Soda Bread

Ingredients
400g flour (I used a mixture of Quinoa (no more than 50g), spelt, rye and wholemeal flours)
2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 generous tablespoon molasses
25g olive oil or melted butter
450ml buttermilk (or milk with lemon juice added to it)

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.

Sieve the flour, sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and mix well.  Mix the molasses, olive oil and buttermilk together.  Stir the liquid through the dry ingredients quickly and evenly.  Scape it into a floured 20cm tin.

Bake the loaf for 20 minutes with oiled foil covering the top.  Then turn the oven down to 200C/gas mark 6, remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until the bread is cooked.

Super with a hearty winter soup or a bowl of lentils. 

Anish Kapoor, Turning the World Upside Down, Kensington Gardens

Kapoor’s stainless steel sculptures are situated within the beautiful landscapes and stunning setting of the Kensington Gardens.   The park is showcasing a series of Anishs' major recent works never before shown together in London.

This must-see exhibition runs till 13 March 2011, reflecting the different colours, elements and moods of the people and their surroundings across the seasons.

 

Fabulous, fun and free - for children too.

Darwin Centre cocoon, Natural History Museum

Take two children to the superb new interactive section of the Natural History Museum, and what do they want to do - play on their hand-held computers!  The museum did a fabulous talk with a resident entomologist about stick insects.  We had the rare opportunity of petting some live ones, although some of our group passed on it!

The magnificent cocoon structure protects and houses the Museum's most valuable specimen collections.  Designed by internationally renowned C F Møller Architects of Denmark, construction took 28 months and was finished in September 2008.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/darwin-centre-visitors/cocoon/index.html