Today, I’m taking part in the Travelodge #FlauntYourHaunt campaign and I’m going to share what I love about my home city. I’ve lived in Bath for sixteen years now, but not a day goes past that I don’t count my lucky stars that I ended up in this incredible place!
So what makes Bath so special to me?
I did it! I actually completed my first half marathon!
And what an incredible experience it was to be in the midst of all these runners making their way round my home city ♥
My ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots look the wrong way round as I started the race soaking wet and finished it dry. As we set off for Bath city centre, there was a cool breeze, the sun was shining and the sky was clear blue. I kept calling out to the family how it was the perfect day for running… no sooner had I uttered these words than the sky went dark and there was the most almighty downpour!
Stupidly, I hadn’t packed a waterproof coat or an umbrella, so I ended up soaked to the skin and freezing cold. Instead of heading to the runners village, I popped in Cafe Nero’s to try and warm up. At least I managed to stop shivering! Luckily, the rain stopped just before the race began and the sun started to peep out.
With thirty minutes to go until ‘the off’, I headed up Great Pultney Street to the ‘starting pens’. It felt surreal to be part of the running crowd. I couldn’t quite believe I was there! Suddenly the race started, and the only sound I could hear was the ‘pitter patter’ of thousands of feet. It was such a unique sound. I found it mesmerizing.
The first four miles went really fast, then it started getting tougher. I tried to keep up with ‘Pound Coin guy’ for a while. I did manage to say hi to him, but even his pace was too much for me. To ignore the fact my feet were screaming, I focused on the crowds and ‘hi fiveing’ all the kids I passed. Seeing their smiley faces definitely kept my spirits lifted.
Another highlight for me was being lapped by the winner, Paul Martelletti and runner up, Dean Lacey. I can’t believe how fast those guys can run! If I’d blinked I would have missed them! Paul was the first British guy to win the Bath Half in twelve years, finishing in 1 hr 5 minutes.
That’s a whole hour faster than me! I ended up finishing in 2 hours 5 minutes, which is quicker than expected. I even managed a kind of hobbled sprint finish 🙂
Once over the finish line, my body pretty much refused to move. I could barely bend over to reach the time chip on my shoe. I hobbled my way through the exit pens and collected my medal, finishers t shirt and ‘goodie’ bag.
I loved the t shirt but the ‘goodie’ bag was pretty dismal. I was kind of expecting a protein bar or energy drink. Something to rejuvenate me after the big run. But no, here’s what was inside…
Dairy milk bars and a Dairyfine Titan. Glad to see they catered for the plant-based runners 😉
But joking aside, I’m so glad that I took the plunge and signed up for the Bath Half. It was a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for me, and one that I’ll never forget.
The fact I got to run for such a worthwhile cause was the icing on the cake. Thanks to you guys, I’ve raised £436 for Mercy In Action. I have been so touched these past few weeks by your kindness and generosity. I can’t thank you enough. As promised in this post, I’ll be picking three sponsors at random to win some of my home-made chocolates. Since donations are still coming in, I’ve extended the deadline until this Friday, March 6th March. I’ll notify the winners by email.
Thank you once again, to everyone that’s donated and offered words of advice and encouragement. I couldn’t have done it without you ♥ xx
When the sun’s shining, June has got to be the most glorious month of the year in England, don’t you think? The countryside is lush and green, the roses are out in full force, and gardens are a hive of activity.
And after all those months of rain, it’s so refreshing to go out running without an umbrella (yes, I did actually resort to that, much to the amusement of others!) and head out on my beloved bike.
It feels so liberating to travel around on the bike. No queuing in traffic, no waiting for a bus or driving around looking for a parking slot, no expense. Just lots of fresh air, exercise and a chance to take in the beautiful views along the way ♥
I much prefer to take the scenic route into the city centre rather than along the main roads. It only takes a couple of minutes extra, but it’s so worth it. I get to see lots of gorgeous creatures along the way, like these beauties.
I always give them a wave and often stop to say ‘hi’. They’re very patient with me and this one in particular politely feigns interest in my incessant chatter 😉
Along with my exercise and travel routines, this time of year, my appetite changes too, and I’m craving lots of fresh salads, fruit smoothies and frappuccinos.
Though my appetite for pizza is year-round, the toppings change to suit the season. To celebrate the arrival of summer, for me, nothing beats our ‘Pineapple Sunshine Deepcrust Pizza’.
