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We have spotted signs of life…͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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We have spotted signs of life!!Daffodils and spring bulbs are forcing their way through the frozen ground. A true reminder that nature really is a wonderful thing. It is so uplifting to see these signs of life as we make our way to the end of winter. On another floral note, let’s not forget Valentines is just around the corner and we have gifts for everyone wanting to celebrate on Tuesday, 14 February. If we are not talking all things floral, then our other favourite subject is food! This months foodie focuses allow us to catch up with the queen of curry, Mandira of Mandira’s Kitchen, provide a delicious recipe for the beautiful vegetable, the globe artichoke & there are our featured items too. There is always something new to try! So lets read on……
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A delicious selection of seasonal fruit & veg… Enjoy the colours & textures of early Spring… English Tulips Narcissi Blossom Muscari Daffodils Pussy Willow Hyacinths Snowflake
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Surprise your loved one…It’s that time of year once again…Valentine’s Day or perhaps a great excuse to indulge in flowers & chocolate! We are always ready to take orders for bespoke handties, please order sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment! Contact The Flower Shop Whether you are celebrating valentine’s, galentines or if you’d just like to treat yourself, here are just a few of our favourites for February 14th…
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On Sunday 19th March…Just a gentle reminder that Mother’s Day is fast approaching! If you are looking for something particularly special, then you might like to think about a Weekly or Monthly Subscription to the Flower Shop. Weekly Subscriptions start at £30.00 per week Monthly Subscriptions start at £15.00 per month We will of course be taking orders for bouquets online until Friday 17 March and over the phone until Saturday 18 March. You can order them for collection or our very own Netty will be on the road delivering all day Sunday.
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Roasted Artichoke with Garlic Mayo…SERVES 4 PREP TIME: 15 MINS COOKING TIME: 50 MINS Roasted artichokes are fun to eat and packed with flavour. Pull off the salty, crispy leaves to dip into an easy garlic, lemon mayo, then indulge in the artichoke heart! The UK artichoke season runs from around June to September, although smaller crops are sometimes grown in the autumn. INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200℃ fan. To trim the artichokes, cut off the stem and top inch of the artichoke leaves. Peel off small leaves on or near the end of the stem. Use kitchen scissors to snip off the pointy tops of the outer leaves. Cut the artichokes in half. Use a spoon to scrape out the hairy ‘choke’, including the purple topped pointy leaves inside. Squeeze juice from 1 lemon over the artichoke insides to prevent browning. Drizzle bottom of large baking dish (or 2 medium dishes) with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place the artichoke halves cut-side up in the dish. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves into each artichoke cavity. Chop butter into 8 pieces and put one in each cavity. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence over the 8 halves and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Carefully flip each artichoke half, tucking the garlic and butter inside. Drizzle outside of the artichokes with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover pan tightly with foil. Roast for 30 mins and then remove the foil and roast for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Flip artichoke halves over using tongs and remove the garlic cloves. Chop the garlic cloves on a small chopping board. Put the mayonnaise in a small bowl and stir in the chopped garlic cloves. Stir in 4 teaspoons of lemon juice and then season with salt and pepper. To eat the artichokes, peel off the outside leaves and dip the very bottom of each leaf into the garlic mayo. Use your teeth to scrape off the bottom flesh of the leaf. As you make your way to the inside of the artichoke, leaves become more and more tender and you’ll be able to eat the bottom part of the leaves. When you have peeled off all the leaves, you’re left with the heart of the artichoke (the best part!). Just cut into pieces and dip into the garlic mayo… delicious!
