I bought a book: Jekka's Herb Cookbook

Another book that came out last year that I couldn't afford was Jekka's Herb Cookbook. As I love cooking, I love growing things and 'I'm not sure ask Jekka' (as in look it up in Jekka's Complete Herb Book) is commonly heard in my house Stephen thought it would make a good birthday gift. And it did.

It's a perfect book. It looks stunning. Hanna McVicar's illustrations look great and give the book an incredible vibrancy. It's a great book for those times when your horticultural eyes are bigger than your chef's belly and you end up wondering what do I do with all this damn fennel now?

Rosemary Bread chills out

On to the test drive recipes. The first was easy to pick. I wanted to give something special to a couple who are always doing us favours and there is nothing more special than home made bread. Especially one flavoured with home made herbs. Rosemary Bread seemed like the perfect gift and delivered still warm it made a great impression.

The flowers my Dad ate

Then my Dad arrived and I knew what I wanted the next recipe to be. Nasturtium Salsa, made with both the leaves and the flowers. My Dad is a big salsa lover and I was interested to see what he would think. But first I needed my velvety red 'mahogany glen' nasturtiums to burst into flower. Obligingly I saw their gorgeous red faces appear the day after he arrived and I got to making this lovely, subtle but very fiery salsa. I didn't bother seeding my chilli, not for me and Dad to eat.

I'm having so much fun so far going into all the recipes and flicking through the pages. It's very vegetarian friendly but not exclusively veggie so if meat recipes bother you you might want to stay away. This is the recipe book to buy if you want to experience all the flavours herbs bring to the table.