At this time of the year, countrywide, the hedgerows are sparkling with free autumnal berries. Sloes, rosehips and elderberries are all making an appearance, but it’s the bountiful blackberry that takes centre stage for most foragers. This autumn there seems to be an abundance of berries free for the picking. Rich in antioxidants and packed with vitamin C, these luscious berries are best eaten straight from the bush. They do, nonetheless, make the juiciest of fillings for tarts, pies and crumbles. 

Some evenings there is neither the time nor the need for indulging in puddings, so on that particular evening, where a good bounty of blackberries have been retrieved, I take the opportunity to make my annual Blackberry Brandy. As sophisticated as it may sound it is incredibly easy to make. Freshly picked blackberries, sugar, brandy and ideally a kilner jar are all that is needed to create this deliciously fruity liqueur. However, you do need a little patience, as it will be a number of weeks before you get to sample a sip of this tipple. When made in mid-autumn, this blackberry brandy will be ready just in time to serve at a Christmas feast. It can be drank with just ice, included in a cocktail mixture {I would love some suggestions, on this one} or used as a rather impressive pudding ingredient. After straining the brandy an added bonus are the beautifully preserved blackberries, which are perfect to be used in a Christmas pudding mixture or simply served over pancakes with a dollop of yogurt, as a very grown up breakfast treat.

Blackberry Brandy

Ingredients

250g blackberries

125g caster sugar

400mls brandy

Method

1. Sterilise a medium sized kilner jar or a large, wide-necked jar.

2. Very carefully wash the blackberries, then dry them using a paper towel.

3.Place the blackberries in the jar and top with the sugar. Pour over most of the brandy. 

4. Close the lid and gently shake the jar, helping the sugar to dissolve and topping up with the brandy as it sinks into the berries.

5. Place the jar in a cool, dark place and take it out daily, for the first 2 weeks, to give it a little shake. After this, just give it a shake once a week for 6 weeks. The blackberry brandy can then be left at the back of a dark press for another few weeks.

6. When ready to use, strain the brandy, using a muslin-lined sieve, into another sterilised bottle or jar and reserve the berries, which can be used as part of a dessert or popped into a glass as a tasty addition to a blackberry based cocktail. The strained blackberry brandy can be kept in a cool, dark place for at least a year.

The month of September has slipped away without me barely noticing. I'm a lover of lists and each evening I jot down the intended work, be it columns or photographs, for the next day. The pleasure that comes from ticking off completed jobs seems to never lack satisfaction; please tell me that you are all like this, or is it a case that I need to get out more?  However, for the past few weeks I've been unable to happily tick all the boxes each evening, as I have been unbelievably busy. Columns, recipes, photographs, radio interviews and cookery demos have proved September to be my busiest month since the release of the book. Naturally for someone like myself, who relies on freelance work, this most certainly is a good thing. 

I try to have the bulk of my day's work completed once the children arrive in from school, apart from an odd photo or email. With each new school year it appears that the homework has doubled, so most evening's are consumed with grammar, maths, spellings and the odd disagreement or two. I was never much of a homework-fan and as the years have passed this hasn't changed. Over the past few weeks, on any evenings which were dry, as soon as homework was complete,the children and I would each grab a basket and take to the fields to forage for berries, nuts and anything pretty we could get our hands on. It turns out that that evening walk really clears the head and works wonders as a stress buster for all of us.

Blackberry & Apple Cobbler 

I love foraging for autumn treasures. From what we've already collected we've been making jam and pies aplenty, but I'm also filling my freezer with small batches of berries for the making of autumn pies right through the winter. Blackberry season is almost coming to an end, so take the opportunity, this weekend, to enjoy a country walk and hopefully you'll pick enough berries, and maybe a few apples, to make this rather tasty cobbler.

Ingredients

1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

200g blackberries

75g caster sugar

Cake Batter

110g butter

110g caster sugar

175g self-raising flour

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

1 teasp vanilla extract

1tbsp oats

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas 6. Grease a medium sized casserole dish, with a little butter.

2. Line the bottom of the casserole dish with the apple slices and blackberries. Sprinkle over the 75g of sugar.

4. In a food processor or mixer add all of the batter ingredients, apart from the oats, and mix for a few minutes, until well combined.

5. Spoon the cake batter evenly over the apple and blackberries. Smooth over with a knife and sprinkle over the oats.

6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the pudding has risen, is golden in colour and cooked through. Serve hot or cold with custard, cream or vanilla ice-cream.

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In Other News

I'm absolutely delighted to announce that Nessa's Family Kitchen has made it into the final of The Irish Blog Awards. I'd like to whole-heartily thank those who voted for my blog. The other blogs in my category are ones which I read and respect, so to be included in such a line-up is an honour.

I've had a bag of dried carrageen moss, in the press, for the past year. A friend of my late aunts, from Donegal, gifted me with it, as I had mentioned that I had never used it before. Then last summer, while holidaying in Cork, Diarmuid and I had the most glorious dinner at Ballymaloe House and there, on the dessert trolley, was a large crystal bowl filled with carrageen moss pudding. I thought it was rather nice, for something that is so nutritious, and vowed to make it on returning home. Only today did I make it, for the first time. Carrageen Moss, also known as Irish Moss, is highly nutritious. It is very rich in iron, iodine, fibre and anti-oxidants. My Dad is currently struggling to maintain high levels of iron, so I'm trying to help him with some iron-rich foods. We had this carrageen moss pudding for today's dessert and tomorrow morning the boys and I are going foraging for another iron-rich ingredient - nettles. I'll be making Nettle Soup, as suggested to me by the very lovely Sally McKenna, who knows a thing or two about foraging!

The dried Carrageen moss can be found in most health food shops and online. It keeps almost indefinitely, when it's in its dried form.

This recipe is from the queen of foraging, Darina Allen. Darina claims that all the babies of Ballymaloe were weaned onto Carrageen moss pudding. All of my children tried it today and once sprinkled with a little soft brown sugar they seemed to enjoy it. It is best served chilled with a fruit compote. I paired today's pudding with some poached rhubarb, which worked wonderfully.

Carrageen Moss Pudding

Ingredients

1 semi-closed fistful (1/4 oz /7g) cleaned, well dried Carrageen Moss

900ml (1 1/2) pints  milk
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Method
1.Soak the carrageen in tepid water for 10 minutes. 
2.Strain off the water and put the carrageen into a saucepan with milk and vanilla extract.
3.Bring to the boil and simmer very gently, on a low heat, with the lid on for 20 minutes.
4. At that point separate the egg, put the yolk into a large bowl, add the sugar and vanilla extract and whisk together for a few seconds.
5. Pour the milk and carrageen moss through a strainer onto the egg yolk mixture whisking all the time. The carrageen will now be swollen and exuding jelly. Rub all this jelly through the strainer and whisk this also into the milk with the sugar, egg yolk and vanilla extract if used. 
6.Whisk the egg white until stiff and fold it in gently. It will rise to make a fluffy top. 
7. Serve chilled with soft brown sugar and cream and/or with a fruit compote such as rhubarb or plum.