The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
January is a time to be virtuous after the excesses of Christmas. I’m drawn to vibrant, ‘green’ food to cheer myself up from the dreary drizzle outside. Thankfully my baby spinach has survived the weather in my garden. The leaves may be a little smaller and the bugs may have nibbled here and there but […]
Hasn’t Christmas come around so quickly this year? I know all the advertising kicks off as soon as the summer sales have finished but I cannot believe we have just this weekend left to buy gifts. Our list always includes edibles – some shop bought and some home made. Here is some inspiration if you’re […]
My daughters love peanut butter. I love peanut butter! But aside from one particular brand (Whole Earth) there are too many nasties in commercially made peanut butter so every now and then it’s nice to make your own. This recipe just has just a few ingredients.
I came to this country (that is to say the United Kingdom for those of you who may be reading this blog elsewhere) in 1976. I was very little and spoke barely any English. I had been privileged enough to attend an English speaking Kindergarten in my birth country of Tanzania but it wasn’t enough […]
I must admit I get rather cross with all the Christmas hype on the high street and how it all seems to get earlier every year. In our house, we cannot, I mean we are not allowed to, get excited about Christmas until after my birthday which is on the 11th December. Having grown up with […]
I’ve not had much success growing carrots at the allotment. Last year we planted three different varieties. One variety grew really well but we went away for a weekend and some little critter had a much on them all. My little one was devastated as she had been growing them for Santa – or rather […]
I was reading a post on sunflowers for every occasion over at The Garden Deli which inspired me to go and seek out the different kinds of sunflowers around our allotments. I didn’t have to look far. These stunners have given us a little bit of sunshine every time I go to the water butt. […]
This week I have been experimenting with Lurpak Cooking Liquid. It’s a blend of butter and rapeseed oil that comes in a handy squeezy bottle that sits nicely in our fridge door or lies sideways without dripping all over the place. I’ll be honest I wasn’t sure at first. Why do I need a liquid […]
It’s Diwali today. The day when light conquers all. The day when Rama and Sita returned home after having defeated the evil Ravan. A day when you truly feel that you can conquer anything. This year has had its challenges but I think we have indeed conquered most. We head into the new Hindu year on a […]
Since getting our allotment I have had runner bean envy of my neighbour’s runner beans. They are pristine. not a black fly, white fly or any fly for that matter on them. Each variety could have been entered into countless competitions and won. I was determined to grow my own this year but I wanted […]
It’s Chocolate Week in the UK and what a chocolatey week it has been. I have been using every excuse to eat as much chocolate as possible. And why not?! It contains endorphins – those lovely little feel good hormones and I need a few thousand of those at the moment with all the cold […]
A couple of weeks ago I was invited on a foodie trip to Suffolk by the team at Food Safari. The trip encompassed a visit to Hillfarm Oils based in Halesworth. First and foremost a British family business We were warmly greeted by Sam and Clare Fairs, the husband and wife team behind the business. Sam […]