Feeding the foundlings
Established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram, the Foundling Hospital in Bloomsbury, London, was a hospital ‘for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children.’ Today, Coram’s philanthropic organisation still operates as a charity creating better chances for children. An exhibition, Feeding the 400, explains how the Foundling children were fed between 1740 and 1950 – two centuries of fascinating archive photography and food-related stories including the running of the Hospital kitchen and gardens
Feeding the 400, until 8 Jan 2017 at The Foundling Museum,40 Brunswick Square London WC1. Visit http://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/visit/
Coconut milk powder
The irritating problem of needing half a tin of coconut milk and wondering what to do with the rest has been solved by the Coconut Company – coconut milk powder. It’s vegan- and dairy-friendly, comes in a pouch which can be kept in the cupboard after opening and makes the equivalent of 4 cans of coconut milk
Coconut milk powder, £4.49/250g from health stores or visit thecoconutcompany.co
Walnuts
Sharpham Park, synonomous with British spelt, has produced its first crop of organic walnuts, harvested from 300 walnut trees planted by Sharpham Park founder, Roger Saul, 12 years ago
Sharpham Park walnuts, £8.95/500g available from Sharpham Park, Glastonbury, Somerset, sharphampark.co.uk
Porridge makers
Dorset Cereals porridge
Blueberry muesli with blueberries, red currants and cranberries, £3.80/700g or gingerbread porridge inc oats, barley and gingerbread £2.49/420g (contains sugar) www.dorsetcereals.co.uk
Flahavans
Producers of terrific Irish porridge oats, have also introduced Multi-seed Porridge – a mix of oats, sunflower, flax, hemp and pumpkin seeds.
Multi-seed porridge oats, £1.99/600g from Waitrose, flahavans.co.uk
Moma
Raspberry and Coconut Bircher Muesli Mix, soak in apple juice for five mins, add milk/yogurt. Fruity and fibrous , £3.49/400g available Booths, Sainsburys, momafoods.co.uk
Mornflake
Milling in Cheshire since 1675, Mornflake makes a range of porridge inc oatbran, coarse oatmeal, jumbo oats and organic oat porridge £1.80/750g available mornflake.com
Primrose’s Kitchen
Dorset-based Primrose’s Kitchen make gluten-free, organic, vegan oats with calcium-rich chia seeds, £3.99/480g, available Ocado, Planet Organic, primroseskitchen.com
Winner of this year’s Golden Spurtle in the annual World Porridge Making Championships which take place in the Highland village of Carrbridge, is Bob Moore (87), founder of Bob’s Red Mill in Oregon USA. The Porridge Championships are affiliated with Mary’s Meals, the Scottish charity that reaches more than 1.1 million of the world’s poorest children with a daily meal in school. For details visit www.marysmeals.org
