Wild Garlic Galore
It’s practically impossible to get away from wild garlic around here at this time of year: restaurants in Alsace, Switzerland and the Black Forest all come up with dishes that feature the garlicky...
View ArticleElderflowers’ brief but beautiful moment
I love the fact that elder trees have no delusions of grandeur. They grow wild in hedges and ditches, along the banks of streams, in forgotten corners of farmyards and abandoned gardens, in cracks in...
View ArticleGelato and Brioche: Breakfast in Sicily
For sheer decadent deliciousness, gelato with brioche is hard to beat. Where on God’s earth did such a gorgeous idea ever take root? In Sicily, that’s where. And it’s not even some kind of exotic...
View ArticleKeep Cool, Eat Iced Soup
Here in Alsace, as in most of Europe, we’ve been sweltering for what feels like the past couple of months in 30-degree temperatures. It’s far too hot to cook, and we’re living on iced soups and salads....
View ArticleScandi Crispbread
After weeks and weeks of warm (actually, hot) Indian summer weather, it’s now turned ‘right nasty’ and thoughts are turning to more northerly fare. There are countless recipes online and in books for...
View ArticleQuince-y Galore
It never rains but it pours. This year the downpour has not been of the liquid variety – we’re still suffering from the effects of months of drought – but of the fruity sort. First came big black...
View ArticleGreen is Beautiful: Wild Garlic is Back!
In the majestic beech woods that surround our place in Alsace, swathes of brilliant green, spear-shaped leaves are once more poking their heads up through the carpets of leaf mold on the forest floor....
View ArticleGalettes de courgettes
It’s that time of year when your home-grown courgettes (zucchini) risk running riot and turning into marrows the minute you turn your back. Time for galettes. My trusty Collins French-English...
View ArticleGazpacho vs. Salmorejo
A dear friend and wonderful cook produced a gorgeous gazpacho for supper on one of these recent warm nights. She explained, slightly apologetically, that the famous iced tomato/cucumber/pepper soup...
View ArticleThe Magic of Mushrooms
We’ve had meagre pickings of wild mushrooms in recent years around here – thanks to last summer’s intense heat there was very little activity on the funghi front and I was afraid that this year would...
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