A weekend of gardening, cooking and theatre

Ben I spent a couple of hours this morning helping to plant 2000 bulbs at a local community garden along with some other volunteers. We managed to plant all of them and I look forward to seeing the flowers next spring.

We saw lots of earthworms including this big specimen.

Yesterday Elizabeth I went to see 101 Dalmations at His Majesty’s Theatre. We bought the tickets last minute and the only remaining seats for two people seated next to each was on the balcony which is right at the top close to the ceiling. I’ve not sat up here before. They’re much cheaper seats but you can still see most things although you are looking down on top of the stage. They’re wonderfully good value if you’re on a budget and you get a nice closeup of the beautiful ceiling.

The theatre was designed by reknowned architect Frank Matcham and completed in 1906 at a cost of £35,000.

It was a really good show. The dogs were puppets aside from one genuine Dalmation puppy that made an entrance at the end of the show much to the delight of the audience. The puppy spent the entire time on stage licking the face of one of Cruella’s nephews.

I’ve been making vegan cheesecakes regularly the past couple of weeks as the family love them and by combining a couple of different recipes I’ve found a deliciously decadent dessert. The recipe is below.

Base
1 cups cashew nuts
1 cup almonds
1 cup dates
1/2 cup boiling water

Filling
60g raw cacao butter
250g silken tofu
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup date syrup
2 cups cashew nuts
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 lemon

Topping
2 cups frozen berries
3 tsp chia seeds
1/2 cup water

1. For the crust, soak the dates in water for about 5 minutes then pulse with the nuts in a food processor but not too long as the base should be crunchy rather than smooth.
2. For the filling, melt the cacao butter in a dish over boiling water then blitz it with all the other ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
3. Press the base into a pie dish making it about 1cm thickness up the sides.
4. Pour the filling on top.
5. In a saucepan, heat the topping ingredients and stew for about 5-10 minutes then leave to cool.
6. Pour the topping over the cheesecake and refrigerate for several hours.