Beautiful kittens! I hope everything is well with you and are surviving the summer. For the past week, I have been looking after my neighbours’ cats as they have left for a few days to go visit some friends and relatives. It is not the first time I have done this, however this is surely the longest time: it usually was for a weekend (Friday to Sunday), but this time is for almost 10 days. Absolutely not a problem, they are two cuties, a male and a female – will call them Loki and Nala – and the male is so affectionate and cuddly! They are two black cats and are rescues (the female has a sad story, she used to live in a small apartment in London with a dog and they used to fight so she’s quite defensive especially when you go too close to her tail).
“Nala”
I love them so much! These days, Loki was also trying to follow me back home, which is not a great idea because my rescue black cat is very jealous. On the second day of my “cat-feeding duties”, when I was going out to give dinner to the other two felines, my cat was following me – something that she very rarely does and she would have probably arrived to my neighbour’s house if I hadn’t decided to go back home, give her some food and wait 10 minutes before going out again. I went to the other two cats, they wanted extra cuddles. When I finally got back home, my cat was sniffing the shoes and the clothes I was wearing and she wasn’t too happy. So, now I have a change of clothes and shoes that I use when I go feeding Nala and Loki and as soon as I get home I change them so that I don’t upset her. She’s also been much more cuddly and she’s been bringing me more leaves than usual! It is a rollercoaster of emotions.
As usual, on these occasions, I go first thing in the morning to give them breakfast, then again at dinnertime. In the morning I can only stay 10-15 minutes so I try to spend a bit more time for their dinner to give them extra cuddles. Knowing that they are all alone, while they usually have two people living with them, breaks my heart. Much for Loki, as he’s the more affectionate one, but also Nala because I know that she likes some cuddles.
“Loki”
This kind of made me understand that it would be really difficult for me to volunteer at a shelter: all those unwanted cats that have no one but the staff at the shelter, that they don’t get as much attention as they would like and those that going to be sent to die because nobody wants them. I would probably end up taking them all! Or crying a lot because even if I were to re-home them, more would arrive at the shelter. True, if it weren’t for those who abandon cats, I would have never met Loki, Nala and my cat and my world would certainly be sadder. But all those poor souls left to fend for themselves, going from a bad situation to an even worse one of being euthanised because not only they have not been wanted in the first place but also later on after they have been rescued. So I know where I go with this: adopt don’t shop. There is no reason for you to buy an animal. And when you know more cats and dogs and rabbits etc. you will see how each of them has a different personality and killing them would be like killing babies. There is no such thing as an ethical breeder: even the “good ones”, for every kitten or puppy they sell, there are many more that are going to be killed. There are so many charities and shelters around you, that all is needed is a bit of patience. Some shelters might require a specific environment for that animal: if you don’t have the right circumstances then ask for another pet or go to another shelter. There is the perfect rescue for you out there! It’s what happened to me: there are two cat charities near where I live and while for one I didn’t have the suitable environment for the cats in their care, another one did. On the matter of allergies, I am sure that especially after Christmas you will find a hypoallergenic pet somewhere!
I hope this will help you consider taking in a rescue, you won’t regret it!
Happy Sunday, my kittens! Today I wanted to share with you the best vegan brownies recipe: you won’t need others as this is THE ONE. A premise though, because I love the soft brownies and I am not too much of a fan of those big, chewy brownies that you find around. These are soft and almost spongy, my favourite kind!
This recipe is by ChocolateCoveredKatie: she makes delicious vegan as well as keto and paleo recipes.
1/3 cup white sugar, unrefined if desired, OR stevia baking blend
2 tbsp cornstarch, or ground flax
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips optional
Instructions
Whisk the first 3 ingredients, then set aside. (If using flax, whisk it in as well.)
Preheat oven to 330F. Grease a 9×13 pan (or 8×8 for thick brownies), or line with parchment paper, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine all dry ingredients. Stir wet into dry.
Pour into the pan. Smooth down. Bake 16 minutes, or 24 in 8×8.
The brownies will look a little underdone when they come out, but that’s okay! Refrigerate – they start to firm up after a few hours and are nice and cut-able by the next day, and the taste is much better the next day as well.
Beautiful kittens, I hope you are well and had a good week. Mine was very busy as at work I have had requests for 3 pieces of research while also having to look into the possibility of applying for two grants to help the library. Yesterday I felt like making these Vegan Crispy Lentil Fritters by the VietVegan: this is my go-to recipe for when I want comfort food while keeping it healthy. It was not the first time I made them, but never talked to you about them, so I am here to fix this!
