Recipes

Elderflower cordial – the taste of summer!

June 10, 2013

Elderflower Season Last year I made elderflower cordial for the first time and was so thrilled with the results that I shared it with you on Sow and So as soon as I possibly could. However, the elderflower season is fairly short and I was conscious of the fact that by the time I’d made [...]

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Recipe: Dandelion Marmalade

June 4, 2013

River Cottage Here I go again referring to River Cottage …I just can’t help myself. I started watching the series a long time ago and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall (I can even write his name now without making a spelling mistake…) has been a great inspiration to us, moving out of the city and into the countryside. I [...]

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Recipe: Nettle Soup

May 23, 2013

Nettles There is nothing more rewarding then preparing free food. There is so much food to find in nature and it wont cost you a penny. Some are not so obvious and some, like mushrooms, you must be extremely sure you have the right kind. One plant almost anybody can identify without a doubt is [...]

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The Best Sauerkraut Recipe …EVER!

March 14, 2013

Cold Outdoors there’s a snow storm raging. It’s so cold out there that it’s hard to maintain a pleasant temperature indoors. I keep putting logs on the wood burner while the visibility outside gets worse and worse… Sauerkraut At times like this I like to make one of Holland’s famous staples: sauerkraut stew but with [...]

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Wordless Wednesday; Snowdrops at the Villas

March 13, 2013

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Tropical Friday: Things you didn’t know (but always wanted to ask) about the cashew

December 7, 2012

First Friday of December Last year I named the first Friday of December Tropical Friday. It was raining and cold then and it is snowing and cold now. This year instead of flowers we have an illustration of a Cashew tree, drawn by my Dutch friend Lotte. Facts about a Cashew On the left is [...]

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Honey Fungus: Edible Mushrooms

November 26, 2012

Timber They’ve been felling trees all summer in the forest across from our house. It has dramatically changed our vista, which at first saddened me …but it was bound to happen. Most of the forests that surround us are coniferous and are planted for timber or for firewood. Once cut down, they leave the tree stumps [...]

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How to make Persillade from your Parsley

November 19, 2012

Pesto Persillade is the parsley version of basil pesto. In its most basic form it’s just a mix of finely chopped parsley and garlic but it can also have oil, vinegar or citrus juice and salt added. In this version (courtesy of @CarlLegge), the oil protects the parsley from the air so that bacteria do [...]

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Recipe: Green Tomato Salsa

October 12, 2012

Russian Varieties This year I haven’t had a very successful tomato season. I grew tomatoes in pots inside the conservatory and although I thought I gave them plenty of water, I still ended up with wrinkled tomatoes… Then, when they finally ripened they were mealy and flavourless. I grew Russian tomato varieties with the idea to grow a few [...]

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Recipe: Sweet Chilli Jam

September 28, 2012

SPICY!!! This year I sowed several different kinds of chillis but there was one variety that proved more successful than the others. The long red curry chilli was by far the winner this year! The others are still small and green and I am not sure if they will be able to ripen now that [...]

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Courgette Lasagne – Villas style…

September 6, 2012

Courgette Season My great Aunt Winifred always raised a smile at around this time of year when she quipped “Hmmmm…. I see courgette season is upon us with its usual severity!” …and lo and behold, here it is AGAIN! One August several years ago, in a bid to reduce our ever increasing courgette mountain, I [...]

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No Sorrow with Sorrel

July 25, 2012

Forgotten Vegetable I first read about sorrel on the rivercottage.net website, a lovely recipe from Hugh. When I looked up the Dutch word for it I immediately remembered my grandmother used to use it. She always cooked forgotten vegetables like salsify, purslane and sorrel. My mother wasn’t a fan so the forgotten vegetables got forgotten again. [...]

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Making Elderflower Cordial at the Villas…

July 2, 2012

I’ve just made elderflower cordial for the first time ever and though I say it myself… it’s LUSH! In fact I’m so pleased with the results that I’d like to share this simple recipe with you so you can have a go yourself (however, you might have to wait until next summer now as [...]

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Amazing Tomatillos! YouCanGrowThat!

June 3, 2012

This year for the first time we are growing tomatillos at Sow and So. We are big fans of Mexican cuisine and I have been eagerly anticipating making my own salsa verde. Green Fruits Tomatillos (Physalis Philadelphica) are part of the nightshade family, bearing small round green fruits which are surrounded by an inedible paper-like husk. [...]

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