Mulberry Recipes

Returning back from a wonderful and productive trip to New Ulm, MN has left me re-fueled and ready. Ready you may ask? Yes, ready! Ready to tackle that landscaping project, the expand the pig pasture project, and maybe start the green house project. Mostly I'm ready to have another play date with my darling daughter and the sweetest niece and nephew a girl could ask for. Yes, New Ulm is full of wonderful things like a barber shop owner who gives killer hair cuts at a killer establishment called 'Rogers', mulberry trees that are starting to ripen, local beer and my brother's house full of beautiful children, baby kittens, and warm hospitality. Life is good. And as those mulberries start to ripen, it only gets better. Yeah, I can't stop thinking about those mulberries....

It was the girls who found them. My daughter is such a product of rural living, in a somewhat isolated village, where harvesting from the wild is common practice. I was a bit startled when the girls told me about eating not-so- delicious wild berries they found in the woods, but was relieved to find that they had just consumed unripe berries from an mulberry tree. Whew. What the heck is an mulberry tree is what my brother had to say about the ordeal. I am such a product of rural living as well, and after nerding out on plant and tree identification books, I quickly learned which plants and trees I could eat or eat from. That was really all I cared about- what can I eat out here in the wild? Can I start a fire with two sticks? No. Can I navigate by the stars? No. Can I whip you up something to eat, MacGyver style, in the wild? Probably.

Back to those mulberries. They look somewhat like a blackberry, and have a taste that is subtle and sweet. Mulberries are a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium, vitamin c, and fiber. One of mulberries greatest health asset is it's high concentration of resveratrol, an antioxidant currently being studied for it's effects on heart health. Rock on mulberries! They are delicious straight up, but I wanted to share a recipe or two, since they will soon be in great abundance for my brother and his beautiful wife. The first is a smoothie that we make a variation of almost every morning at our house, and is enjoyed by everyone. You can substitute any kind of berry for the mulberries, and alter the flavors with various juices.


Mulberry Smoothies
serves two

1 cup mulberries
1 banana
1 cup spinach or kale
1/2 cup juice (blackberry, blueberry, apple, orange...whatever you have usually works well)
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk

Combine above ingredients in a blender and you're good to go. The following is one of my favorite combos. I can never get enough. Simple. Good.


Mulberry & Chevre Salad
serves two

2 big handfuls of greens. I have a mix growing in the garden now. Young kale, spinach, mixed greens of any sort....
fresh goat cheese, crumbled ( as little or as much as you prefer)
fresh mulberries ( as few or as many as you can pack into your salad bowl)
toasted seeds or nuts. Think pistachios and flax, or almonds and poppy seeds.
fresh beet, peeled and grated

Toss the above with a simple dressing made with 2 Tbl maple syrup, 1 Tbl mustard and 2 Tbls olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper. I can't get enough. Belly up!!