Beautiful wisteria in Venice and delicious home grown artichokes.
Westerpark is one of my favourite parks in one of my favourite cities, Amsterdam. I spent an incredibly memorable spring day there with friends Loulou and Jacob back in 2009.
Photos one, two, four & five by Louise Tran, photo three by Jacob Hunt.
While we’re in the city, this Amsterdam restaurant was recently brought to my attention by new work mate and former Dam local Richard.
The greenhouse where De Kas Restaurant is now situated was built in 1928. It was due to be demolished but head chef Gert Jan Hageman bought it from the council (for €1.00) and renovated it into the restaurant and garden it is today. The space is green, sunny and very inviting. In warmer months you can eat amongst the herbs and take tours and workshops in the garden.
Photos by Jet van Fastenhout for De Kas Restaurant.
This past weekend I celebrated my birthday with a four day getaway to a friend’s place in Wollombi. We wiled away most of our days lazing in the sun on the big balcony overlooking the valley. On Saturday I spent the morning visiting some great people down the road at Laguna Earth House (more on that in a moment) and in the evening everyone helped prepare a delicious paella which we ate around the fire pit we cooked it on.
Laguna Earth House is owned by the charming Rosie and Nigel. The main house was self-built with the help of their son using environmentally friendly mud bricks, straw bale and locally sourced timber, and is fitted with solar panels for all their energy needs. The garden is an overflowing bounty of organic fruit, vegetables, herbs and salad leaves. Rosie and Nigel are self taught gardeners and builders and are now keen to share their knowledge through workshops in organic gardening, alternative building techniques and other sustainable practices.
Check out their Facebook page for regular updates and information on upcoming workshops. Next up is ‘Autumn Food Preserving and Fermentation’ on 18 May.
A very warm thank you to Rosie, Nigel and Andy for sharing their home and garden with us.
All photographs by Sophia Kaplan.
One of my dear friends Angèle is a young chef in Paris whose catering business La Guinguette d’Angèle specialises in healthy cooking. Her food has the French bio-organic tick of approval, is gluten free and uses only locally grown, powerfully healthy ingredients.
Her styling is also something special. Her use of delicate flowers, berries and herbs makes each piece a little artwork unto itself. Angele and I lived together in Paris for a few months and I can testify that her creations are not only beautiful but absolutely, ridiculously, delicious.
All photographs from La Guinguette d’Angèle.
For more info check out her Facebook page.