rants & recipes

This week, we noticed a volunteer mulberry tree by our kitchen window had quite a few berries on it. So I picked the ripe ones for a few nights until I had enough to make oat bars.

Ummm, mulberries:

I've made this recipe a lot, using all kinds of fruit - the originally-called-for dates, cranberries, raspberries. This was the first thing I made to carry to a VIP (Vegetarians in Pitt County) potluck - there's a very similar recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking but mine is adapted from an old Bisquick cookbook recipe.

Mulberry Oat Bars

Ingredients, crumb mix:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 scant tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• dash cinnamon

Ingredients, filling:

• 12 ounces mulberries, or similar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tbsp sugar
• dash vanilla
• pinch salt
• ~ 1 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with a little cold water

Instructions:

1. Grease and parchment a 9 x 9 baking dish.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Instructions, filling:

1. Combine fruit, water and sugar.
2. Heat on medium heat to a simmer, stirring and breaking up some of the fruit.
3. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add cornstarch and bring to a simmer to thicken.
5. Turn off heat and stir in salt and vanilla.
6. Let cool while making the crumb mix.

Instructions, crumb mix:

1. Cream fat and sugar together.
2. Combine rest of crumb ingredients in another bowl.
3. Cut dry ingredients into fat/sugar until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Press half of the crumb mixture into prepared pan.
5. Top with filling.
6. Spread remaining crumb mix on top of filling.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes.

These make a good breakfast bar or accompaniment to vegan ice cream.