Bicycles, Books, and Baba Ganoush

Nov 21, 2023

Wattbike

Santa came early as we replaced our turbo trainer with a Wattbike. The turbo required removing the back wheel of a standard push bike and attaching it to the machine on the floor. My husband and I are about a foot difference in height and swapping his bike out for mine was becoming arduous, I couldn’t (or wouldn’t or somewhere in between) do it myself and so I was riding less frequently and we had two bikes kicking around in the smallest of our three bedrooms that doubles as a gym and an office.

Cue navigating the second hand stationary bike market, which, let me tell you is full of scammers and shifty sellers trying to convince you to split the cost of shipping a 50kg bike who then go silent when we said we wanted to come see and ride said bike before making the purchase.

We drove down to Taunton where a real person was selling a real bike and brought it back to Wales. Initially a present for my other half, I think I’m going to get a lot of use out of it on my journey to getting back on two wheels. It keeps all sorts of stats, has 12 electric gears, and is totally adjustable for those of use over six feet tall and those of us closer to five.

Writing in Community

The London Writers’ Salon is my favorite writing community. It’s upbeat, wildly diverse and I get to meet new writerly friends from around the globe. This supportive community helped me through lockdown and beyond and for the past few years in addition to hosting Writers’ Hour, I’ve been part of the team that produces Writing in Community, an anthology of fiction, essays and poetry from the member of the London Writers’ Salon.

This is the first year we’ve had a 4-color cover, courtesy of the wildly talented Varosha, who’s Daily Faces residency yielded nearly fifty 5”x7” portraits of writers deep in thought (let me know if you can spot yours truly).

My role the past two volumes has been to project manage, to recruit volunteers to edit and design the book and to answer questions, make decisions and set up the shop where the hard copy or ebook can be purchased. All of the proceeds go towards the Bronze to Silver upgrade scholarship

Oil-free Plant-Based Cooking

Baba Ganoush

Eggplant, or as the Brits call them aubergine is an underrated vegetable. I’m obsessed with it’s versatility and ability to take on a deliciously smoky flavor when grilled or roasted. My partner, sister and I are traveling to Egypt this December and I’m very much looking forward to an endless supply of hummas and baba ganoush to pair with sunshine and swimming in the Red Sea.

Ingredients

2 medium sized eggplants/aubergines
3 TBSP lemon juice (or the juice of one lemon)
1 tsp cumin powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp paprika
3 TBSP tahini
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat your oven to 450F/230C. Use a knife to poke holes in the eggplants. Place the eggplants on a baking tray and bake for 45-60 minutes until the skin is charred black and burnt-looking (this adds the smokey flavor). Once the eggplants have cooled, remove the stem and skin and place the flesh in a bowl with the lemon juice, cumin garlic, and paprika. Use a fork to separate the eggplant and mix with the other ingredients if you like a chunkier baba. Alternatively use an immersion blender or food processor if you like a smooth baba. Vigorously whisk the tahini in one TBSP at a time at the very end with a fork (or blend or food process). Keeps 3-4 days in the fridge.

Nourish

Discussion about this post

Nourish

Bicycles, Books, and Baba Ganoush

Mindful Movement

Wattbike

Art + Culture

Writing in Community

Oil-free Plant-Based Cooking

Baba Ganoush

Ingredients

Method

Links

Do you live with a chronic condition?

Are you a writer who lives with MS?

Are you a writer in general?

Connect with me on socials

Discussion about this post