Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail. 25th August 2018 
Blackberry – Smart Fruit
Blackberry time is here! I thought that the lack of water over the last few months would have resulted in either no fruit or hard, dry fruits but no, the blackberries are pretty good this year, in quality and quantity.
I recall many happy blackberrying trips with my nan as a kid and her taking a walking stick to hook the best and highest fruits.
Nan used to make endless blackberry pies, tarts and jam but now the most popular way to use the little black beauties is apparently in a smoothie or with port as a sauce over game and pork.
Possibly one of the most unusual recipes I found is for blackberry leather – no, you don’t make shoes from it, it is a healthy Paleo fruit snack.
You’ll need 1 pint blackberries, 6-7 mint leaves, 2 oz honey and a dash of lime juice.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F., line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake long and slow for 5-6 hours, or until completely dried out but still sticky.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. Cut the mixture into long strips. Start at one end and roll up each strip. Store in an airtight container.
Other less conventional recipes you might want to try include blackberry cream cheese spread, blackberry and sage sorbet, blackberry BBQ sauce, blackberry butter or just add the berries to a stew or salad. Or simply add a blackberry to each little ice compartment in your ice tray before filling with water and freezing, for posh blackberry ice cubes ideal for cocktails and soft summer drinks. All the recipes are on the Internet, which you may be able to access from your Blackberry (see what I did there?)
For more recipes ideas and other gardening tips do come along to Llangynidr Show on Sunday and ask me and Radio 2’s Terry Walton – we’ll be happy to see you and answer your questions in a Q and A session at around 2pm.
Foraging for Little Fingers!
My blackberrying and other forays with nan taught me a lot about foraging in general; not only what to pick but what not to pick (sheep whimberries, for example!) and of course how far you can stretch over a ditch full of nettles without falling in. I was so fortunate for those wonderful walks to be such a normal part of growing up, and not only learned about the fruits, nuts and berries but also what to do with them once you got home … if any of them got home.
Not everyone is that lucky, and apparently in a recent survey more kids are now able to identify marketing labels and logos than trees and plants. So sad. But one woman helping to readdress all of that is Adele Nozedar, the author of The Hedgerow Handbook and The Garden Forager. And as well as writing about it, Adele is very ‘wellies on’, leading the most enjoyable and relaxed foraging walks in the beautiful Brecon Beacons (and I’m sure she’ll come to you if you can organise a group). Oh, and she also hosts Gin Workshops, if you need any more persuading.
This Sunday, at Llangynidr Show, she will be launching her new book, Foraging with Kids, (I wondered why it wasn’t called Foraging for Kids and then after reading the ‘alternative title’ to myself a few times realised why – much easier to forage for fruit). It is a lovely book, with beautiful easy-to-recognise drawings, by Lizzie Harper, of berries, plants, trees and fungi and some great recipes – some traditional and some less so. My favourite is the Pine Needle Lemonade and I think some of the recipes like Dandelion Cream Truffles and Pineappple Weed Ice Lollies will definitely have you making more room in your garden for ‘weeds’.
You can also download your free activities pack from Adele’s website. It contains everything you need to set up your own foraging event with a guide for teachers, parents and group leaders, a fun activity sheet for the kids to help them find their food and a recipe to try at home, a drawing and colouring exercise and pencils, a foraging calendar and some funky foraging stickers.
Adele will also be leading a foraging walk around the show ground on Sunday; her knowledge and sense of humour will soon have you and the kids forgoing the food aisles and foraging for your tea.
Find out more about the courses Adele runs at www.breconbeaconsforaging.com.
Thanks for doing this, Mike! gluten sensitivity