What I have loved this week! Week 29. #FridayFavourites

I have felt off all week, out of whack again with what day it is and I've had little motivation. I'd like to say it was because of the heat but it has been slightly cooler here. Still hot but not as bad as it was and we've had some rain too! Hooray! I just feel meh so my favourites from this week are short and sweet. I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share the things that I have loved over this past week.

Live Aid!

On Saturday it was the 40th anniversary of the Live Aid concert. Obviously when it was on live 40 years ago I didn't appreciate it as I was only about 5 and a half years old. I have seen bits since but never the full concert which we watched as a family on Saturday night. My girls thought they would only enjoy Freddie Mercury and Queen part but knew almost all of the performers and quite a lot of the songs! It was fantastic to see all the 80's fashion and have a good sing along. It's sad to think how many of the singers have died now. What a huge loss to music!

Cherries!

I went cherry picking at my dad's. His tree has done really well and I got a great haul and made cherry crumbles which I blogged about yesterday!

Gousto meals.

We have had a break from getting the Gousto recipe boxes delivered for a few weeks as we wanted to have some of our favourite meals and we've done that and I am so over trying to think of what to feed us. Gousto makes it easier for me, offers different meals each week and lots of them are still new to us. Next week I have a new one, one we've had before and love and one we haven't tried but have had similar.

Discounts!

The day after ordering the Gousto box for next week I got an email from them with 40% discount off my next box, 40% off my second box and 20% off for the next two months. I thought it was just my luck to get it after I'd ordered a box but I clicked get discount and it applied to the box for next week! Hooray!

My 2nd decent discount was from Temu, I learned a trick to get credit applied to my account. How annoying is it when you buy something and see it for a better price a day or week later? It turns out Temu do something called a Price Adjustment. I'll tell you about it in case you didn't know. When you've ordered something you can go to where you track your order click price adjustment and it will show you all the items which are cheaper than when you bought them and you get the difference back in credit. I got just under £6. Fantastic!

Pretty flowers! (slightly battered from the rain)

A make do table!

When we shortened my youngest girls bed to make more room in her bedroom there was space for some sort of table or dressing table where she can do her make up. I knew if I waited I could get one cheap and did, well my dad did. He got a desk from the local auction for a couple of pounds. I say it's a make do one as Stu and I have decided we are going to get my girl a proper dressing table for her birthday with shelves, a big mirror and lights for her birthday and it's going to be a surprise so Shhh! She doesn't read here. hehehe

What have you loved over the past week?

Cherry Picking, crumble making and a taste of summer!

Every year like clockwork my dad's cherry tree bursts into life and fills up with cherries. Sometimes the birds get there before we do but this year we timed it just right. Since the middle of May we have been keeping a close eye on the cherries, we saw them growing and they were looking good. A couple of weeks ago they started to turn red but were not quite ready.

 I hadn't planned on picking cherries when I went to my dad's, if I'd known I'd have worn something different from a black and mostly white dress and white trainers. I don’t know what was more fun, the actual picking, the taste testing (purely for quality control of course) or the time I spent with my dad as we pottered around under the branches chatting about nothing and everything.

Picking your own fruit is brilliant!! There's no plastic packaging, no queuing at the supermarket and the biggest bonus of all they're free. The cherries were plump, dark and shiny, with that perfect mix of sweetness and tartness when you bite into them.

Cherries are in season now here in the UK, well it's heading to the end of the season. It usually lasts from mid-June through July to the beginning of August. So now is the time to make the most of them. You can find them at local markets, farm shops or if you're lucky like me growing in someone’s garden!

While they’re lovely in salads, on porridge or just eaten by the handful whenever I pick fruit the first thing on my mind is a crumble!! I know everyone associates crumble with apples in the autumn but cherries give it a whole new taste. They're ridiculously easy to make too!

So here is my go to cherry crumble recipe using fresh cherries.

