“Strudelly” Apples

I love the taste of apples baked in an apple strudel but always found the pastry a tad too filling, and not something I wanted to take on at breakfast. So one morning I thought, how about just taking the apples and bake them on their own? It was delicious. This recipe also makes a […]

Apple Snow

In a storybook I read as a child, there was a chapter where the children ate Apple Snow. I was fascinated! It was said to be made with pureed apples and whisked egg whites. Considering the enlightened risk that using raw eggs poses these days, here is a less lethal take on the same theme; […]

Stuffed Dates with Apricots

One of the young adults on the Young Minds retreat recently asked if there were any party snacks in the cookbook? There are few recipes that would work nicely, but not a chapter devoted to them. Which got me thinking. why not include one in Volume Two? (Yes, Volume Two could happen. Emphasis on “could” […]

Cocoa & Coconut Oats with Fruit

Liz, a close friend of mine, recently sent a link about the foodie craze that hit the US ages ago; Overnight Oats. Of course, I missed it. It’s even in the snack-to-go section in the supermarkets these days. But never mind, as one of my other friends likes to say when something goes amiss. Better late than never. […]

Mango with Almond “Tofu”

Almond “tofu” reminds me of our visits to Japan and China where dessert was often canned fruit and glace cherries drenched in a light syrup with exotic cubes of almond-flavoured jelly. At the time I could never figure out what the cubes were, imagining they might be a fruit I’d never heard of? Turns out they […]

Clouds of Coconut Quark

Usually when we serve black rice porridge for Oryoki  breakfast the accompanying fruit tends to be either oranges and dates, or like today, mango and lychee with those yummy almond tofu diamonds. On those occasions, quark and toasted coconut are served on the condiment trays to dollop or sprinkle on top of everything. One day Helma […]

Orange & Date Fruit Salad

A no-brainer fruit salad – but the trick is in slicing the oranges perfectly! Ingredients 4 oranges 8-10 Medjool dates Method Peel the oranges using a small, sharp knife. First cut the top and bottom from the oranges and place firmly on a dedicated cutting board (in other words make sure it doesn’t smell of onions […]

Apple, Pear & Damson/Grape Fruit Compote

On a sesshin held in Poland a long time ago, Joanna, who was Tenzo, served buckwheat alongside grated apples and sliced damsons for breakfast. It was a lovely combination. The sesshin was held in early September and both damsons and apples were in season. However, April in Holland is too early for damsons, so I used grapes instead for […]

Stewed Garden Plums

‘Tis the season of plums. Overflowing baskets come in from the orchard, too many to count and almost too many to eat. Some become jam, others a healthy treat between meals, and the rest are lightly stewed for breakfast. I usually find they are both tart and sweet enough as they are, so this simple recipe requires nothing extra. Ladle into bowls […]

Whole Baked Pears

Pears are one of my most favourite fruits. I love them with ginger and lemon, or poached in spiced grape juice. And when baked in the oven they are surprisingly divine. The weather has been rather cold this April, and so it felt nicer to serve something warm for breakfast. Because it was Monday morning, […]