Bilberries

 

Morning my lovelies. Ah yes more scenery today as we were out and about again yesterday and I do so very much enjoy sharing it with you.
But first, just to say how much I loved reading your comments yesterday about the Money Tree, you are so generous with your words, and I thank you enormously for that. I generally write my posts quite quickly, without an awful lot of thought or planning it has to be said. So it does come as a delightful surprise when I realise that maybe I wrote something quite enjoyable to read. Just now I added a little edit on the end to tell you about the Discovery of the Money, so do go and have a little read to see how it ended up.

Yesterday in the afternoon we headed out into the Dales to visit Brimham Rocks. This was Little Man's choice for an outing, as one of the things he loves to do most of all is climb, and Brimham Rocks is chocker block full of climbing opportunities. Not surprisingly it was raining when we arrived and for the first half hour or so we wandered around these amazing rocks getting rather wet and soggy. I took quite a few photos of the amazing rocks, but they all came out rather dark and wet and soggy looking. Which was a shame because this place is really spectacular. It's also very popular and quite crowded. Its hard to find a rock without a child or two on it. Hard to find any views which are uncluttered with people.

But it is possible to walk up past the big rocks crowded with kids shouting, climbing and jumping, up past the cafe shack and the toilets and the shop until you find yourself  on the top of the most beautiful moorland, with space and peace and quiet and wonderful views. The climbing opportunities have been left behind with the crowds, but we find something else instead.

We find bilberry bushes.
We know they are here as we've been here many times before. But as we can never remember when exactly the bilberry season is (it's a very short season and easy to miss), we have always been unlucky in the past. But not yesterday. Yesterday we discovered that the third week in August is absolutely just right for picking bilberries. 

Now until I met J, I had never heard of bilberries, but he has them embedded in his childhood just as picking blackberries is a well remembered part of my childhood. He tells of his Nana's famous bilberry pie, of his love for bilberry jam, of many outings he had as a child to pick these little fruits.

We have a couple of cups in the rucksack (we never go out anywhere without a flask and brew facilities) and so we start to pick, and it's a messy, purpley business picking bilberries. The boys go off in search of Better Bushes and Little Lady stays with me. She knows I like to take pictures and she offers her solitary bilberry for a photograph, her purple stained fingers telling how many she has already picked. In fact not many make it from bush to cup via her fingers, but we still do good.

Its quite hard work stooping low down into the little shrubby bushes to find the berries, and after a while our backs are aching and we think we might have picked enough to make bilberry jam when we get home.

By now, the rain clouds have disappeared and the sun is shining in a blue sky as we make our way back down from the tops. It's turned into a beautiful late summer afternoon.

 

We arrive home and get straight down to business. J is the jam maker in our household :: he adores jam and is very good at making it, I think he inherited a jam-making gene. We have an old book which came from my Granny which has 500 recipes in it. It has Hints and Tips for good jam making. But J does not use the book, he knows what to do. It's Easy he says. And true to his word he does in fact effortlessly produce 1.5 jars of a most wonderous, deep purple jam, and we are all very Impressed.

 

Truth be known, I am slightly miffed that I have had nothing whatsoever to do with producing the delicious jam. And so this morning I declare that I will produce Scotch Pancakes so that we can have Pancakes with Bilberry Jam for breakfast. Its Easy I say. I've never made scotch pancakes before, but I find an easy recipe on the web and lo and behold I produce a most marvelous stack of warm pancakes.

I am delighted. It's a delicious breakfast. The Little People wholeheartedly approve of this home-made breakfast, of Mummy and Daddy not having to go to the shops to buy jam and pancakes. They somehow think it is magic that we can make food.

And in a way it is. A little bit of domestic magic.

Comments

[citizenbrian]

The money tree is no more. That whole area has been demolished, all but a few stragglers where left today. The ground ripped apart by the machines taking out the logs. Not sure if disease was the problem, and not sure where the two pences have gone. Some of them where mine from circa 63.

[ankle wellies]

Scrummy looking breakfast! All the better for being home made. What a great team you make!

[pqaula gillett]

Really enjoyed visiting your attic! My partner and I are a planning a bilberry picking trip this weekend and weren't a 100% sure of the date, so I googled the picking season. Imagine my surprise when i clicked onto your page and saw the magnificent Brimham Rocks and the wonderful and abundant fruit you found there - which just happens to be our favourite bilberry picking spot too, and our planned destination this weekend. Sshh - don't tell everyone about it!

[Annamay Olsen]

My e-mail address is:
[email protected]
Not sure how this works but if, whoever tends to these blogs should see this...I'd still like to add information regarding the curtains selling on e-bay...that were designed by my brother and his wife, Danny and Carola Olsen, who lived in Spain.

