Free food

charlies_mum

While we were out in the car over the weekend, I noticed lots of apple trees and blackberry bushes by the side of the road, and it started me thinking about all the free food there is about at the moment.

I currently have plums and apples in my garden, and later will have hazelnuts. In the greenhouse we have cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers, and on the allotment we have had potatoes, onions, cabbages, peas and beans. I suppose they aren't strictly free as I had to buy the seeds, but at 19p a packet from Netto, it's certainly a lot cheaper than the supermarket.

What free food does anyone else have ?

DawnW

veg from the garden, eggs from the chickens (though taking into account the little bit of food I buy for them), wild food such as blackberries etc mentioned above, apples and plums from a neighbour in exchange for some of our excess veg.

Badger_Lady

I have a friend who lives in France and only eats food that she finds in the wild - at the moment, the bulk of her diet is home-cooked snails!

daisyroots_2

Went blackberrying here in Devon yesterday, but very poor crop this year - perhaps due to all the rain ? Not nearly as good as our Secret Place in London (sorry, not telling, too many people know about it already)

Saw massive rose hips though, but was not picking for myself so didn't get any. Also elderberries are just coming in, I sometimes make elderberry jelly, but we're returning to London on the train today and they'd get all bashed. Took blackberries round to our machatonim (yiddish for our grandchildren's other grandmother, or our daughter's mother in law) on the other side of the village last night - she'll make blackberry and apple pie with apples from her garden.

In London we have only a small terrace, but in pots we have 2 apple trees, tomatoes, a bay tree and lots of herbs. Strawberries earlier in the year, till the Big Rain set in. We walk along the Devon lanes, fantasising about having an Orchard

Bambywamby

Currently I have or could utilise home grown cherry tomatos, victoria plums from the tree, cucumbers from the green house, potatoes and chives.
From the wild I could get blackberries, nettles for tea/soup/homemade wine,elderberries, wild garlic and apples.

Here is a site of "hedgerow recipes" if anybody fancies a dabble on the wild side. http://www.overthegardengate.net/garden/herbs/reci_hedge.asp

taplady

There was an old thread on this subject but its a good idea to start again:T

Currently we have cherry tomatoes, runner beans(our garden), cucumber(neighbour)apples(uncles tree) butternut squash(our garden) thnk thats all ATM !;)

Bibbitybob

We have a glut of blackberries in the alley behind our house - good stuff does come out of neighbours with unkempt gardens! Have already filled three tubs for the freezer. Other than that, I've got potatoes and lettuces growing, but nothing else until we get the garden sorted.

monochrome_2

From the pots on the patio I have onions, carrots, and tomatoes, with parsnips, leeks and potatoes to be ready a bit later. It is mostly carrots and onions, so I plan on making lots of soup soon!

My boyfriend and I go brambling every year, and this one has been fantastic so far - on our first trip we got 4lbs of blackberries in about half an hour!
We also found some windfall apples that day, so I made a HUGE blackberry and apple crumble that lasted about a week and froze the rest

Also, not sure if this counts, but last week we had completely run out of money and had nothing for breakfast, but I realised we did have flour, yeast and butter, as well as our trusty bread machine, so I made bread for the first time in ages - not exctly free, but meant we didn't spend money on bread at the shop!

scuzz

Our gardener keeps coming over with bundles of runner beans and beetroot for us.

Our garden's a bit thin on the ground this year thanks to the weather. No plums, cooking apples, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, beetroot, onions or pears:(

All we've had is a few runner beans and half a dozen cox's apples

therivierakid

Went blackberry picking yesterday. Ended up with about 2-3 lbs. There were a lot of unripe ones though - for every one we picked there must have been 5 or 6 unripe ones.

The missus has made an apple and blackberry compote already!

Car boot sales seem to be a good bet for cheap plums at the moment - 2lb bag for 50p on Sunday!

Debt_Free_Chick

charlies_mum wrote: »

What free food does anyone else have ?

Blackberries
Damsons
Sloes
Chestnuts
Cob nuts
Elderberries
Horseradish
Rose Hips
Haws

Apples
Crab Apples
(but there's an orchard in the village and the farmer lets me have windfalls and whatever's left after he's harvested what he needs)

Blackberries, damsons & apples all make jams or chutneys.

Elderberries, haws & hips make jellies to stir into sauces & gravies - especially good with game. (Oh - I get free duck & pheasant .... well, not quite free, it's payment for working my dog on the beating line )

Rose hips also make a decent rose scented syrup for ice creams & desserts.

Sloes only ever get steeped into gin & vodka, but makes an excellent liqueur

Chestnuts - roasted or boiled, skinned & pureed with icing sugar for sweets; or marron glace, but they're fiddly to make.

All of these from the hedgerows along the fields in the village - but many would be found in parks & green spaces in more urban areas too. Canal towpaths can be pretty rewarding as well.

I also grow my own veg, but not sure if this is what you meant by "free".