Strawberry Fields Forever

I had a lovely weekend playing at farm parks with my friends. I had two favourite parts – one was horse-riding for the first time with my friend Georgia; the other was strawberry picking with my BFF Euan. Here’s a little story about it along with some strawberry facts, an awesome tip from my clever Mummy to make your strawbs’ last longer and a strawberry craft idea for the summer holidays…

I’ve only got eyes for yummy strawberries!

Briarlands Farm

We visited the wonderful Briarlands Farm on Saturday which is one of my favourite places to hang out. There is always plenty to do there from the bouncy pillows to go-karting, petting the animals to going on tractor rides (and we did ALL of that!) At this time of year Briarlands is extra special as you can pick your own strawberries too. So, Euan, Tilda and I went off to the polytunnels to get picking. All of the strawberries at Briarlands are raised up which makes them easy for us to pick. Tilda and I picked a whole punnet each (and may have popped one or two in our mouths along the way, just to make sure they tasted OK, oh and yes they did! But ssshhh, don’t tell anyone!)

Euan and I had a great time strawberry picking!

Strawberry Facts

So, I thought that seeing as strawberries are in season, that I would share some amazing strawb’ facts with you. Did you know that…

Strawberries are the only fruit to wear their seeds on the outside?!
There are 200 seeds on an average strawberry!
Strawberries are actually a member of the rose family!
Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen.
Strawberries have more Vitamin C per serving than an orange.

We had lots of punnets full of yummy strawberries to take home!

And one last fact from my super clever mummy. If you are buying LOTS of strawberries like we did at Briarlands, which might take (even strawberry lovers like me and Tilda) a few days to eat, here’s how to make them last longer. Mix 4 cups of water with 1/2 cup of any type of vinegar. Sit the strawberries in the mixture for 2-3 minutes, give them a swirl round then rinse off with some water. Leave them to air dry. Use the vinegar mixture to clean out your punnets so there are no spores left in there. Your strawberries will last longer (if you don’t eat them all first!) and don’t worry, they definitely don’t taste of vinegar.

Make sure your strawberries are left to dry before putting them away

Strawberry craft project

And one way to make your strawberries last forever is with a lovely craft project for the summer holidays. You just need some pebbles and some paint and you can make your very own strawberry patch!

Happy strawberry picking everyone!

Lulu x

Brambly Blog

Hey everyone. It’s the time of year when the hedgerows are bursting with brambles (aka blackberries) and us bramblers (namely my BFF Euan and myself) are to be found with purple fingers and tell tale purple mouths! It’s good fun going hunting for brambles and seeing how many you can get past your mouth and into your tub. In this latest brambly blog I tell you some wonderful bramble facts as well as sharing a lovely recipe which uses them up (along with a few apples from my garden), yum!

We're going on a bramble hunt, we're gonna find a big one!

Brambling with my pal Euan

Did you know…

Blackberries (or brambles) are not actually true berries. They are “aggregate fruits”.
The thorny stems of the bramble were used as “barbed wire” by ancient Britons!
There are over 400 micro-species of brambles across the UK
What do you get if you cross a Bramble and a Raspberry? No, it’s not a joke. You get a Loganberry!
Brambles are a valuable source of food for wildlife and especially birds so make sure you leave a few on the hedgerow for our feathered friends.
Brambles are really invasive so if you want to grow them in your garden make sure you keep them well pruned.

Top tips for brambling:

We recommend long sleeved tops when brambling too so you don’t get scratched by the jaggy stems.
Be careful where you are picking your brambles – you don’t want to pick them off a hedgerow at the side of a busy road as they will likely be polluted from traffic fumes, yuck!

Brambles are a great fruit for making jams and desserts too. Here is a yummy recipe I helped my Mummy make…

Sampling the crop as we go!

Bramble and Apple Pie

You will need:

For the shortcrust pastry:

150g cold salted butter, cut into cubes
275g plain flour
30g icing sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tablespoon water

For the filling:

300g – 500g freshly picked brambles
200g – 300g apples
120g brown sugar
Beaten egg or milk, to glaze

To make:

To make the pastry:

1. Use your fingers to rub the cold butter, flour and icing sugar together.

2. Add the beaten egg and 1/2 tablespoon water and use your fingers to form the dough into a ball.

3. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

4. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 23cm/9 inch pie dish.

5. Slice the dough in half and roll out the bottom of the pie on a lightly floured surface. Try not to overwork the pastry – it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look perfect.

For the filling:

1. Soften the brambles and the apples in a pan over a low heat.

2. Add the sugar.

3. Pour onto the pastry case.

4. Roll out the second half of the pastry on a lightly floured surface and place on top of the fruit. Cut away any excess pastry and crimp the edges with your thumb to seal.

5. Brush all over the top with lightly beaten egg or some milk. Prick a few holes over the surface and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

We also made some yummy jam with some of our brambles which I will tell you how to make really soon…

Lulu xx