I have to laugh at myself for fitting the stereotype of my generation. In my defence, my collection of succulents is quite small and only takes up a tiny corner of one room of my home. I can also put them out on the balcony when it’s warm. I never thought I’d be interested in houseplants – chuckling at the couple who live opposite and have blocked their entire window and all natural light in their flat with a collection of huge plants – but I found myself craving something green while both botanical gardens were shut during the first wave of the pandemic, and so here we are.
Walking my usual loop in reverse on Friday evening, I spotted this sign in the window of a block of student flats at the University of Birmingham, left in suspension since March.
Saturday is treat day, and so yesterday afternoon I made a strawberry cheesecake. I’ve made a raw vegan strawberry cheesecake before, but I couldn’t find the recipe for it and so I looked online for some ideas. I found this recipe on the Sainsbury’s website, and loosely followed it to get an idea for proportions. The final cheesecake is very different to the Sainsbury’s recipe though, so I thought I would write it down and share it here on my blog so that I can remember the changes I made next time I want to make one. It’s a very simple recipe and you can’t go too far wrong. I’ve also included suggestions for ingredient swaps if you don’t have something on the list. The basic idea for this cake is a smoothie poured over a pressed almond and date base, and then frozen to set. You don’t have to use strawberries, you could also make it with blueberries, peaches, blackberries, or any other soft fruit you have to hand.
It’s been a quiet week for February half term. Ed and I often go hiking in Wales during his school holidays but due to the storms and flooding across England and Wales that wasn’t possible this year. Instead, Ed’s spent the hours between his morning and evening runs playing futoshiki and listening to cycling or football podcasts.
I’ve felt really uninspired with photography recently. I think it’s because it’s the end of winter and the weather (and light) has been terrible for weeks on end. I can’t wait for spring to come so that we can spend more time outdoors together.
