Battle of the Banana Breads

My son loves bananas, and I always have them in the house. But some weeks he is a little slow to eat them, and I need to make use of the overripe ones.

In the summer it's easy: I make all sorts of smoothies for him. He loves coming home from summer camp to find one ready for him in the fridge. It's a cool treat and a tad healthier than ice cream.

In the winter, I turn to my oven. I've made banana cookies, muffins, and even monkey bars, but banana bread feeds my family longer. The thing is, when you have a long winter like we've had this season, banana bread can get tiring pretty quick. So I made an effort to try some new recipes. I found two to try, taking a break from my go-to recipe, and here I rate them all.

Caramelized Banana Bread with Browned Butter Glaze
Recipe from: Cooking Light
Pros: Flavorful and moist. Does not develop a "crust" while baking
Cons: Cooking the bananas is not a step found in traditional recipes. If pressed for time it might not be a step you can afford to take.
Comments: A hit! Loved throughout the family. No one had any complaints, even though there aren't any chocolate chips in it.
Rating: 5 stars

Cinnamon Crumb Banana Bread
Recipe from: Little Bits of Baking, Crafting & Life
Pros: It has crumbs on top.
Cons: It has crumbs on top.
Comments: Originally from North Jersey, my husband and I are huge fans of the crumb bun, so we were excited to give this a try. Because the crumbs go on the bread before it goes in the oven, it takes longer to bake and subsequently develops a hard crust in order for it bake all the way through. I think it should be pre-baked for 15 minutes or so, before adding the crumbs on top and baking all the way through. I have not tested my theory, though.
Rating: 4 stars

Buttermilk Banana Bread
Recipe from: Grace and Good Eats
Pros: It allows me to use up both bananas and any buttermilk I have lingering in the fridge.
Cons: I added 1/4 cup Nutella to this recipe, which meant it had to be baked longer and the bread developed a crust.
Comments: Very quick and easy to make. At the last minute I decided to swirl a 1/4 cup Nutella into the batter once it was in the loaf pan. This resulted in a longer baking time. I would be willing to make this again without the Nutella -- to my husband's and son's disappointment.
Rating: 4 stars

Overall: We enjoyed all three of these recipes. Personally, I like a soft banana bread and the first recipe does not form a crust during baking. But if you have overripe bananas in your kitchen, any of these recipes is a great way to use them.

Enjoy!

Kid Cooks Saturdays: Week #6

I'm really not sure this qualifies as a Kid Cooks Saturday. There was no actual cooking involved, and I made this for myself the day before. But I enjoyed it so much and knew my son would as well, so I helped my son make it for breakfast for himself the day before.

It was a huge it! It was easy to make -- my son loved that he could make it all by himself. It's versatile -- any of the ingredients can easily be swapped out for something else. And it's fun! It brought out the kid in me -- so much so that I drank a glass of chocolate milk with it.

So here is my recipe for a fruit wrap. We we definitely be adding this to our breakfast rotation. Left to his own devices, my son would switch between pancakes and waffles every morning for breakfast. He does eat cereal and I love that he eats yogurt, since it's a great way to incorporate more fruit into the most important meal of the day. This fruit wrap follows in yogurt's foot steps.

And for those that frequently need to eat breakfast on the go, this wrap is portable without being messy. Score!

Fruit Wrap
A Country Cooking Original Recipe

Ingredients:

• tortilla or your favorite wrap
• peanut butter, or your favorite butter (I like sunflower seed butter)
• slided bananas
• sliced strawberries
• blueberries

Directions:

1. Spread peanut butter over tortilla in a thin layer, leaving a 1-inch border.
2. Arrange sliced bananas and strawberries over the peanut butter.
3. Sprinkle blueberries over the bananas and strawberries.
4. Roll up tortilla burrito-style and slice in half on the bias. Enjoy! Chocolate milk is optional.

Best. Banana Bread. Ever.

Since I've had my son, not a week goes by that I don't buy bananas. Some weeks, all of the bananas are gone before I can buy more. And others, well, I'm left with soft, browning bananas that no one wants to eat.

I hate wasting, so then my mission becomes finding something to do with those bananas. In the summer I make smoothies, my son's favorite afternoon treat. In the winter, I bake. Cookies and muffins aren't a problem, but banana bread was always something I struggled with. I would use the standard Betty Crocker recipe, the same one I use for pumpkin and zucchini bread. But for some reason with the banana bread, the outside would be overcooked before the inside cooked. Frustrating and disappointing. I was just about ready to give up on banana bread all together.

Then I found the recipe below from Cooking Light, and all that changed. Now my family is hoping for extra, soft, brown bananas so I can make this bread. No more muffins. No more cookies. This banana bread is a real winner. So if you've struggled with banana bread in the past like I have, I urge you to give this recipe a try. It just might have you hoping for brown, soft bananas at the end of the week, too.

Caramelized Banana Bread with Browned Butter Glaze
Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter, softened and divided
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 medium ripe bananas, sliced
• 1/2 cup fat-free buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons amber or gold rum (molasses works well, also)
• 2 large eggs
• 9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Baking spray with flour
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons half-and-half

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and bananas; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Place banana mixture in a large bowl. Beat with a mixeer at medium speed until smooth.
3. Combine buttermilk and next 3 ingredients (through eggs). Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. Scrape batter into a 9x5-inch metal loaf pan coated with baking spray. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan, and cool on a wire rack.
4. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 3 minutes or until butter begins to brown; remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and half-and-half, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over bread. Let stand until glaze sets.

Note from the Kitchen: I have not made this recipe with rum. The first time I made it I did not have any on hand, so I used molasses instead. The bread was so delicious, though, that I have continued to use molasses instead of rum. Also, because I make this for us to snack on throughout the week, I have not made the glaze for this bread. And we don't miss it. However, if I was entertaining with this bread or bringing it to a gathering, I would use the glaze to dress it up.

Going Dutch

It's that time of year. Scour the food blogs and everyone is posting their fall favorites. Muffins, crisps, and pies. Pumpkin and apples. You name it, there's a recipe for it. Heck, I'm no different. I have a section of my blog devoted to pumpkin, my very favorite gourd.

So when my mom and were planning an autumn Sunday dinner, there was no shortage of dessert recipes in my arsenal to choose from. Despite that, I decided to try something new: Dutch Apple Pie.

This pie is so good. How good, you ask? Good enough that my mom asked me for the recipe on the spot. And I wrote it down for her before I left for the evening. Yup, it was that easy that I could write it down from memory, having only made it once.

Easy and delicious? Certainly makes it a winner in my book!

Dutch Apple Pie

Recipe from Taste of Home
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
  FILLING:
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cups cold water
• 3 cups diced peeled tart apples
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats and butter; set aside 1 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 9-in. pie plate; set pie plate aside.
2. For filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water in a large saucepan until smooth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in apples and vanilla. Pour into crust; top with reserved crumb mixture.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Banana? Versatile? Who Knew?

Like earlier this month, I found myself with a few overripe bananas. Last time my son and I made Banana-Strawberry Muffins.

I never seem to have much luck with banana bread, and I didn't want to make muffins again. A quick Google search turned up this recipe for banana cookies. And determining I had all the ingredients on hand, my son and I set about making these cookies.

These cookies were everything they were promised to be and more. The aroma filled the house with a wonderful, warm scent, courtesy of the ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Golden brown out the outside, they have cake-like texture on the inside, something you just can't get from cookies bought at the supermarket. And it's that cake-like texture that made me think the cookies would be great for whoopie or moon pies (or whatever you call them).

The original recipe says it makes 30 cookies. It also says to drop dollops of the dough on your cookie sheet. Now, I don't know what they consider a dollop, but I used my 1" ice cream scoop, and I got 4 dozen cookies.

But you know what they say: The more the merrier!

Banana Cookies

Recipe from Simply Recipes
Makes 30 - 48 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 1/2 large bananas)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg or mace (I used nutmeg)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup pecans, or walnuts, or chocolate chips (I used 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
2. In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.
3. Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and shift into butter and banana mixture, and mix until just combined.
4. Fold into the batter the nuts and/or chocolate chips if using. Drop dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown.
5. Let cool on wire racks.