Oh my goodness, they are delicious, extra easy and quick and so simple, I am sure you’ll love them. Bonus point, this recipe also talks about feminism and Lisa’s experience as a feminist in Canada.
Soak the rinsed split red lentils and water together for 1 hour, until they have absorbed the water. Transfer soaked red lentils, onions, chives, salt and pepper into a food processor and process until smooth. It may seem a little watery but don’t worry, it’ll fry up beautifully. [I have to say that when I make them, I never use the onion nor the chives – I just go for some dried herbs like oregano and rosemary]
Preheat oil in a pan. Gently drop scant tablespoonfuls of the lentil batter into the oil. Fry 3-4 spoonfuls at a time turning occasionally until golden. Remove from oil and let drain on a paper-towel-lined platter. Enjoy!
The recipe calls for mayo and chipotle, but honestly, they are already so good I’d eat them straight from the pan!
I hope you’ll make them and enjoy them as much as I do.
Beautiful Kittens! This is a “Recipe Sunday on a Monday” – yesterday has been a very busy day and didn’t really manage to sit down and write. So here we go today! The recipe is for these beautiful and healthy Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies by HealthyLittleVittlle: I know, it’s warm and it’s not ideal to get the oven going, but I need comfort food at least once a week. But here’s the kick: the recipe I am sharing today is also very healthy!
3/4 cup maple sugar* (may substitute with coconut sugar)
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Method
Cook one serving of quinoa per package directions.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the flax eggs by combining the flaxseed meal and water together in a bowl and let it sit to ‘gel up’.
In a large bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, baking powder and maple sugar. Add the cooked quinoa, vanilla, peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter) and flax eggs to the bowl and mix until a batter forms, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then using a large cookie scoop (about 2-3 heaping tablespoons of batter per cookie), scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet leaving a few inches in between cookies.
Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes, they should just start to look golden- avoid over baking unless you like crunchier cookies.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes, then using the back of a small bowl or measuring up gently flatten the cookies, not too flat. Let them cool to set up completely and then enjoy!
I have been very lucky that since I was a child my parents have instilled the love for books and reading. My dad was already retired when I was born so he played an important role in raising me and I still remember him reading books on physics (and specialistic magazines on astronomy as well as computing). My mom was the one working every day and commuting and she loves reading and writing. Her commutes were a great time for her to get some time for herself and to read. Thanks to her work, one of the bonuses was that`1 she would get money in vouchers to spend in certain places, one of these was a bookstore in the city where she was working. It was always an exciting time when she was getting this voucher because she started taking me with her to buy the books for her and me. Oh! The books, the smell of that bookstore, paper and glue, the quiet buzz of people going there to buy stories but also to be in a serene environment away from the craziness of the city centre. I always enjoyed these visits and my mom never put limits on what we could buy (in terms of genre) and I think that’s a very positive way of educating kids as when you start imposing limits you’ll see that things like a taboo and eventually you might lose interest. Also, my little girl’s mind wasn’t going to be limited to “girly” books and if I were to choose an adventure or horror book, my mom would let me take it.
Now. You might think “But you are a librarian! You shouldn’t buy books, but you should go to the library!” I feel you, I really do and I wouldn’t agree with going to bookstores just for the sake of it, especially after my studies in Librarianship and having been working in a library for 4 years, I know that bringing kids to a library, making them understand the whole concept of borrowing things and then returning them. But these are peculiar situations: my mom was working till late and there was a small library in the village where we used to live with such reduced opening times that it was impossible for my mom to take me there; plus, the money was from the company my mom used to work for. So it’s almost a situation of “taking from the rich to give to the poor” kind of thing XD
On a Sunday we would all be reading something and it was such a relaxing time providing a break from the weekly madness of school visiting relatives and trying not to be bullied by schoolmates and the same relatives.
Reading has always been a pleasure. Except for those times when at school they forced us to read some authors or some books that I found utterly obnoxious – the authors – or extremely depressing – the books -: that was when teachers wanted people to read only those books that were deemed respectable enough: no comic books, manga, no Dork Diaries etc.
At the beginning of the school year, I would have been the second one to have read more books during the summer: no need to force me into reading. I would prefer the company of those fictional characters or learning about different species of animals to play with the other children. And that would also apply to holidays: every time we were going on holiday, whether for a few days or weeks, I had to bring with e AT LEAST ONE book: there would always be space for a book in my luggage. Probably now this is even more relevant because I tend to travel alone and having a book with me it means I am not really alone (not that I mind being by myself, but you know what I mean). It doesn’t matter where I go or for how long I am away, there has to be a book with me.
