The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
The sun has been on good form in my little corner of London recently. The parks seem greener, the blossoms seem to be out in bloom again and even the frost looks inviting. I hope it is a taste of the summer sunshine to come as I am most definitely a summer girl. I blame the fact that […]
Risotto is a staple in our house. It’s simple to make, cheap and filling. My ‘technique’ was learned from TV Chefs. Jamie Oliver comes to mind. You soften the onions in butter and olive oil, you add the white wine, then the rice and slowly, slowly the stock. That’s how you make it right? Well let me tell […]
Firstly Happy New Year to you all. Did you have a good one? We celebrated in the Florida Keys. Islamorada to be precise. Ringing New Year in on a hammock at midnight GMT. The Americans thought we were rather mad shouting Happy New Year and singing Auld Lang Syne at 7pm EST. But quite frankly […]
Aside from beetroot, I’ve managed to salvage some chard from the allotment this week. It was being eaten by something a few weeks back but seems to have renewed growth. I must confess though that I don’t much like chard! We decided to grow it because it was just so so pretty to look at […]
It’s been a while since I was at the allotment. It was a pretty grim day today and none of the plots were looking that great to be honest. Empty canes stick out from the ground. Seedlings were not to be seen – even in the greenhouses. It’s that time of year when everything is just […]
I ate the last of my squashes this weekend. The little baby ones that have been so pretty as decorations. The ones that didn’t get stolen for Halloween. I was inspired to keep them whole by this recipe by Emma at The Food Gatherer. I then remembered seeing something similar in one of Diana Henry‘s […]
Having had such a bounty of beetroot at our allotment again, I’ve been experimenting with sweet as well as savoury dishes. This creation was a real quickie I discovered with some leftover cooked beetroot we had in mash the other day. I was about to put it into a chocolate brownie mixture as that was the obvious thing […]
I am still harvesting my holey kale at the allotment but am also loving all the curly kale around locally. Usually I find this too tough and bitter but lately our vegetable bag scheme has provide some sweet tasting leaves which barely need blanching to cook. Here are a few ways I’ve been using the […]
It’s Bonfire Weekend in the UK. It’s a pretty grim one to be honest. As I’m writing this post I’m snuggled in my fleece pyjamas and woolen socks with the heating on full but still feeling cold looking out at the rain. No matter. It is Bonfire Weekend and we shall celebrate in wellies and waterproofs […]
I just popped one of these in the oven and so I thought I’d write the recipe up while I still have the luscious smells wafting up from the kitchen and before I need to run downstairs and make custard for the girls. The blackberries are just about from the allotment. My new allotment neighbour […]
If there is one crop I’m chuffed with this year it’s my runner beans. I pulled the last of them yesterday and they’ve given me a plentiful crop all summer. I plant Firestorm Runner Beans as they have beautiful red flowers which are also edible. I planted late this year so didn’t think I’d get […]
There is something rather therapeutic about baking pastry. It’s the stages I think. Making the dough, chilling the dough, rolling out the dough and finally baking. The stages fit rather well with my running schedule. I’m running for Action Against Hunger in the 2016 Virgin London Marathon. I’ve started training now because I’m a slow […]