One Small Step for Pie-Kind

Making pies can be intimidating. At least for me. Maybe that's because in my family, my mom and dad's pies are revered. They'll be married 40 years in October and for 38 of them, they've made the apple and pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. (They didn't make the pies the year I was born -- I was born on a Sunday and came home on Thanksgiving -- and the year my sister was born -- she was born on Thanksgiving, and my mom went into labor just as they were starting to peel the apples.)

That's a tough reputation to live up to.

But I knew the time would come when I would have to take a crack at it. Sure, my pie could never be as good as my parents' but may I could find a way to make it my own. And maybe, just maybe, my pie could revered in its own way.

But first I needed to find a recipe that wouldn't intimidate me.

Last season on her show, The Pioneer Woman made a flat apple pie. Everything about it seemed simple: the crust, the filling, the presentation. It was the perfect pie for this novice.

But, novice or no novice, I wasn't going to follow the recipe exactly. So, since apples weren't in season, I decided to make mine a flat peach pie instead.

And it didn't disappoint.

Not only was the pie easy to make, the crust was fantastic. It was so flaky, and better than any store-bought crust I've tried. I'll be using this crust for pies, pot pies, and any other recipe calling for a crust. It was perfect, just like the Pioneer Woman promised.

Flat Peach Pie

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Makes 2 pies

Ingredients:

• 5 firm peaches, sliced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 recipe Perfect Pie Crust (recipe below)
• 6 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the peaches, flour, lemon juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Set aside.
3. Roll out the pie crusts into large circles. Place them on large baking sheets.
4. Place half the peach mixture on one crust and the other half on the remaining crust.
5. Fold over the edges of each crust so that it covers 2-3 inches of the peach mixture. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of butter.
6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is golden and bubbly. If the crust appears to brown too quickly, cover the edges with aluminum foil for the remaining baking time.

Perfect Pie Crust

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman
Makes two to three 9-inch pie crusts

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Directions:

1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add in the shortening. Using a pastry cutter, gradually work the shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. This step should take 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Lightly beat the egg with a fork, then add it to the mixture. Next add in the cold water and vinegar. Stir the mixture together until it's just combined.
4. Remove half of the dough from the bowl and place in a large plastic bag (do not seal) and slightly flatten with a rolling pin. (This makes it much easier to roll out the crust later.) After flattening, seal the bag tightly.
5. Repeat with the other half of the dough and place the plastic bags in the freezer.
6. When you're ready to use a crust, remove one from the freezer and allow it to sit on the counter and thaw slightly, about 20 minutes. Remove from the bag and place on a lightly floured surface.
7. With a rolling pin, begin rolling the dough from the center, outward. When at desired thickness, carefully lift the pie crust and lay it over a pie pan. Using your hand, lightly form the crust so that it fits inside the pan and overlaps the edges.
8. Fill the pie crust with filling and bake according to the pie recipe's instructions. Or, for a pre-baked crust, fill with pie weights (or pinto beans placed on aluminum foil) and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or until golden.

You Say Banana; I Say Muffin

The good thing about summer? The overwhelming amount of produce. The bad thing about summer? Not being able to use the overwhelming amount of produce before it goes bad.

And that's where baking saves the day.

Normally when baking with fruit, like when you make pies, you need it to be on the firmer side, so the juices don't run and make a huge mess in your oven. But muffins and breads are perfect for fruit that's imperfect. And that's exactly what I had this week, strawberries that were starting to go soft and bananas that were too soft to eat on their own. My son wanted to know what we could do with them. Make muffins, of course!

These muffins were a big hit with the whole family -- even my husband, who doesn't like strawberries. Because they were already soft and baked into the muffin, the broke down even more, adding a natural sweetness to the muffin, which was complimented nicely by the smokiness from the brown sugar.

These muffins are great any time of the day: on-the-go breakfast, mid-morning or afternoon snack, or evening nosh. Take your pick!

