Gooseberry and Elderflower compote

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My mum’s auntie and uncle live around Lyon where it is much greener than in Provence where I grew up. They have a lovely little garden where some wild gooseberry bushes manage to produce a few berries every year. My mum loves gooseberries and she always told me how surprised she was when she found out that nobody liked them which is why they never tended these bushes.

It is gooseberry season right now and I decided to make the most of it for two reasons:

– My mum will be delighted when I bring her a pot of my compote in September when I visit and,

-It looks like Elderflower and Gooseberry are best mates, and since I recently made Elderflower cordial and Elderflower syrup, I thought it would be a good idea to combine them. Of course you can still do this recipe without, just follow the steps below. The Elderflower adds a sweet and floral taste to the compote, which makes it very fresh and perfect for the summer. Continue reading

Baking in the Bush

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Botswana national natural symbols

Honeymoon time is over and I am back with you to share a great cooking experience I had during our holidays. We went to Botswana for my first Safari trip and it was wonderful. I could write pages about the animals and the scenery we saw and post hundreds of pictures, but this blog is about food really so I will try to stay focused and not babbled on about mating Leopards, baby Hyenas and pack of Wild Dogs…Maybe just one thing that might be of general interest… each country has a national flower, bird and animal. Botswana chose very well and is represented by the Lilac-breasted Roller, the Waterlilly and the  Zebra, and there is good logic behind it because you actually see these symbols within the country, less can be said about Lions and Britain…

Food in Africa was in average really good, but what really got me excited was to have warm freshly-baked bread and cakes in the middle of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Forget about cans of baked beans and raviolis from your previous camping trips, this is all about gourmet cooking in the bush. Continue reading

Foraging trip 1: The Elderflower Walk

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I am calling this number 1 because I had such a nice Sunday that I know there will be plenty more trips like this one still to come. We combined our walking book with our foraging book and had a day full of fresh air, exercise and free food. The pleasure of collecting your own ingredients in your own garden is extraordinary, especially when you’re lucky enough to have a garden in central London, BUT going for a walk in the countryside far away from everything AND at the same time being only 1h away from home AND coming back with bags full of edible treats…that is truly incredible. Believe me, my husband and I did it, and let me show you what we brought back… Continue reading