Holland Greenhouse Growing Good Food
The huge flower auction Flora Holland is next door. Small town Monster is not intimidated. It has a jungle hidden from sight and a secret Garden of Eden where your tastebuds are tempted. Monster has Koppert Cress, a Holland greenhouse growing good food.
North Sea & Greenhouse Cycling
The Dutch Glass City is a bike ride away from my home near The Hague. When there is an event or conference I hop on my bike and cycle through the polders, meadows and greenhouses or take the cycling route along the North Sea. Enroute I stop for some good food. Fruit and vegetables grown in the Holland greenhouses. Marja, who I recently met in an event at Hortiheroes, is a true specialist when it comes to finding places to buy local food in the Glass City while cycling.
Holland Greenhouse Growing Good Food
This time we meet at Koppert Cress. This is a Holland greenhouse growing good food. In this context, when I say good food I mean garden cress. Did you know that the cress is high in nutrients and contains different vitamines and essential minerals? Take the sprouts of broccoli, the broccocress. To get the same amount of nutrients as broccoli you need a much smaller quantity of cress. Hint: this is one of the few Koppert cresses you can buy in the supermarket (!)
Top chefs in restaurants all over the world use the cress, fresh or dried, in dressings, soups, salads, sandwiches. The effect of the cress is biggest when you consume it raw. Which is what we did ( keep reading ;) )
Cressperience
To keep their product exclusive Koppert focusses on the restaurants. Every once in a while the company organises an evening for all those interested in the Cress lifestyle, in Holland greenhouses growing good food. The evening is a tasting experience which starts in a jungle room. 
The organisers then serve several cresses and flowers. 
Electrifying Edible Flower
The yellow bud in the picture is especially worth mentioning. It is a Sechuan button. It is like fireworks exploding in your mouth and stimulates the production of saliva. An interesting, somewhat uncomfortable sensation. It supposedly cleanse the palate.
Garden of Tasteful Discoveries
After this buzzing experience we enter the Garden of Eden that tempts the tastebuds. Every plant here is edible. From salty sea vegetables to chocolate mint, from sour leaves to tropical spinach. My mouth, my lips, my tongue, all exhausted from these tasteful discoveries.
Dutch Cuisine
Koppert Cress is not just a Holland greenhouse growing good food. It also promotes Dutch Cuisine, which mainly uses seasonal vegetables and fruit ( 80%) and only a small amount of fish or meat ( 20%). In this 'consumers' event ' we get to taste what they usually serve in their company's canteen.
Back to Nature
After this great meal I head home through the most amazing landscape.
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Family Bike Tour Delft Countryside
It was a warm and sunny Friday afternoon. I was waiting for my participants at Delft station. We would do a family bike tour Delft and surroundings. I looked at the big digital clock on the busplatform. They were late.
From Europe trip to daytrip Delft
The family of four was on a Europe trip and was staying in Amsterdam for five days. Dad wanted to make a daytrip to Delft, where he had studied when he was young. Back then he mostly stayed in Delft so he thought it would be a nice idea to explore the surroundings of Delft a bit. Besides, they had already been in the city for some time so a day outdoors would be nice. Mum and dad were quite looking forward to doing something which was relaxing and active at the same time. Their girls were excited, it was one big adventure for them.
"Sorry we're late, I was just amazed by the interior of Delft station. So much has changed here in Delft!"
The family bike tour Delft went downhill
"Sorry we're late, I was just amazed by the interior of Delft station. So much has changed here in Delft!" Dad said with a broad smile on his face. While he was still taking in all the changes, we walked over to the bikes. It took a while to get started; the girls felt a bit uncomfortable on bikes which were not their own. As soon as they were used to them and got a good cycling speed we were flying! Especially downhill. We get to that later ;)
Holland bridges & windmills
We reached Schipluiden right in time to see the draw bridge being opened. Manually. The whole family was impressed and even I have to say I was quite surprised that this bridge is still drawn manually. Mum quickly slipped into a shop selling only local products. Her interest inspired me to show the big greenhouse behind restaurant Indigo. Everything produced here is used in their dishes.
We went through the Schipluiden village. Through the 'ohs' and the 'ahs' I could make out the family bike tour Delft & surroundings was a success. Mum was clearly enjoying the houses, the water and the girls happily pointed out all the flowers and young birds. When we reached the river Gaag I told them the story of the flour mill De Korpershoek. The train bridge once used for transporting fruit & vegetable is now part of the cycle route. The 10-year old threw her legs in the air when she went downhill. This train bridge is a big hit!
I promised the girls a farmers' ice-cream which they rapidly finished. When mum saw the special swing on the playground she gets the whole family together. That swing is quite an attraction every time I have a family on tour in Delft.
The famous Delft bike ferry
We continued out family bike tour Delft area with polders on one side, the water on the other. When we reached my favourite bike ferry the girls look a tad bit scared. "Do we have to cross with that, mum?", they ask. Dad took the lead, giving the wheel with the chain a good swing. We jumped onto the ferry and mum, dad and the girls had a good exercise bringing us across. - I always take the pictures of the whole activity which in itself needs a lot of concentration :P -
After drinks & bites on the terrace boats with view on the wetlands & sailing boats at restaurant Vlietzicht it was time to head back and end our family bike tour Delft.
What the family said:
We had such a nice time with you. Thank you for a fun day!
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