The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
We’ve had our blueberry plants for a few years now. They were some of the first we ever grew from seeds. Such a labour of love growing the seedlings on the windowsill, transplanting them into bigger and bigger pots and then finally seeing the fruit. They didn’t yield much fruit at all for a couple of […]
I love frangipane based tarts but sometimes I don’t have the time or energy to make pastry so I just pop the frangipane mixture into some loose bottomed tart tins with whatever fruit or nuts I have lying around. If you’re making them for breakfast, sprinkle some oats on top The timing will vary depending […]
Jam. Such a simple word. Why then does it instil so much fear when paired with the word ‘making’? I made jam once. Poured it into a jar and it went solid. Rock solid. Even placing the jar in boiling water didn’t loosen the contents even slightly. The expensive Kilner jar went in the bin […]
Vivien has been making and demonstrating preserves for 25 years. She has won numerous awards and has 18 years of judging preserves at competitions on her CV too. I recently met Vivien at a special jam making evening in London. She’s incredibly down to earth and not as scary as you would imagine WI judges […]
It’s really been a washout summer so far in the UK. I am however the eternal optimist and I am certain the sun will return and stop even naturally, brown skinned me looking pale and tired. The rain also has had no impact on my quest for delicious summertime drinks! Yesterday I attended the launch […]
This is such a classic dessert and very simple to make. The pastry cases keep in an airtight container for a couple of weeks so you can make them through the strawberry season. Of course you can also top with whichever fruit you like. You’ll need For the pastry 200g plain flour 100g cold unsalted […]
These look very complicated to make but actually are very, very easy. It’s a basic fairy cake, rolled in hazelnuts and then topped with a wonderful, velvety frosting which goes so well with the sweet strawberry. You’ll need For the cakes 175g caster sugar 125g soft unsalted butter 2 eggs 3 tbsp milk 3 tbsp […]
It’s mango season and quite possibly one of the best times of the year! Crates full of mangoes arrive into the UK from all over India which produces 51% of the world’s mangoes. Here’s a great little map pinpointing exactly where they come from. The state of Andhra Pradesh produces the most but my favourite are […]
About the author Miranda was on the first series of The Great British Bake Off and I think we all remember her for the ‘soggy bottom’ comment from Mary Berry! I also remember her as the ‘queen of iced biscuits’. Such attention to detail – a girl after my own heart! What I also liked […]
This is a super simple, super quick frittata recipe. I’ve used it for my girls in their school picnicsand I thought I’d post the recipe up to honour Italy’s win over England in Euro 2012 Quarter Finals. You can make all sorts of substitutions with whatever fillings you like. You can also pour the mixture […]
Well it’s been picnic week in the UK this week. Still no idea who sets the agenda on these but interestingly enough it has coincided with my daughters switching to packed lunches at school. I’m sad about this. Sad because the school meals were one if the key reasons we chose their school. Sad that […]
There has been much talk of foraging this year or perhaps my reticular activator has simply been on a foraging focus! Whether it’s been brought on by the recession and the idea of free food, a wish to support British business in this Jubilee year or simply us all wanting to reduce the impact on […]