This is my vegan take on the classic Hawaiian pizza. The ham’s been removed, and replaced with an array of tasty, sunshine-filled veggies. If you wish, you could sprinkle on some vegan cheese, but these days me and the boys prefer to leave our pizzas cheeseless and let the veggies take centre stage.
If you’re a subscriber to The Vegan Kind Monthly Subscription Box (TVK), you’ll have spotted this pizza on the June recipe card. It was tucked in with a whole bunch of fab vegan and eco-friendly goodies, including a jar of Mr Organic Italian Sun-dried Tomato Pesto. It was the first time I’d ever tried this brand of pesto and I seriously loved it! It has the most amazing flavour and it works beautifully on the pineapple pizza.
For those of you that don’t receive the TVK box, I thought I’d share our pizza recipe here. I’ve also added some notes about gluten free and speedy options, as well as my vegan cheese recommendations (just in case you still love your pizzas cheesy 😉 )
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Makes: 1 large deep crust pizza, serving 2-3 people
Hands on time: 20 minutes Resting time: 60+ minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes Ready in: 1 hr 40 minutes
Ingredients
Pizza dough:
210g / 7½ oz / 1½ cups fine wholemeal (wholewheat) or chapatti flour (I use the latter)
90g / 3 oz / ½ cup fine semolina
½ tsp fast action yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
170ml / 5¾ oz / scant ¾ cup lukewarm water
Base: 3-4 TBSP sun-dried tomato paste or pesto
Toppings:
1 small red onion, finely sliced
½ small red pepper, sliced
½ small yellow or orange pepper, sliced
2-3 TBSP canned sweet corn
100g / 3½ oz / 2/3 cup fresh pineapple, sliced into thin pieces
2 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1½ TBSP pine nuts
1 tsp dried oregano
Light sprinkling of cashew ‘parmesan’*, optional
Garlic, chilli or herb infused olive oil, for drizzling
Method
Place the flour, semolina, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Pour in the oil and water and stir with a fork until it starts to come together, then work into a dough with your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and springy. Place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan) / 425F.
Tip the dough onto a surface dusted with flour and semolina. Knock out the air, then roll into a circle about 25cm / 10” in diameter. Transfer to a lightly oiled pizza tray or non-stick baking sheet.
Spread the tomato paste or pesto over the crust and add the veggies. (Be sure to add plenty as they shrink on cooking). Blot the pineapple with kitchen paper to remove excess juice before adding to the pizza. Sprinkle on the pine nuts, oregano, cashew ‘parmesan’ and a light drizzle of oil. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the centre of the pizza is cooked through.
This pizza is best served straight from the oven, however it can be served cold and any leftovers make a tasty addition to lunch boxes. The pizza will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
*Cashew ‘parmesan’: Grind together ¼ cup cashews and 3 TBSP nutritional yeast. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. [/print_this]
Notes
GF option – I haven’t made a GF pizza myself yet, but ready-made bases/crusts are available to purchase in stores and online. In the UK, the Venice Bakery gluten free pizza bases come highly recommended (I’m looking forward to trying them myself!)
If you wish to add some vegan cheese, I can recommend the Violife brand. It tastes incredibly similar to dairy cheese, yet it’s made with coconut oil! In the UK, you’ll find it in independent health food shops and online.
For a super speedy dinner, we love to make French bread pizzas using a large multigrain baguette or ‘Grand Paysan’ loaf. Roast the veggies for about 15 minutes in a little olive oil. Slice the bread in half and lightly toast on both sides. Spread on the pesto, then pile on the veggies and serve.
What are your favourite things about June?
What kinds of foods are you enjoying right now?
I don’t remember a year ever being as wet as this one! Here in Bath, rarely has a day gone by without rain. In the press, there’s talk of an impending heatwave. Hmm I’ll believe it when I see it.
Last weekend we finally had a break in the weather and we were itching to get outside and make the most of it. It was actually a Bank Holiday here in the UK and we had three days of warmth and sunshine ♥
We were pretty much outdoors for the whole weekend. On Saturday, we headed out on our bikes along the Kennet and Avon Canal and rode the Two Tunnels circuit. This is one of my all-time favourites cycle routes. I love riding through the Combe Down Tunnel. It’s got such a cool vibe! Just over one mile in length, it’s the longest cycle and walking tunnel in the UK.
On Sunday, we met our friends for a drink in Marlborough then headed to West Woods at Clatford, North Wiltshire. English bluebells bloom in late April/early May and you’ll find many woods are literally carpeted in them!
We timed our visit to Clatford just right. By going later in the day we found that everyone was leaving just as we arrived. For most of the walk, we were literally alone in the woods. It was an incredible experience. Truly magical! ♥
Of course there were plenty of sticks and climbing to keep Lil’ L and our friends’ grandson happy 😉
On Monday (our bonus day off), we went for a hike along the Bath Skyline. We did the circuit back to front and started at Bathampton Woods. Another magical place, filled with mossy trees and stones ♥
It’s super steep in places, so a great workout!
The official circuit guide says that, on average, people burn 735 calories on this walk! Luckily M had stuffed his backpack with leftover pizza and trail mix to keep us going.
The climbs are worth it as you’re rewarded with the most spectacular views of Bath city. It was pretty hazy on Monday but the views were still incredible!
We finished our walk in the city centre, which was abuzz with tourists and locals. It’s amazing how a spot of sunshine can totally transform the vibe of the city. It actually felt like summer had arrived! The bars and cafes were packed with people drinking and dining al fresco. Sadly it was short lived as the rain started again on Monday night, but at least we made the most of it while it lasted!
How’s the weather where you are? Today it’s so dark and rainy that it actually feels like winter’s returned! Not great weather for us, but perfect if you’re a slug or snail 😉
First, we had the Bath Christmas Lights switched on by Mary Berry.
Then there was the Bath Lantern Parade, filled with a huge array of paper lanterns which danced its way down Pulteney Street to the beat of Samba Sulis.
The Bath Christmas Market has been in full flow for the past couple of weeks. It’s been bigger and better than ever this year!
The Lantern Parade and official opening of the Christmas Market were even more special for me, as my mum and her best friend came to visit for the night ♥
My favourite time to walk round the Christmas Market has been during the evenings, when the crowds have started to subside. It looks so pretty lit up, with beautiful Bath Abbey as its backdrop.
And last weekend, Christmas came to our house too! M and Lil’ L headed to Colerne to buy a tree. When they returned home, they decorated the tree and the living room as a surprise for me!
After all this activity, the boys definitely deserved a cup of hot chocolate, which I made with the Elements for Life Spiced Raw Hot Chocolate, and topped with some vegetarian marshmallows from The Vegan Kind‘s latest subscription box.
And now it’s time for me to treat three of my lovely readers with an early Christmas pressie ♥ The Raw Chocolate Making Kit giveaway ended at midnight last night and the three winners, chosen at random by Rafflecopter, are…
93 Tamzin
339 Poppy
522 Jane
Congratulations to you all! I’ll be in touch to arrange delivery x
And I must say a big ‘thank you’ to Elements for Life for enabling me to host such a fabulous giveaway!
Elements for Life has a fantastic range of chocolate-making goodies and super foods available from their online store. They’ve kindly given me a discount code which entitles my readers to 10% off any products on their website. Just enter BOTGS10 at the checkout. This code has no expiry date!
Are you feeling ‘Christmassy’ yet? Now we have a tree, I’m definitely starting to feel more festive 😉
Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I only started mine yesterday!!!
This week it was my birthday. I never imagined that birthdays would be as much fun at the ripe old age I am now, but how wrong I was. I actually think this was my best birthday yet! I had a fantastic day, made all the better by the fact that M was able to take the day off work 😀
During the day, we managed to fit in lots of my favourite activities (as you’ll see, eating crops up a lot 😉 ) We started off with one of my favourite bike rides, along the Kennet & Avon Canal to Limpley Stoke where we stopped at the Angel Fish Cafe for a toasted tea bun and cup of coffee. We then continued through Monkton Coombe, the Two Tunnels, Bear Flat, Widcome and into the centre of Bath.
Along the way, we saw lots of wildlife, including this very cute baby rabbit ♥
For lunch, we went to one of my favourite restaurants in Bath – Thai Basil on Walcot Street – where I had a Thai red vegetable curry. It was creamy and full of delicious fragrant flavours. This has got to be one of my favourite curries ever!
After school, we went to the cinema with Lil’ L to see Epic. On the way, we stopped off at Hotel Chocolat to buy some vegan chocolate (I can highly recommend the Gianduja Bombe Selector – it’s totally lush!)
For dinner, we went to another one of my favourite restaurants, the Nepalese Yak Yeti Yak, where we had the delicious Dal Bhat Tarkari (vegetarian/vegan set menu).
Even though I was full up, I couldn’t leave without having the Kir dessert. This is one of my favourite desserts ever. It’s a creamed coconut rice pudding lightly spiced with cardamom. I’m going to have to try at make this at home one day. It’s so yummy!
For my birthday cake, I chose to make one of my all-time favourites – Chocolate and Lime Vegan “Cheesecake”. I much prefer these ‘no bake’ cheese cakes to any kind of baked cake, plus they’re almost impossible to fail at. You simply throw the ingredients in the food processor, whizz it together then freeze!
Here’s how I made it…
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Chocolate & Lime Vegan “Cheesecake”
Serves: 12
Hands on time: 20 minutes
Freezing time: 2 hours
Ingredients
Crust
150g / 5¼ oz / 1 cup raw unsalted almonds (or use a mix of almonds and pecans)
180g / 6¼ oz / 1 packed cup soft, pitted dates*
5 tbsp raw cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)
1 tbsp maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener such as agave syrup. I used Clarks Original Maple Syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
* If your dates aren’t soft, soak them in hot water for 2-3 minutes, then drain
Lime Layer
150g / 5¼ oz / 1 cup unsalted cashews
80ml / 2¾ fl oz / ¼ cup maple syrup (or agave syrup)
60ml / 2 fl oz / ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 2 limes)
½ tsp vanilla extract
53ml / 2 fl oz / ¼ cup virgin coconut oil, liquefied
Chocolate Layer
150g / 5¼ oz / 1 cup unsalted cashews
80ml / 2¾ fl oz / ¼ cup maple syrup (or agave syrup)
37g / 1¼ oz / 1/3 cup raw cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)
60ml / 2 fl oz / ¼ cup water
½ tsp vanilla extract
53ml / 2 fl oz / ¼ cup virgin coconut oil, liquefied
Grated dark chocolate or cacao nibs, for sprinkling
Method
Preparation
1. Soften the cashews for the chocolate and lime layers by pre-soaking them for 4-6 hours, or boiling them in a pan of water for 15 minutes. Drain and set to one side.
2. Grease a shallow, loose bottom 20 cm (8 inch) or 23 cm (9 inch) tin and line the bottom with non-stick baking paper.
Crust:
3. Place the almonds in a food processor and process until they are crumbs. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until combined. You want the crumbs to be slightly moist and sticky. Test them by pressing a small amount between your thumb and finger. If they stick together, they’re ready. If not, continue to pulse for a little longer.
4. Tip the crumbs into the prepared tin. Use the back of a greased metal spoon to firmly press down the crumbs to form a crust.
Lime Layer
5. Divide the cashews in two, and place half of them in a food processor or powerful high speed blender along with the liquid sweetener, lime juice and vanilla extract. Process until the cashews are completely grinded into a creamy mixture, stopping now and then to scrape down the bowl. Add the liquefied coconut oil and continue blending until the mixture is completely smooth.
6. Tip the mixture on top of the crust and smooth with a knife. Place in the freezer whilst you prepare the next layer.
Chocolate Layer
7. Place the remaining cashews in the food processor or blender along with the cacao/cocoa powder, liquid sweetener, water and vanilla extract. Process until the cashews are creamy, stopping now and then to scrape down the bowl. Add the liquefied coconut oil and continue blending until the mixture is completely smooth. Taste test and add more cacao/cocoa powder or sweetener, to taste.
8. Tip the mixture on top of the lime layer and freeze for about two hours, or until firm. Cut the cake into 12 slices and serve with a sprinkling of grated chocolate or cacao nibs on top. This dessert will last up to a week in the fridge, or weeks in the freezer. If you’re not planning on eating the dessert in one go, simply remove the required slices and store the remainder in the freezer.
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We finally got round to eating a slice of birthday cake yesterday and it was absolutely gorgeous! All three of us loved it and, even though Lil’ L went back for seconds, there’s still plenty in the freezer to share with friends and family (if they’re lucky 😉 )
Have a wonderful weekend everyone! xx
What would be your ultimate birthday cake?
Do you still enjoy your birthdays as much as when you were a kid? (or even enjoy them more, like me!)
