I’ve been away for a residential weekend as part of a study course I’m doing. It was the first time I had really had to rely on someone else to cook me vegan food. I had informed my college in advance, so just had to trust that the message would get through. I have stayed at the venue many times before (as an omnivore) and always came away feeling well fed. Traditional meat-and-two-veg type meals are the usual fayre, and the kitchen staff are a great bunch.

The food was fine, and I was grateful that they took care to make sure there was something for me. It wasn’t especially inspiring, mainly carbs and vegetables, but I didn’t feel hard done by. I was pleased that the apple and plum crumble they served on Saturday night was vegan for everyone, even if the soya ice cream I had with it was a little disappointing (I suspect it had been sitting in the freezer for a long time).

I always like to get out for a bike ride on these weekends when there is a gap in the programme. I usually go out first thing before breakfast, but didn’t manage that this time. However, Saturday afternoon I had a good ride up onto the moors.

Not very long (20 miles), but hard work uphill into a stiff westerly before turning round and getting blown back down the hill. For one reason or another I hadn’t ridden outside for a while and this felt like a bit of a grind, good to do though.

It was good to get home and cook. Dinner was very simple, but really tasty. Stir-fry veg fried in coconut oil, Amoy ‘straight to wok’ noodles, half a jar of Tesco black bean sauce and strips of fried tofu. I really like the stuff made by ‘Tofoo’ – there’s no need to press it, and it has a really good flavour, quite similar to an omelette.