Benefits of Reading
Reading brings you to other words, it helps you develop more sensitivity and empathy when you read fiction, and it teaches you new things or strengthens your knowledge obviously, it might be that a book isn’t suitable for you (it happened that I couldn’t finish a book because it wasn’t for me or that I finished one but leaving me disappointed). This means that when you choose a book you’ll have to be careful because you’ll get into that world with those characters and you will be together for a bit. It is understandable when people tell me: “I don’t like to read, I look at the page and my mind goes blank” and I think that that’s because you haven’t found the right book. Yet. And with the book, I mean anything that is written because we are not all the same (otherwise the word would be pretty boring). Probably you have tried to read a fantasy while you actually would prefer romance, or you have been advised to read a history book when it is the latest anime that would make you happy. This is also part of the problem of the divide between readers and non-readers: some readers are too judgemental toward those who don’t read or what they read which makes the non-readers lose the will to read. We are all different and the main message here is we are all different: read, READ, read whatever catch your curiosity, whatever tickles your brain, because that will help you develop vocabulary, and grammar, it will help you relieve stress and more.
One of the books I read recently was the fifth book of “The Invisible Library” series which is not what you would expect. A beautiful fantasy with the main character a librarian but she’s a spy as well, if you want something fast-paced, with mysteries and intrigues, dragons and Faes and multi-worlds set in different periods in time, then this is for you. I always recommend it because Genevieve Cogman (the author) never fails to write a compelling story. Nice and easy read (might do a little review some time!).
To Conclude
Reading is one of the pleasures of life. Getting into other lives, other stories, learning new things. Don’t get discouraged by your past experiences and read all that you can.
Another week has passed and it’s Recipe Sunday! And today’s recipe is one by the LazyCatKitchen. I love them, their recipes are amazing and the results are always pure deliciousness so when I saw the recipe for this ragu I just had to make it. I know these days are hotter, but we still need comfort food and this is what you need, trust me. Lately, I had it with vegan ravioli and the time before that I had it with homemade gnocchi. Next time (which will be very soon for sure!) I’ll have it with tagliatelle. Se here’s the recipe!
INGREDIENTS
15 g dried porcini (optional) or mushroom stock cube
¼ tsp ground cumin (cinnamon or nutmeg is also delicious)
a good pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves chopped finely
4 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
2 carrots, very finely diced
2 celery stalks, very finely diced
180 ml / ¾ cup vegan red wine
360 ml / 1½ cups tomato passata
2 dry bay leaves
50 g / ½ cup walnuts, chopped
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tsp sugar (optional), adjust to taste
METHOD
Soak the dried porcini in 2 cups of boiling water until they soften (or use a mushroom stock cube dissolved in boiling water instead)
Preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F (or 20° C / 70° F less with a fan) and grab a large baking tray.
Cut the ough bits off the mushroom stems, then tear the mushrooms into strips starting from the cap. Chop mushroom strips into a dice.
In a mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, soy sauce, smoked paprika, tomato puree and nutritional yeast (a sprinkle of garlic powder is also nice). Mix well and coat chopped mushrooms in this mixture. Leave the mushrooms to marinate for just a few minutes up to a few hours.
Spread mushrooms on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes, give them a good stir and bake for a further 10-15 minutes.
While the mushrooms are baking, heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add diced onion, sauté until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the chopped garlic and sauté for about 2-3 minutes (until it softens and becomes fragrant), stirring frequently.
Season, add the remaining teaspoon of smoked paprika, cumin, chilli and chopped herbs. Stir well to coat, then add carrots and celery dice. Sauté for a few minutes before adding wine. Allow the wine to cook off before adding tomato passata.
Rinse rehydrated porcini under the tap to ensure there is no grit in them, dice very finely and add to the pan togeter with mushroom stock taking care not to tip in the grit that settles at the bottom.
Add tomato passata, the rest of the tomato paste, soy sauce and bay leaves. Reduce the sauce (lid off) on a low heat for about 20 minutes. Give it a stir from time to time.
Stir in chopped walnuts and baked oyster mushrooms. Taste, adjust the seasoning if needed. For best flavour, store the sauce in the fridge overnight for the flavours to meld.
Enjoy it with pasta, gnocchi or ravioli: you’ll love it! It’s so tasty yet the flavour goes well with also those more delicate foods like ravioli and gnocchi.
