Columbus Foodie

You all remember when I bought those mulberries from the farmers market last week, right? Well, after explaining to Paul what they were and that yes, they were in fact edible, he said to me “you realize we have one of those in our backyard, right?” My ears perked up. Now, our backyard isn’t all that huge, but in the four years that we’ve lived here, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve wandered to that corner of the yard. Curious to see if it was in fact a mulberry bush, I took a look. It’s growing in between the split of our tree (while I know that will probably be a problem in the future, for the moment, I’m not going to worry about it).

Upon closer inspection, and after taking a leaf inside to compare with pictures of mulberry bushes on the internet, we found out that yes, indeed – it is a mulberry bush! Yay!

The great thing about the bush is that the berries, once they start ripening, do so very quickly. I can pick all the ripe berries and then 2 days later, have just as many newly ripe berries. I’ve been yielding about 2 cups of berries each time I pick them.

With the first batch, I made a jar of what promises to be lovely mulberry vinegar (which I plan on posting about in much more detail (including the recipe) when it’s done steeping in about 4 weeks). The next batch? Cobbler, of course. It is quite delicious – reminds me of a cross between blackberries and raspberries. Can I just say how thrilled I am to have something wild and edible growing where I can make use of it? You can’t get any more local than that…

Mulberry Cobbler
recipe by Sarah Ganly 

2 c. mulberries
1/4 – 1/2 c. sugar
6 tbsp. butter
3/4 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees . Next you will need to mix the berries with the sugar, and you can add some apple slices if you like. Sometimes I slice and chop one or two apples and throw them in for variety. After the fruit and sugar is thoroughly mixed melt the butter and pour it into an eight inch square glass dish.

Now mix all of the dry ingredients, and add the milk; remember to keep the berries separate! You can add some granola and/or oats to add some texture. You can also add some lemon zest to the batter in order to spice it up a bit. If you do not want to add these ingredients it will still be delicious, but you can always keep them in mind for latter.

A very important step in this recipe is to pour the batter into the dish. You do not want to mix the batter when it is in the dish because the butter is there first for a reason. Now that the batter is already in the pan you can add your mulberries. Sprinkle them all over the top of the batter.

This may seem like an upside down cobbler, but it is truly scrumptious, and is very easy to make. Bake this dish for about twenty minutes. You will know it is done when a knife comes out clean of batter when it is inserted in the middle of the cobbler.

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I’m submitting this recipe as part of Andrea’s Grow Your Own event, which showcases foods that you grow or forage yourself. Please stop by her site to participate, there’s still plenty of time to do so this month!