Sometimes the simplest things in life are the best. A handful of blackberries eaten straight off the bush, a bunch of handpicked flowers proffered with a cheeky grin, a sudden shower of warm summer rain, and time, with those you love best. I feel a kodak moment coming on as I watch my daughter, long bare legs in cutoff jeans and wellies, alternatively stuffing her mouth and a pail with wild blackberries. She seems oblivious to the prickly brambles as she chatters excitedly about blackberry possibilities: sorbet, pancakes, crumble, and when she looks up the royal purple stain around her mouth looks anything but regal.
A decade ago I thought food was all about wowing people with amazing, unusual ingredients and complicated dishes. I loved travelling, for the new taste experiences it brought me, and I loved eating out, making it a point to always try something I’d never had before. I’d trawl deli’s and food halls, and spend my time off cooking for anyone who was prepared to eat, and sometimes (okay, often) my experiments where hit and miss. But time and lives meander inexorabley on, and standing in the middle of the kitchen garden now, I am struck by the simple abundance of life and the notion that we do not truly need all that much to be happy.

Apart from the ecological concerns of organic farming and food miles which seem so much more personal now that I am worried about what sort of planet I will be leaving for my child, the type of food I want to cook and eat is different too. I want quick, simple, easy, healthy and delicious. I am endlessly inspired by the kaleidoscopic pallette of the local farmers market, or by the Tricia Guild kitsch of the young beetroot leaves at my feet, or the exquisite artichokes being brought to my attention by a renegade ray of sunshine.

Far from the hustle and bustle of the big smoke my daily decisions are no longer whether to eat modern british or michelin, sushi or sumptuous. They are how to make delicious and diverse meals out of the local and seasonal produce available to me. And when I say local, I mean local: an organic kitchen garden, an orchard filled with apples, plums, figs, pears and mulberries, a park with wild game, and free range pork, lamb and beef in the fields surrounding us. All this bounty supplemented by amazing local suppliers of free range eggs & chickens, artisan cheeseries, organic bakeries and a weekly organic box scheme…I’m getting into the swing of this now and in my mind’s eye I am wafting through the garden produce like a Nigella/Delia hybrid..when a squawk of outrage brings me rushing back to reality with a bump.

Dakota, unable to resist picking some sweetly blushing apples from a tree, has unleashed a torrent of chilly rainwater down the back of her neck. Time to gather up our booty and head home to make tea (supper to those of you not living in Somerset). Dakota’s choice tonight, and predictably it’s pasta. I pick a few handfuls of spinach to add to the requested macaroni cheese, and a couple more apples for crumble. They may be blushing but they are not yet ready to dance and need a little sugar to coax out their sweetness. I’ll pair them up with any blackberries that have actually made it into the pail…

Recipe Journal

Spinach & Cheddar Macaroni Cheese

Children of all ages love macaroni cheese and I’ve discovered that one way to stop my daughter from smothering it in the ubiquitous tomato ketchup is by adding some shredded spinach. Spinach is a superfood, packed with iron and anti-oxidants, and if you give it a chance by not bitterly boiling it to death, this might become as much a favourite in your house, as it is in ours. The bright green colour and the crispy cheese have my daughter’s eyes sparkling in greedy delight, and although individual portions may be a little outre at a dinner party, they always make children feel special. Try it if you have any small oven proof dishes or ramekins.

• Make a white sauce starting with equal amounts of butter and flour. Cook the butter over a low heat and when melted add the flour and stir to incorporate. I always use a whisk to make this as it ensures a smooth sauce.
• Add seasoning, a pinch of mustard powder and some fresh grated nutmeg. Alternatively a spicy pepper like sechuan brings out the spinach.
• Slowly add milk, stirring in completely and allowing the roux to thicken before adding more.
• You can also add some blade mace at this point to infuse the sauce if you wish. Blade mace is the dried outside covering of nutmegs.
• Flour takes about 20 minutes to cook properly in this manner so your sauce needs at least this long to cook if it is not to taste too floury.
• When the sauce is at the required consistency, thick but still runny, add several handfuls of grated cheddar cheese and stir in to melt. We always use a mature cheddar, or a montgomery as we like the strong taste, but you can use what you prefer. Blue cheese is a very nice alternative.
• You can now rest the sauce if it is ready and cook the pasta
• Cook your macaroni according to packet instructions, or do what I do, which is bring your water to the boil, add your pasta and return to the boil. Cook for 2 minutes then take it off the heat and put a lid on it. Let stand for the cooking time stated on the packet, drain and you have perfectly cooked pasta.
• Whilst your pasta is cooking add a 1/4 cup milk and several handfuls of spinach to your blender. Blitz until the spinach is finely chopped, the liquid will help with this.
• Add your spinach & milk to the sauce and blend in.
• Stir in your drained pasta and spoon into an oven proof dish or individual ramekins.
• Top with grated cheese and grill / bake until the cheese is golden and crisp.

Apple & Wild Blackberry Crumble

If you live in the country a Sunday afternoon ramble may offer up the delightful opportunity to avail yourself of natures bounty in the form of these supercharged little berries. They grow in brambly hedges along fields, walls and paths all over the country and are there for the picking, if the birds don’t get to them first. They have a multitude of talents but the first blackberries of the season always go into a crumble in our house, with any extra being made into sorbet, or being frozen for later jam making. Only one rule: only pick the ripe ones and always leave some for the birds. (okay so that’s two rules – but they’re sensible all the same).

Apple & Blackberry is a match made in heaven and it doesn’t take much else to make this classic crumble.

• Peel the apples and chop into largish chunks. Place in a buttered, oven proof dish
• Toss in the blackberries and sprinkle some brown sugar on top
• Mix 125ml butter with 125ml brown sugar. Demerara is the best as it has a good crunch
• Add 125 ml flour and 125 ml rolled oats (you could also replace some or all of the oats with ground almonds)
• Sprinkle this mix on top of the fruit and bake in a preheated oven (180*C) for approx 20 minutes or until the topping is golden and crunchy and the fruit is soft.

The apples will be stained a deep, irresistable ruby and the top should be all crisp golden crumble. Serve warm or cold, with cream or fromage frais . We always have any leftovers with natural yoghurt, for breakfast.

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