The Botanist, Chelsea

I had one day of holiday left, and decided to take it last Friday, since R had that whole of that week off. As a break from painting the radiators and pruning the enormous rose in our garden we decided to go out for brunch. I have wanted to eat at the Botanist for ages, since their menu looks really appetising, although I have heard mixed reports. At 10.30 am on a random Friday it was very quiet in there, with only a few coffee drinkers and ourselves. This meant we got great service, but it wasn’t too attentive, and so we still felt we could have a conversation without being interrupted all the time.

I went for the buckwheat crepe with bacon and eggs, which I was really looking forward to. Although breakfast dishes are OK with no toast or the like, they are definitely missing something, and so I liked having an alternative. What arrived was a beautifully thin crepe with two fried eggs and heaps of crispy bacon. The whole thing worked well together, with the egg yolks providing the necessary moisture and the bacon some much needed texture.

R went for the eggs benedict, as is his standard. He seemed please with it, and the eggs looked perfectly poached. I didn’t get to try it though, unfortunately. I had a fresh mint tea, which seemed bottomless, and R had coffee. We also shared a freshly squeezed orange juice, which was lovely.

All in all a very nice spot to spend an hour or so of a morning. It wasn’t the cheapest breakfast ever, but I think it was worth it as a treat. Now I want to go back and try their lunch menu!

French Toast and Strawberries

This is barely even a recipe really, but it was so good for my breakfast this morning that I had to post about it. It was even better as we could eat it in the garden. We're off to France tomorrow for week, so hopefully there will be lots of posts to come!

French Toast

Per person
2 slices of bread (white works best, and something like a bloomer is good)
1 egg, lightly whisked
Handful of strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 dessert spoon caster sugar
Sprinkling of cinnamon

Add the sugar to the strawberries and leave to macerate.

Soak the bread in the egg, making sure both sides get eggy. Meanwhile heat a frying pan and add a little butter and oil. Fry the bread until golden brown on both sides.

Sprinkle with a little cinnamon, and then put the strawberries on top. Yum!

Homemade Granola

I am making much more from scratch at the moment, so that I know exactly what is in everything. Searching for a granola that I could eat, unsuccessfully, meant that this was the next on my list.

The recipe makes quite a lot, so you might want to halve it if you are the only one who eats granola in your household. It also really needs to be made on a day when you are pottering about in the house anyway, as it needs regular turning whilst in the oven. It makes the whole house smell great though!

The recipe is adapted from one on Gluten-Free Girl, who in turn adapted it from Orangette (both worth a visit).

3 cups of oats (I used Jumbo)
½ cup chopped walnuts (substitute any kind of nuts you like, or a mixture)
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup plain flour (I used Doves gluten-free)
¾ tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground ginger
¾ cup maple syrup
½ cup cranberry juice
1 tbsp vanilla
2 tsp sunflower oil
1 cup raisins (or other dried fruit – I think dried cranberries would be good)

Turn on the oven to 120C, and oil a baking sheet. A non-stick one probably makes your life easier, but is not compulsory.

Combine the oats, nuts, seeds and flour and stir well until everything is coated in flour. Add the cinnamon, spice and ginger and mix again.

In a jug whisk together the maple syrup, juice, vanilla and oil until combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and then stir carefully to combine. Mine looked like there was not going to be enough of the wet ingredients, but keep going as eventually it all looked wet.

Put the mixture onto the baking sheet and press down with the back of a wooden spoon, or the back of your hand! Bake for about 2 hours, turning it every 15 minutes or so, making sure that any large pieces are broken up. It should be dry rather than sticky when it is done.

Leave to cool, then add the raisins and put in an airtight container.

I have been enjoying this with fresh fruit and plain yogurt, and I swear I have been walking to work quicker so that I can get to my breakfast sooner!

Hampshire weekend

I like going down to my parents for the weekend. Partly it is getting out of London and getting some country air, but it is also spending time in the kitchen without feeling guilty about not doing chores in the flat.

There was absolutely nothing planned for this weekend, which is such a luxury. My mother had already done most of the cooking for Saturday, so I didn’t get too involved with that. On Sunday however, I decided that I wanted to start the day with ricotta pancakes, which seem to have caught my attention a few times recently.

After a bit of googling we ended up with Gordon Ramsey’s recipe for ricotta and banana pancakes with pecan and maple syrup. Apart from a bit of faff with whisking the egg whites and stirring them in, this was a simple recipe which tasted delicious.

I then wanted to make a rhubarb based pudding for Sunday lunch. Again, I hit the internet, with the thought that something with almonds and possibly orange would be good. This recipe from Waitrose looked good, and it was really simple to make. It was really light and moist (hate that word), with the different flavours coming through well, and complementing each other. You really got the taste of the rhubarb, which of course was the whole point.

Both of these recipes are going in my ever expanding file.

Chelsea won at the weekend too, so Wembley here we come (although I don't really like going there for a semi).

American Breakfast

Americans understand breakfast. Our hotel doesn’t do any food, so we have had to go out every day. Even at 7.30am, in a town without too much commerce, places have been pretty full. I have tried to be restrained with breakfast, so most mornings it is poached eggs on ‘English’ muffins, and a cup of fruit. Also a glass of orange juice is a must have, as it just tastes so different drinking it in Florida!

I also had a bagel with cream cheese one day, and I treated myself to pancakes and maple syrup with crispy bacon one day! I didn’t have any lunch that day.

Also, as an aside, I have become addicted to the Food Network while I have been here. I discovered Rachel Ray’s 30 minute meals last time I was here, and have just bought the book, but now I have been watching Ace of Cakes, Ultimate Recipe Showdown and Iron Chef America. Masterchef is going to look tame when I get home (and I have two weeks worth of episodes recorded!).