Broad beans (or lima beans) are some of the most reliable, easiest to grow vegetables, at least in our climate. The large seeds are easy to handle and undeterred by cold, they can be sown very early. They’ll do well…
Broad bean frittata
Categorie: Summer
Black and red raspberry rolls
Right at our back door grow three kinds of raspberries: gold, red and black. The plants are as pretty as any ornamentals with their serrated leaves and coloured fruits. The black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) are especially ornamental, the canes turning…
Edible garden in July
The problem with July is that the summer holiday starts. Because who wants to leave the garden behind right after the first tomatoes started ripening? I don’t, not really, but being bound by holidays scheduled by the Dutch ministry of…
Gooseberry clafoutis
When we moved to our new allotment we had to leave many fruit bushes behind, because our current allotment is quite a bit smaller. Therefore we only moved 2 out of our six gooseberry bushes, the two we like most:…
Baby vegetable risotto
It’s funny how the core of who you are and what you like to do is set at an early age. When I was about 8 or 10, I loved playing with plasticine. Together with my older cousin, we used…
Roasted strawberry cake
To end what turned into a week of strawberry recipes, I bring you a variation on the cherry bubble cake, where cherries were substituted with roasted strawberries. The roasting, an easy extra step that is less work than pitting cherries…
Strawberry basil ice cream
You know how many ice cream recipes have so far been published on this site? Zero. That is not because we don’t like ice cream. We do. A lot. But we don’t have a freezer and that is a fairly…
Strawberry elderflower jam
Sometimes I wonder how big a portion of our garden I would have to devote to strawberries if we were to feel like we have enough. Enough to eat as many as we want, enough to make tarts and smoothies…
Strawberry breakfast smoothie
After the past very late and very cold spring, we do not trust the weather. Even if the sky is blue and temperature high, we don’t dare to trust it will stay like this and suspect the weather gods are…
Chickpeas with garden greens
The thing you should know about the Netherlands is, that most of the country is bellow sea level. Which means it would be under water, were it not for the ingenious dams holding the sea back. Therefore, if you live…
Strawberry galette with basil cream
Summer solstice, the longest day of the year, is an important date in the garden calendar. Besides some vegetables that are especially sensitive to day length, being better sown past this date (fennel, Oriental brassica’s), it also marks the end…
Edible garden in June
June is the best of times. The days are long and there’s enough daylight to go to the allotment even after dinner. There are extravagant peonies to pick for the vase and first strawberries to cherish. There are crisp lettuces…
Spaghetti with marinated tofu and tomatoes
This dish is the culinary form of denial. I know it is cold and raining, and that probably means that the summer really is over. But I refuse to let go just yet. Soon enough it will be on to…
Double berry ricotta galette
So I baked a tart and 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…
Ricotta basil tart with sundried tomatoes topping
Do you grow basil? And is your climate basil-friendly? I do, and it’s not. While growing Mediterranean herbs like rosemary or lavender is not particularly difficult here if you provide them with a suitable micro climate, basil is a lot…