An outfit that feels like it's properly 'me'. Sometimes it seems that many fall short of how I like to dress for some reason or another, but this one ticks all the boxes. Skirt, boots, blouse with high neck and jacket which doesn't make me feel bulky, yes!


The weather was dank and dreary with a threat of rain falling when it wasn't just hanging in the air. There's a bag I use on these particular occasions which I really, really dislike, yet it has a purpose.
It's waterproof on the outside with a separate bag inside it. The bag will not be affected by the rain, it won't be damaged, nor would it care if it were.
I was given said bag by my Nanny a few years ago and with most presents, feel obligated to use it. Her suggested use was as a cool bag for frozen food at which I raised an eyebrow. A coolbag it is not.
I think it's absolutely hideous. And yet perfect for risking destruction in adverse weather.
Do you keep hold of something you really dislike for a particular purpose? Or do you just wave goodbye to unwanted gifts?

Take care,
Sophie

More from recent outings. Both Saturday and Sunday we took an hour or so out for a wander. The light was noticeably absent for most of the time, leaving a disappointing dull background for the majority of the time but beggars can't be choosers and I'll take whatever I can as we enter the worst half of the year.



 A few wild flowers lingering on...
 Rowan berries looking bright.
 Field infiltrating weeds clinging on.
 Hawthorne berries or 'haws' are evident everywhere.
 Mushrooms popping up left, right and centre.


 Curious little appendages.
 If you didn't think of the fashion show incident then lucky you.
More soggy and dreary than those crisp, coppery, whimsical days those Autumn-loving folks wax lyrical over. Twaddle.

Fetch your waterproofs and wellies.

Take care,
Sophie

It wouldn't be autumn without going blackberry picking - the annual foraging tradition loved by so many. An apple and blackberry crumble is the classic way to use them and I admit to having neglected this some years, more through missing the boat rather than not feeling like it. I come from a dynasty of crumble makers. Us women have produced hundreds of these over the years and yet most have fallen short of their full glory. There's nothing worse than a crumble which disappoints. With my complete lack of instinct when it comes to cooking, baking and anything to do with food assembly, I always rely on a recipe to guide me through choppy waters. I wince when I say that my previous go-to recipe was a 'healthy' option which not only failed in texture and taste but really offered little in the way of healthy benefits either. It was time to try something else. Google offered me a recipe from delicious magazine which looked suitably different and I gave it a try. Actually I'm going to be searching there for lots of recipes in future as they have a lot of mouthwatering dishes over there - plus they are easy to print off.

Is it ok to make it three weeks on the trot? Because that's what your girl did. Did I mention I love desserts? Here's my slightly tweaked recipe from the original:

Ingredients:
Approx 1100g bramley apples
250g or thereabouts carefully rinsed and sorted to ensure no stems, cobwebs or creepy crawlies have joined the party
3 teaspoons of cornflour
70g caster sugar
240g plain flour
150g unsalted butter cut into cubes. I prefer to use this from the fridge as if it gets too warm you make paste.
120g demerara sugar

Method:
Pop the flour in a large mixing bowl along with a pinch of salt and rub in the butter a few cubes at a time. Keeping this cool will help. Once it's fairly fine, don't worry about the odd buttery lump, mix in the demerara sugar and set aside. Pop the oven on to about 160 oC for a fan oven.
Stir together the cornflower and caster sugar in a bowl.
You'll need to work through the apples quickly as they start to turn brown very quickly. I use a vegetable peeler and a small knife to peel and remove the core, and keep them chunky before slicing them at the last moment and adding the blackberries. Sprinkle over the cornflour and sugar mix and stir around the fruit. Grease a chosen baking dish, I prefer a deeper one than too shallow as the fruit always cooks down and if too thinly placed you hardly end up with anything.
Stir round the fruit again then lay it out in the dish, even it up roughly then gently spoon the topping over. Pop on a tray with a teflon sheet as the fruit can bubble up and escape during cooking.

I check mine after around 25 minutes at which point you can tell if it's looking 'perfect' ie golden-ish with a few blobs of oozy fruit round the edge - which would be done or if it still looks much like when you put it in - in which case try again in 10 minutes.

They stay hot for ages so no rush to eat but ours was demolished with a shocking volume of custard.
Even C agreed this crumble recipe was an absolute triumph. Super buttery with the sugary crunch and the syrupy fruit wasn't overly sweet. The original recipe called for more caster but we preferred it with less.

This is one I'll be returning to over and over again. It's hard to say how many official portions it makes but I'd suggest 6 for gluttons like myself. Plus it's pretty much a breakfast dish too, so make a weekend of it.

The blackberries are past their best now, we did gather a small handful for a pie but there were slim pickings indeed.

Have you been crumbling?

Take,
Sophie

Now that the truly dark evenings are here I remain resigned to remaining indoors. It's my plan to re-apply myself to getting blog posts written and posted on a regular basis. There's always plenty to talk about and even now I feel positive about producing a steady stream of posts. Much as I adore the daylight we enjoy in spring and summer it does mean I abandon all but essential indoor activity in favour of the great outdoors. I don't have a diary as such, back in my teenage years there were phases of writing in one but it got repetitive. Writing this blog is much more out of wanting to cement thoughts rather than an obligation to fill a few lines. Having seen the tally has reached 1329 live posts on here I can't help thinking 'how have I written so many?' and surely some of them merge into the abyss of pointlessness but for many they are pinpoints in time. I have more of some styles of post to share and less of others than the old days but refinement of interest is natural. I digress. 

Have you been out in the changing palette lately?

Take care,
Sophie

You know what an outdoors-y type I am, always yearning to spend time in the countryside, fostering my habit of noticing the changes and identifying any new sightings. The miles we cover each year runs into numbers our combined fingers and toes have long since exceeded, probably weeks a year.
There's a well vocalised bias towards the warm and joyful seasons of spring and summer from me and I cannot pretend to be the least bit apologetic. However, since when has a change of season stopped me from going out?
The spate of wet weekends has meant two things; firstly, indoor jobs have seen some attention, not least plenty of cooking and baking of seasonal treats and secondly, when we have ventured out it has meant getting wet. Thankfully, we had a window of opportunity through which to escape on Saturday after a wet start, so we headed out for some fresh air and a mooch round the wilderness.


Keen have been a footwear brand whose boots have featured on the blog many times before. I'm a dedicated fan and have remained impressed with the build quality, design and comfort of their range. They have a new model out now which is more heavy duty than those I usually wear which will plug the gap in my boot collection nicely. The Karraig waterproof hiking boot is their latest in the range and is a boot built to perform on the most demanding of terrain. I can attest that these boots are particularly sturdy and hold my feet in an especially secure way. Next time I'm on a walking holiday these will be my first choice for those mountain ascents. Not only do they have a strong, grippy sole and foot bed, the lacing up has been designed to provide the maximum amount of security for fitting and the boot even come with a handy sheet to show you how to tension the laces best. The walls of the boot are noticeably firmer than any of my others which make my feet and ankles feel properly supported and ready for anything.

I'm wearing the steel grey/smoke blue colour wave but they also come in a lovely chestnut brown too. Currently available direct from Keen at £159.99, they represent a high quality boot and it's a reasonable price for this product which is both designed and manufactured in Europe.

This autumn I'm determined to dodge the clouds and get outdoors as much as I can to clock up some more miles. It's fungi time already, plus the beautiful berries are in full glory. Leaves are starting to put on a show for us so there's plenty to behold on the landscape no matter where you are.
Who's up for more adventuring this autumn?
Many thanks to Keen for sending me these boots to explore in.

Take care,
Sophie