Berry & Seed Yoghurt

There are so many suggested high fibre, gut friendly, longevity foods that I somehow feel there are not enough days of the week to fit them in.  My current fave Fruit & Seed Yoghurt breakfast has a plant count of 11, plus probiotic yoghurt

80g frozen summer fruits (blackcurrants, redcurrants, raspberries, blackberries) 

100g greek yoghurt

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 tbsp mixed seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, golden linseeds, hemp seeds)

1 tbsp organic porridge oats

1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

Ideally, mix everything together the night before.  Failing that, microwave the berries for 1 minute, then stir in the rest of the ingredients.  The summer fruits are very tart so I like to add a little maple syrup.

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Blackberry Ice Cream

A friend on Instagram gave me her recipe for Blackcurrant Ice Cream a few years ago, and included a version with blackberries.  Last night I made my first Blackberry Ice Cream with the big fat cultivated blackberries from my allotment, but it would be just as good if not better with wild blackberries.

400g blackberries
100-200g sugar
300ml double cream

Mix the sugar and fruit together in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring from time to time, until the sugary fruit juices begin to bubble.  I used 200g sugar last night, which is very much to my kids sweet tooth but less so to mine.  I would probably use less next time.  Turn off the heat and leave to cool.

Pass the cooled stewed fruit though a sieve and stir in the double cream.  Leave to chill in the fridge.  Once cold put in an ice cream maker.  If you haven't got an ice cream maker, put in an old ice cream tub and freeze for 4-6 hours, stirring every hour. to stop it freezing as a solid block!

Works well with all soft fruit; strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries...

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Blackberry Brandy is Go!

Finished off the last of last year's Damson Brandy last night to clear out the kilner jar to start this year's Blackberry Brandy.

The process, roughly based on the recipe for Sloe Gin in my mum's Food for Free book by Richard Mabey, is 1 cheap 75cl bottle of brandy, 500g of berries, 250g of sugar.  Leave to stew for a month or so then get sampling.

Last year's brandy soaked damsons will be pitted, pureed, and frozen in ice cube trays to be added to vanilla ice cream as the mood takes me.

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Damson Brandy

Having had a bad experience with gin in my youth, I usually make Sloe Brandy at this time of year.  But my secret sloe hunting ground seems a bit bare this year so I decided to make Damson Brandy.

The recipe I use is from Richard Mabey's Food for Free, and is the sketchiest of recipes.  I simply take one bottle of cheap/value brandy and pour it over about 1lb of fruit (I slit the damsons with a sharp knife) and 1/2lb of sugar in a large kilner jar.  Store the jar in a dark cupboard and turn from time to time to dissolve the sugar.  Richard Mabey then says this will be ready by Christmas.  But I'll be starting it as soon as the liquid has turned ruby red and the sugar appears to be dissolved.

In a similar vein, I made Blackberry Whiskey last year...

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