Archive For The “Breakfast” Category

Rhubarb streusel whole wheat muffins

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 [...]

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Chocolate kranz cake

It’s been snowing in the Netherlands. You know what happens in the Netherlands when it snows? Chaos happens. On the first day of snow, the traffic jam in the country reached a record combined length of 1003 km, the railway company cancelled half the trains and the other half was delayed. Our internet was down [...]

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Super muesli

A quick look at the breakfast section of the archives might lead you to believe that what we eat for breakfast are mainly buttery rolls and muffins. We do – sometimes. But the reason our BMI is low and our arteries unclogged is that on a daily basis, we eat muesli. Not a store-bought mix, [...]

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Chocolate cherry cinnamon rolls

I’ve never had the “retro classic” Black Forest gâteau. That, I decided last summer, had to change. I was going to make one and it was going to be totally authentic. I have a German cookbook, which dutifully provides a recipe for the country’s most famous cake and since it’s German, I trusted it would [...]

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Blueberry cinnamon rolls

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 [...]

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Braided bread rolls

When I teach a gardening course, it always includes lunch. I serve a freshly picked mixed salad from the garden to show off the variety of greens that you can grow. This is especially impressive if the course is in March/April or November as people often don’t realize that with a little planning and the [...]

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Sticky cardamom cinnamon buns

I am sad. This week we heard that we will lose our allotment. The land is on lease and the owner wants it back. After 40 years that it had been used by the organic allotment association (during which the soil has been greatly improved), she decided she wants it back – not to use [...]

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Mazanec, sweet Czech Easter bread

The way Easter is traditionally celebrated in the Czech Republic frequently shocks feminists from foreign countries. This is how it goes: guys go out and cut young, soft branches from willow trees and braid them into a kind of whip, decorating the top with colorful ribbons. Then they take a basket and go around the [...]

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Buttermilk raisin cake

Whenever I mention that we have an allotment, the reaction invariably is: That’s wonderful, but isn’t that an awful lot of work? The answer is: it’s not that bad, because we garden along the permaculture lines, which means no digging and lots of mulch which significantly reduces the need to weed and water. And anyway, [...]

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Carrot, apple and walnut muffins

A vegetable, a fruit, nuts, grains and seeds – sounds like a breakfast designed by a dietitian, doesn’t it? Well, let me assure you: it’s not what it tastes like. Because it’s a recipe from the first Ottolenghi cookbook and apparently Mr. Ottoleghi thinks eating healthy is just fine -as long as the food tastes [...]

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