The Favourite’s Files
For today’s blog, I wanted to talk about some of my current favourites. There are some recipes, music, podcasts, books and magazines. Plenty to get stuck into! Let me know your current favourites. Is there anything I should check out?
Summer Soundtrack☀️:
Let’s start with the music I have been loving recently. Since watching Glastonbury a few weekends ago (sadly on my television rather than in person☹️), I have gained a newfound appreciation for Myles Smith. I had seen clips of his set at Capital’s Summer Time Ball and was excited to watch his Glastonbury set. He did not disappoint! He brought the energy to the room and had everyone dancing and singing along. I loved that he played the guitar and thought that his live singing was really good. Since then, his songs have been in my head nonstop, and I continue to put his music on shuffle in the car. My current favourite is ‘Gold’, but that changes every other day… There are too many good options! If you love a folk-pop style with catchy, heartfelt lyrics, great instrumentals and an upbeat, nod your head vibe, check him out!
Another artist whom I loved watching at Glastonbury was Gracie Abrams. Again, the combination of the powerhouse vocals and skilful instrument playing was really impressive to watch. She engaged a huge audience, and the unreleased music got me very excited for her next album. At the moment, I love listening to ‘That’s So True’, the perfect sing-along for a car journey. She is worth checking out, especially in the summer months, I think.
Moving on from Glastonbury, other artists who keep appearing in my playlists at the moment are Finneas and Ashe’s band ‘The Favors’ and Alex Warren. Both of these have new music coming out this year, which I am really excited about.
If you wanted to give any of these artists a go, I have created a current favourites playlist on Spotify.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4fUwqOqzoxGkDIoPsnisNq?si=cd88bba0d3224a9f
I also wanted to mention in this section my current favourite podcast, and that is ‘Hey Now! Hey Now!’ Hosted by childhood friends Emily Sandford and Barney Leigh, this is a 90s and 2000s movie nostalgia podcast, guaranteed to make you smile. Listening to this podcast brings me so much joy. It is comforting, funny, lighthearted and exactly the kind of podcast you would make with your bestie! Take a look at their episodes and give one a listen. I don’t think you will regret it!
https://open.spotify.com/show/2jNQJzf6KPPAw5oFzyIeqS?si=MAcT1TiNQ8SpQfbf3grkDg
Summer in a bowl🥗:
Recently, with the hot weather, I haven’t wanted to eat the classic home-cooked meals like lasagne or curry. It is simply too hot! If you can relate, this recipe could be for you. It is an Emily English (emilythenutritionist on Instagram) recipe, one of many of hers that I love and keep going back to. It is the smashed potato and peach salad with whipped goat’s cheese and basil dressing. I will link the recipe, but to summarise, it combines lovely crispy potatoes, peaches, tomatoes and peppers with a whipped goat’s cheese and a basil dressing. In her recipe, she makes the basil dressing from scratch. I am too lazy for this, so I brought some green pesto and mixed it with some water to make it a liquid consistency to pour over the top. My boyfriend and I have had this once for lunch and once for dinner over the past few weeks. To bulk it up a bit for dinner, we added parma ham, which we fried till crispy. This worked so well, particularly with the peaches. Her recipe serves 4 to 6, so it is the perfect sharing platter or alternatively, makes great leftovers. It tastes like summer in a bowl! If you make it, please let me know what you think!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLX96IkoY9N/?igsh=YjJjZG5pY2x0N3d2.
I am the type of person who needs something sweet after dinner. Another obsession of mine lately is making cookie dough. It is so much quicker than making cookies, is nice and cold for the hot weather and doesn’t require any baking! We have been using a BBC recipe and found that it is the perfect sweet treat. Super quick to make and sets quickly in the freezer. Perfect!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cookie_dough_58756.
I have recently started having coconut milk with my iced matchas, and it has changed the game for me. It makes it so nice and creamy, adds some sweetness, and with mango flavouring, tastes like a pina colada! I was always suspicious and didn’t think that it would taste nice, but I won’t look back now. It doesn’t make the drink taste overly coconut-y and doesn’t take away the flavour of the syrup like I find oat or almond milk sometimes can. If you haven’t tried this combination, give it a go the next time you have an iced matcha. The perfect summery drink!
Summer Shelf📖:
I love reading in the summer months, and at the moment, I am reading Larry Lamb’s debut novel, ‘All Wrapped Up.’ Although I have not finished it, I still wanted to share it in this blog as I am enjoying it a lot and think that it is the perfect read for the summer. Set on a Caribbean island with likeable characters and an interesting plot about the film industry, it is the perfect summer book.
Something else which I am enjoying at the moment is reading The Good Trade’s ‘The Daily Good’, which is a 30-second daily newsletter sent to your email, Monday to Friday. It begins with a quote of the day and follows on to a music or podcast suggestion, an article to read by The Good Trade, something to browse (products or clothes, for example, something to make, news from their community, an Editor’s pick and finally, a comment from a reader. I love to start my day by reading this newsletter. It is quick, concise and positive, which is so lovely. If you haven’t heard of The Good Trade before, I urge you to look them up and subscribe!
https://www.instagram.com/thegoodtrade?igsh=Y2lnM3U4Njh2ODVv
Thank you for reading. I loved writing about my current favourites and hope you find something new from my list :)
