Archive For The “Fruits” Category
Last time I went to the allotment, our neighbor, a gardening veteran, kindly asked whether I would like some rhubarb. I couldn’t help laughing because the 15 odd plants in our garden are enough even for me and my passion for the red stalks. But the guy replied that then I’m clearly not eating [...]
As mentioned before, we have lots of rhubarb on our new allotment. For the first time in my life I have enough of it to make all my old favorite rhubarb recipes and experiment with new ones. I pick an armful of rhubarb every time we go to the allotment. Rhubarb is a great plant [...]
As you might or might not know, the Netherlands is a monarchy, a constituent monarchy to be precise. That means the monarch is the head of the state but though he or she has to sign all laws, the parliament really makes them. Thus the role of the monarch is mostly representative (read: decorative). The [...]
I have complained at length about our new allotment: it’s smaller, there’s too much shade, the soil is in a much worse state. But there’s actually one very good thing about it: the rhubarb plantation. Probably because a good part of the plot is too shady for annual vegetables, the previous owner planted it with [...]
When I was little, we used to spend a good chunk of every summer vacation at my mother’s friend’s house in a very small village in the western part of what was then the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. There were always at least 5 kids in the house, we were allowed to run free in the [...]
Quince (Cydonia oblonga) is right at the top of my fruit-trees-I-would-plant-if-I-had-any-room-left list. Right now, I don’t have any space left in my garden to plant one. That, however, does not really stop me. I planted quince “Champion” in my parents’ garden and then, when one of the ornamental beds in ours street needed to be [...]
You know what the problem is with eggs? They consist of an egg yolk and an egg white and these two are often used separately. This leads to something of a vicious circle. You bake a birthday cake – it calls for 4 egg yolks, you have 4 egg whites left. Anxious not to let [...]
Why is it that when the elderberry is flowering, everybody seems to be elbow deep in making elderflower cordial, but later, when the berries are ripe, they get much less attention? It happens here, too. Perhaps it is the overwhelming abundance of the fall harvest that makes us blind to the shiny, almost black beady [...]
So, I made the tart and I was becoming slightly more optimistic about our new allotment and the survival chances of the trees and bushes that were moved to the new plot during the weekend. But then I had a chat with the guy who rented the plot before us. And he recommended using Roundup [...]
Last time I wrote how long I had to wait to make the cherry tomato clafoutis. But that really was nothing compared to waiting to make these rolls. Somewhat by accident, I watched Jamie Does Sweden, where Jamie Oliver made beautiful buns filled with mashed wild Swedish blueberries and I wanted them immediately. I have [...]
