Welcome back Weeble Wobbles! It has been a while, as expected the Dawntrail expansion sort of stole me away but now I’m back to annoy you all here. Don’t worry though, for anybody curious, I didn’t let the expansion disrupt various bits of ‘behind the scenes’ personal development.

I figured given this week sees it being five years since I had the RAI treatment on my thyroid zone I would focus more on doing posts about things that I enjoy or enjoy the most. Oh want to know about the particular choice of fruit picture? It is from 2017 when I had to go do the whole business awards thing.

Anyway let us talk about FRUIT; The flavoursome, cronchy, bits of ‘natural sugar’ joy! Or should I say froot because that’s obviously the best way to say and spell it.

Apples

Growing up and for a lot of my early adulthood I really struggled with apples. Not because of not liking them or anything but because there is something about biting into a full apple that I just can never get my grasp around and I would just do these smallest of nibbles and it would go all brown and blerg before it was finished. Eventually I just figured chopping them up into slices was the way to go and from there they bring much cronchy joy.

Green apples largely win out though there is something incredibly different about a US Granny Smith than a UK one and they just don’t seem to hit the same as they used to. As a result overall pink ones are more consistent even with different types and probably win out but so many red ones just are on the lack-lustre side or just seem to feel sort of watery rather than truly cronchy.

Also apple juice, mulled cider and various types of cider (remember I am from the UK so if I say cider it is automatically of the alcohol type) are delightful. Apple chutneys on a cheeseboard or in a good salad and sammich are yummy too, then there are obviously apple crumbles and stuff too. Oh and sour apple candies are the best sour candy flavour!

Oranges

If you knew me during the end of Endwalker you might know that I became The Ultimate Orange of making my lala wear metallic orange pjs and have orange hair too. The reason behind that started as during break time with my static savage I was already having half-time oranges and they became the “lucky oranges”.

Now, when we say oranges I mean easy-peeler style so satsumas, tangerines and all that sort of smol orange not your big orange (unless it is going into some freshly squeezed juice). The sort that you can also put in a salad (of both the leafy type and the fruit type) or even better yet in a sort of coleslaw type salad. They do not cronch but they do go BURST with a delightful hit of freshness and when mixed with something the acidity is brilliant.

Orange scents are usually wonderful too. I have a particular thing for orange and ginger and have a couple of room/pillow/aromatherapy type sprays of this sort of scent. Oddly though orange candles are a bit hit or mix for me. Oh and I can handle the taste of artificial orange too, controversial statement orange starburst are better than the pink ones, or chocolate orange (which is usually actually orange oil) but to be clear not those weird US chocolate oranges with fondant or something inside but an actual chocolate orange.

Rhubarb

Alright. I grew up in Yorkshire, more specifically the rhubarb triangle where they force grow rhubarb January-March but it also grows in the wilds later in the year. We had a rhubarb plant in our garden when I was growing up, mum hated keeping that thing under control and even more so because of not liking to actually eat it. But this does mean I know what ‘good’ rhubarb is and love it fresh with sugar to dip it in or having loads of it to make into a crumble or pie or something. Again, it is cronchy HOORAY. The main downside is that it sort of does that thing like celery where it can be a bit stringy and feel like it gets stuck in your teeth if it’s being eaten raw.

You know how else I love rhubarb? In rhubarb and custard hard boiled sweets; which is basically just rhubarb and vanilla and does not actually taste like rhubarb at all. Or mixed into a thick Cornwall cream yoghurt; when it used to be rhubarb yoghurt season I would hunt those things down. Other people go around stocking up on a particular Easter chocolate or something but nope I would always be the person hunting down the rhubarb yoghurts.

Also several scented things accidentally smell of rhubarb or R&C sweets. I have a candle on the go that is technically mango, vanilla bean and sea salt that all combined becomes more rhubarb scented. Perhaps it is more just the nostalgia I seek out or rhubarb sweets actually are flavoured with mango and I have been fooled for all this time.

Oh also honourable mention to rhubarb gins and cheeses. Dishonourable mention to the fact that for basically my whole life whenever I type rhubarb I spell it rhubabr at best.

Honourable Mentions

• Mango. Especially fresh mango or if it is mixed with green tea. A green bubble tea with mango but then passionfruit bursty balls or jelly? Yes please.
• Grapes. Go cronch. Yummy. Grape flavoured things are bad. The US is weird. Keep purple as blackcurrant and blackberry please and thanks.
• Cantaloupe melon. It has THE BEST crunch and flavour of melon without being too sticky or liquidy.
• Banana. Specifically fresh banana because if you have ever had *those* chewable calcium tablets that are extra special vs regular calcium supplements you will know exactly what I mean. Also banana desserts or putting them in a wrap with chocolate and then airfrying it? Yes please.
• Berries. I’m currently being the Dawntrail Bloobewwy. They cronch too but of course they have a habit of stainy juice spurts. Less fun.
• Pineapple. Fresh fingers of pineapple. With mild chili powder or dried chili flakes or something. Sticky mess but worth it.
• Lime. Key lime pie, cheesecake, sweet things in general but also I love to cook with lime in savoury dishes a lot more than I do a lemon one. Limeade too (but I am talking (UK) lemonade with lime cordial mixed into it not pure limeade or Sprite etc) is probably my favourite “fizzy pop”.