There are some things I absolutely love about my neighborhood, one of them being the park along the river and another being the amount of food growing as part of everyone’s landscapes!
We have plum trees, apple trees, orange trees, walnut trees, black walnut trees, cherry trees, mulberry trees, pomegranate trees, blackberry bushes, and countless herbs. I’m sure there is much more that I have yet to see 🙂
My goal is to befriend as many neighbors as possible not only to reap the rewards of their bounty but also to make new friends and possible raise my children in a way that seems a little uncommon these days.
Do you remember? The days when the entire neighborhood knew who you were and you ran through everyone’s backyard picking flowers and fruit?….
Well anyway, I thought I might share some photos of what we have acquired so far this summer 🙂
Figs
Yum! Ok, so we didn’t actually pick these but they were given to us from a co-worker of mine who grows them in her backyard
I have not had much experience with figs…so I was at a loss as what to do with them. I ended up finding a recipe online for honeyed figs with icecream..OMG! It was good…I served them along side my homemade Vanilla Bean Icecream…Recipes to follow at a later date 🙂
Blackberries
The little ladies and I scrounged pretty hard for these yummy little guys which I will post about later this week.
Hopefully we can get out for the next round and end up with enough to make some jam!
Apples
And my first venture out to meet the neighbors! These apples were picked from a nice retired couples yard..I found out that they have only lived in the area for about a year, their daughter lives close by, and they have grand kids 🙂 The women offered for me to continue picking from her apple trees, pomegranate trees, and orange tree as long as I bring my children by to meet her!
What to make with these??….apples slices? applesauce? apple pie filling?….or just eat them 🙂
Plums
These little guys are actually growing on an easement so the property doesn’t belong to anyone…they were just hanging out waiting for someone to notice them.
What to do with these?….I think we will just enjoy eating them..
Thanks for looking 🙂
Happy Picking
♥♥♥
Samantha
A Less Than Perfect Homemaker 