Blackberry picking and recipes!

I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but blackberries are out now in our region of the UK, and there are buckets and buckets of them within a few minutes walk of our house. There is something so satisfying about taking the kids out for a walk and coming back with overflowing containers of delicious, free blackberries, and then piling into the kitchen together to make something yummy with them.

Here are some blackberry recipes to get you started:

Fresh blackberry lemonade
The blackberries make this lemonade unusual and special.

Blackberry smoothie
Delicious, quick and wholesome - great for a snack or a quick breakfast.

Berry Brulee
This isn't a true brulee recipe, but a quick version which is still delicious and probably more popular with children.

Apple and Blackberry Crumble
As the evenings begin to draw in, take comfort in the smell of this crumble cooking in the oven! Serve with cream or vanilla ice-cream. You can also make up extra of the crumble mixture and store it in the freezer, ready for an almost instant pudding next time!

Blackberry Whip
This is a wickedly good desert! You can obviously vary the berries according to what you have in the fridge.

And here is a Blackberry colouring page too, in case the kids want something to do while you are busy in the kitchen preparing something special...