I hope you’ll make it and find it as great as I do.
So, some time ago I went to the beauty salon in the town where I live. Despite being a little salon, all the products that they use are cruelty-free with a choice of vegan products too: this is thanks to the owner of the shop, a lovely lady that loves animals and is a firm believer that animals shouldn’t be exploited in the beauty industry (she’s not vegan, but she’s doing her little bit by making a choice that I snot made that widely in the place where I live).
Anyway, I go there once in a while to have my nails done (and last year I was invited to three weddings so I felt I would have liked to have my nails and hands looking nicer than they usually do) plus the staff is always so nice and we often have a good chat and laugh.
The last time I went there, with the young lady that was doing my nails we were talking about making food, how good is it to have dinner ready when going back home after a long day at work and this kind of stuff. A bit of context, she is not a vegan nor vegetarian but sympathises with the cause, however, she lives with her fiance who is most definitely a meat-eater and also quite picky so it can be difficult to have him eating vegetables.
Then we started talking about how food cultures are different everywhere: for example, while here it’s almost unthinkable to eat a horse, she was quite surprised to know that where I grew up, horse meat is not that unusual. From there we went on that in many Asian Countries, dog and cat meat is also very common, and there she said: “Well, yes, in the end, what’s the difference between cows and cats? If you can eat a cow, why can’t you eat a cat?”. Like that. She talked about one of the main principles of veganism so casually. And I’m like “this is all veganism is about!”. It was very interesting and a different point of view from the usual one that I get in the village where I live: most of the people keep sustaining that eating meat it’s good, it’s only natural. True, here there are a lot of farmers meaning that not only the farm workers but also their families are more inclined to think this way.
Go Vegan word-art
So I am here basically alone in my veganism (after 4 years living here, I still haven’t found a single vegan despite media saying that vegans are on the rise here in the UK), and I this girl is talking about eating cows is the same as eating a cat!
This made me think that then the message is out there, we need a bit more advocating, showing that we are not extremists, just that a life it’s a life: it doesn’t matter if it is a sheep, a dog, a horse, a rabbit etc. A life it’s a life: as vegans, we probably have stopped, watching the heartbreaking videos of cows before being slaughtered, how you can see the fear and anguish in their eyes. It is undeniable. I always wonder if those killing them do see it, if they have thoughts on this. Even the animals raised “well and with care”, left out grazing: they have then to kill them. Don’t they see what we see?
The message is there, my kittens. We just have to keep going, keep spreading the word the way you are doing. But. Keep. Going. We can do it.
Happy Sunday, everybody! I’ve been having some busy days with some new projects at work, which is tiring but also so invigorating and I am always grateful for my job. Hence, I wanted to end the busy week with something comforting and this Vegan Beef & Broccoli by ConnoisseurusVeg did the job perfectly.
The first time I made this recipe, was also the first time I used soy curls: I got them from a healthy shop and was curious to use them, so I looked for recipes online and this one was a really interesting one. Plus it’s a “quick&easy” recipe, so it won the contest for “What Am I Cooking Tonight?” And today I am sharing it with you.
Ingredients
3 cups soy curls (I used a different brand from the suggested Butler soy curls)
2 tablespoons peanut oil (or high-heat oil of choice)
1 small onion, sliced into strips
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium broccoli crown, broken into florets
For Serving
Cooked rice
Toasted sesame seeds
Method
Soak soy curls in broth
In the meantime, make the sauce by whisking the ingredients together.
Heat the oil in a pan, then drain the soy curls from the broth and add them to the skillet.
Cook the soy curls for about 5 minutes, flipping them once or twice, until they begin to brown.
Push the soy curls to the side of the skillet and add the onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
Add the broccoli to the skillet and raise the heat to high. Stir-fry the broccoli and soy curls together until the broccoli becomes tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.
Pour the sauce into the skillet and continue to stir-fry the mixture until the sauce thickens and coats the soy curls and broccoli. Remove from heat, serve and enjoy!
Hello, hello peeps! I hope it is all good in your neck of the woods! In this episode of “Vegan Travellers” I’ll take you to another Nordic country, this time in Scandinavia: Sweden. Following is my experience, with the various mistakes I made (because of some very poor assumptions by my side).
Let’s start with mistake number one – The Weather
I already told you how I like cold places, that’s just how my body works and decided to go in August as that’s when I had a bit more holiday and thought that it would have been cooler in Sweden. The place where I would have spent more time was Stockholm, as that would have been the easiest way to reach other places. Oh boy, the disappointment weather-wise! I wasn’t expecting snow, but I sure wasn’t prepared for the +20 C! I took for granted that it would have been colder… Silly and unprepared me.
