Blackberries

It’s the beginning of September, the nights are really drawing in now, and the kids are back at school (: On the other hand, the sea is at its warmest, and there are plenty of blackberries still around. They should be nice and sweet now, after the last of the summer rays have done a good job of ripening the fruit.

Picking berries is a wonderful way to reconnect with nature and with what we eat. I picked blackberries at this time of year with my mum and sister on the way back from the beach as a child; now I’m doing it with my kids, and they love it just as much as I did! In fact, I’ve never met a child that doesn’t enjoy this simple act, and as an adult, you might even bump into your inner child if you are lucky. Foraging for berries really seems to be baked into our DNA and could be just what the doctor ordered after that first week back at school. Coming home with scratched legs and arms is expected as you stretch for the juicy berries that always seem to be just out of reach. Maybe try to remember to wear long sleeves. I never do!

Blackberries are very good for you, packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre, and all the other good bits, but most importantly, they are delicious if we manage to get any home after we’ve all had our fill at the source! We usually freeze some and make some into jam; however, our favourite way to consume these beauties is in the form of blackberry and apple crumble, a dish made popular during rationing as a thrifty replacement for the more luxurious pie. The kids and I think it’s the absolute best! I don’t really have a recipe for it, but it goes a little something like this:

Peel and chop two cooking apples and two eating apples, mixed together with your blackberries and a small handful of sugar, a sprinkle of powdered cinnamon, and vanilla, all in a heavy oven proof dish.

Mix 300g of flour with 200g of butter and 150g of caster sugar between your finger and thumb like your gran would have back in the day, until a rough breadcrumb consistency is achieved. Top the fruit and sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar. Bake at around 170 degrees Celsius for approximately 40mins until the top is golden brown and the fruit has started to bubble up in places from the bottom. For the best results, serve hot to a hungry, scratched child with ice cream or cream, usually both is best. 

Long sleeved Tees available online to protect those delicate wrists.

Big Love,

Jolene 

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