For the cherry filling:

600g fresh cherries, pitted (about 4 cups)

2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

75g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp lemon juice (optional, but it brightens the flavour)

For the crumble topping:

150g plain flour

100g cold unsalted butter, diced

75g light brown sugar

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan) / 350°F / Gas mark 4 or your Air Fryer, there was no way I was using the oven on one of the hottest days of the year!

Prep the cherries:

Give them a good wash, pit them, a fiddly job but quite relaxing. I just use a straw to poke the pip out and pop them in a bowl. I remember years ago we only had paper straws and it was such a mess, metal straws are the best for this job!

Toss the cherries in with cornflour, caster sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and give them a mix. Cherries release a lot of juice when baked. A spoonful or two of cornflour (cornstarch) mixed in helps thicken the filling so it’s more jammy than soupy and a splash of lemon juice really lifts the flavour and balances the sweetness of the cherries especially if they’re very ripe.

Tip the mixture into your baking dish or whatever you have. I used some metal trays that we had in the cupboard as I wanted something to fit in the air fryer.

Make the crumble topping:

In a separate bowl, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs then stir in the brown sugar. Don’t worry about being too perfect, crumble is meant to look rustic!

Assemble and bake:

Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the cherries. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and you can see the cherry juice bubbling around the edges. That bubbling is your cue that the fruit is properly cooked.

Serve:

Let it cool slightly before serving. I always want to have crumble with custard but as it's a summer dish I like it with ice cream or cream poured over. Yum! Cherry crumble keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days. Reheat it in the oven or microwave or eat it cold it’s delicious either way.

Have you ever made cherry crumble before?

This or That: Summer Edition!

It feels like summer, smells like summer and sounds like it too! Tis the season of sunshine, sandals and sipping something cold in the garden while pretending not to notice the ever growing laundry pile indoors! I thought it would be fun to play a little game of This or That, this time it's the Summer Edition!

Ice cream cone or ice lolly?

It depends on how hot it is. If it is just hot I would choose and ice cream but if it is scorching outside I would go for an ice lolly. Something icy always cools me down. I am not fussy what type as long as it's cold.

Sunbathing or shade lounging?

Shade lounging definitely! I used to love sunbathing, I remember being a teenager and my friends and I would cover ourselves in baby oil and soak in the sun. Damaging our skin was the last thing on our minds back then and I feel lucky that my skin has held up quite well. Now I hate sitting in the sun, I just feel sweaty and sticky. It is no fun at all. Give me the shade anytime!

Water park or amusement park?

Amusement park as long as I don't have to ride any rollercoasters. I have been on some big and fast one's in the past but I seem to have got more fearful the older I have got.

Ice cream van or seaside chippy?

Ohh! Fish and chips by the sea is something special! I don't know if it's because I'm out in the fresh air or eating with my hands that makes the difference but fish and chips somehow taste better by the sea.

Coconut scent or mango scent?

Coconut! That just screams summer to me. I am using a coconut body lotion at the moment and I love it.

Stay in the UK or travel abroad?

Stay in the UK. I have never been out of the UK and I don't really feel like I want to. I know what's what here and I am not a fan of hot weather so I am happy staying on home soil.

Sausages or burgers on the BBQ?

This is a really tough choice, I love both. At this moment in time I think I would choose a burger as long as it's not too well done.

Slushie or smoothie?

Slushie. I rarely have slushies but I do love them on a red hot day! I want that brain freeze feeling while it cools me down.

Street food or bring your own picnic?

If we are going out for the day I would say street food. I don't want to be carrying a bag around with a picnic in but at the same time I do love a picnic. There's nothing better than a scotch egg or mini sausage roll.

Corn on the cob or coleslaw?

Coleslaw. I like corn on the cob but it is a faff to eat and messy too.

Sand between your toes or water up your nose?

Both sound like some sort of torture but I think I would go with water up my nose. Sand between my toes seems to be so hard to get rid of!

Summer playlist: 80s, 90's hits or current chart?

