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Cooking is one of my passions although I have to confess I’m not as good at it as family and friends tend to believe. Today I’m going to show you how to bake one of my favourite British recipes “Scones”. Bur first of all  ,  where does the word “scone” come from?

This Scottish QUICK BREAD is said to have taken its name from the Stone of Destiny (or Scone), the place where Scottish kings were once crowned. The original form was triangular-shaped  and it was made with oats and griddle-baked. Today’s versions are more often flour-based and baked in the oven. They come in various shapes including triangles, rounds, squares and diamonds and you may add raisins, cheese, walnut…

 Golden Scones Recipe:

225g self-raising flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 50g soft magarine

• 25g soft brown sugar

• 1 tbsp of golden syrup or honey

• 1 egg + milk
  Preheat oven to 220-deg. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
  (A) Put flour and baking powder in a bowl, add magarine and rub it in with your fingertips till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  (B) In a separate bowl, crack egg into a measure, lightly beat it and then make up to 150ml with milk. Beat thoroughly egg mixture, sugar and syrup till well-blended.
  Stir in (A) into (B) to a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured table, knead lightly and then roll out to 1/2 inch thickness.
  Cut into rounds with a cutter to make an approx. 10-12 scones. Place them, spaced, onto a large baking sheet; brush the tops with a lil milk and bake for about 10 minutes or till golden brown. Remove scones and leave to cool on a wire rack!
  A suggestion..? They are just lovely with clotted cream and strawberry jam if you  don’t mind the calories. Anyway, let me know if you ever make up your mind to try them.

Kindly sent by Estela Alvarez , a fourth-year student at the EOI 

Humanity has achieved amazing exploits for thousands  of years. For example, the control of fire and the invention of the wheel in the primitive communities or the sophisticated trips to the outer space nowadays. But if I have to choose one of the most outstanding achievements of mankind, it’ll the Pyramids of Egypt. I find them absolutely fascinating because they are still surrounded by mistery in spite of their age. Actually, nobody knows exactly how these extraordinary structures were built. Although it is thought that ramps, levers and pulleys could have been used to move the huge stone blocks which pyramids were made of, the fact is that archaeologists, engineers and other experts don’t fully agree  about the way they were constructed.

What I find particularly impressive is the perfect geometry on their slants. Moreover, the pyramids face towards specific stars, so it is a proof of the vast knowledge of Astronomy the ancient Egyptian civilization had. There are people who think that this famous monument is a vestige of an alien colony in the Earth built by creatures from another planet. I respect the beliefs each person has, but from my point of view, these people have seen the film «Stargate»far too many times. Anyway, I’m a bit more agnostic and I agree with the scientific research which has shown the pyramids were simply tombs of pharaohs.

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