The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
It’s great finding brands that remain true to their foundlings. Roddas is one such example. In 1890 Eliza Jane Rodda started making clotted cream in her farmhouse kitchen in Cornwall. It started to sell well locally and made it’s way to shops all over England in no time. Over 120 on, the Rodda family are […]
One of the reasons I started growing strawberries was because over the last few years, strawberries no longer taste like strawberries. They look like strawberries. They smell like strawberries but they don’t taste of anything. Bland watery popsicles. Often not even juicy and indeed sometimes crunchy. Worst of all, they’re not grown in the UK […]
My jasmine flowers have all but gone this week. I miss their sweet scent wafting through the window in the evenings. Of course the scent is no where close to the intensity of the bushes in my grandmother’s gardens in India or East Africa. There the blooms are so much bigger and used for adorning […]
Ben is 22 years old and a fourth generation master ice cream maker from the heart of the Cotswolds. He learnt his craft through generations of his family who are still in business today. Ben’s Great Grandfather Albert Winstone started Winstones Cotswold Ice Cream in 1925 near Stroud, Gloucestershire. Ben’s mother Jane sits as managing […]
I’m not a fan of mixes. Really I’m not. Especially Indian spices mixes. Everytime I see one on the shelf I can hear the voice of Nina Wadia’s Goodness Gracious Me character shouting “Naheee, I can make it at home for nothing“. But ….and I’m finding it difficult not to wave my forefinger at you here […]
If, like me, you rarely buy popcorn in retail outlets because it is so ridiculously expensive then this is the popcorn that will change your mind. Joseph Sopher – The Popcorn Alchemist The company was started by Joseph Sopher. On regular trips to America he would bring back gourmet popcorn for friends and family. He […]
All the elderflowers around at the moment have me in the mood for cordial. Elderflower cordial is a staple on my kitchen shelf – I don’t have cupboards lest I forget what’s in them. My brand of choice has always been Belvoir. It’s just lusciously syrupy and perfect for baking with. I used it on […]
I love honey. It’s my go to food to feel better when I am feeling stressed. I tend to buy ‘proper honey’. By this I mean honey from my local Greek or Turkish shop that doesn’t have any rubbish thrown in, or honeycomb that just melts in your mouth. But for baking that can get […]
London’s Southbank is one of the best places to be in the summer. Whether it’s during the week or on the weekend, there is always something going on to dip in and out of as you stroll from restaurant to bar to book stall to shops. A great free event is Herbfest which is a […]
I had my very first Gin and Tonic at The Lake Palace Hotel which is in Udaipur in Rajasthan and most well known as the location for the James Bond Film Octopussy. I cannot imagine there are many Indian girls who haven’t dreamed of staying there in one of the regal suites looking out across […]
I wanted to share with you the story of Draupadi. She’s a mum like me. She’s also a grandmother that I aspire to be one day. She lives in a remote village in Uttarkhand in Northern India. She’s part of a unique, tribal community that sadly suffers from discrimination, violence and exploitation because of this […]
Ragini Dey runs The Spice Kitchen restaurant in South Australia which has now expanded to include cookery and spice appreciation classes. What I love about her is that she makes everything from scratch – spices mixes, pickles and chutneys and these are all covered in this wonderful book. First off the look and feel of […]