Our weekly fruit share provided us with little purple plums the last three weeks and it was these very plums that provided activities to fill some of our time this weekend. The plums are not great for eating plain and I had already made jelly a few weeks ago, so it was time to try something new. Every week the fruit share people email a newsletter the day before pick up. It features recipes that use the fruit we'll be getting in our share that particular week. One of this week's recipes that caught my eye (or taste buds) was the one for Asian Plum Sauce. I had all the ingredients except for fresh ginger. I picked up some ginger on Friday and later that afternoon, I got busy with the recipe. The ginger and sesame oil provide a complex blend of flavors along with the plum, brown sugar and lemon. It's an exotic flavor, totally exciting and I can't wait to try it on some pork. The recipe yielded six half-pints and these little beauties will keep on the shelf, ready to be used in a wonderful dinner this fall.
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| Asian Plum Sauce |
I found the next recipe on one of my favorite sites, The Smitten Kitchen. It's for Marian Burro's Famous Purple Plum Torte. The way I see it, breakfast isn't breakfast without a sweet little something to have with the morning coffee. It's the happiest way to start the day and this gem of a cake is perfect. Baking is also an activity in which I can include my mom, so this was a win-win for us. The best part, besides eating it, is placing the plump little plum halves into the batter before baking. It's deeply satisfying to nestle the smooth, purple, half rounds into the blanket of batter. The batter puffs up during baking, enveloping the plum halves, softening and melding them into itself. I'll be happy waking up to this tomorrow morning!
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| Marian Burro's Famous Purple Plum Torte |
We still have a small bowlful of plums left; enough for one more recipe. I'll need to research a bit to see what we can whip up next. If it turns out to be something wonderful, I'll share. Bon Apetit!
Sometimes I read your blog and think I am seeing double. Filling the long days...tied to the house...baking/cooking as an activity to keep elder bones and old minds moving...
ReplyDeleteAnd then there is this Plum Torte. We made the German version of this (which looks and sounds identical) just a few days ago to take to the Patriarch who is spending some time in the hospital.
I saw the reference to that plum torte recipe on the Smitten Kitchen blog! I vowed to make it, but haven't yet. Was it indeed better the next day?
ReplyDeleteAs my late mom used to say, you are "fixed up" with plum sauce!
Yes, Lynn it was better the next morning. I also used less than 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, but more than the 1 teaspoon. She references this dilemma in her blog so I decided to use an amount somewhere in between. : )
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