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!
| 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 | -- |
