Lughnasagh already. August is always the biggest season to be busy with hedgerow activities in this part of the world. This year the trees are especially heavy with apples, plums and seeds and fungi is popping all over the place. This means lots of gathering and sorting and toiling in the kitchen, drying, sieving, freezing, labelling, storing. As a lifelong loner, the solitary flurry of gathering and processing whilst I listen to music or a new podcast is a dream. My favourite escape. The only meditation that works on this busy mind. Last Monday I used my day off to take the glider across the city from East Belfast to West (a lovely thing to do and recommended) to gather wild plums knocked from the trees by storm Floris. There was no one else there. I knelt on the ground for an hour and munched the ripest, squishiest ones and threw about eight kilos in my backpack. I took my bounty and washed, simmered and squished them through a sieve so I have enough plum mush for every breakfast from now till 2026 and probably a few bottles of beautiful yellow ketchup – expect to see some of that in future walks – a few coming up over here.
I took the bus again to join Belfast Hills Partnership to gather native wild seeds at Colin Glen. Bush vetch, meadow vetchling, birdsfoot trefoil, hazel nuts, rowan and others. These sessions are obviously important for biodiversity but are also a useful way to explore a site with some expert eyes. As well as the seeds, we saw lots of twayblade, eye bright, sneezewort and fairy flax plus a few damselflies, frogs and dragonflies near the ponds. Colin Glen is magical. If you have time, volunteer. I get more back than I put in every time. If you are aged 18-25 you can apply to join in with their 2025 Wild Youth programme which includes a foraging session with me! More information here.
Once again, thank you for everyone who has joined walks this past month especially those who donated to the Palestinian Childrens Relief fund and came along to the walks at Cavehill and at Lagan Meadows. Solidarity should always be at the forefront of our minds and these walks are such a great opportunity to come together on this. More of this to come. I also had a brilliant session with Drumnaph Nature Reserve for a Lughnasadh celebration last weekend too – this spot is so beautiful and an independent charity so support them by visiting their site this summer.
Fungi season is here – keep an eye out for some beauties. I found these boletes at Stormont so you never know where they might show. I particularly liked the nibbled scarletina at the bottom. I’ll be talking about any fungi that come up on my upcoming walks too!
Out this month
Stone fruit – keep an eye out in your local park or get friendly with a neighbour as it is a bumper year for plums and, soon, sloes. I will have some plum and sloe recipes up very soon!
Rosehips – they are just ripening now. Gather and dry for tea or simmer with apple to make a gloriously orange coloured jelly which is awesome with cheese. Tons of rosehip recipes are still on my instagram if you do some scrolling down!
Hazel – it looks like a good year for hazel. They can be picked and eaten fresh if you can beat the squirrels. One of my favourite treats.
Rowan – I love gathering rowan for tea. I dry it in the dehydrator and add it where I want a tangy, lemony flavour.
Blackberries – The brambles are full in East Belfast! How many recipes can I make with these. Probably about 1000. A new one below.
Oat & Honey Blackberry Loaf
This is inspired by a few recipes I have made using oat flour lately. As someone who loves food but currently avoiding wheat and lactose I have been experimenting A LOT to get the same hit from my treats. This one is pretty great and suits almost everyone as it is gluten free and dairy free- replace the honey with golden syrup or brown sugar to make this vegan too. I use frozen blackberries as it helps them from breaking up and sinking. This is not very sweet which means you can have it with butter if you like more of a savoury take or with jam if you want something closer to dessert. Both ways good with a big cup of coffee
Ingredients
– 200g Oat flour – or 200g oats blitz into a powder in the food processor
– 100g Whole porridge oats – I like jumbo
– 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
– 300g Oat Milk
– 1 tsp fine salt
– 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
– 4 tbsp honey
– Couple of handfuls of frozen blackberries
Method
– Preheat the oven to 180 and line a loaf tin with parchment
– Combine the dry ingredients and mix well to distribute the baking powder
– Combine the wet ingredients and add to the dry and combine thoroughly
– Add the blackberries and stir.
– Transfer to the prepared tin and place in the centre of the oven. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes – test with a toothpick to ensure the loaf is cooked through.
– Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Any remaining frozen blackberries are delicious combined with a bit of butter and spread on the slightly warm bread and topped with some toasted seeds.
feasting on weeds 
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