Banana-Strawberry Muffins

A Country Cooking Original Recipe
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins

• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 1 cup chopped, fresh strawberries
  Streusel Topping
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms only of muffin tin or line with paper baking cups.
2. Make streusel topping and set aside.
3. Beat milk, mashed bananas, oil, and egg in a large bowl with wire whisk. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt all at once until flour is just moistened (batter will be lumpy).
4. Fold in strawberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, and sprinkle each with about 1 tablespoon of streusel topping.
5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. If baked in greased pan, let stand about 5 minutes in tin, then remove to wire rack to cool. If baked in paper baking cups, immediately remove from pan to wire rack.

Red, White and Blue

Red, white, and blue makes a monkey out of you!

This childhood rhyme played in my head as breakfast unfolded one Sunday morning. It started out as a typical morning: my son asking for pancakes. I made the batter the night before -- a little trick I picked up when my son was a toddler, in an effort to get them to the griddle that much faster -- so it was just a matter who wanted what in their pancakes. Blueberries for my husband, blueberries and strawberries for my son, and inspired by my son, I decided to take mine to another level.

Like my son, I put both strawberries and blueberries in my pancakes. But when it was time to serve, that's when I let my creativity shine. I drizzled honey -- fresh from the farmer's market -- over the pancakes. Then topped them off with a dollop -- "Well, hello big dollop!" of fresh ricotta.

This was a breakfast treat like no other! If you haven't had fresh ricotta, you need to change that. Stat. Don't try this with Polly-o from your local supermarket; it's not the same. Fresh ricotta ... I could eat it with a spoon! And combining it with the fresh fruit and honey just took breakfast to a whole new, unbelievable level. You'll never go back to whipped cream.

Red, White, and Blue Pancakes
Original Country Cooking recipe
Makes about 9 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted, plus more for the griddle
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup whole or buttermilk
• blueberries
• strawberries, halved or sliced, depending on size
• fresh ricotta

Directions:

1. Beat melted butter and egg.
2. Add dry and wet ingredients. Beat until smooth.
3. Melt a tablespoon of butter on a griddle over medium heat.
4. Ladle batter (3-4 cakes) onto griddle. As edges begin to set, add fruit to cakes.
5. As the batter bubbles and pops, flip them. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
6. Plate pancakes. Top with fresh ricotta, and drizzle honey. Garnish with additional blueberries and strawberries.

My How Time Flies!

Growing up, we celebrated special occasions, events, and milestones with food. Out for dinner. Out for ice cream. Make a favorite meal. Make a favorite dessert. The memory of those events can easily be recalled with the right dish. So when Country Cooking turned a year old, I celebrated with a new look -- background picked out by my son -- and a great meal.

It was a warm day, so my husband grilled a london broil and corn on the cob and I made stuffed tomatoes. And while I don't typically make dessert, I decided this was a special occasion. And because it was such a warm day, I wanted a dessert that tasted like summer. One of my favorite summer fruit is peaches, so I decided to make peach crisps.

It was a wise decision. They were a hit, and I can't wait to make them again. I'll be stocking up on the "seconds" from the farmer's market this summer, since I see lots of peach crisps, cobblers, and crostatas in our future!

Peach Crisps
A Country Cooking Original

Ingredients:

• 6-8 6 oz. ramekins
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 2 bags frozen peaches, chopped
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.
3. Cut the cold butter into pieces. Add the butter to the food processor and pulse until mixture resembles a moist, coarse meal.
4. Place the still-frozen, chopped peaches in a bowl. Add the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch and vanilla extract and gently stir to coat the peaches.
5. Divide the peaches between the ramekins. Top with the crumb mixture, evening out the surface. (Don't worry if it's full right to the top. It will sink a bit as it cooks.)
6. Bake until the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 45 minutes. If the topping appears underdone, continue baking in 10 minute increments until it's done.
7. Serve warm or at room temp with either whipped topping, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

Two for One

My parents make fabulous pies for Thanksgiving every year. Apple and pumpkin. And every year I have a slice of each because, really, how could anyone choose?

And now, you don't have to.

