A terrible thing happened regarding quince last year. Because I love quince, but have no way to fit a tree into my garden, I planted one in my parents’ garden in 2010. Last year, the tree bore the first fruits…
Winter greens and poached quince salad
Categorie: Vegetables
Mushroom, spelt and kale soup
We went for a walk this morning, just the two of us. The weather was beautiful, the temperature just below zero and the sun shining. We walked to Kristalbad, a water retention/ water purification area about three kilometers from our…
Red cabbage slaw with ginger-yogurt dressing
In the last post I wrote about failing to stick to all but one of my 2013 resolutions. That, however, did not stop me from making a whole list of brand new resolutions for 2014. Which means that I am…
Brussels sprouts and kale salad
We bake a lot of cookies this month. It’s okay. We share. We also compensate by eating Brussels sprouts and kale salad for lunch. Not to punish ourselves, but because it is actually really good. I have a thing for…
Speculoos pumpkin butter
Look, I don’t say you should lie to your children. But sometimes… it’s necessary to give them a slightly moderated version of the truth. Unfortunately, the older they get, the more difficult it becomes to fool them. They figure out…
Edible garden in November
November is the month when we put the garden to bed before winter. I did a little weeding of the empty beds and put in a layer of mulch. This year, besides straw and cocoa shells, we’ve also used shredded…
Brussels sprouts, winter squash and quinoa salad
This salad is what I think of as a vegetarian (vegan even) all-in-one holiday dish. It’s colourful and festive. It’s got some traditional components and some less traditional.The bitterness of the Brussels sprouts is nicely balanced by the sweetness of…
Coastal edibles
When I teach a gardening course, we always do a short introductory round first, when everyone shares a little about how and where they garden and what their wishes for the future are. Every now and then, somebody will say:…
Kale bruschetta
Kale is one the most popular Dutch vegetables and it’s grown a lot and eaten often during the cold months. It is apparently one of the things that the Dutch miss the most when they move to another country. I…
Rotolo di pasta with squash and spinach
We slaughtered the first winter squash. I hereby declare the fall season open. No matter fall officially started three weeks ago, but the moment I start cooking with squash is the moment I truly embrace the change of season.…
Edible Garden in September
The above photo shows a typical September harvest from our allotment: kohlrabi, spring onions, Asian radishes, zucchini, lemon cucumbers, beets, beans and herbs. September harvests are still bountiful – the absence of frost so far means that even frost tender…
Tomatillo pizza with cilantro pesto
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…
Squash blossom frittata
If you grow any type of squash, summer or winter, you probably know that it produces two types of flowers: male and female. The male flowers are on long slender stems, but under the female flowers the fruits are already…
Cucumber & borage canapés
A couple of weeks ago, following the post on growing edible flowers, I gave you a recipe for very pretty, very easy to make edible flower and cream cheese canapés. Guess what? These canapés are just as pretty and even…
Tomato salad with feta and basil dressing
As I confessed/complained before, tomatoes are a difficult crop for us. One of the vegetables we like the most, yet one of the most difficult to grow. This year I decided to stick with early bush types, in the hope…