This is a fresh taste of summer that surprised me.

I had only known mulberries as the dare-you-to-eat-one mushy fruit that grew on scruffy shrubs, staining suburban sidewalks and children’s feet. When our generous neighbors stopped by to invite us to pick as many mulberries as we wanted, it took me a moment to realize that they were serious. They, in fact, had plans for baking a mulberry pie. When my husband told me the joy of his childhood adventures climbing mulberry trees, picking and eating berries until his fingers were purple and his stomach was full, I sent him out to the neighbor’s with a cute little plastic bucket along with our son Joe, to reclaim his youth.

Mostly Mulberry Pie

Prepare a 2-crust pie dough, roll out the bottom crust and fill with a mixture of:

• 4 c. mulberries
• 1 c. sliced strawberries (or skip the strawberries and use 5 c. mulberries)
• 3/4-1 c. sugar
• 2 Tbs. flour
• zest from 1 lemon

Top with lattice crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is brown and the fruit is bubbly.