One thing that always reminds me of my grandmother and my Dutch heritage, is her Dutch meatball soup. It has a unique and delicious flavor. It’s always a special treat in our home. We had it for dinner the other night – yummy.

One day on one of my grandmother’s last trips to Wisconsin, my dad asked her to make a pot of soup so he could write down the recipe. Please remember that this is a recipe my grandmother had memorized and that a man put to paper!

2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
1/3 cup rice
Put in a pot, cover with water and simmer. In the meantime, make the meatballs.

1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound ground beef
Mix all these ingredients together and form into small meatballs (cocktail meatball size). Bake in a 425 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through. Add to pot with the vegetables. Once the rice is cooked, add a box of chicken with noodles soup mix. Just before serving, add chopped parsley.

That’s it! The nutmeg may sound like it’s out there a bit (and I don’t usually like nutmeg), but it’s delicious. It’s a unique taste. I’d never heard of using nutmeg in meat like this, but Alyssa’s piano teacher (who’s Dutch) was making it one day when we were there for a lesson.

It is Dutch and something the characters in  Snow on the Tulips would eat – well, after the war anyway. Enjoy!