The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
I always have a clear out of shelves and cupboards on New Year’s Day. It’s a therapeutic ritual before I go back to work to see what I can use up, batch cook and freeze for the busy weeks ahead. Packets of dried fruits and nuts are always hanging around and I usually bake them […]
I always have a few half packets of dried fruit, nuts and seeds at the beginning of the year and this is a great way to use them all up! I also love how you can personalise this by season and for loved ones who are partial to certain flavours. I received a lovely Apple […]
I could not let the last post of 2013 be on anything other than by two favourite things! I must confess to having them both on a regular basis and not just on special occasions but as this will be my last post of 2013, it seems to be a fitting occasion. Perfectly compatible with […]
I am not a huge fan of Christmas Pudding or Christmas Cake. I don’t like fruit cakes as a whole. Teacakes would be the only exception to that. So I’ve experimented with a traditional recipe using a range of dried fruits that I like – mainly cranberries as it is Christmas! You’ll need 175g dried […]
“Do you think Santa watches Bake Off Mummy?” said my youngest the other day. I wasn’t really sure how to answer that so I obliged with “Of course he does. Someone has to bring Paul a present don’t they?” She laughed but pressed on. “So do you think like Mary and Paul Santa gets a bit […]
Christmas doesn’t officially start in our house til after my birthday on December 11th. No cards. No decorations. No tree. This year we’ve been so busy with after work events, weekends away, school concerts and the general madness of working families that we only just put our tree up yesterday evening. With this come a […]
If you’re a bit sick of mince pies and stodgy pastry at Christmas, this is a nice light version is super easy to rustle up for unexpected guests. You’ll need About 8 sheets of filo pastry 100g mincemeat/mince pie filling 1 apple – grated Zest of 1 orange 50g melted butter Icing sugar for dusting […]
On my recent trip to Morocco fitting in a cookery class was at the top of the list. It’s a cuisine I’m not too familiar with and to be honest have not had many good experiences with on previous trips. I did a fair amount of research and found many half day workshops at […]
This is a really simple side dish I learned in Morocco at the L’Atelier Madada Cookery School in Essaouria. It’s wonderful with some leftover plan rice or couscous or just some crusty bread. You’ll need 2 medium courgettes 1 clove of garlic finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp lemon juice. The skin of […]
This was the first tagine I ever made. I learned the recipe from Muna at a wonderful cookery school in Essaouira called L’Atelier Madada. It is much easier than I thought and I use this as a base for so many different types of tagines now. It takes just half an hour to prepare […]
I used to be put off by making madelines because many recipes call for leaving the batter to rest and I never usually have the time or I am never organised enough. This recipe is quick to rustle up and makes a nice gift too. I’ve paired these mini versions with Caramel Dipping Sauce. You […]
It’s becoming a ritual attending BBC Good Food Show to shop for Christmas presents to myself and meet up with fellow Great British Bake Off Contestants. This year we had tea with Paul, Mary in the very specially created Great British Bake Off Tea Party Garden. My girls are still big fans of the show […]