Darling buds

Have you ever cooked with flowers? I can't say I've ever cooked with them, but I have used them as a garnish and as a decoration. Most recently I used an assortment of flowers containing lots of pansies to top my Easter cheesecake.


In this Observer Word of Mouth post Paul Levy discusses his adventures with floral ingredients in relation to a new book by Frances Bissell called "The Scented Kitchen: Cooking with Flowers". It's the first time I've heard of it, but I must admit he has made me very curious about nasturtium mayonnaise.

My Kitchen Garden: Volume 4

That was close. We were both supposed to be away for the past couple of weeks, and the herbs would have had a premature death due to dehydration. Luckily for them (but not for him), Jan had to stay at home while I was away, so the plants get to live! For now.

The basil is very upright, the parsley is a little bit wonky and the coriander is all topsy turvy. But there are real, recognisable little leaves on all of them now, the largest of which are about 15mm long. Which means it might soon be time for a microgreens salad.

My Kitchen Garden: Volume 3

Basil

Parsley

Coriander

We have progress! Everything has sprung up. In fact the coriander shoots are becoming a tangled mess and I'm not sure what to do about it. The most exciting development is that new, real leaves are appearing on all the herbs so they are starting to look more like their "adult" selves. I am slightly worried about what is going to happen to them while I am away over the next few weeks though. I would hate for them to wilt away for lack of watering. Can you take plants across the US/Canada border?

My Kitchen Garden: Volume 2

I've been checking on my little darlings at least a few times a day. I thought it was all in vain until last night I saw a glimmer of white sprout - and this morning there was quite the show! The basil turns out to be a little precocious, sprouting on day 3, no less. Still no sign of the parsley or the coriander - maybe they're feeling shy.

My Kitchen Garden: Volume 1

Yesterday I took the plunge and planted the seeds I bought back in February. I'm using a planter that came with the soil included, in pellet form - perfect (I hope) for the urban gardener. Just add water.


I've planted Italian parsley (seeds above), as well as coriander and basil, since they are my most frequently used herbs. My punishment for procrastinating is that there will be no homegrown cherry tomatoes to go with my basil. They would hardly be rosy, let alone a deep red, before I head back to London in August.


The packets said the seeds should germinate in 7-14 days, but I'm hoping that the little greenhouse they are in will help them sprout up a little faster. Stay tuned.