Because I read cookbooks instead of bedtime stories, I have long known that the only correct way to make risotto is by adding a ladelful of stock at a time, stirring continuously. Interestingly, our Italian friends were not aware of…
When I get a chance to eat as many cherries as I want, I’ll eat kilos of them. I don’t often get a chance. Last time was when I was sixteen and spent the first week of my summer vacation…
Turnips are another of those little-known, little-grown and little-loved vegetables. And that is a shame. Because like broccoli rabe, they are undemanding, fast growing and can be harvested early in the year. I am now specifically talking about the small…
Yesterday we went to the International Specialist Nursery Days at Bingerden. A wonderful event held in the historical gardens of one of the country’s oldest estates where specialist nurseries bring their collections and only your iron will and the fact…
Probably the best investment you can make if you have a vegetable garden is sowing a packet of asparagus seeds. Yes, you have to wait 3 years before the plants are strong enough to take regular picking, but after that…
It’s been almost exactly six months since Sinterklaas, the good old saint and Santa Clause’s Dutch cousin, showered us with presents and then swiftly left for Spain. I can’t blame him for wanting to live in a more favorable climate.…