More Plum Perfect Adventures

Two pounds of plums for $2 - how could I resist?

The local farm market will close for the season in a few weeks and I will be lost without it. So I am making the most of it now.

I love the taste of cooked plums. It takes me back to the summer my parents decided to rent Papineau's cottage for the whole season, not just a week. We took temporary possession of the cottage on a rainy afternoon in late May or early June. My mother made something with plums that night and the tangy, almost wine-y aroma filled the little house. The next morning, the outdoors was bright and fresh with an alluring aroma of pine and sea scent.

That was a summer on sandcastles and bonfires on the beach, of lazy afternoons and long evenings. I was an only child then and had my mother all to myself most of the time. She had - and still has - a vivid imagination. What fun we had!

Thinking wistfully of those days, I combined two previously-posted recipes, Autumn Apple Crisp and Plum Cobbler, preparing the plums as I would the apples but cooking them the way I would cook the plums. The crust is taken from the apple recipe, as I found the biscuits atop the plums too heavy.

Filling

Two pounds small plums, wash and sliced, pits removed
1/2 cup fructose
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400. Toss plums in large bowl with fructose, lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon. Layer in 13x9-inch baking pan. bake until edges begin to thicken -— 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and lower heat to 350 degrees.

Crust

¾ cup flour
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
½ cup brown sugar
½ stick unsalted butter, chilled

Combine flour, walnuts and brown sugar. Cut in butter and mix as you would a pastry crust. The result should be a granola-like topping. Spread evenly over the plums and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until the topping turns a golden brown.

I'm sure there's a recipe out there somewhere for plum crisp that I might have followed. But experimentation is too much fun. It's like going to a flea market or a consignment shop: You never know what you'll find.

And More Blog Discoveries

A few blogs I've discovered in the last few days:

My Husband Cooks rates high in my book because the bloggers were brave enough to talk about Tater Tots. Yes, Tater Tots. I am not ashamed to admit that my husband and I like them and often pop them in the oven for a quick supper (usually with a London Broil).

Cream Puffs in Venice focuses on Italian cooking out of Toronto.

A Fridge Full of Food offers an eclectic approach to blogging. I just like it.

The Perfect Pantry is neat because it features products I cannot find here in this northern outpost.

Then there are two more blogs from France that I am exploring:

Chez Loulou

Poppy Fields

I found these blogs through other bloggers who have kindly commented on this blog. They all seem to have an honest approach that I like.