The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
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 […]
I think September really is the best time to visit New York. The first time I ever went that side of the Atlantic was about eighteen years ago and it was in September. What I remember most was walking. I loved the block and grid system. So easy to get around. Street level was fascinating. There […]
Patra is one of my all time favourite Gujarati dishes. My Baa (maternal grandmother) used to make them for breakfast when I was little using fresh colocasia leaves and her own spice mix. I was too little to really appreciate her or her patra which makes me so incredibly sad. However, I wasn’t so little that […]
I’m very fussy about tomatoes. I love the sundried variety but not in pesto. I like the raw variety but only paired with basil and mozzarella and in a ‘cachumbar’ (salad) with sliced onions, red chilli powder and salt. But I love cooked tomatoes. Especially in curry. It’s my go to dinner when I am […]
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 have a confession to make. The real reason I grow courgettes at the allotment is because of the flowers. There is something magical about these and my excitement and utter joy at seeing them for the first time each year never abates. They peek through the foliage and just take make me swell with […]
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 […]
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 […]
My husband tells me that one of his favourite memories of us is in Essaouria, Morocco. The sun is setting and we are sipping cheap rose wine and stuffing ourselves with freshly grilled sardines at the edge of the port. I have sardine juice running down the sides of my mouth and a look of […]
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 […]