It's not pie, but it's a great way to combine the flavors of my favorite pies into one fabulous dish. This is just outstanding, delicious, and a must-have. So what are you waiting for? Get baking!

Dutch Apple-Pumpkin Crisp
Recipe from Betty Crocker
Prep Time: 20 min.
Start to Finish: 1 hour 15 min.
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

Crisp:

• 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled apples (2-3 small)
  
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie mix)
  
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  
• 1/4 cup milk
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  
• 1 egg
  
  Topping:
  
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
  
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  
• whipped cream, if desired

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread apples over bottom of 9-inch glass pie plate. Microwave uncovered on High 4 to 6 minutes or until apples are crisp-tender.
   
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss topping ingredients (flour, brown sugar, butter or margarine, and pumpkin pie spice) until crumbly. Set aside.
   
3. In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients except whipped cream with wire whisk until smooth. Pour over apples. Sprinkle with topping mixture.
   
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and set. Cool 20 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Not Just for Thanksgiving

I have to say, my mother and father prepare quite the spread for Thanksgiving each year. The turkey, stuffing, potatoes, carrots. You name it, we have it. And it's all prepared from scratch. Except from the cranberry sauce. That comes out of a can.

And that just seems ... wrong.

So last year I decided to make some cranberry sauce from scratch. I searched through all my recipes books and this recipe appealed to me. It made the whole house smell wonderful, warm, and welcoming. Oh, and it's delicious, too.

But the best part is, it's not just for Thanksgiving. I made this sauce all winter long. It's great mixed in yogurt, on top of pancakes, waffles or french toast, or stirred into your oatmeal. The possibilities are endless. You're only limited by your imagination, really.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Recipe from Taste of Home Thanksgiving
Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
  
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ground allspice
  
• 1/8 teaspoon each salt, ground ginger and ground cloves

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered until the berries pop and mixture is thickened, about 30 minutes. Cool. Transfer to a serving bowl; cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Tip:

• Stock up on cranberries when they're in season. To freeze cranberries, rinse them and pat them dry. Discard any that are not firm and plump. Place them in a single layer on a 13-inch x9-inch baking pan. When frozen, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 year. Freezing berries individually allows you to measure only as many as needed. There's no need to defrost frozen cranberries first.

Note from the 2012 Kitchen: Take your leftover turkey sandwich to the next level. On a Portugese roll with a light spread of mayo, layer cold turkey breast, a couple of spoonfuls of warm stuffing, and top with this cranberry sauce. You'll taste Thanksgiving in every bite.

Preserving Summer

Earlier this summer I had the pleasure of discovering sugar plums. About two weeks ago I discovered Italian prune plums at my farmer's market. And again, I found myself asking, "what to do with them?" Enter Martha Stewart. I was flipping through the August issue of her magazine and found a whole page dedicated to this fruit. There were three easy uses for the plums, and when I saw this easy jam recipe I knew I had to give it a try.

Of course there are the obvious uses for this jam, like on toast or crackers. But it would also be excellent on brie baked in crescent roll.

Easy Prune Plum Jam

Recipe from the August 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living
Makes 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. prune plums, halved and pitted
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Bring plums, sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and salt to a boil in a pot, mashing plums with a potato masher.
   
2. Cook, stirring often, until mixture has the consistency of thick honey.
   
3. Remove skins using a fork.
   
4. Let cool. Refrigerate until ready to use (up to 1 month).

Note: I halved this recipe.

Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice

I had pleasure of discovering sugar plums this summer at my farmer's market. It was one of my regular Saturday visits when I spied the small containers filled with those precious jewels. I had never had sugar plums before, but my husband likes plums and I thought they would be a nice treat.

And oh what a treat they were!

Sweet, succulent, delicious. I couldn't get enough. And as delicious as they were on their own, my mind immediately started spinning. What could I do with these?

So I halved a plum, removing the pit. I placed a small gorgonzola crumble in the indentation where the pit had been. Then I placed a glazed pecan on top, and popped it into my mouth.

Oh, it was heaven!

The perfect contrast of sweet and tart, of soft and crunch.

The only downside? They have a short season. (So get them while the gettin's good.)