If this fall had a theme, it would be ‘tarte tatin’. I’ve been trying to crack the secret to the perfect classic apple version and have made it several times to that end. I am in no way unhappy with…
Normally, I am pretty serious about our Easter traditions – I bake a lamb cake, colour eggs with the kids and make at least one dish featuring wild greens. But this year we were so busy planting the 80 +…
No vegetable I grow is as dependable as chard. This is best proven by the fact that there is at least one meal featuring chard in any of my ‘A week of eating from the garden’ post, whether they were…
Back in October when we hosted our apple harvest dinner (four dishes each featuring a different apple variety), finding a vegetarian main course with apples turned out to be the biggest problem. Esther, as the true child of the 21st…
Every season should have its own galette. Don’t you agree? I love galettes for their rustic elegance (or is that an oxymoron?) and the ease with which they can be prepared. Even if you cannot roll out dough into a…
I was sorely tempted to name this recipe “Farewell to summer galette” but managed to restrain myself. Nevertheless, this week really is the week when we wave summer good bye. Not only because fall officially started on Monday, but also…
My friend Tereza is the best kind of visistor you can get. Every summer we try to spend a few days together, the last few years usually at my sister’s house: three moms and six kids of all ages. Tereza…
If nettles are not touted as the next miraculous superfood, it is probably just because it is a little hard to successfully market a common weed. If they were difficult to grow and could only be imported from distant countries,…
Judging by the number of views the hot tomatillo chutney recipe from last year gets these days, there are currently many gardeners somewhat struggling with the tomatillo harvest. Tomatillo falls in the same category as zucchini: vegetables that are so…
What’s eating your crops? Do you have a slug problem? Do you hate cabbage worms making holes in the leaves of your brassica? Carrot fly? Birds? In our organic, very diverse garden, pests are usually not a huge problem. But…
On Saturday I sowed the first seeds directly in the ground – finally!- and spinach was the very first vegetable I sowed. So no, this quiche was not homegrown, but hopefully will be in about six weeks. Because I am…
I teach Norwegian. Most of my students learn Norwegian because they want to move to Norway. Away from the overpopulated and completely man-landscaped Netherlands into Europe’s last wilderness. They ask me why I don’t move there, too, since I already…
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…
Perhaps I am still getting over my recent garlic-withdrawal, but this is another Ottolenghi recipe I just could not resist: a tart filled with the cloves from 3 (!) heads of garlic, caramelized in balsamic vinegar, and two kinds of…
Last week was the kids’ spring holiday and we went to visit my sister in the Czech Republic. She lives in the kind of a place that in Czech we call “where foxes kiss good night”. Which means the road…