Sunday, September 12, 2010

Blackberries - not the 'phone' kind!

Since I last spoke to you in August, doing my 'mea culpa' about not getting out posts more often, we took a very small break to a teeny weeny island just off the West coast of France, Ile de Groix. I promise to tell you more about that and the seafood and oysters! 

Having just got back home, and for the first time in months with a couple of hours free after guests leaving and the next batch arriving, I took a delicious long walk around our property, followed by Lili the pest! 
And harvested the last of the Blackberries. 
They are lush and plump and although the ripes ones has been eaten by birds or fallen on the ground, I still have enough to make some 'confiture' and some 'Crème de Mûre'.
 
Now I shall share with you today, Martine, our help's very delicious and easy Confiture recipe! She's asked me to tell you all that it has been a best kept secret for many years but that she's willing to share it now!

So here goes (in Martine's words):

Send your husband to pick the blackberries

Wash them, and then blend them in a mixer with half a glass of water.
Weigh this mixture and use 1 kg of sugar per 1 kg of berries
Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Put in sterilised jars
Absolutely delicious!!!
(I have in the past added star anis to the mixture whilst cooking and it gives it a lovely flavour)

I use this confiture in my very easy blini recipe to make a sweet blini for dessert - put some fresh berries on the blini with a touch of cream, add some 'crème de mûre' and home made fatfree berry icecream! (Mix your fatfree yogurt with a little bit of confiture and freeze it! Easy as pie!)
 
Now a very quick and easy 'Crème de Mûre' recipe :
1 kg blackberries
1 liter redwine
800 gr sugar
1 glass of fruit alcohol
2 blackcurrent leaves

Put the blackberries in a big salad bowl and crush them a bit. Add the redwine, the alcohol and the blackcurrent leaves, let it steep for 5 days, stirring it every now and then.
Filter the mixture and put, with the sugar, in a pan. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Let it cool down and bottle it. Best to leave for about a week and then, Kir with Crème de Mûre!! 


I wish you all a great harvest!


Life is about sharing and I wish I could share a glass of Kir with Crème de Mûre with you all soon!


Bisous
Lynn

3 comments:

Ilse said...

Welcome back and you're already in the swing of things! Love any kind of berry and all of this sounds delicious...had to chuckle over the 'send your husband to pick the berries' bit..xx

Pam said...

Martine is a genius! I love the "Send your husband to pick the blackberries". The recipe sounds divine. Shall we try the confiture thing next week?
The Crème de Mûre, I've never heard of this, but I plan to give it a try. I must ask though, what's fruit alcohol?
Pam

Ilse said...

I'd also like to know - thanks for asking Pam!