Definitely 90's hits. I was a teenager in the 90's and have so many memories associated with songs. Spice Girls Wannabe, Livin la vida Loca, The Macarena, Mmm Bop, Barbie Girl, I want it that way, Genie in a bottle and so on and so on. They all seem like cheesy, pure pop songs but that is what I like.

Slip 'n slide or bouncy castle?

Now I would say a bouncy castle when I was a child a slip and slide. My brother and I made one when we were kids from plastic tarpaulin and pinching the washing up liquid out of the kitchen, my mother was not amused.

Seaside rock or candyfloss?

Candyfloss! Whenever we visit a fair or a local event which has stalls selling sweet treats I always get myself some candyfloss.

Big floppy hat or sunglasses?

I would choose sunglasses! I rarely wear a hat of any sort in the summer but refuse to leave the house without sunglasses!

What would you answer for these questions?

Share our lives - Best Vacation Memory!

We're well into July already and the summer is flying over already! Please slow down a little. Anyway, it's time to link up with the Share our Lives bloggers and this months prompt is Best Vacation Memory!

As I am from England I will be using the word holiday instead of vacation. Using vacation doesn't come naturally to me even though my girls when they are talking about going on holiday say vacation.

This blog post was a hard post to write as I haven't been on many holidays in my life. Don't feel sorry for me. When I was a child growing up my parents ran their own businesses and we lived on a farm so it felt like one big holiday, there was always so much for my brother and I to do. The farm meant that we tended to have more day trips out and short weekends away than say a 2 week holiday, the animals wouldn't feed themselves.

One summer when I was about 8 years old my family and I we went to a seaside town, I am not even sure where it was but we had a couple of nights away. We all slept in one room and my brother and I caused trouble over breakfast because we picked ceral that we hadn't had before and didn't eat it then got a full breakfast and only ate the toast. Oops. Anyway it was a lovely break away. We rode on donkey's on the beach, had ice cream and fish and chips, went on the funfair, paddled in the sea and all of the usual beach things. I remember going to a show one evening and seeing The Krankies, they were a comedy duo and I thought they were hilarious! Fandabidozi! hehehe

Another summer we went away for a night and had a mystery day out. My brother and I didn't know we were going and my dad, the joker said we had to hide under coats in the back of the car because kids weren't allowed in where we were going. We were only going to a theme park (Lightwater Valley) and of course kids were allowed in. Goodness knows what the people in the kiosk thought my brother and I were doing when my dad was paying to go in. It was a big surprise and a very fun day out apart from my dad trying to get me to go on an underground rollercoaster called The Rat Ride. It was as awful as it sounded as it was themed around sewer rats. Eww!

My first real holiday as an adult was to Blackpool with a group of friends for my 18th birthday. We went for 3 nights. We had 2 wild nights out in pubs and clubs. We slept most of the days we were there so didn't even go to the beach and went out on an evening. It was all girls so we had the fun of all getting ready together, chatting up boys we would never see again, drinking questionable drinks and by the 3rd night we were worn out and had spent all of our money so stayed in the hotel watching some music awards show before we got the coach home. It was a holiday to remember!

Back in 2018 we had a little family holiday over Christmas with my dad and his partner. It was such fun but also so stressful getting the train 2 days before Christmas and then home 2 days after Christmas. It was before we moved closer to my dad so it was nice to spend some quality time with my dad. We had a fantastic few days, it was nice to have Christmas again not having to cook but the travel makes me not want to travel so close to Christmas again.

A couple of years ago we went back up to the North East for a family wedding but we had a couple of days in a city nearby, Newcastle and doing all the touristy things we never got to do when we lived there. It was so much fun, especially with the lovely hotel.

We are hoping to have a holiday later on in the year. I am not going to say much about it now, you will hear all about it when we are home.

What has been your best holiday?

I am linking up with:

Adrienne from Mom Life with Adrienne.

Dara from Not In Jersey.

Jen from Show me & Sweet tea.

Joanne from Slices of Life.

Sarah from Toronto Sam.