The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
There is no doubt that foraged food is on trend again in the UK. I’m seeing wild garlic ideas all over social media and the young nettle crop is proving popular too. But how readily available is it, how easy is it to find if you’re not an expert and is it really worth it? I […]
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 […]
Pancakes. They have become a Sunday ritual. It’s a weekend so porridge or cereal aren’t special enough. Somehow the Sunday breakfast deserves more attention. Deserves more time. But the warm bed, Sunday papers and my stack of new cookery books are calling and they deserve equal amounts of attention too after a long week. So the […]
It’s been almost Spring like today. I woke up before the sun and sat with a cup of tea watching it come up over the garden. A rare opportunity with children in the house. I’ve been distracted by the sky ever since. It’s been so vividly blue I couldn’t help stopping and staring out into […]
As I grow older I find myself getting more and more irritated at New Year’s resolutions. I tend to review and set myself goals monthly because things move on so quickly so I find waiting once a year to kick start something is a little late. But that being said, all the detox hype in the […]
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 […]
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 […]