Crumbles are a key part of cosy season (my favourite season) and I’ve got one of the classics for you today: apple and blackberry. Serve with whatever sort of creamy delight you like: double cream, custard or ice cream, whatever you choose just make sure there is plenty of it! There is no such thing as too much cream on your crumble.
This is one of the recipes I’ve made in collaboration with Rangemaster UK, along with a delicious breakfast hash that I’ll be sharing on my instagram very soon so keep your eyes peeled. Rangemaster kindly gave me a lovely Elise range cooker, hood and splashback, which really is a kitchen dream come true. It’s made our new house instantly feel like a home.
In addition to the crumble recipe, I’m also sharing the things that make Sarah Wilson’s heart sing. I’ve known Sarah (foodie, entrepreneur, journalist, bestselling author, serious hiker, the list goes on) for 10 years since she welcomed me to Australia. We've become great friends and like to fridge forage cook together and talk anxiety and connection on rambling WhatsApp voice notes. Sarah often tells me about the charming strangers that become her friends on her solo journeys around the globe.
I'm thrilled she's joining us in today's newsletter (scroll down for our chat below the crumble recipe) and one of you lovely paid subscribers will be randomly picked to receive her latest book, This One Wild and Precious Life. If you aren’t yet a paid subscriber and would like to be in with a chance of winning, join our community below.
Apple and blackberry crumble
Feeds 4-6, takes 30 mins + resting time
4 eating apples
300g frozen blackberries
Juice of a lemon
120g oats
40g buckwheat flakes or more oats or quinoa flakes
120g ground almonds
½ tsp sea salt
150g unsalted butter
60g coconut sugar or sugar
20g flaked almonds
Clotted cream, double cream or ice cream for serving
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Core the apples and cut into eighths. Put the apples and blackberries in a baking dish and squeeze over the lemon juice.
Mix the oats, ground almonds, buckwheat flakes, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Rub in the butter with your finger tips. Pile the crumble on top of the fruit and scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake for 20-25 minutes (keep an eye after 20 so that the flaked almonds don’t catch). Allow the crumble to rest for 20 minutes before serving up with your choice of clotted cream or ice cream.
Now over to Sarah...
You and what you do in a nutshell? How you got there?
Gosh, well on my website and Linkedin it says that I’m “a multi-New York Times and Amazon best-selling author, thought leader, international keynote speaker, podcaster, minimalist and philanthropist”. It also says I like to hike a lot. Mostly I’ve arrived here by…just doing the work. I got a lot of opportunities (I’ve never had to apply for a job as such) from future employers seeing me already doing the “thing”. So I got my first gig in journalism, as a restaurant reviewer, because I offered to redesign the food pages of a national magazine. I was doing a lot of opinion writing (initially for free because I loved it) in newspapers and off the back of this was offered the job as editor of Cosmopolitan magazine when I was 29. My gigs as host of Masterchef Australia and then starting the I Quit Sugar movement - they also happened in a similar, organic way. I won’t fill out space with my full bio, but you can see the details here.
When do you feel your best? / what makes you feel your best?
I feel best in movement - hiking, dancing (on my own), walking, riding. I think clearly, I feel freedom.
Please share some of your feel good tips?
Hmmm, I always do some form of exercise in the morning. I don’t overthink it. I just move. Sometimes I book into a yoga class, or I’ll do a home workout for 10 minutes using minibands, or I go for a run. It ensures I sleep at night.
I always try to eat at least 7 serves of vegetables and fruit during the day. The rest of my life works best when I do. When I’m travelling I’ll buy carrots or hunt down roast vegetable sides at cafes.
At night (and I know it sounds Pollyanna-ish) I do a gratitude ritual. I write about it in my book This One Wild and Precious Life…I think about 3 things I’m grateful for from the day. It helps me get to sleep…and I explain the science behind why this works in my book.
What’s your favourite season?
Summer!! Melissa knows how much I love heat. I love the smells of summer and the way it allows me to live with least fuss (less clothing).
I know you love eating / cooking - what’s the ingredient you couldn’t live without or best sums you up?
Am I allowed to say courgette? I eat them a lot, pretty much daily. Actually, let’s make it dark (90%) dark chocolate. I eat 3 squares every morning for breakfast. The fact I do the thing that everyone expects me not to do probably sums me up well.
Your fave comfort meal
Red curry of any kind.
What’s your afternoon pick me up?
A walk around the block. Food in the afternoon sends me to sleep. I eat a massive lunch and a massive dinner and not much inbetween.
A ‘chore’ you find satisfying and relaxing?
Hanging out my washing in the sun. I can literally stare at my laundry doing it’s thing and feel so happy.
A book you’d recommend we read immediately
Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. It sorts out life priorities in a few hundred pages.
A shout out to your favourite busines / independent brand/ instagram account?
I don’t shop, so it’s hard to recommend a business..but I’m going to hand this one to a brand, Groundtruth, set up three sisters in London making super sustainable backpacks. They have done everything they can to make this a viable business and just recently got their gear stocked in Harrods.
Can I also share an IG account doing very clever stuff, again another British contribution: Darren Cullen creates super clever climate memes. I applaud all his efforts.
Where’s your special place? UK? Far away?
The desert. I love expanse, clear skies, crackling sounds at night. I’ve hiked across Australia’s desert (the Larapinta) and Jordan’s Wadi Rum. Also parts of Sierra Nevada (in both California and Spain).
If you’d like to hear more from Sarah, subscribe to her newsletter, listen to her podcast and follow her on instagram. Also make sure to check out her books, This One Wild and Precious Life and I Quit Sugar For Life.
In case you missed them, here are a couple of recent newsletters that I hope you’ll enjoy:
I just made the crumble! It looks amazing, can't wait to eat it! Xx
Love the sound of that crumble, thank you