Blackberry and Apple crumble

It’s finally chilly enough to start enjoying some Fall foods. Soups, stews, casseroles and fruit crumbles. In England we would have been picking wild blackberries for a month or so, for jams, jellies and to freeze for the winter crumbles. I don’t see the hedgerows full of blackberries here, and when I was looking at fruit farm catalogues and websites for Blackberry vines to plant, I was confused by the varieties. Ours had always just been wild!

Picking the berries could be hazardous too; not just the thorns, but wasps (lots of them) would be flying around the ripened fruit. One time there was a Viper sitting in among the vines, still, silent, coldly watching where I was putting my hands. His forked tongue protruding, tasting the air, it’s movement what alerted me to his presence. A small scream escaping my lips, I removed my arm immediately. The Viper never moved, he was in the sun just where he wanted to be.

In France it had to be explained to me that no one picked the wild blackberries, which were also every where because of the Fox and rabies. Funny because in England when we picked and dropped a few, it was always for Mr. Fox. The windblown apples had been turned into Apple and ginger jelly, Blackberry and apple jelly. Blackberry and apple crumble 3 - 4 apples - I like to mix them up, Granny Smith, Fuji, Honey crisp, russets for the mix of flavor and texture. Peeled, cored and sliced 2 punnets of blackberries or one bag of frozen juice and zest of 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup organic sugar a little water 2 cups of all purpose flour 6oz/12 tablespoons butter Pulsed together in food processor Add 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 3/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup hazelnuts Pulse briefly. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in oven baker layer the crumble mixture on top of the fruit Bake in 350 degree oven for 25/30 minutes, turn the oven down to 300 for another 10 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. Although I prefer plain runny cream and sometimes custard.