Two Lovebird Locavores: Tiny Discoveries (Mulberries)

When we moved into our farmhouse, the backyard was a disaster. Most of it was overgrown. Since we've been occupants here, we've cleared a bit out each summer. Behind our garden remains a large overgrown patch. Trees grow into one another, tangled in vines. We haven't mowed this section, mostly because of our resident woodchuck, whom we affectionately refer to as "Henry." However, last week , as we were weeding our garden, we noticed what looked like one large blackberry tree! We looked at each other puzzled, for we had both thought blackberries grew on bushes. We searched the Internet for blackberry trees and soon realized we had several mulberry trees in our yard.

Today, we mowed a path around the trees and harvested them for the first time. My (Darcy's) grandma passed on a tip: throw a sheet under the tree. Proceed by shaking the tree branches like crazy.

Soon it was raining mulberries. However, there were tons left on the tree, so we had to pull branches down and harvest the rest by hand.

As luck will have it, mulberries are considered a super fruit, loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Iron, Dietary Fiber, Riboflavin, Magnesium and Potassium. Yay for us!

RECIPES

We harvested 20 cups today. With them, we made a mulberry pie, rum mulberry ice cream topping, and mulberry jam.

Mulberry Pie

Crust:
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 c. butter, cold
5 Tbs. cold water

Filling:
5 c. mulberries
1 c. sugar
1-2 Tbs. cornstarch
4 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

To make the pie crust, put the flour, salt, and sugar into a food processor or mix together. Chop the butter into small pieces; then add the butter slowly to the mixture. While mixing, add one tablespoon of water at a time, until the dough sticks together. Take the dough out of the processor and form a tight ball. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Then, lightly spread flour onto a flat area. Roll half of the dough out. Put into your pie dish.

To make the filling, mix the berries with the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Chop the butter and add it to the mixture. Pour the mixture into the pie dish.

Roll out the remaining dough. Put it onto the top of the berry mixture. Crimp. Add a tablespoon or so of sugar, along with the cinnamon, to the top of the pie crust. Bake until crust is golden. Ours took about 35 minutes!

For a real treat, serve with ice cream!

Nutrition Facts

Mulberry Pie

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories

465

Total Fat

23.7g

Saturated Fat

11.7g

Trans Fat

Cholesterol

61mg

Sodium

174mg

Carbohydrate

61.1g

Dietary Fiber

2.4g

Sugars

34.3g

Protein

4.9g

Vitamin A 15%	Vitamin C 54%
Calcium 5%	Iron 18%

(Courtesy of www.myfooddiary.com)

Rumberries

We've made flavored liquors before, so we thought we'd give this idea a try also.

Fill a one quart canning jar with mulberries (roughly four cups), leaving about an inch head space. In a separate bowl mix together one cup of rum with a half cup sugar. Mix together until sugar dissolves. Then, pour over mulberries. Store someplace dark for three or more months. Serve over ice cream or sample for after dinner treats!

Mulberry Jam

We always are a bit leery about canning without specific directions, so we went to the Internet for help with this recipe. Click on "Mulberry Jam" link above for instructions.

We opted for the no-sugar recipe. As we type this, we can hear the jars popping! We're not sure how this will turn out in the end, but so far, everything seems to be working out just fine.