It’s quite sad, isn’t it (for them, not us!) After six weeks of stress-free summer holidays, our children return to school. My middle son starts on Monday; my stepdaugther Wednesday; then the youngest starts reception on Friday. And then it’s CRY FREEDOM!!
But for all my complaining, I know I am going to miss them massively when they do return. The house will be quiet – and I will have no excuses to prevent me getting on with the now very real and urgent task of somehow earning some money. Those afternoons down the pub whilist pretending to the Working Wife that I’m ironing won’t pay for themselves.
And so, on Friday, the last day my boys and I will be properly together for a while (their sister – my stepdaughter – was with her dad), I decided to do something a bit special with them. Something cost-free and queue-free ‘special’ (for it has been an extremely expensive summer). Something that would create some memories of the time we had together.
And this is what we did on that glorious Indian summer’s day: a long woodland walk with their playdate pal, collecting acorns, and picking blackberries, and then turning them (the blackberries, not the acorns) into the most delicious Blackberry and Apple Puffs.
The recipe couldn’t be simpler:
A couple of handfuls of blackberries
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 tsps soft brown sugar
1 sheet puff pastry
Icing sugar, for dusting
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. In a bowl, mix the blackberries, apple and sugar. Leave to stand.
2. Dust a work surfarce with icing sugar and roll out the pastry.
3. Cut the pastry into triangles and lay a couple of tablespoons of the blackberry mix on each.
4. Fold into parcels and seal with a little water.
5. Transfer to a light oiled baking sheet, sprinkle a little sugar over the parcels, and cook for 25-mins, until the pastry puffs up and is crisp and golden.
6. Transfer to a cooling rack for a few minutes, then eat with a collop of whipped cream or yogurt.
