Picking Fruit

One of the goals on The List was to pick fruit outside...

066. Pick fruit outside

(See?)

I did this in August, had all the pictures and a writeup ready...and forgot to post it. 

Originally, I had intended to try and get to a farm that had a 'pick your own' kind of deal, but in the end laziness (and freeness) won out, and I ended up wandering the rural footpaths in search of free fruit!

I wasn't disappointed! Due to recent high winds, the ground in a public area was littered with windfalls. Some had clearly been there for some time and were in varying stages of rotting, but others had only recently fallen. (Note: I collected apples from here because locals have permission.)

I didn't pick any directly from the trees as the ones in reach were still growing. I only took a couple of apples, just enough to make something with!

As well as apples, I scored a little pile of blackberries, too, which were growing in my street. Blackberry-related food is practically a local dish during the season as there are tonnes of them!

My intention had been to make a blackberry and apple crumble, but at the time our kitchen was being redone, and our tiny old fridge didn't have any space for a tasty, locally-sourced, home-cooked dessert, booo! (We've since got a new fridge, which is massive. Hooray!)

The apples ended up being a treat for horses, and the blackberries were scoffed with some ice cream. Still very satisfying!

There's actually a whole bunch of foods that can be foraged for around here; I only wish I could recognise enough of them (and knew which mushrooms were poisonous...)

So that's one of my goals ticked off the list! Hopefully I'll be able to pick fruit at a proper 'Pick Yer Own' place one day.
If you want to go foraging, Wild Edible has a great guide to foraging with plenty of tips and advice. Remember to only take 10% (preferably less) of what is growing, be sure that what you're picking is what you think it is, and don't tresspass on private land.