Food notes from a gusty weekend

It's been a weekend of weather extremes (although not quite Channel 5 worthy - no hurricanes or ice storms). Lots of threatening leaden skies, high winds and bright sun interspersed with heavy rain showers. We've managed a few (hurried) walks but on Friday evening we went and picked more blackberries.

I apologise if you're getting blackberry fatigue. I've written about them and photographed them a lot during the past week or two but it's because I've never known such a good year for them. It seems that each time we go for an amble we discover patches full of the fattest, blackest fruits you could imagine. I have plans for all those currently taking over the freezer, but for Friday night's haul I opted for a crumble cake. A pretty simple recipe courtesy of Nigel Slater (of course). It's from Volume Two of his Kitchen Diaries and I just swapped the gooseberries for blackberries.

Jay's mum brought us some more seasonal eatings: onions from her garden. I love the papery leaves you don't often get when buying neatly-trimmed versions from the shops. Wonder how much they'll make my eyes water? By the way, I once read that wearing glasses whilst chopping onions prevents the whole crying thing. It doesn't work.

I picked up a few Victoria plums from the market yesterday. There weren't many left as we got there late. I may add them to some jam. Then again I think I'll just eat them as they are and enjoy them while they're available. I also noticed damsons for sale.

We're enjoying simple, keep-the-cold-out meals at the moment: soups, jacket potatoes, risotto. And cake, of course. Here it is with its crumble topping, awaiting a big spoon of clotted cream.

Hope you had a good weekend with plenty of good eating.