June hailstorms and a visit to a berry farm

Black and red mulberries (left), tayberries (right)

It seems like the umpteenth time this month that I've had to push, pull, drag or carry potted plants and strawberry containers under protective cover in anticipation of yet another hailstorm. Late spring/early summer is proving to be a test of patience with relentless downpours and fluctuating temperatures. With weather like this, I won't risk doing any transplanting only to have the young veggies and flowers pummeled into the ground. Oh 2020, why did you have to be such a pain in the arse!

Rant over, now to these gorgeous berries that we picked up at a berry farm last week. Searching for info on mulberry trees, I came across Azienda Agricola Martina Biraghi and was thrilled to discover that the farm grows and sells not ony mulberry fruit, but a host of other berries as well. I got the 2 varieties of mulberries (top and bottom on the left) and a couple of tayberries to supplement the small harvest from my tayberry bush at home. I've never had fresh mulberries before and these were sweet and delicious. The tayberries taste like raspberries (they are a cross between a blackberry and red raspberry) so I cooked them down with a bit of sugar into a syrup for pancakes and ice cream.

And the mulberries? Well if there's one thing that immediately comes to mind, it has to be the famous granita served in Sicily! Gelso (mulberry) granita and brioche con tuppo (a sweet dough roll with a top) is a breakfast classic. I made brioche using my sourdough starter and it has been granita, brioche, and whipped cream at any hour of the day.