Anyway, it is what it is. At least, I had brought with me a mix of clothes: two sweaters and a few light T-shirts, trekking shoes and trousers, a pair of jeans and my loyal wind-and-waterproof double-layered jacket (of the kind that it’s basically a two-piece thing, with the fleece inside and a shell outside so that you can wear it all together or separately).
Like all the Scandinavian countries, Sweden is not cheap and if you go on a budget like I did, you have to look for the best options in terms of food, accommodation and travel so that you can still enjoy yourself while going easy on your wallet.
Mistake number two – The Accommodation
Regarding the accommodation, I stayed in a hostel that was quite central: it was the least expensive option without being too far away from the city centre (being by myself and having heard a lot about the rising levels of criminality in Sweden, I didn’t feel like taking chances). Having used hostels in Iceland, I thought that it would have been somewhat similar. Nope.
True, the most important things are cleanliness and safety. So they did deliver on that. But the place was very small and crowded. And very warm.
Also, when booking the room, there were a few options for the shared rooms: all-females, all-males, mixed. The all-females rooms were fully booked, but there was one last space in the mixed dorm, so having taken into consideration the location of the hostel and the prices of accommodation elsewhere, I decided why not? Well, I ended up in a small room with 3 guys: no, nothing untoward happened and I felt that anyway there was some kind of safety. They were okay guys, one was a student and the other two were tourists and it is nice to meet other people, which is one of the perks of hostels, but I had a sense of uneasiness underneath. This wasn’t only for the bedroom situation: in the kitchen and lounge area, there was a weird vibe. But maybe that was me, not used to the European hostels? To be honest, I have always looked for the cheapest B&Bs when around, or I have been lucky enough to stay with friends, so this was the very first time I was on a hostel on the continent.
While I am writing this, I think on one side, this doesn’t really matter: if you are lucky enough to be able to travel for leisure, what is important is visiting historical sites, cultural places, experiencing different food, immersing yourself in the nature of that place. On the other side, I think that where you sleep has also some kind of importance so not to spoil the whole experience. But “always look on the bright side of life” is one of my favourite mottos, so let’s get on with this Scandinavian adventure!
Mistake number three (might not be a mistake for everybody) – The General Hustle of the Place
Generally speaking, I love quiet places (so surprising!) and as a lone traveller, I find that I can experience best the places I visit if there isn’t much chaos around me.
On that holiday, I went from Stockholm to Uppsala and to Göteborg: even in Uppsala, which is very much a university city, places were full of families and children. Not very peaceful. Maybe was the time of the year, or maybe it’s because Sweden is very big on families: I found that it was all very busy and noisy.
But what doesn’t suit me, it might very well suit other people, so this is to say that Sweden is very much a family-friendly place.
What did I visit?
A great aspect of the places I went to when in Sweden, is that they are quite walkable and if you can’t walk, there are many services that you can use to go from one place to another. Here are the three places I visited.
Stockholm
When I arrived in Stockholm it was a mid-afternoon day of August 2019: it was sunny and fairly warm and the timing gave me some good time to still be able to check into the hostel and go for a short wander around the city centre to explore and have a taste of the place.
As I said, it was warm: almost every day it was sunny and albeit this made the temperature higher it wasn’t too bad for walking. During my walk, I got a map from a tourist point so that I could see what was within walking distance from the hostel and the various attractions. I kept mostly around Vasaplan and Norrmalm and in my wandering, I explored a couple of supermarkets to see what kind of food was available for us vegans and actually found that there was quite a lot of stuff! So, all good on that side.
Just a few photos from that first day and from the third day. You will see the Public Library: the building with the round hall and cupola is, a beautiful place free to access that I would suggest you visit if you happen to visit the city.
Before my visit to the library, I stopped at the lovely MyVegina, a vegan place just 5 minutes from the library: I had a warm sandwich, a smoothie and probably the most delicious donught ever!
hdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrBeautiful and delicious food from MyVegina
On the first day, for dinner, I had an avocado and a small frozen vegan pizza from one of the markets, while on the third day I had another avocado and a salad from one of the supermarkets.
After food, on the first day I studied the map to look what I could visit the next day. While looking at some stuff online, I found out about Uppsala, a University city and I thought of going for that.
Uppsala
Uppsala is also very walkable and there were two main places of particular interest to me: the Botanical Gardens and the University.
