Simple, Fresh and Delicious Recipes Inspired By My Seasonal Garden
Simple, Fresh and Delicious Recipes Inspired by my seasonal garden
Bert’s big soulful brown eyes gaze up at us with love and his ever excited tail is wagging furiously as we stand talking to the vet about his future. It’s so painful making a decision about his life, how do you stop a wagging tail? […]
Toasted ciabatta topped with creamy ricotta and zesty mashed peas. I invite you to spoil yourself this weekend with a slice of Indulgent Ricotta and Pea Bruschetta for lunch. My Indulgent Ricotta and Pea Bruschetta epitomises what The Delectable Garden stands for: Creating delicious food from […]
It only takes four hours to create this heavenly scented Lavender Infused Gin. A few fresh lavender sprigs is enough to enrich a basic gin with an intense floral flavour, making the most interesting G&T I’ve ever tasted. Back to School You may have seen […]
Bert’s big soulful brown eyes gaze up at us with love and his ever excited tail is wagging furiously as we stand talking to the vet about his future. It’s so painful making a decision about his life, how do you stop a wagging tail? […]
Toasted ciabatta topped with creamy ricotta and zesty mashed peas. I invite you to spoil yourself this weekend with a slice of Indulgent Ricotta and Pea Bruschetta for lunch. My Indulgent Ricotta and Pea Bruschetta epitomises what The Delectable Garden stands for: Creating delicious food from […]
It only takes four hours to create this heavenly scented Lavender Infused Gin. A few fresh lavender sprigs is enough to enrich a basic gin with an intense floral flavour, making the most interesting G&T I’ve ever tasted. Back to School You may have seen […]
I’m writing this post from The Delectable Garden. Looking at what I have manage to achieve in the garden, as well as thinking about all the amazing things that have happened as a result of the blog. The past year has been crazy and gone […]
The sweet floral scent of elderflowers are currently flooding The Delectable Garden. Unfortunately it won’t be long before the flowers drop and berries start to grow. So I’m making the most of this brief period of summer by turning the heavenly scented flowers into delicious […]
The sweet natural floral flavour of Homemade Elderflower Cordial is far superior and cheaper than store bought. As well as being refreshing with ice-cold water, you can add a botanical splash to Prosecco or Gin and even make elderflower curd for cakes and scones. May […]
A Prosecco getaway in London filled with Italian food, theatre and rain! Winner In my last blog I mentioned that I’d won two tickets to Prosecco Springs 2018, thanks to Bottega’s Facebook competition. In a blind panic I made all the arrangements for last weekend. […]
I celebrated the arrival of sun this week with Rosemary and Lemon Botanical Gin, barbecues and wine. Rosemary and Lemon Botanical Gin is an elegant and refreshing drink, perfect for sunny evenings in the garden. Bert seeking the shade It’s been quite a busy and […]
Greek Inspired Beef Souvlaki are herby beef skewers packed full of flavour. On the table in under an hour makes them perfect for a cheeky mid-week BBQ. The promise of warmer weather next week has excited the barbecuer in me. Barbecuing allows me to experiment […]
A herb garden window box is a beautiful way to inject colour, fragrance and wildlife into the smallest of outdoor spaces. Mine is conveniently located outside of the kitchen door, in a little courtyard area. My name is Lee and I’m a herbaholic, not by […]
It only takes four hours to create this heavenly scented Lavender Infused Gin. A few fresh lavender sprigs is enough to enrich a basic gin with an intense floral flavour, making the most interesting G&T I’ve ever tasted.
You may have seen that I went back to school this week. A good friend of mine, Lisa, celebrated her big 5-0 this year. Struggling to find the right present for her I stumbled upon a Botanical Cocktail course at The School of Artisan Food on the Wellbeck Estate. Admittedly this was a bit of a selfish gift on my part, but we hardly ever get quality time together to have a good giggle and a few drinks.
Wellbeck estate is truly magical, with large historic sand stone buildings, a vast expanse of countryside, Wellbeck Manor House, farm buildings, a micro brewery and the fantastic School of Artisan Food.
The Botanical Cocktail Course was fascinating. We learned about different herbs and flowers and how to use them in infusions, liquors and simple sugar syrups. The course was also delicious, we sampled many Infused Gins, Vodkas and of course a cocktail or two, or three! Being a huge advocate for growing your own food, flowers and herbs, it was fascinating listening to Rachel Petheram talk about her experiences of growing her own produce for pleasure as well as her profession, a florist. Meeting Rachel afterwards was an honour, she is a very passionate, fascinating and lovely person who kindly allowed me to share her Lavender Infused Gin recipe.
I have to admit that when I first sampled the Lavender Infused Gin I was angry at Rachel for spoiling a perfectly fine gin! The infusion was so intense it tasted just like my grandmothers old potpourri, overpowering perfume. So why am I sharing a recipe that I struggled to swallow? Because when it is mixed with a crisp ice cold tonic and a squeeze of lemon, the lavender flavour mellows into the most delicious gin and tonic. Lavender Infused Gin is also a fantastic base for my new favourite cocktail, The Bees Knees, see the recipe below.
Preparation: 5 minutes
Infusion time: 4 hours
Makes approximately 500 ml
Difficulty: Easy
3 tsp fresh lavender flowers, approximately 3-6 sprigs
500 ml Gin (a basic, cheap gin is perfect)
Serve with plenty of ice, crisp tonic, a squeeze of lemon and garnish with a sprig of lavender.
Preparation: 5 minutes
Serves 1
Difficulty: Easy
60 ml Lavender Infused Gin
15 ml Freshly squeezed lemon juice
7 ml Runny honey
This cocktail packs a punch, try topping up with tonic if it’s too strong for you.
Check out my most popular Botanical flavours:
Rhubarb and Ginger Infused Gin
Pink Grapefruit and Tarragon Infused Gin
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Contains alcohol, suitable for 18+. Please enjoy responsibly.
Lee ?
