Tag: summer

Posted on by — Leave a comment

St Kitts Bhaji Mix Recipe

We don’t have any of our bhaji mix on the shelf at the moment, but we don’t want to leave you without – so by popular request, here’s how you can make it at home!

 

Bhaji mix ingredients:

200g gram flour

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp baking powder

water

 

Method:

Mix dry ingredients together and add enough water to make a batter – you want it thicker than for pancakes, but not stiff.

My favourite bhaji is cauliflower, so I’ll give you the instructions for that. Break cauliflower into florets and put them into boiling water, bring back to the boil then remove from the heat straight away and strain. They will feel like they are too firm, but trust me this will make them perfect. Drop the cauliflower florets into the batter and coat thoroughly. Heat about an inch of oil in a deep frying pan, once it is hot drop the coated cauliflower in and fry, turning regularly, until a golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and give a sprinkle of salt before serving. Best served hot with a yoghurt dip, or as a side with a curry.

 

You can also use peas, chopped onions, partially cooked sweet potato… anything you fancy really! They’re also great with salad, if the sun finally comes out and you fancy a quick bite…

 

Photo credit: mdid via Foter.com / CC BY

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Stuffed Mushroom Burger Recipe – Summer in a Bun…

We had an amazing time at our Summer Party this Saturday – great food, great company and incredible music from the very talented ‘Dog With No Name’. We got through a fair bit of Pimms too! As always, a huge thank you to everyone who came! For those that missed it, here is the recipe for our stuffed mushrooms, which we served in burger buns with a bit of roast sweet potato and pepper for flavour contrast.

Ingredients:

– 4 Large flat mushrooms

– 250g Cream cheese

– couple of slices of bread

– 100g strong cheddar, grated

– pinch of dried sage or chives

– salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  • Remove and save the mushroom stalks, scoop out the dark gills with a spoon.
  • Put both of these into a food processor with the bread and herbs and pulse for a few seconds, until crumbed. Mix this with the grated cheese.
  • Generously fill the scooped out mushrooms with cream cheese, top with the breadcrumb mixture, pressing into shape as you go.
  • Bake in the oven at about 170C for 20 minutes, until mushroom is soft and top is crispy. Serve with salad; in a bun or pitta bread; or (my favourite) with some crispy roast parsnips.

If you really want to recreate our evening, you’ll have to check out some of the fab music from Dog With No Name!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Nominate a Community Champion!

Do you know someone who needs a treat? Who’s helped you out, personally or professionally? Whether they work in the community, or went above and beyond for a friend, have had a hard time or just work too hard and need a bit of TLC – we’d like to give you the chance to pay it back (or forward!). Nominate your community champion, so they can be in with a chance to be treated to a meal for 2 and a bottle of wine! Every month we’ll reserve a table for our specially chosen community guest – they’ll get a main meal each, puddings and bottle of wine, to help them relax and take the weight off. Because good people deserve good things…

To nominate someone, send us an email at info@stkittsherbery.co.uk, giving the person’s name and the story of why you’ve nominated them.

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Taste of Summer!

We love a glass of pimms – it makes it feel like summer no matter what the weather! Here’s our twist on the fabulous classic… We’ve made a special basket of plants, just for this purpose (not that we drink a lot *cough*)

Ingredients:

1 part Pimms No. 1

3 parts Sparkling Sicilian Lemonade

Fresh Apple Mint Leaves

Fresh Lemon Verbena Leaves

Fresh (Wild) Strawberry Halves

Fresh Cucumber Slices

Lemon Slices

Ice

Just pop your ice in a jug and pour over the Pimms. Add your fruit and leaves to taste and top up with lemonade. Find yourself a pretty straw and a nice spot in the garden and enjoy!

If you’re just not a fan of pimms (sacrilegious though it is) here’s a few more summer drink recipes – so you can get your practice in while it’s still spring!

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Exciting Times…

We can only apologise (once again) for the lack of blog posts recently – the days just don’t seem to be long enough! We did think you’d like to be kept updated though, so here’s a look at all the exciting events that we’ve got planned for the next few months…

stitchandbitch

lunchisserved

book.talk

italian.night

 

Dates for your diary:

Thursday 6th October – Stitch and Bitch

Wednesday 19th October – Irish Night

Friday 28th October – Halloween Trick or Treat

Thursday 3rd November – Toiletry Gift Making Workshop

Wednesday 23rd November – British Winter Staples Night

Details to follow…

If you see an event that takes your fancy, give us a call on 01840213442 to book. If you’ve got an event, group or meeting and are in need of a venue, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help. We’d love to see you all, so don’t be shy and come along!