First I went to the Botanical Gardens,: they are gardens, with beautiful flowers (see the dahlia below!) and tres, so what’s not to like?! Then I went to the University. Why go there? Well, they have an impressive collection of old manuscripts on Sweden and this was very intriguing. If you are concerned about the price, don’t because most of these places are free! Also, it’s here that I found out that the classification in libraries is not the Dewy Decimal Classification: Swedish libraries created their own classification system around the 1920s and they’re sticking to it. I was so positively impressed and thought then that a change in the classification system I possible (there is a continuing discussion in the library world on changing the current DC system because Dewey was basically a racist, misogynist, etc. so we would like to find another way to classify the library stock).
In terms of food, for lunch, I bought a sandwich at one supermarket while for dinner I stopped at a 7/11 on the way to the hostel and got some food from their buffet (probably that’s something that has disappeared after COVID, because they had food in different containers, similarly to a buffet where you would pick your ready-made items).
On the fourth day, I went to Goteborg: caught a train early in the morning so that I could spend some 6 hours in the Southern city. In order to get an idea of the place, I took the little boat that goes around the city and it was brilliant! Goteborg is quite big, hence the boat can be e a good place to start on your visit to the city. After the boat, I jumped off at a stop fairly close to the area of the Natural History Museum, which I visited briefly (not too keen on the taxidermy areas). As per my usual, I wandered around the city, with the aim to go back to the train station but taking it slowly to enjoy the view. Also, along the way there was a vegan place in a very cute district, with indie shops, pubs, etc. and as it was around lunch time so I stopped there: the name of the place is Julie’s Cafe and I would highly recommend it, with amazing food and very reasonable prices.
The walk to the train station was very pleasant, visited a couple of churches along the way, and obviously had to visit the library: ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! It is a modern multistorey building, but still beautiful. They host so many things, from a game room, to an art room and so much more. Another warmly recommended place to visit.
At the train station there was a little kiosk called Happy Me Centralstation in the middle of the hall that was selling vegan food such as Buddha bowls: couldn’t resist so I got my dinner there, took it on the train with me and I don’t know how I managed to not munch it all there and then!
hdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrThe food from Julia’s Cafehdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdrhdr
The last day
When I was reading about the things to do in Stockholm, I found out that there are beaches in the city that are used by the locals to swim. I wanted to see this! So on the last day I went to find two of these places: one was very enclosed and small, while the other was much bigger, with chaise longs and chairs freely available. I spent a bit more time here, just to soak in the view and the absolute sense of tranquillity: could have spent the entire time there.
hdrhdrhdr
I closed my tour with a visit to the Vasa Museum
And for the last dinner in Sweden, I chose the Bastard Burgers as they have vegan burgers and nuggets and whatnot: again, delicious stuff!
Conclusion
This trip has been short and sweet: I haven’t managed to do much in terms of visiting indoor places because I mostly wanted to get an idea of the cities, but I definitely have enjoyed the experiences I had, walking around, the boat in Goteborg, the old manuscripts at Uppsala University and the quiet beaches in within Stockholm.
Some places I would definitely recommend are the two public libraries, the one in Stockholm and the one in Goteborg. Uppsala University is also something worth a visit!
Also, I haven’t been Norther, so I cannot talk about that area of Sweden and these are my experience of 5 days in Sweden.
Hello, my dearests! I am been a bit off the blog the past few days because so much happened! From visiting my parents to having to reinstall the Operating System on my laptop and recovering from some very busy events at work. In the meantime, I have been making these Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins by The HiddenVeggies quite a lot because it’s soooo delicious!
While it is very warm in many places, where I live we haven’t gone over 20C so I don’t mind using the oven. Also, I love making muffins, especially on a Sunday because they make the perfect breakfast for the weekdays!
You can make this recipe gluten-free, too! I have been making it with oat flour and it always comes out perfect.
To make this recipe you need very few ingredients:
Dry ingredients
2 cups flour any type will work
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (Plus another 1/4 for topping the muffins if desired.)
Wet ingredients
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup oil (any neutral flavoured oil or melted vegan margarine).
1/4 cup plant-based milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C);
Put dry ingredients in a bowl and mix;
Put the wet ingredients in another bowl and mix;
Pour wet ingredients on the dry one and stir;
Spoon batter into muffins tins/cups and put in the oven for roughly 18 minutes.
That’s it! You’ll have delicious muffins for your breakfast or snack.
The Vegan Cat Librarian 