Forest Fruit & Ginger Pimms - Bakemas Day 9

I’m kind of surprised I’m back here again, second Saturday in a row and I have another drink recipe.

Blackberry, Goats Cheese & Onion Tart with Balsamic Glaze

My blackberry picking has been mostly nonexistent this year, we did pick some while we were camping , one of the best things about cycling around country lanes is finding fresh fruit and people selling homemade jams and marmalade outside their houses. Having fresh blackberries on your breakfast outside on a sunny morning while camping, best thing ever!

Spiced Pumpkin Seed & Pecan Muesli with Blackberries

I have this very idealistic view of breakfast, early mornings, frost covered grass, sipping coffee, reading a book with a bowl of cereal. I think I just always like the idea of being a morning person and I honestly am, I love getting up early and pottering about, having time to relax and drink coffee before I do anything, although if I’m in a good mood I usually start what I’m supposed to be doing before I’ve even finished breakfast but having the option is nice. Problem is I’m only a morning person when I can actually get up...does that mean I’m not a morning person? Because I like getting up early and getting stuff done and I’m usually sleepier if I get up late, I just don’t like the getting up part. I also like to go to bed at 3 in the morning and unfortunately I can’t really have it both ways. One of the best things about muesli is that its healthy and really quick to make, okay, so it’s not quite as quick as pouring a bowl of cereal but I mean its close. Muesli used to be my favourite thing to have for breakfast specifically this version, but I've been making that for years so I figured it was time to spice things up a little...literally, because who doesn't love seasonal breakfast.

Berry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Crumble

This is a little bit of an odd one today. I made this recipe over a year ago and I am 90% sure I posted it, I have no idea what happened to it I just realised a while ago that it was sitting in my drafts folder with a title and nothing else, the post was completely blank. I’ve kind of been putting off re-writing this, not that I’m really sure why but a year on I think it probably deserves to see the light of day and it’s strangely coincidental that in my last post I used the same bowl. Anyway, enough about my potential incompetence and on to this delicious crumble recipe. The whole point of this recipe was to turn (probably) my favourite cookie, oatmeal chocolate chip, which I actually made a couple months ago on here, into crumble, maybe I was just looking for an excuse to eat cookies for dessert and make it seem entirely acceptable because in my head crumble is healthy, doesn't matter what you add to it. Obviously fruit is always healthy so we have a winner! Perfect for autumn or fall and still perfect for summer although it’s definitely a lot more like autumn here especially as the ground is covered in leaves which sadly were soggy today due to the rain so you didn’t get that satisfying crunch as you walked over them it was more of a squelch. I like that word, squelch.

Blackberry Muffins with Spiced Ginger Crumb Topping

Last week I had an exhausting day of chopping wood, painting and a lot of sanding directly in the sun. I came out of it with an aching arm and burnt shoulders. On the same day my mum and spontaneously I decided to go blackberry picking after dinner, this wasn't your usual drive to a place and mosey on down along the road filling your box. My mum had mentioned she kept seeing blackberries on her morning walk and even though it was a little early for blackberries we drove up to the usual place we pick them and they were miniature and mostly red. So our blackberry picking consisted of driving to a place spending a few minutes there picking the big ones then moving on, I finally had the idea to go look on the other side of town where we used to live and we hit the jackpot, well, mostly the jackpot, we filled an ice cream tub which is more than enough for what I wanted and at this point the sun was starting to set so we went home.

Is this tooting my own horn a little? I made these thinking well I've never had a blackberry muffin before I'm sure they'll be yummy but oh my damn these are good. I didn't think these muffins would taste better than my blueberry muffins but I stand corrected, the slight tartness of the blackberries balancing with the sweetness and the gingery topping my mouth is watering just thinking about them.