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10 November, 2012 

A day at Vauxhall

What on earth can one do in Vauxhall, I hear you ask. Surprise, surprise, one can have a perfectly nice day of culture, food, shopping and some fun for the wee ones too.

About 10 minute walk from the station is Tate Britain where you can always find something great to see, right now The Pre-Raphaelites and Turner Prize shows are on, or just a stroll through their wonderful permanent galleries and some truly fab shopping in the museum shop.

Five minutes from the station the little ones can enjoy this sweet small city farm with ponies, horses, alpacas, goats and chickens as well as a vegetable garden and some play area.

Afterward head to the delightfully decorated Brunswick House Cafe for delicious lunch or drink.

The cafe, located in a beautiful Georgian house, shares the space with the most amazing salvage yard – Lassco. They renovated and recreated the house, every room has its purpose and is bursting with great architectural antiques and curiosities. Need a house number or a door knob from a specific era? That’s your shop.

After a quick glimpse at the MI6 building (featured in several Bond movies, including Skyfall) hop back on the train home satisfied.

Tate Britain:

Millbank, SW1P 4RG

Vauxhall City Farm:

Spring Gardens, SE11 5HS

Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30-16.00, free entry.

Lassco and Brunswick House Cafe:

30 Wandsworth Road, SW8 2LG

2 March, 2012 

Deen Farm and baby friendly muffins

I tried to keep this blog not too baby-themed but having a one year old, who wants to run like a maniac anywhere we go, my activities had to be adjusted to his needs. I try to do as many outdoor days as possible, something for the both of us to enjoy. Having my bike with a child seat made a huge difference and I can now zip through Richmond Park in no time and discover new places.

Yesterday we went to nearby Deen Farm where the kids could admire all the farm animals including very sweet looking alpacas and amazing turkeys. They even have a riding school. There is a farm shop where usually you can buy eggs that school kids pick (they didn’t have any yesterday) and you can feed the animals too.

There is a small garden and a picnic area where we had our lunch. Apart from sandwiches and flasks of tea I brought along savoury squash muffins and the babies loved them. It’s the perfect healthy cake-y snack for days out and I will definitely experiment with bananas and other sweet fruit and veg to make variations of these.

Pumpkin and rosemary muffins by Lorraine Pascale

180g self raising flour, sieved

130g wholemeal flour, sieved and bran reserved for sprinkling

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

pinch of salt

2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and chopped finely

60ml oil

2 eggs

100ml yogurt

275ml milk

1tbsp honey

1 mid size chopped and cooked or roasted squash

Preheat the oven to 200 d C and line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cups.

Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and all the wet ingredients in another bowl, add most of the squash and stir it as little as possible until just combined. Sprinkle the rest of the squash and the bran on top and bake for 20-25 min or until the skewer comes out clean.