The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
I have a confession to make. The real reason I grow courgettes at the allotment is because of the flowers. There is something magical about these and my excitement and utter joy at seeing them for the first time each year never abates. They peek through the foliage and just take make me swell with […]
Afternoon tea is one of my favourite pastimes. How luxurious to sit and simply drink tea. From a pot. In a cup and saucer no less. However as an Indian I find it rather strange that it is a luxury. When I was growing up tea was always fussed over. Making a brew of chai […]
Earlier this week we saw many households across the country observe darkness in remembrance and reflection of World War I. ‘The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.’ #WW1 #LightsOut pic.twitter.com/u4755PkaUR — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 4, 2014 Britain declared war on Germany […]
I received a lovely box of fruit and veg last week at work. My postroom chaps were not best pleased as it was rather large. They were soon pacified with a friendly smile and a promise of cake. The box was from Wholegood – a new fruit and veg wholesaler that has started delivering to […]
Last year my raspberry bush at the allotment gave us what seemed like a never ending supply of luscious ruby raspberries. This year we’ve had equally a bumper crop. It has been so easy eating them simply off the bush while picking. Especially in the hot and humid weather we’ve been having in England recently. […]
We were very organised on the allotment this year. We planned over Christmas holidays because we did not want to be pipped to the post with seeds running out or not getting things in time. We were keen to grow mange tout – or ‘mange toots’ as my littlest calls them. Our local veg stall […]
My husband tells me that one of his favourite memories of us is in Essaouria, Morocco. The sun is setting and we are sipping cheap rose wine and stuffing ourselves with freshly grilled sardines at the edge of the port. I have sardine juice running down the sides of my mouth and a look of […]
I’m a sucker for cheese. It’s my absolute vice. As soon as I get the nibbles I reach for the cheese. In restaurants, I find myself pondering skipping the mains and going for the dessert and cheese courses instead. My palette has developed from the mild Cheddars and Bries to the oozy Camemberts and even the […]
We didn’t plant any nasturtiums at all this year. Totally forgot. But the beautiful blooms have come up all on their own in the same place and randomly across the patch. They seem to know what needs company as a little bloom appeared right next to the Firestorm Runner Beans last week and a little sprout […]
A couple of weeks ago I met two really cool gents who are half of a really quirky, new coffee company – Black Sheep Coffee. They are hoping to delight coffee connoisseurs and ‘shake up the coffee scene in the UK’ where cool independent coffee outlets are springing up faster than the weeds in my allotment. […]
Did elderflower season start last longer last year? I don’t know about you but I think I have blinked and missed it. I don’t even remember walking around the allotment inhaling the wondrous scent. I think that may be because they’ve moved the manure right next to the tree! An ancient and wondrous plant A […]
It’s not every day that the postman brings a package from Buckingham Palace so there was much excitement in our household when this delightful book arrived. The Royal Cookbook by Mark Flanagan and Edward Griffiths Over 50,000 people visit Buckingham palace as guests of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth for State banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions […]