Forager's harvest.

I love recycling and getting something for next to nothing. Most of my quilt is from cut up clothes, odds and ends donated from mum and Bluebell, cut up clothes from the 50p rail at the charity shop and offcuts that I bought cheaply at Totnes market and Trago.

In keeping with the getting something for nothing. I love the abundance of fruit around at the moment. As I walk past gardens I keep noticing apple tree with boughs heavily laden with fruit and the blackberries are the biggest and sweetest I've had in years. I take a bag when ever I go out with the dogs and come back with at least half a kilo each time. I now have two kilos in the freezer and I'm about ready to start making jelly. I also kept the pulp from the crab apples, rather like olives (with the first pressing giving us the extra virgin olive oil) the crab apple pulp will give more juice and pectin when I stew them with the blackberries. It also bulks it out and gives it that wonderful Bramble jelly quality.
I've had my eye on a damson tree since it first blossomed and I returned today to strip as many as I could reach from the lower branches. Don't worry about taking them before they are entirely ripe, just like the plums in the supermarket that are like rocks when you buy them, they will ripen at home. I also pick them early as I want to get them before anyone else does or before they ripen and just fall off the branched.
They make the most wonderful jam, and great with toast for breakfast, also lovely in a sponge cake or even as a topping to a cheese cake. I will of course blog my jam making endeavours. Some years it's good and some years not so! We'll wait and see.
We also headed to Argos car park today and up the road that leads to the Callington turning. I was too late for the blackberries but well in time for the sloes. I also make jam from these. It is a really tart jam, not unlike blackcurrant and again, good with ice cream, in a chocolate cake (yes you heard right) or again, on top of a cheese cake. It's good with poultry or lamb. You don't get much and it's almost impossible to skim all of the stones out, but it is really lovely.