Mid September. The last of nature’s bounty still to be had. This week a little clutch of goodies came from the country lanes and gardens of West Cork. Greenhouse tomatoes ripened on the vine. Wild blackberries and raspberries from the hedgerows. Beautiful flowers hand picked from a generous flower bed. Their blooms extended by the warm burst of an Indian summer. All over the country the story is the same. A time to enjoy what’s left of the season. Hedgerows near you are there for the picking – provided someone else hasn’t got there first! Think of the jam you can make  from free ripe berries, or the instant dessert to be enjoyed with a splash of cream. There are elderberries still on the trees for wine and cordials. The glut of late ripening tomatoes bring summer back to the plate. Green ones make superb chutney. Those with a courgette plant or two, who couldnt pick them fast enough, have plump marrows on hand now for baking or stuffing.  Ireland’s pastures are home to saucer sized field mushrooms – growing in fairy rings!  Woodlands will soon yield wild mushrooms. Great eating if you know what you are looking for and where to find them. Many foragers won’t give away their secret haunts! If you can’t beat them, join them –  on an organised mushroom hunt. A day out in the fresh air and some free food to boot… How we love this month of months…the essence of a season of prolific growth…