The Egg Diaries - Mulberry Clafouti

The Egg Diaries - A weekly journal documenting my egg use, to help myself and others use all the beautiful eggs, our hens lay for us.  Now, a Blog Hop, so you can join in by sharing the ways in which you use your eggs.  Link up at the bottom of the page.

Last week at this time, we were in the middle of some unstable weather, which caused out internet to be very unstable.  I was unable to post last week's Egg Diaries because of it.  Our unstable internet is one of the negatives of living in the country, but is one I can overlook and live with.

Ricotta Lemon Arugula Quiche - Recipe by Martha Stewart linked below

All of the spring greens we planted in the garden are ready for harvesting and we've been enjoying baby spinach, red mustard, red romaine and other lettuce, endive and arugula.  I tried a Martha Stewart recipe for Ricotta Lemon and Arugula Quiche that I had pinned on Pinterest.  It was light and fresh and if you love the spicy, peppery taste of arugula, you'll enjoy it.  The recipe is linked below.

Our mulberry trees are laden with fruit.  I absolutely love mulberries!  I've been making mulberry jam and, of course baking with them to use eggs.  I used them in Pavlova last week.  If you missed my post it's linked below.

Mulberry Clafouti is a favorite recipe because it's fast and easy.  My recipe is at the bottom of the page.  Clafouti is traditionally made with cherries, so you can substite cherries or different berries in this recipe.

The Egg Diaries

Monday June 9th

3 Eggs - Breakfast:  Sausage Cheese and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches on Toasted English Muffins, Orange Juice
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner
2 Eggs - Cooked and fed to the dogs

5 Eggs Used

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Tuesday June 10th

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  French Toast, Bacon, mulberries
0 Eggs - Lunch
8 Eggs - Dinner:  Pork Roast with roasted potatoes, carrots and onions, green beans  Pavlova ( with lemon curd, fresh strawberries and mulberries)

13 Eggs Used

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Wednesday June 11th

0 Eggs - Breakfast
0 Eggs - Lunch
2 Eggs - Dinner:  Ricotta Lemon and Arugula Quiche, Spring Greens Salad
2 Eggs - Cooked and fed to the dogs

4 Eggs Used

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Thursday June 12th

0 Eggs - Breakfast
4 Eggs - Lunch:  Egg Salad Sandwiches, vegetable sticks, strawberries
0 Eggs - Dinner

4 Eggs Used

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Friday June 13th

0 Eggs - Breakfast
0 Eggs - Lunch
4 Eggs - Dinner:  Cheeseburger Macaroni Casserole, Spring Greens Salad,  Mulberry Clafouti (Recipe is below)

4 Eggs Used

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Saturday June 14th

4 Eggs - Breakfast:  Cheese Omelettes, toast, strawberries
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner
8 Eggs - Scrambled and fed to the chickens

12 Eggs Used

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Sunday June 15th

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  Steak and Fried Eggs, Toast, Cranberry Orange Juice
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner

5 Eggs Used

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TOTAL:  47 EGGS USED

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Mulberry Clafouti

Mulberry Clafouti

2 cups mulberries
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease an 8 x 8 square pan

Put your mulberries in the pan and arrange so they are spread evenly.

Combine your flour and salt and set aside.

Beat the eggs and the egg yolk together until light.
Add the sugar and beat.
Beat in the milk and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture and beat until the mixture is well combined, light and airy.

Pour the mixture over the berries.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden and the top springs back when touched.

Cool.  ( We like it cold, others like to serve it warm)

Dust with icing sugar if you like to make a pretty presentation. (optional - we find it sweet enough without the added sugar)

Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy!

I'm linking up with Homestead Barn Hop #163

Farm Fresh Eating - Pavlova

Eggs and berries are plentiful on our little homestead right now.

It's our first year growing strawberries and we're getting more than I thought we would.  We eat the strawberries almost as fast as we pick them.  We pick them fresh every day.  They ripen on the plant and the taste is phenomenal.  Store bought berries have nothing on these babies.  There is no comparison.  You owe it to yourself to seek out some local strawberries and taste the difference yourself.

Our mulberries are incredibly plentiful.  I will be making jam again this year.  It's Mr. B's favorite, along with Mulberry Pie and Mulberry Cobbler.  The Mulberry Liquer I made last year was wonderful, so I see more of that this year also.  We're planning to dry some of our mulberry harvest to use like raisins.  Apparently they do it in Turkey and it's quite a delicious snack and very healthy.

If you are looking to try mulberries yourself, look for a mulberry tree in your neighborhood, or find someone like us who grows them.  You won't find them in your supermarket, because they are difficult to harvest and transport and their "shelf life" is very short.  Your Farmer's Market is probably your best bet to search for them.  If you live near Manito, Pekin, or Peoria in Illinois, contact me.

