Lavender & Lovage, a Culinary Notebook Review

I’m absolutely delighted to be able to tell you about the new cookbook from Karen Burns-Booth: Lavender & Lovage, a Culinary Notebook of Memories & Recipes from Home and Abroad.

About the Author

Karen Burns-Booth is creative freelance food and travel writer, recipe developer, food stylist and blogger with a passion for local, seasonal produce and global travel. Her love of seasonal food, recipes and travel stems from her early childhood whilst observing her grandmother and mother’s cookery skills, both in rural Northumberland and whilst living overseas in South Africa, where she was born, and in Hong Kong, Cyprus, Germany, the USA and France. She is widely travelled and has embraced all manner of foods, cookery techniques, cultures and traditions, all of which are beautifully portrayed in her writing style and atmospheric photos. She is a member of the prestigious Guild of Food Writers and regularly contributes to a variety of print publications, magazines, newspapers and online recipe sites, as well as creating bespoke recipes for numerous major brands and supermarkets in the UK, North America and Europe.

Karen and me at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia 

I’ve been friends with Karen for quite a few years, first online through her blog, Lavender & Lovage, and social media and eventually, meeting up face to face.  We travelled to Atlantic Canada together and I have visited her in her home in France.  It’s always a delight to meet up with other bloggers and share your interests, but even better when you become proper friends.

The recipes in Lavender & Lovage, a Culinary Notebook of Memories & Recipes from Home and Abroad are just the kind of recipes that I love to make, and I was pleased to help Karen with a little bit of recipe testing for this book.

Tian Provencal served in Karen’s garden in SW France

Who is it for?

If you are looking for traditional British Recipes then this book is packed with them, all the favourites are there but also a few you may not have heard of.  But it’s not only British food, Karen’s years in Cypress, France and travels in Canada and the Far East also influence this eclectic recipe collection.  All the recipes are simple to follow.  It’s also a book for people who love a good story with their recipes, so it has a wide appeal.

The Recipes (a few of my favourites):

Breakfast and Brunch: Newfoundland Toutons, Typhoon Bacon Butties (the story with this recipe is worth reading) Sri Lankan Egg Hoppers.

Soups, Starters and Snacks: Ham & Pea Soup (London Particular), The New Orleans Muffuletta Sandwich, Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich

Main Courses: Mouclade Charentaise -Creamy Curried Mussels, BBQ Pulled Pork (totally awesome, this is not only my ‘go to’ pulled pork recipe, but also the one my younger son has adopted as his own), Whole Roast Cauliflower in a Spicy Tomato Sauce.

Amish Pasta Salad

Salads & Accompaniments: Amish Pasta Salad, Braised Baby Gem Lettuce with Spring Onions, peas, bacon & crème fraiche, Mum’s Crispy Squashed Chips.

Pies Pastries & Tarts: Egg and Bacon Plate Pie, Yorkshire Corned Beef & Potato Pie, Ontario Butter Tarts.

Hot & Cold Puddings: Malva Pudding, Mixed Berry Clafoutis, Irish Cream Chocolate Mousse.

Bread, Scones, Biscuits & Cakes: Stotty Cake, Fat Rascals and Mum’s Date Slice

Jams, Chutneys, Pickles & Marmalade: French Set Apricot & Lavender Confiture, Mum’s Lemon Curd, Winter Salad (Sweet Mustard Pickle)

Sundry Gems: Fiona’s Frying Pan Pizza, Curry Puffs, Six Chalet Tartiflette.

Fiona’s Frying Pan Pizza 

Pros:

With 160 tried and tested recipes, lots of photographs and plenty of entertaining stories, this is a book that you will dip into for many years and always come up with a gem.

Cons:

This is a large heavy book, but if that’s an issue for you it is also available as a kindle e-book.

The Verdict:

If you are looking for a niche cookbook aimed at a particular cuisine or diet, then this isn’t the book for you.  If you want some true home cooking recipes from a wide range of cultures, cusines and styles then I would thoroughly recommend Lavender & Lovage, a Culinary Notebook of Memories & Recipes from Home & Abroad. It feels like you have Karen right there in the kitchen with you! 

Lavender & Lovage, a Culinary Notebook of Memories & Recipes from Home & Abroad

Published by Passageway Press 2018 – £ 31.37

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