Cherry berry breakfast shake

We’ve found a secret cherry tree in the network of alleyways behind our house. It’s quite a tropical sight heavy with clumps of red fruit tempting the local parakeets in for a juicy snack.

When the heat of the day had waned a little, Matthew took the boys, a step ladder and a carrier bag for a spot of urban foraging. They came back with a full bag of twigs, leaves and plenty of fruit.

Arlo and Sam organised the clean up operation, taking the fruit off the stems, plunging into a bowl of water then transferring to a colander to dry. After a stifling day filled with sibling battles there was harmony at last. The cherries were a genuine family sweetener.

The flesh of these cherries is perfectly ripe, sweet with a pleasingly sharp finish.  We had a bit of a frenzied feeding session, before I quickly stashed the rest in the fridge.

I’m keen to experiment with cherry recipes after a spell of utter listlessness in this glorious heatwave.

Sam announced the first thing he’d like to make was a milkshake, so on a day too hot to feel like eating much I made a round of ice cold breakfast shakes in the Vitamix.

For a mega fruity hit I combined a handful of cherries with strawberries. I added porridge oats for  slow release energy; it thickens the shake, but the texture is still very smooth as the Vitamix just blitzes them right down. The honey takes away any sour notes for the children and the ice ups the refreshment stakes to the absolute max!

Cherry berry breakfast shake

handful cherries, halved and stones removed|
handful strawberries
500ml milk
2 tbsp porride oats
squeeze of honey
4 ice cubes

Directions: Fling all the ingredients into a heavy duty blender and blitz until smooth and frothy.

Tip: If you were making a shake for an afternoon treat you could take out the oats and honey and add a luxurious scoop of chocolate ice cream instead.

Expect more cherry recipes soon….