books, which are only available electronically, expand the scope of the biographies and discuss Dutch-American who became famous through arts, science and sports, and government, military, history and philosophy respectively.

The book includes famous names such as Bogart, Brando, Fonda and Clint Eastwood. Some of the subjects are born in the Netherlands; others are more remote descendants of immigrants.

In Mr. Pegel's words: "The book honors those who have contributed to the development of the United States from colonial days until the present at both the governmental level as well as at the private level. In other words, the book is a statement about the history of Dutch Americans and the imprint they have left on this country. In many instances they are still doing so today."

Fascinating snapshot of Dutch-American lives

The biographies give a fascinating snapshot of Dutch-American lives throughout the ages. Starting in the 1700's, the life-stories of these Americans with such different walks of lives provide insight in how immigrants and descendants of immigrants made America their home and were successful in their fields.

Prominent Dutch American Achievers: Government, Military, History and Philosophy - E-book on Amazon.com
Prominent Dutch American Achievers: Arts, Science and Sports - E-book on Amazon.com
C. Carl Pegels, University at Buffalo
$2.99 each.

Just like in the States, turkey is a popular dish for Christmas in Bulgaria. However in Bulgaria the turkey is roasted on top of a thick layer of sauerkraut, which makes for a wonderful side-dish. In Bulgarian, this dish is called пуйка с кисело зеле.

The turkey is served with a side of the sauerkraut and raw smashed garlic. It makes for an incredibly juicy and delicious combination. It is popular throughout Bulgaria but there are local variations to the recipe -- in other places the sauerkraut is mixed with rice, or the turkey itself is stuffed with rice. This recipe is from my parents-in-law in the Plovdiv region.

Ingredients:

• A turkey
• Sauerkraut (shredded). There is no need for fancy sauerkraut here -- I used a store brand and it came out great. For a meal of 6 people, you'll need about 3 lbs, though I often use 5 or 6 lbs.
• Salt, oil. Don't be shy with oil -- a cup of oil is not unheard of. Canola oil is most often used in Bulgaria.

Rinse the sauerkraut thoroughly, and squeeze somewhat dry. Don't overdo it -- truly dry sauerkraut loses its flavor. Clean and pat dry the turkey, then put oil and salt on the skin and inside. If you are used to using other herbs and spices, that is fine also but keep in mind that the sauerkraut will take on their flavor. You'll get the most authentic (and delicious) result with just salt. Truss the turkey and place it on top of a layer of sauerkraut. Cover the baking dish with loose foil and bake as you would normally do. Every 30 minutes or so, take off the foil and baste the turkey with the juices and, as needed, some more oil. You'll find that after an hour or so, there will be a lot of juice coming from the sauerkraut.

When the turkey is done it will most likely be "swimming" in a bath of juice. Take the turkey out of the dish and place it on a rack. Now, scoop the juice from the baking dish -- save this for future cooking, it freezes well -- but leave the sauerkraut with a little bit of juice. Place the baking dish with the kraut back in the oven, in the middle rack. Now, use the oven's broiler for 30 to 60 minutes or so, while stirring the sauerkraut every 5 minutes. This will dry it out and give it a bit of a crunch.

While the turkey is cooling off and the sauerkraut is baking, smash a couple of cloves of garlic in a small dish.

Serve the turkey with a royal portion of the sauerkraut, and mix the kraut with the garlic to taste. Добер апетит!

This is the sauerkraut halfway its baking. It has the right amount of juice in it but needs to become a little more crunchy.

When the turkey is done, leave it on a roasting rack for 30 to 60 minutes while you finish off the sauerkraut.