[Annamay Olsen]

This is Annamay...I'm concerned as to whether you can get back to me...to respond to my question in a prior e-mail that I sent a bit ago...regarding the designers of the curtains on e-bay. I don't know what a URL is...I notice some bloggers have their name underlined and mine doesn't.

[Annamay Olsen]

Whata a lovely site...I'm writing to inquire if I've got the right source. I live in the U.S. and I just received an e-mail from a friend in the Ukraine who had come across an item for sale on e-bay, recognized it as originating with my brother and his wife. A pair of curtains designed by them. Daniel and Carola Olsen, who were suspected of being Scandinavian, are not. My brother was American and his wife, Carola was German, living in Spain from the 1960's through 90's. If you are the possessor of the curtains and selling on e-bay, I would love to chat further with you.

[Lana]

Hi, I know that I'm dense when it comes to cooking but could you post or email me a more detailed recipe regarding the Frittata and the blueberry jam? The jam's recipe is showing but the words about "water" is cut off. Thanks bunches. Lana/USA

[Lana]

I really enjoy your blog and look forward to reading it every few days. I'm in the USA so I don't understand some of your measurements but your recipes look wonderful. I am recently trying my hand at cooking (would you believe I'm 50-something?) and will be trying that frittata thing. I have never been able to crochet but would like to start so I am also enjoying your crochet entries. You make it all look so easy and simple.

PS: I have to mention that the views from your attic are spectacular. It reminds me of the landscape in the movie "The Holiday" with Cameron Diaz (which is my favorite movie).

[Rosepetaljam]

have a great holiday! weirdly I just blogged about pancakes and jam too, we are in synch my love! Mine were american rather than scotch though :-) and I ate mine in beautiful N Yorks too, biz.arre. have a wonderful holiday, eat lots of crab and kippers and have a lovely rest.

S x

[Kali]

Love stopping by and catching up with your posts...gives me time out in a 'Land Far Away'.
Happy weekend to you and your lovely little family, Luce!
xo Kali

[cathleen]

You are cute. Your posts are always such a fun read plus I get to enjoy your lovely lush English countryside. The jam and Scotch pancakes look like a perfect yummy combo. Have a great weekend, Lucy.

[Natalie]

Those pancakes and jam look heavenly - you are making me hungry! - I too save those jam jars with the gingham lids, they are too pretty to throw away - Glad you are getting out and about and not letting this dreadful weather spoil your fun - Nat x

[Julia]

Hi Lucy, me again. I've just re-read your comment on my blog and realise now that when you asked about the 'welcome' string, you meant the one on the house. Forgive me - I had my head on upside down and didn't read it properly. I thought you were referring to the header on my blog page, which originally did have a ‘welcome‘ sign on it (and I had forgotten I had changed it). I’m not usually that bad honest!! I bought the welcome string from a local garden centre, but again, it was a few years ago and they don’t have any now. Today’s photographs look fab – who needs to go abroad eh (well, apart from the lack of sunshine I suppose!). The jam and pancakes look so delicious and it’s just as well we don’t all know where you live; otherwise there would be a very long queue at your door. It reminds me that it will soon be blackberry picking time. I made some nice blackberry jam last year and hope to make some more this year. Anyway, I’m sure blog post comments aren’t meant to be this long, so I’ll stop now. Best wishes Julia x

[Janneke]

Hi Cathy,
Just popped in to wish you and your husband and the little people a wonderful weekend :).
We also love pancakes especially when we can bake them outside!!But that's not gonna work this weekend because i think we will have to wear our wellies all weekend, haha ! Now i am thinking about baking a strawberrie) cake instead as a weekend treat :)
Bye now, Janneke.

[Sal]

Mouth watering stuff! There's nothing like home made! ;-)

[Leisa]

What a wonderful family story. It is so lovely to read of your adventures and lovely times together. Yum, homemade jam and pancakes!

[sarah]

I wish my husband could make jam!I'm very impressed I love scotch pancakes those rocks are pretty impressive too!
Sarahx

[Lisa]

Scrummy looking breakfast! All the better for being home made. What a great team you make!

[simone]

I agree with the little people. I think it is magic that you can make your own food. Especially food that looks so beautiful and inviting. The Brimham Rocks look fascinating and how wonderful to find wild Bilberry bushes. You really do live in a magical part of the world with so much natural beauty to fire the imagination.

[mandy]

spectacular views again, and the breakfast looked delicious! thanks for sharing.

[ginny]

fantastic domestic magic there.yum yum! Mr flour loft makes the jam in our house too. So far just blackcurrant but hopefully blackberries will follow soon.

[Rosie Graham]

Wow they look fantastic! Can I come for breakfast?
Rosie