Today was the 5th day of March. Today was the first day that felt like spring. It was the warmest 5th March ever recorded in the Netherlands. My son played outside the whole afternoon without a jacket. Today I properly…
Today around here
Deciding what to grow
At the end of February, the vegetable garden is still in a state of planning. Because for many of us space and time are limited and complete self-sufficiency is a distant dream, we have to somehow limit what we grow.…
Mexican brownies
On Saturday we invited friends over for dinner. I decided to make a vegetarian chili with cornbread topping, because: a) we love chili b) it could be made in advance, assembled at dinner time and ready baked in 25 minutes…
Vinegar slaw with cucumber and dill
Thanks to my father, I have knife skills. Thanks to him, I also know how to sharpen a kitchen knife. He’s always kept his kitchen knives perfectly sharp and I still remember the first time I encountered a blunt knife…
Sweet and sour quinces with dried fruits
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’…
Wild rice and winter squash salad
My sister has a horse and a pony. I don’t envy her the horse-riding (she hardly ever has time for that anyway). I envy her all that manure. The manure that she composted, then spread out a little, and planted…