Fruits of the Hill

Well, 2009 was not a good year for plumstead plums, well at least in my orchard anyway, the late frost zapped the spring blossoms with the result that I only got 6 victorias this year 🙁

On the plus side, the weather conditions this year have led to a bumper crop of wild blackberries, I have never seen so many on the hill, and whilst still a bit sharp tasting, and with sharp thorns for protection – I had a go at my first blackberry and apple pie of the summer today, and it goes like this:

  1. several handfuls of wild blackberries, washed to flush out insects (no pesticides then, could be organic).
  2. the same amount of apple slices.
  3. a pie dish.
  4. sugar to take the sharp edge off the berries (if they are really sweet then this could be skipped).
  5. pastry as you like it, I just mixed together 5 Oz butter with 4 Oz of plain flour and 2 tbsp water for 30 secs, and then added another 4 Oz flour to make the pastry for rolling out on top.
  6. bake for 20 minutes at 200º celcius, then about another 20 at 180º.

With this year’s yields looking so promising, i’m hoping to make jam next.