Going to the bar!

I still have plenty of mulberries even with the wind and stormy weather that has gone through here.  So yesterday  when I went out  to pick some more mulberries, I went past the currant bushes and they were full of red, ripe, succulent berries.  So busy, busy purple hands from the mulberries picked a large pan of currants for jelly.

When my parents bought their house in Lorain, there were currant bushes growing in the backyard along with many other things.  Dad would always wait for them to grow ripe with fruit.  He had to fight the birds for them, so he would sit outside with his badminton racquet, swat cabbage moths and swing it wildly at the birds. This  made for an entertaining view.  When he would catch us laughing, he would tell us to come try it. Then he got to laugh. Let me tell you that swatting the cabbage moths is no easy task as they go every which way.   I challenge you to try it!

I do not have problems with birds because they are all in the mulberry tree.  They leave the currants, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries alone.  Another good reason to have a mulberry tree.  (If you live near me I have a beautiful sapling that needs a home or it will be soon be pulled out and dumped over the hill.  So if you are interested, let me know.  I also have two small ones that are going to need new homes, too.

Yesterday, I made fruit bars.   The recipe was adapted from the blog site, TastyKitchens.com and was added to that site by kelly dee.  Her recipe was Blueberry Rhubarb Bars. I made Rhubarb-Mulberry- Strawberry Bars.  I am a firm believer that anytime you use fruit in a 9x12 dish you should have 8 cups of fruit or more.

Here is my adaptation. preheat oven 350 degree F

 

Ingredients :

4 cups of rhubarb  cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cups of mulberries, stems removed (I use scissors)
1 cup cut up fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons corn starch

 1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 1/2 cups Quick cooking oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and corn starch.  Set aside.

Combine he first  5 ingredients in a large sauce pan and  cook over medium heat until fruit is soft. Mash with a potato masher to smooth out large chunks. add sugar and cornstarch mixture.  Continue to stir until thickened.

While mixture is cooking,combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, until well mixed and crumbly to make the crust.  Reserve a cup and a half for topping. Spray a 9x12 pan and press remaining crust mixture in the pan.

Pour the thickened fruit mixture over the crust.  Top with reserved mixture.  Bake 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Enjoy.

Three Berry Crisp

Walked over by the mulberry tree this morning and the fruit is just falling off the tree ( with the help of the birds).  The tree is about 65 feet tall so there is plenty to share with them.  Picked about two cups and will get some more tomorrow.  I couldn't decide what to make with them so I hit a search engine to find a recipe that had mulberries and rhubarb.  I had picked some rhubarb the day before.

I found a recipe that was called Three Berry Crisp.  It was on Food.com.  Why it is called three berry when it only calls for strawberries I cannot tell you.  It is okay because I didn't use strawberries nor did I use three berries. But it was quite tasty.

Here I s my adaptation of the recipe.

 Three Berry Crisp
  
Ingredients :
3 medium apples,sliced
2 cups of mulberries
4 cups rhubarb, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons sugar
 3 tablespoons flour
1 slight teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
3 envelopes of maple cinnamon instant oatmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
Spray a 5 quart baking dish and lay apples in the bottom.
Add berries and rhubarb on top of apples.
Mix together the sugar, flour and cinnamon, stir gently through the fruit
Mix together topping ingredients until integrated, sprinkle over fruit.

Bake 350 F for 1 hour

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy!

I chose to use the instant oatmeal because I did not have any regular oats.  It worked really well and I probably will do it again. It is a quick and good way to use up the oatmeal that does not get eaten in the summer.

OOPS!! Sudden wind and rain are attacking the mulberry tree( and everything outside).  It is near the pond so I guess the vegan fish will have some mulberries.

 No power, no internet, no post for now.  30% chance of rain!!!