NEW STREET ART IN ADA STREET

Yesterday morning we walked to Broadway Market by the canal. For being the Easter weekend, canalway walk side was quite (no bicycle terrorism) and despite few flakes of snow -yes snow!- it was a pleasant walk.

The market wasn’t crowded and there were few new stalls. Another newcomer to the market was the big blue bird in Ada Street. The olympic street art work which was there before and which was vandalised, wasn’t there anymore. It looks like the Londoners are getting over the olympic syndrome step by step….

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PETER AND ALICE

“When Alice Liddell Hargreaves met Peter Llewellyn Davies at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932, the original Alice in Wonderland came face to face with the original Peter Pan. In John Logan’s remarkable new play, enchantment and reality collide as this brief encounter lays bear the lives of these two extraordinary characters.”

Tonight, we watched Peter and Alice, a Michael Grandage Company play  written by John Logan and directed by Michael Grandage at the Noël Coward Theatre. When we first looked tickets for the play, all tickets were sold out. And then luckily, we found a couple of returned previleged tickets for this evening.

The play was great, the theatre was a impressive building, the actors’ performance was great. But having the chance of watching Dame Judi Dench in a London theatre was… Wooow! It was really amazing! What a unforgettable evening it was…

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COTTONS ISLINGTON

Yesterday evening we went to Cottons Islington, a Caribbean restaurant in Exmouth Market and it was wonderful. The restaurant, the food, the coctails, the music, the service, everything was perfect.

Caribbean Masterchef 2011 Award winning head chef Andrew McIntosh’s each plate was delicious and well presented. Before our bottle of wine, we tried one of their coctails, The Jamaican Mule, a Caribbean classic of Appleton Special Rum, Angostura bitters, fresh lime and ginger beer.

Then as starters we had Callaloo aspargus and goat cheese tart, drizzled with sun blush tomato dressing and Cottons Caribbean mezze platter, salt fish fritter, plantain, Buffalo wings, ribs and garlic and ginger bread.

As mains we choosed their famous curry goat served with rice and peas and sautéed goat fish, in a light coconut lime leaf curry sauce, served with sea food rice. As dessert we tasted spiced pineapple tart with mango sorbet.

And for icing the cake we tasted one more coctail which called “Killer Dopi”. The info on the menu about this coctail made us to choose this one  for closing: This one’s only for the brave. Four different rums, apricot liqueur, Blue Curacao, orange, pineapple & fresh lime juice. Created to turn the living into a “Doppi” that’s Jamaican for Ghost.

Delicious!

Photos: Cottons Islington

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ROY LICHTENSTEIN EXHIBITION

Steel freezing outside. But today we have been brave enough for having a walk toward the Tate Modern to visit Roy Lichtenstein exhibition. To avoid crowds and childrens we prefer to visit museums, galleries, etc. week days. But this time didn’t work. Because, the cartoon images were children magnet and the amount of running and shouting primary school groups unfortunately was making very difficult to enjoy the exhibition.

Anyway, the exhibiton was great and it was a great pleasure to see one of the American pop-art icons Lichtenstein’s works and to observe from a very close distance how incredibly he used the lines and dots.

After the exhibition we bought some books and magazines from the Tate Modern’s bookshop. Then we stopped at The Centre Page, a lovely old pub near St. Paul’s Cathedral for cold day energizer bangers and mash accompanied by a pint. Now it’s the time to have a tea at home and to enjoy our new books and magazines.

Lichtenstein Retrospective is open at London Tate Modern until 27 May 2013.

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HOT TREAT FOR COLD DAYS: SALEP

Salep is a typical Turkish hot beverage which we consume during cold winter days. Salep is named by it’s main ingredient, salep, which is a flour made by the tubers of a plant of  orchidaceae family which grows up in Anatolia.

For preparing salep, mix 30 g ground salep with 80 g granulated sugar in a pan. Add 1 litre milk while whisking.  Cook ower low heat until getting thick (like a cream soup), meanwhile keep whisking.

Put in a mug and serve with ground ginger and ground cinnamon.

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THE SHERLOCK HOLMES MUSEUM

When we first moved to London two years ago and living in Marylebone, Mr. Holmes was our neighbour. That’s why, The Sherlock Holmes Museum was one of the first museums we visited in London.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels famous character, consulting detective Sherlock Holmes was living in London, Baker Street no:221b where you can visit today the museum. The house is decorated with period themes and accessories which Sherlock Holmes was using in his adventures.

Also on the ground floor of the museum there is a shop where Holmes fans can find curiosities, DVD set of the Holmes series, Sherlock Holmes hats…etc. A funny visit if you are around London.

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YOGURT DILL BISCUITS

Looks like spring forgot to stop in London. Outside snow and freezing cold, at home fresh baked, fluffy yogurt dill biscuits with quince jam and cheese. Teapot full of  tea.

London weather! We are not afraid of you! (But if spring delays few more weeks, we will have few more excess kilos in our bodies).

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CINNAMON COOKIES

Delicious teaside treat for cold London days. We tried Cafe Rengigül’s cinnamon cookie recipe first time when we were preparing christmas hampers for our neighbours in 2011. Since then we didn’t make.

Yesterday, we wanted something sweet for our tea time but we used last granulated sugar for something else few days ago.  Nearby supermarkets sell only cane sugar and for not going to farther one to buy beetroot sugar in this freezing day, we were searching our recipe file for another option.

Then we remembered these cinnamon cookies made by confectioner’s sugar and suddenly, super easy, five minutes make/half an hour bake cookies were  ready to eat!  Here is the english recipe:

2 egg yolks

150 g butter

285 g flour

65 g confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

10 g baking powder

5 g vanilin sugar

for sifting on the top

confectioner’s sugar and ground cinnamon

Mix egg yolks, confectioner’s sugar and butter.

Add sifted flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, vanilin sugar and knead all together. It will be a no sticky, compact dough.

Take small wallnut size pieces and make small balls. Place them in a tray covered by grease proof baking paper.

Bake 30 minutes at 190°C in preheated owen. (Do not let them golden brown)

When the cookies get cold, sift the confectioner’s sugar and ground cinnamon mix on the top.

And eat and eat and eat…

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GRANNY SQUARE BLANKET

42 pieces done, 108 pieces to go!

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PHO EXPRESS

Pho noodle soup for a cold, dark (nooo waaay!) London day.

The tiny, tasty Vietnamese of our neighborhood. Big portions, fair price.

Pho Express is in 149 Upper Street, Islington.

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