On the eve of Saint Nicholas, Belgian children place their shoes by the fireplace, hoping to wake up to clementines, chocolate coins, and the spiced, crunchy cookies that define this winter celebration: speculoos. These aren’t just any biscuits. They’re the…
The Alchemy of Ordinary Things
Medieval Advent Calendar Day 13 Hello, dear friends, and welcome to our thirteenth day in the Medieval Advent Calendar. Today, things are getting spicy—literally, I mean, so let’s keep our minds focused on the culinary variety. Spices arriving from the…
Austrian Advent Calendar Day 4 Hello, dear friends, and happy Advent! For this fourth day of our Austrian Advent Calendar, I invite you to an afternoon coffee break accompanied by a delicious traditional Austrian dessert: the Linzer Torte. This elegant…
Scandinavian Advent Calendar Day 21 Hello, dear friends! Today is December 21st—the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, when darkness reaches its fullest expression before beginning its slow retreat toward spring. Up north in the lands of the…
Advent Calendar Day 16 What is Christmas without baking? That moment when spices meet heat and the entire house transforms into something magical—cinnamon and ginger weaving through rooms, cloves adding their sharp sweetness, the air itself becoming edible. It’s a…
If you wish to prepare an afternoon cream tea fit for a queen, get ready to test the easiest scones recipe out there. All you’ll need is some clotted cream (or mascarpone if you can’t find any), strawberry jam, and…
