The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
We are having unsettled weather in the UK at the moment and that means lots of allotment time. Either to sort out the mess after heavy rain or to bask in the sunshine while it lasts. This year, we’ve extended our allotment ever so slightly but chopping down all the nettle and bramble growth to the […]
We’ve gone a bit bonkers with the bean planting on the allotment this year. I have some runner beans of the firestorm variety which yield the vibrant red edible flowers which I am looking forward to almost more than the beans. I have various varieties of dwarf beans because I’ve discovered they grow quite happily in […]
It’s Indian mango season. The season I look forward to the most. The season that makes me salivate the most. The season I never tire of because I could eat my bodyweight in Indian mangoes and then perhaps your body weight too! They are beloved in my household and we usually buy dozens of boxes […]
Sunny skies of late and unseasonably warm weather have seen trees come into bloom earlier this year. Spring blossoms almost pass us by without a second thought. This would never happen in Japan. Over there, it is customary to celebrate trees coming into flower and the season is currently in full swing. It’s ‘Hanami’ time. […]
Have you noticed that alongside the daffodils that seem to be everywhere, there are also bursts of yellow from dandelions? They too are so pretty and brighten up banks of green in our lovely city of London – or the suburbs in my case. Like many, I’ve disregarded these these plants. Sunny and cheerful as […]
I felt rather sad for the onion this week. I was in a falafel shop ordering my lunch. As part of the salad there are onions and as I was returning to work after lunch I asked the young man to leave them out. I didn’t want to be smelly (or indeed make smells!). He […]