They have come a long way, these beans with a black eye. They were domesticated millennia ago in West Africa, according to the latest scientific insights in what is now called Nigeria. The official name in Latin is Vigna Unguicalata. The wild version is a bit smaller than the one
The pictures of the state dinner that French president Emmanuel Macron offered to king Charles III and his entourage surprised me. The menu was good – no oysters, no foie gras – maybe a little trolling with the lobster, but the food is not what this blog is about. It’s about
It’s january 1378. The royal kitchen is busier than ever as the French king Charles V has important visitors. His imperial uncle Charles IV, of the Holy Roman Empire (of the German Nation) and his son Wenceslas, king of Bohemia. In the palace kitchen rules Guillaume Tirel, dit Taillevent,
Valentine is a figment of imagination of Christian origine. As usual, our festive days are rooted in pre-Christian traditions. As is the case with Valentine. We must travel back in time to the Roman Lupercalia festival. Are we actually celebrating the wolf on this day? The word Lupercalia is related
Poor Knights, Arme Ritter, Pain Perdu, Wentelteefjes The Dutch court, mid-19thcentury. The two little princes ate sober, pretty monotonous but well. Once in a while they were ‘spoiled’ with a sweet. Often a dish of seasonal fruits. Occasionally ‘Arme Ridders’. A word not used in the Netherlands, but no doubt