Mulberry Pie in the city

Yesterday, while on our running trail, my husband yells, "It's a mulberry tree" and screeches to a halt. Out of breath and sweaty, he starts picking the fruit off the tree and gobbling them down right there. A young, pretty black girl wearing headphones comes running by and my husband enthusiastically holds out his purple-stained hand and offers her a mulberry! Her face scrunches up and she shook her head NO, and she quickly picked up her pace! I said, 'Honey, that was weird'. His answer made me think. "Well, it shouldn't be weird. It's a beautiful tree, ripe with fruit and everyone is completely ignoring it. That should be weird." As I thought about it, he was right. How many times do we think only food in the grocery store can be harvested? On our running trail, there are at least 3 huge, mulberry trees ready for the picking and they are going to waste! How sad.

Today, he left to pick up some cow manure for our garden and came back with a huge, bag of mulberries from off the trail! I promptly went to work, soaking them in a solution of water with a 1/8 cup hydrogen peroxide and 1/8 cup vinegar. After rinsing them thoroughly, I created this recipe.

Mulberry Crisp

2 1/2 cups mulberries

1/4 cup raisins

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp lime juice

1 heaping TB brown rice syrup

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Mix it all in the bowl, let it sit, while making the topping. Preheat oven to 375.

Crisp Topping

6 TB (real) butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

use your fingers and work the butter with the rest of the ingredients so that you have a coarse, crumbly mixture.

Place the fruit mixture in a 9x9 square dish, pour crumbles over the top. Pop in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Some benefits of eating Mulberries:

improves wound healing, antioxidants prevent cellular damage, strengthens liver and kidney functioning! Information taken from http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/mulberries.html

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Dandelion Opening to You!

analysis of nutrients:

Mulberry (Morus nigra .L), Fresh, raw,
Nutrition Value per 100 g,
(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	43 Kcal	2%
Carbohydrates	9.80 g	7.5%
Protein	1.44 g	2.5%
Total Fat	0.39 g	2%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	1.7 g	4.5%
Vitamins
Folates	6 mcg	1.5%
Niacin	0.620 mg	4%
Pyridoxine	0.050 mg	4%
Riboflavin	0.101 mg	8%
Vitamin A	25 IU	1%
Vitamin C	36.4 mg	61%
Vitamin E	0.87 mg	6%
Vitamin K	7.8 mcg	6.5%
Electrolytes
Sodium	10 mg	0.75%
Potassium	194 mg	4%
Minerals
Calcium	39 mg	4%
Copper	60 mcg	6.5%
Iron	1.85 mg	23%
Magnesium	18 mg	4.5%
Selenium	0.6 mcg	1%
Zinc	0.12 mg	1%
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene--ß	9 mcg	--
Carotene, α	12 mcg	--
Lutein-zeaxanthin	136 mcg	--