Tony's Fresh-Picked Homemade Mulberry Pie

So I was mowing the soccer field today at church when I spotted a mulberry tree on our property line loaded with dark purple mulberries.  I made a mental note to return and pick a some, so when I got the mower stuck and had to wait for Nathan to come tow me out, I had the perfect chance to pick a bunch. A college friend was coming over to the Currey's later in the evening, so I told Nathan I would bring some Mulberry Pie.  He was clearly skeptical (keep in mind, he's a food snob). I noticed Janey made some dessert, because evidently she doubted my baking prowess also.  I showed them.

I have only made one other pie in my life, it was strawberry.  I figured, how hard is making a fruit based pie?  Just make the fruit sweeter, but retain it's natural flavor, put it in a good tasting crust, and slap on some kind of whipped topping.

I looked up a basic Mulberry Pie recipe online and found what I was looking for.  I wanted to make a pie for after dinner, and another for when my family would be back home from the mission trip tomorrow.

Here's how I did it:

After soaking the mulberries to clean them of any insects, dirt, etc., I picked all the stems off, washing again as I went.  Here they are in the main bowl before I cleaned them the last time.

Then I measured 6 cups of mulberries and put them in to a stainless steel mixing bowl. It has to be stainless, because these suckers stain something awful.

 I added 2 1/2 cups of sugar, about a cup and a half of flour, and turned on the mixer for few minutes.

I poured the sweet mulberry goo in to two pre-made pastry pie crusts.  I put them in the fridge for 30 minutes while the oven pre-heated to 400.

I put them in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes. Then I dropped the temperature to 350 for 30 more minutes (as per a recipe I got from "allrecipes.com").

I took out of the oven and let cool. I didn't have much time to let the first one cool as it was due to be eaten within an hour an a half.  It was a little soupy when I brought it over to the Currey's.  The second one set up perfectly and is awaiting consumption for tomorrow.

 I put a thick layer of cool whip on the top. This was my adaptation to the recipe I got on the internet. The recipe suggested a lattice style pastry crust on top. I don't know how to make crust, so I opted for no top, but rather a topping instead.  Whipped cream made sense because, after all, anything is good with cheese, bacon, chocolate, or whipped cream, right?

We cut it up and ate it.  It was delicious.  I can't wait to eat the other one tomorrow.

Perhaps, during fruit season, I will go around to places and find stuff to make pies with.  Did you know mulberries are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants?