Vegan fruit cake challenge number 20

The challenges are being ticked off one by one but it didn't work out quite the way I'd planned today. My intention had been to get the cycle ride done but the forecast rain and strong wind with gusty conditions meant I shelved the idea for now. I am going to get 100km done as it is a nice round number rather than 57 miles which is about 8km shorter but I am not going to kill myself doing it. I would much rather set out and cycle round the New Forest in the sunshine and keep my strnegth for the distance not the battle against the wind.

At 57 years of age, I must have earned the right to delay, surely?

Instead I got to work on a fruit cake having found a vegan recipe online. It seems the recipes are nearly all linked to a Christmas cake and this was no exception but it is a fruit cake. Having soaked the fruit overnight in some Tia Maria, I mixed the various ingredients together in the morning and popped it into the oven for 2 1/2 hours. I am looking forward to trying it on Sunday when we have more family visiting for Sunday dinner.

It looks ok with the main visible error being the inconsistent distribution of the fruit. You will probably see that in the photo. Otherwise it looks ok. I look forward to tasting it.

At the same time I had soaked chickpeas, kidney beans and butter beans overnight and got to work preparing vegan chilli, hummus and bean burgers. The chilli was delicious and there was enough to freeze. I put miso in the hummus in the absence of tahini and it tastes very good too.

That got a rainy morning out the way and I was able to get out in the afternoon, starting with a comprehensive re-packing of the motorhome. We have all kinds of things stored on board and I found more efficient ways of using the spaces which means we have a good deal of room for our trip in a few weeks time. I can't believe how much storage space there is on board. I also gave my car a good clean as it was full of sand following our trip to Sandbanks on Wednesday.

In lieu of the ride I went for a run and managed 7 miles again, the same distance as a week ago but a whole 2 seconds a mile quicker! I listened to podcasts and a playlist to keep me going and got lost in the zone so completely, a car had to sound the horn to wake me from my reverie as I headed straight for it, as it had pulled over to the side of the road to allow a car travelling in the opposite direction to pass. Jeez, did I jump!

I then got in the car for a drive to the allotment where I used the new cordless strimmer to tackle the grass paths round the various beds. Best of all, I picked raspberries, radish and spinach leaves to bring home and enjoy, our first produce of the season from the allotment. Plenty going on still with healthy crop of potatoes likely, good onions, spinach, beetroot, chard and raspberries.

By the time I got home I was pretty shattered and spent the evening flicking through various performances from Glastonbury.

I did also get reading 'Dubliners' by James Joyce, another of the challenges.