The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
As a child I remember my grandmother ask after the weather forecast. London is pretty unpredictable but we did have some scorching summers when I was little. There were no iPhone apps so I would show her the newspaper. She’d nod and then get to work making poppadums. My job was to carefully go and […]
It’s nearly time for the London Marathon. My training has gone well in the main. I had a bit of a lapse this week as I’ve not been feeling well. Truth be told I’m struggling a little on the food side. I hit my fundraising target within a few months of signing up, my training […]
Those of you who read this blog regularly will know that I love taking a look behind the scenes of food producers and places. I was therefore so excited when I received an invitation from Borderfields Rapeseed Oil and Hammond Produce to visit their Innovation Garden in Nottinghamshire. The day started with some cooking demonstrations […]
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 […]
Have you ever thought about why you can’t taste anything well when you have a cold? I had never really thought about it before because I just assumed that the brain switches off certain functions when we are unwell. However last week I was invited to a sensory experience with Haagen Dazs Ice Cream with […]
I think the sun is staying out now. It’s been a bit hit and miss in London. It always is as the school holidays start but I’m watching it go down over the rooftops as we speak knowing it’s going to be another glorious day tomorrow. This is a good thing for my diet. A […]
I’m not normally a gadget person in the kitchen. Sure I like to save time like everyone else but rather than some whizzy gizmo for peeling garlic for example, I prefer to get stuck in and peel it with my fingers. Having said that I do use a few machines to help get big jobs […]
Aspall is one of those brands that you see everywhere and think they must be a huge corporation. The branding is just so slick. They’re at a lot of festivals, they’re in ‘those’ trendy pubs, do cool stuff on social media etc etc. They must have a lot of people behind them making all that […]
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 […]
As a working mother I am always on the lookout for innovations in the food industry that will help me get a healthy evening meal on the table quickly. 30 minutes is usually my target timeframe. I do not have an army of choppers, peelers, washer uppers and handy hangabout preparers so it all has […]
It’s getting decidedly chilly in North London. Oh yes it starts off all sunny and warm through the window but as soon as I open that kitchen door in the morning it’s a little bit nippy. Porridge is what that signals. Porridge. There are a myriad of different types of grains or cereals you can use […]
I received a lovely box of fruit and veg last week at work. My postroom chaps were not best pleased as it was rather large. They were soon pacified with a friendly smile and a promise of cake. The box was from Wholegood – a new fruit and veg wholesaler that has started delivering to […]