On a cloudy day mid-June I was invited into my friend’s rose garden. She has a beautiful collection of historical roses growing in wild bushes and blooming only once a year. Their special charm lies in their wildness. They are not pruned into shapes or put into arrangements. The first thing you notice is the lovely scent wafting through the garden – especially on a warm summer day after the rain. Their names are full […]
Homemade Nocino (green walnut liqueur) (a David Lebovitz recipe) On the 23 and 24th of June the green walnuts are traditionally harvested in Italy for the use of liqueur making. It’s when inside the shell the walnut is starting to form. No hurry, harvesting until mid July is still fine! 30 green, unripe walnuts 500g sugar 1l Vodka 2 sticks cinnamon 10 whole cloves the zest of a lemon (organic, not sprayed) Quarter the walnuts (PLEASE wear gloves, […]
The simplest things, like a tin of sardines, can be the most delicious when paired with a crispy baguette, quick pickled shallots and a bottle of champagne. Add a lemon to squeeze over the sardines and some fresh herbs to spread on top. Enjoy! quick pickled shallots 3-5 shallots, sliced 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar pinch of salt Slice the shallots and put them into a jam jar. Douse with the vinegar, add […]
gooseberry relish (by Yotam Ottolenghi) 750g gooseberries or plums 180g sugar 1/2 orange (rind shaved in strips) 10g fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks 1 cinnamon stick Place the gooseberries, the sugar, the orange rind, ginger and cinnamon in a sauce pan and cook on medium-low heat for roughly 30 minutes, until a semi thick compote consistency has formed. Set aside to cool. Enjoy with pancakes or waffles and whipped cream! […]
Once the quince was sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. In the garden of Hesperides it was called the Fruit of Paradise.Quinces have a soft and furry coat. They are intensely fragrant and have no artificial substitute. They can’t be eaten raw and to handle them you need patience and a good knife. When cooked they change colour from yellow to dark orange.Quinces make a wonderful jelly because they contain plenty of natural pectin. Add spices, time […]
These pictures of a little batch of cherry jam look like a massacre happened in my kitchen. I am not usually macabre, but the title “The Bloody Chamber” was too fitting to not use it (and it gives artistic purpose to the blotchy mess)! “The Bloody Chamber” also happens to be a brilliant book by Angela Carter, so I decided to post a list of summer book recommendations along with the recipe. Millenium Trilogy Stieg Larsson The Secret History […]
My garden rose syrup is the start from every rose scented summer treat, from rose jam to rose petal ice cream. Early in the morning I go out in the garden and gather a basketful of newly opened rose blossoms. They are best picked after the dew has dried, but before the oil has driven off by the sun at ten or eleven. The petals must be strained out before adding sugar and reducing the rose […]
This is quite a different “golden milk” than the one in my previous post. Definitely none of its ingredients belongs to the category health food. But MIND OVER MATTER: Christine’s homemade eggnog is so delicious (added to any dessert) that it certainly does have a positive effect on well-being. When I asked her to pass the recipe on to my readers, she popped up in my kitchen with a basket full of her preferred […]
I’m always keen to find new quince recipes, because every autumn my quince tree heaps basketfuls of this wonderful, old-fashioned fruit on me. My classic is the double reduced, deep coral red, jelly. Besides pure muscle strength (which is always necessary to cut a quince in pieces) it takes many steps and a lot of time to prepare. Although I really love the classic jelly I have been looking for something easier, quicker, but nevertheless […]
When Grandma cooks jam, she will make her choice of fruit dependent on what special fruits are in season, the lushest offers at the farmer’s market, and on cases of uncontrollable fruit abundance in the neighbours’ gardens. She quickly cooks 2 or 3 jars between her usual cooking, gardening and housework. The black fruit jam however is one of her true classics. The fruit/ sugar ratio is always the same: fruit to sugar, 2:1. […]