The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
I like making little treats. You can have one and feel totally sated rather than denying yourself completely. Good strategy huh? That’s how these little chocolate mousse meringue cups came about. I was craving something fancy and chocolatey. But I had a full medical assessment recently and was also hearing the words of the […]
Are you fed up of chocolate yet? I’m not but I’m getting there. Even my girls couldn’t finish their stash yesterday. There is a bowl of odd bits of shell and Lindt Bunny bottoms. I know it will all get eaten but it’s nice to have the excess to do a bit of baking with. This […]
Aside from beetroot, I’ve managed to salvage some chard from the allotment this week. It was being eaten by something a few weeks back but seems to have renewed growth. I must confess though that I don’t much like chard! We decided to grow it because it was just so so pretty to look at […]
It’s Bonfire Weekend in the UK. It’s a pretty grim one to be honest. As I’m writing this post I’m snuggled in my fleece pyjamas and woolen socks with the heating on full but still feeling cold looking out at the rain. No matter. It is Bonfire Weekend and we shall celebrate in wellies and waterproofs […]
I just popped one of these in the oven and so I thought I’d write the recipe up while I still have the luscious smells wafting up from the kitchen and before I need to run downstairs and make custard for the girls. The blackberries are just about from the allotment. My new allotment neighbour […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 really love millefeuille but I find the shop bought versions and even patisserie versions just far too sweet. I don’t like the iced topping and I also don’t tend to have time for the steps involved to make these perfect. So here is an easy recipe that you can throw together very quickly. I’ve […]
I read a recipe using the pear and ginger combination in Dan Lepard’s Short and Sweet. I wanted to give it a go and came up with this really simple slice. It’s great with some vanilla custard or ice cream and a cup of Assam. I find the Assam is strong enough to cut through […]
Eric Lanlard has become a true baking celebrity with so many TV programmes and appearances to his name. I had the honour of meeting him recently and was really rather surprised at how down to earth he is. And I say honour because there is some proper talent and experience behind that sparkling, cheeky personality! […]
I had been given some lovely cooking apples and Kentish cobnuts so could not resist the combo with some cinnamon. I loved the crisp filo pastry with the soft frangipane middle. This tart is inspired by Eric Lanlard as there is a similar one in his Tart It Up book. Have you ever used cobnuts? […]