That was the month that was July 2024

A month of catching up with friends and chores. Plus some great seasonal recipes.

Hello

and welcome to my monthly look back behind the scenes of what’s been happening both on the blogs and real life.

Almost as soon as I arrived back home from Greece at the beginning of the month, I met up with my best friend from Uni, who now lives in Sydney, Australia. Nicola is that special kind of friend where it doesn’t matter whether we saw each other last week or several years a go, we just instantly pick up where we left off.

Among other things, we decided to explore Kings Cross, an area that has been changing rapidly in the last few years and is now completely unrecognisable from when we both knew it when at uni nearby. We had a great day despite the pouring rain, and in the evening, we met up with my Popchoir friends for a pizza. They had heard a lot about her and vice versa so it was nice for them to finally meet up.

out and about in Kings Cross

A few days of hot sunshine in London, was perfect for the summer Popchoir gig at The Scoop by Tower Bridge at towards the end of the month. Having missed a lot of rehearsals this term I decided to sit out the first half and listen, but it was too hard to resist joining in the 2nd half. A lovely warm evening, we had a large audience in this fabulous outdoor venue.

Popchoir at the Scoop

Also, at the end of the month, a good friend of mine invited us to join her early retirement celebrations. We were treated to a tasting menu at a fabulous modern Caribbean vegan restaurant, Jam Delish, in Islington. Drinks service was a bit slow; we were on our second course by the time the pre-dinner cocktails for half our group were served. But the staff were friendly, and the food was fantastic, so all was forgiven.

Dinner at Jam Delish Islington

The middle of the month was more mundane with a lot of catching up on emails, back-end work on the blogs and tons of household chores all necessary but not very exciting.

I managed to get my pocket-handkerchief-sized London garden ready for the summer (better late than never) and spent two weekends at our cottages in Suffolk catching up on garden work.

On our mini allotment, we have been harvesting raspberries, potatoes and runner beans. This time of the year fruit and vegetables are so plentiful so I thought I would share a few seasonal recipes for you to choose from.

Until next time have a delicious week

Broad bean Hummus - Recipes Made Easy

Fresh broad beans are beginning to make an appearance and while not a huge fan of them myself, I do love this simple to make this broad bean hummus which has a deliciously fresh flavour. Serve with croutés, flatbreads or vegetable crudities for dipping.

Ratatouille - Recipes Made Easy

The ultimate summer vegetable dish

Carrot Top Pesto - Recipes Made Easy

Don't, waste the tops of bunched carrots. If you haven't tried it before you are going to have to trust me on this one.  If you have, you already know just how tasty Carrot Top Pesto can be.

Summer Strawberry Meringue Roulade- Only Crumbs Remain

Summer on a plate – Soft gooey meringue, mascarpone cream and strawberries quite literally rolled up into one spectacular dessert and served with macerated strawberries.

Raspberry and White Chocolate mini Trifles

I often only make trifles at Christmas, but why? These would make a fabulous summer dessert. You could make them with strawberries instead of raspberries in fact I think i might just go do that now!