I was trying to think of a good way to use our bounty of berries and eggs and it came to me.  Pavlova!  It's the perfect early summer dessert and uses all three ingredients.

Pavlova is a meringue traditionally topped with whipped cream and fruit in season.  You can also top it with lemon curd, as I did here because I wanted to use the egg yolks, or with a pudding or custard and, of course, fruit.

Pavlova

You'll want to bake the meringue early in the day as it takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake and then you must cool the meringue in the oven with the door closed, which will take approx 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your baking sheet.  On one side of the sheet parchment, using a pencil, trace around an 8 inch round cake or pie pan, dark enough so that you can see the circular outline when you flip the paper over and lay it upside down in your pan.

4 egg whites (fresh, local eggs from pastured hens) at room temperature (separate your eggs one at a time into a separate small bowl and then pour into your larger bowl, just in case you accidentally get some yolk in them - there must be NO yolk or grease in the egg whites or they won't beat up)

A pinch of salt ( see here if you don't know what a pinch is )

1 1/4 cups of sugar - I use 1 cup which is still very sweet

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar or lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream ( 1 pint of whipping cream - add 2 tablespoons of sugar, optional )

Fresh Seasonal Local Fruit

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla and put to one side.

Put your egg whites in a large bowl and add the pinch of salt.  Beat with a mixer until the egg whites become 'white' and glossy peaks form.

Add your sugar to the egg whites, 1/3 at a time, beating after each addition, until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Sprinkle the cornstarch mixture over the meringue, then, using a spatula, gently fold the mixture together, until combined.

Empty your meringue out onto the center of your circle on the parchment paper.  Using your spatula spread and shape your meringue into a circle and smooth the top.

Place your pan in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature of the oven to 250 degrees.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Turn off the oven and let the meringue cool completely in the oven, about 3 to 4 hours.

Top with whipped cream and seasonal local fruits.

ENJOY!

Eat Fresh.  Eat Seasonal.  Eat Local.

Mulberry Madness

Last week, while picking radishes and lettuce from the garden, I noticed our mulberries were starting to ripen.

A few found their way into my basket, but it was obvious I was going to need to come out with baskets and bowls just for the berries.

Last year, because it was so hot and dry, there were barely enough mulberries for the birds and wild animals.   This year the trees are laden.  We've been picking every day, twice a day and have picked and frozen pounds and pounds of these delicious berries.

We always keep some fresh to snack on and to cook with.

The very first quart we picked, went straight (after rinsing)  into my 8 x 8 pan, ready to be made into cobbler.

Yes, you can leave the little green stems on, thank goodness!

This is my favorite Mulberry Cobbler recipe.  It has a delicious shortcake like crust and the mulberries cook up sweet and juicy underneath it.  I originally got the recipe from Circle B Kitchen, HERE, and made a few slight changes to it.

Mulberry Cobbler

1 qt mulberries 

2 tablespoons lemon juice (one small lemon)

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water (if  using frozen berries, eliminate the water)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tablespoon butter

Topping:

1 1/3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup lard or butter

1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place mulberries in an 8 x 8 pan.

In a small bowl combine the lemon juice, water, cornstarch, salt and sugar.  Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved.  Microwave for 30 seconds.

Pour the cornstarch mixture over the berries in the pan.  Mix gently.  Cut the butter into small pieces and dot the top of the berries with them.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Cut in the lard or butter with a knife or pastry blender, until the pieces are the size of small peas.  Slowly add the milk, stirring until a soft dough is formed.  Form into a ball and knead on a floured board for 20 to 30 seconds. Roll the dough out to the size of your baking pan.  Dough will be 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. 

Place the dough on top of the berries.  Cut 2 or 3 slashes on the top for steam to escape and sprinkle the top with a little more sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.  We like it completely cooled.

Delicious plain or serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

I've made three cobblers since we started our harvest.  They don't last long around here.

I also made Mulberry liqueurs, one batch with vodka, one batch with brandy.

They won't be ready until September.

And, yes, of course I've made Mulberry Jam.

Mulberries do not have a lot of natural pectin, so the jam tends to be more saucy than other jams.  This makes it perfect for topping pancakes, soaking into biscuits and topping ice cream.  Some people strain their jam of the fruit and seeds to make jelly, but I like to keep them in.  The seeds which rise to the top when you make the jam, stir easily through the jam once opened and don't rise back up.

So, what do I do when I have plenty of eggs and Mulberry Jam?

I make fresh popovers and jam!  Perfect for brunch or tea.

My husband has requested a Mulberry Pie for dinner tonight, so I must be off.  I hope you're enjoying mulberry season too.

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