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Sometimes in our hectic day to day, the question of what to have for dinner can be a tired and unbearably difficult one. Thankfully, we stock Mandira Kitchen frozen curry dishes, the saving grace to a midweek dinner dilemma, or a cheeky weekend treat. So we thought it was time to chat to the queen of these delicious curry dishes. Mandira’s kitchen began in 2017, six years ago in her home kitchen in Surrey. |
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Would you believe that when Mandira moved to the UK, 2000, she was unable to cook! “I spent the next 17 years in the corporate world both learning to cook and missing the authentic homestyle cooking of India”. 2017 Mandira gave up her corporate career to follow her dream and passion. Mandira’s Kitchen was born! |
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There was a Supper Club offering from her home, before moving to the present location at Silent Pool in the Surrey Hills. From here, the business can cater with their homestyle Indian meals for corporate functions, weddings, birthday celebrations and parties, provide visitors to Silent Pool with a tasty treat and cook up the ready meals that go out to shops around the county or posted to individual customers via their website. |
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“Kingfisher were one of our very first stockists, who gave our then, tiny one woman band organisation freezer space in their lovely shop. We use Kingfisher Watercress in one of our very popular Watercress dal recipes. We enjoy working with like minded business, like Kingfisher, who shares the same ethos of fresh and local.” |
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What is your signature dish? “There is not one that stands out, our chicken dishes, vegetarian and vegan dishes are all popular, but if I had to choose one, it would be our first dish, Kaju Dhania Murg based on my mum’s recipe. The chicken is is cooked in a fresh coriander, coconut and cashew paste. It is loved by adults and children alike and has won numerous awards.” Umm, how delicious! |
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The ready meal market is extremely competitive. What is it that sets Mandira’s Kitchen apart from the others? “At Mandira’s Kitchen, we do not churn out a ‘curry’ because it sounds Indian. Each of our dishes carry a personal story, from my mother’s Kaju Dhania to my grandmother’s Jackfruit curry. We buy fresh ingredients, cook them with love and no unpronounceable bits! They carry within them happy memories of my family meals, opinionated discussions and the sound of laughter and are ready in less than 4 minutes!” How amazing! |
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Mandira not only cares hugely about what goes in her curries but is also mindful of the business’ envirnomental footprint. “We buy local and seasonal as far as possible. We also have a no single use plastic policy, using cardboard trays and sleeves without lamination. For large catering events we use palm leaf plates. Couriered orders are sent in insulated cardboard boxes with wool cool liners. We collaborate with local producers to buy “ugly and waste” products. The ‘naked’ waste oranges from Silent Pool Distillers, an ingredient in our Orange and Gin Chutney, is a prime example. The energy that Mandira gives to her business is incredible, with her sights set on being the favourite Indian meal business in the UK. |
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Hands on recycling …Our very own Jo is not only one of our tip top Flower Girls but she is also incredibly thoughtful, especially when it comes to the environment. Jo was mindful of how many blue hygiene gloves were filling our bins and investigated if we could dispense of these single use gloves in a more environmental way…..and would you believe it she found a solution!
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CTK Recycling Guildford collects plastic gloves as part of the Terracycle UK collection scheme. Terracycle UK is a waste management scheme that collects items that are difficult to recycle in household waste. Crisp packets, plastic pumps from cosmetic bottles, cat food pouches are just a few items from a surprisingly long list. Cheryl has set herself up as a local collector for Guildford. As a local collector, she acts as a drop off point for many of these items including our plastic gloves! Once 12kg of gloves have been collected, Cheryl will send them back to the manufacturer for them to put through their recycling process. How amazing is that! The benefits that Cheryl reaps from this are donations from manufacturers to her chosen charity. A win for the environment and a win for charity. |
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Indios Frozen Meals… Brought to us by foodie and model Jodie Kidd and her team in Horsham, Indios started by cooking healthy and nutritious food for our small humans! Their hotpots are now available for the whole family and are proving really popular. “All of our meals are prepared by hand - at our HQ kitchen in Sussex. Indio's hot pots provide you and your family with a quick, delicious and healthy meal which can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner (or even breakfast!).”
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Cocoa Loco Ethical Chocolates… Award winning Chocolatiers from Sussex (Another Horsham success!), Cocoa Loco have produced the perfect Valentines collection with their organic love hearts! Whether your loved one prefers milk, white or dark chocolate we're certain we have the perfect chocolate for you.
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