This blog has just passed it’s first birthday. I’ve not been blogging nearly as much as I set out to, which means that I’ve not been doing stuff as much as I want to do. Winter sets in and its hard to drag yourself out into the cold. This morning I was determined to do something about that before spring hit.

So I crawled out of bed at 5 in the morning and cycled up to a hill over looking Bristol to watch the dawn, cook up a breakfast and have a burn around the mountain bike trails before crossing the suspension bridge to the agency I’m working at in Clifton.

When I’ve used my beer can stove I’ve kept it simple, so this morning I wanted to push my outdoor culinary abilities. So with cold hands I made a Sweet Potato and Kale Hash. First I cut up some onion and garlic, fried it up with some curry powder, oil and paprika. Then I chopped up some sweet potato – which is a great vegetable to cook on a stove as it cooks quite quick – and then added some curly kale.

As I sat eating the delicious seasonal food, fresh from our veg box, cooked in the outdoors, I reflected on how nice it was to be having this strange breakfast. Various dog walkers that I waved to probably agreed. It was tough to get out of bed. It was tough to decide where to go. But it’s so rewarding to break up the norm once in a while.

I’m looking forward to spring, but I’m glad I’ve done something wintery. I vow that next winter I’ll not be so quiet on this blog.