 

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Herb of the Month – Vipers Bugloss

This time of year is all about those blooming flowers, when all your gardening seems to pay off. One of the most satisfyingly beautiful plants you can grow, our herb of the month is Vipers Bugloss.

 Echium vulgare, also known as Vipers Bugloss, Adderwort, or Blue Devil, is characterised by its cylindrical spikes of gorgeous bell shaped flowers. From the Boraginaceae family, Vipers Bugloss will take 1-2 years to reach its maximum height, up to 75cm tall – all of which will be covered in flowers when it blooms in early summer. Each flower on the column will itself be 1 to 2cm in length. It originates in Europe and grows best in dry grassland or dunes, preferring sand or chalk soils. Whilst it is slightly fussy about soil, Vipers Bugloss will grow in either exposed or sheltered areas and in varying amounts of sunlight.

This is a fantastic plant to have in your garden if you want to attract bees or butterflies – both of which love the colourful flowers come summer. In the language of flowers, Vipers Bugloss represents falsehood or untruthfulness, most likely due to its snakelike appearance (as described in its alternative name, Snake Flower). The name ‘Bugloss’ is also derived from the appearance of the plant – this time its leaves. The term comes from the Greek word bou, meaning cow or ox, and the Latin glosso, meaning tongue. The leaves of the Vipers Bugloss could be said to resemble an ox-tongue in shape. Though it was once used as an anti-venom for snake bites, it is best to avoid touching it as it can cause irritation to the skin and will cause stomach upset if ingested.

Whilst it’s not always possible to grow in your garden (if you don’t have chalky soil or have kids who might take a bite!), it’s always worth keeping an eye out when you walk along the dunes, as this really is a stunning plant.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Recipe – Lavender Drizzle Cake

With summer finally looking like it might be on its way (fingers crossed!), it’s time to move away from the heavy, chocolate-based comfort foods and onto something a bit lighter. I’d like to say healthier but I have too much of a sweet tooth for that! This recipe is a basic Madeira cake base, always a summer favourite, but (as always) with our own special twist. The lavender glaze compliments the subtle lemon of the Madeira for a sweet, summery treat. Anyone who’s been following our recipe blog will have worked out by now that I adore Nigella Lawson, so of course it’s her Madeira cake recipe that I started with! I have adapted the cook times slightly so that I could make individual cakes, but if you want a traditional loaf cake then Nigella’s is the recipe to go with.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

240g butter or margarine

200g sugar (Nigella recommends caster sugar, but if you’re lazy like me then granulated works fine)

grated zest and juice of one lemon

3 eggs

300g flour

2 tsp baking powder

6 small ramekins or 1 loaf tin

For the glaze:

6 heaped tbsp. icing sugar

3 tbsp lavender syrup

cold water

 

Method:

– Line either your ramekins or loaf tin with baking parchment.

– Preheat the oven to gas mark 3/170C

– In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add in the lemon zest and mix well.

– Add the eggs one at a time. Adding a tablespoon of the flour with each egg will help it to mix in better without curdling.

– Mix in the rest of the flour, stirring gently so as not to lose the air from the mixture.

– Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly.

– Put into your preheated oven and bake for roughly 45 minutes if in ramekins or 1 hour if in a loaf tin. I start checking the cakes about 20 minutes before this, to avoid burning. You’ll know they’re done when a cake tester comes out clean.

– Put your cakes to one side to cool whilst you get on with the lavender glaze.

– In a bowl, mix together the icing sugar and lavender syrup. I use a fork for this to avoid any sugary lumps.

– Once the icing has formed a paste, add the cold water a teaspoon at a time. Stop when you have a relatively thin, runny icing.

– Before your cakes have completely cooled, turn them out onto a wire rack. Once they are cold, cover in the lavender glaze and leave to harden.

This really is a super easy recipe (like everything I make) and guaranteed to impress!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Make your own – No Sweat Foot Spritzer

We’ve been having some beautiful weather recently (for Britain anyway!) and it’s great to enjoy it, but I have to say I’m not enjoying the sweaty feet it’s led too! This fantastic no sweat foot spray has been a godsend for me, and it smells great too.

Ingredients:

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

125ml witch hazel water

35 drops (about 1.5ml) cypress essential oil

5 drops (about 0.25ml) patchouli essential oil

Pop the rosemary sprigs into a bottle, cover with the witch hazel water and essential oils and shake well. The cypress essential oil helps to close your pores to prevent sweating, whilst the patchouli acts as a deodoriser so you don’t have to worry about smelly feet. You’ll want to make sure to use a spray bottle so you can spritz your feet throughout the day- it feels so refreshing I could just bathe in it! (I wouldn’t recommend actually bathing in it, probably best to keep it for your feet…)