Summer Crumble in a Mug

 I'm quite excited for this post because here's a mini recipe that I actually came up with myself! A trend in recent times has been the 'mug cake' which, if you're not already aware, is a super quick and easy cake batter which you make in a mug, then microwave for a couple of minutes. Quick and easy is right, but I've tried a few different recipes including ones for chocolate cake, vanilla cake, brownies and chocolate chip cookies, and I'm never satisfied with the results. I've decided that it's pointless, and if you want a piece of cake you're better off making a whole one to share with your family.

 Having said that, last summer I got into making crumbles. I love every kind of fruit crumble out there. I'm not sure what exactly it is about them. Maybe their sweet juicy fruits, or maybe the gooey bit of the actual crumble topping that's been saturated with fruit juices. Either way, they're such a summer food that I just think about all the time (okay maybe not all the time but I do love them). So, when you love a food dearly, what should you do? I'd say be selfish and keep it all for yourself. Not going to lie, there's a 'secret' location in my room where I like to store chocolate and any other treats that I happen upon.

 So, I've come up with a really simple recipe for summer berry crumble in a mug! Yay! I could seriously let myself go and just make like four of these all for myself. When I say simple I really do mean it. It's not like 'hey! Try our delicious cake recipe! All you'll need are these special flavoured sugars from Bremen and special Guatemalan chrysophyllum tree butter!' Literally. You'll be able to find these ingredients pretty easily. The one downside to the recipe is that you're just simply not going to get a crispy top on it. The fault of microwaves! Anyway, here she is;

About a handful of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 extremely heaped tablespoon all purpose/plain flour
3/4 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon butter (cold)

1. Put your berries in a mug or microwaveable glass and stir in the 1 teaspoon of sugar.
2. In a separate mug or bowl, stir together the flour and sugar.
3. Add in the butter to the dry ingredients, making sure to either rub in with your fingers or mash in with a metal spoon. The idea here is to make the crumble layer as powdery looking as possible. Rub in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Pour this mixture over the berries and flatten out.
5. Microwave on high for 45 seconds until the crumbly top has pulled away from the sides.

Tadah! Sorry about the slightly weird measurements but whatever; it's tasty! Add more sugar to the fruit if it's naturally sour. Oh yeah and you should probably leave it to cool for a minute so you don't burn your tongue. I hope you try it out and enjoy it! If you do, tell me how it turned out.

What's your favourite summer treat?

Anna x

My Question

 I have one question for you; what wakes you up in the morning?

 I don't mean the magpies attending their 5am meeting outside your window, or the builders as they drill and dig at far too early an hour. I'm not talking about your mother as her voice calls you in your dreams and then again in your darkened room, or that blasted alarm which sings out a chirpy, and quite frankly horrendous rendition of a wake up call.

 I'm talking about the grogginess you feel in your eyes and throat that travels into your chest and becomes a pleasant little flutter. The smile which wrestles with the muscles in your cheeks. The cool floor below you which tickles your toes when you finally kick your feet out of bed. I'm thinking of the grin which seems to fill each part of your brain, and tells you over and over about the fun you're going to have, what you're going to do for yourself, and indeed for others. The "this is going to be the day!" mentality which has you writing an abundance of to-do lists and goals, and gives you the motivation to complete everything on them.

 What does it for you? Duty, necessity, love, excitement? What pulls you from sleep and drags you out of bed in the mornings?

Anna x

Berlin in Black & White

 When I was twelve years old, my family and I went to Berlin, the capital of Germany for a few nights. I had only had my brand new camera for about a month, so I was eager to get snapping. Anything looked interesting, I would turn on my camera. I'd take off the lens cap, let it hang by the cord and point my camera, click the button. Done. That was kind of the beginning of my photographic interest. My camera was crammed with photos of things in my bedroom, in the garden, in Berlin and in our hotel. That was a good summer.

If you like photography, what got you started? I'd love to know!

Anna x

P.S my sister has just opened up a new blog dedicated to recipes, so we'd love it if you checked it out! 

All photos taken on Nikon Coolpix L110