Hungry? Here are 21 plum recipes to put that farmers market bounty to good use. 

Late summer offers the chance for plums, and whether you foraged them off of the neighbor’s tree or picked up a pound at a farmers market, there’s no end to what you can do with them. Although they’re often a forgotten fruit, they are a versatile one, and work for savory dishes just as they do for sweet ones.

A good source of vitamins A, K, and C, plums are also packed with antioxidants. There are more than 2,000 plum varieties, and probably just as many plum recipes, from chutney to pizza. Here are 21 ideas to get you started.

1. A spicy plum chutney is good for serving with hard cheeses or a plate of charcuteries.

2. Trying to kick the morning coffee habit? Start with a plum and almond smoothie instead.

3. Improve french toast, ice cream or just a simple bowl of oatmeal with homemade Rosewater Plum Compote.

4. The ideal summer dessert? A simple plum tart with mascarpone cream.

5. Have an extra bottle of pinot noir on hand? Make a plum and pinot noir sorbet.

6. Invite some friends over and make a few plum and gorgonzola pizzas.

7. Prunes are just another word for dried plums, and you can easily make your own.

8. Go to your kitchen garden, pick some fresh basil, and make a plum-basil gin fizz.

9. A flaky pate brisee makes for an excellent plum galette.

10. Served with a little goat cheese, plum and ginger preserves make for a delicious appetizer.

11. How about a plum tart made with hazelnuts?

12. Instead of burgers, serve shrimp and plum kebabs at your next barbecue.

13. Mixed with beets, plums make for a gorgeous deep red salad.

14. If you need a good cracker for the the gluten-free crowd, try plum, oat and rosemary crisps.

15. Grill some kale, add some plums and ricotta, and you have yourself an indulgent salad.

16. Use chickpea flour to make a vegan and gluten free plum socca tart.

17. Plum and almond cake

18. Plum, feta and mint go well together in this grilled panini.

19. With a bowl of yogurt, these roasted plums with olive oil and thyme are an easy late summer breakfast.

20. When you go a little crazy at farmers market and end up with way more plums than you know what to do with, put them to use in this plum and star anise jam.

21. Expand from basic pesto and make one with dried plums.

 Related on EcoSalon

21 Fantastic Summer Blueberry Recipes Perfect for Right Now

10 Unusual Ways to Use Peppermint

Vegan Sugar Plum Scones

Images: See-ming Lee, Alan Levine, Market Manager

The post 21 Seasonal Plum Recipes for Late Summer appeared first on EcoSalon.

 

Visions of sugar plum fairies waif through the air with these simple, seasonal and nutritional treats.

Scones, experience says, can be either bland as a dog biscuit or so chock full of sugar and butter that they consume a whole day’s food fulfillment. With this fresh take on the Scottish staple, seasonal, local and wholesome lead the way.

Full of vitamin C—just one plum (in season from the summer to early Autumn) contains 10 percent of the typical daily, recommended value—and vitamin A, these low sugar treats provide the perfect jam-and-scone-in-one blend. Part plummy, part citrusy, part caramely, the sugar plums bring a sweet surprise to tea-time or Sunday brunch.

Make these gluten-free as I have, and you’ll get the dietary diversity of millet, brown rice and sorghum flours—full of fiber, protein, iron and other critical minerals. Add walnuts, and you’re in store for an extra dose of fiber, protein, vitamin Bc (which helps your body convert protein into energy) and omega-3 fatty acids for a healthy body and complexion.

Beauty from a baked good? You just may be in luck.

The Original –  Sugar Plum Scones

From Serious Eats

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, diced
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped prunes
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• about 1 tablespoon water

The Vegan & Gluten-Free Version – Sugar Plum Scones

Inspired by the above recipe and The Best of Vegan Cooking

Makes 6-8 scones

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten free flour
• (3/4 cup sorghum flour, minus 2 tablespoons)
• (1/2 cup brown rice flour)
• (1/4 cup millet flour)
• (1/2 cup tapioca flour)
• (2 tablespoons almond flour)
• (1 tablespoon xanthan gum)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup + ¼ cup (for glazing) agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1/3 cup oil (canola, sunflower or safflower are ideal)
• ½ cup walnuts (optional)

Caramelized Sugar Plums

• 4 fresh plums (a local, fresh variety of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon rind
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon orange rind
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. To prepare the Sugar Plum mixture, thinly slice the fresh plums, removing the seed. Gently heat the coconut oil in a skillet, until dispersed across the cooking surface. Add the slide plums, the fruit rinds and juices, the sugar and vanilla extract. Mix together over medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until the plums are soft but still intact. Remove from the stove top and cool.
3. Place the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) in a bowl and mix.  Add the oil, ½ cup agave nectar, cold water and vanilla and mix for about 1 minute.
4. Gently fold in the sugar plums and walnuts, if using.
5. Form the scones by hand. Begin by dividing the dough into 8 parts. Then make each section into a ball.  You can form a ball into either a circle, a square or a triangular shape, using your hands. Place on the lined cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes.  Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining agave nectar, then return to the oven for 4 minutes, until lightly browned.
6. Cool before serving & enjoy!

Images: Jennifer Barckley

The post Vegan This: Sugar Plum Scones to Better Your Complexion appeared first on EcoSalon.

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but the excess fruit from a neighbor’s yard can make your diet richer and it won’t cost a dime. Shouldn’t we share the wealth?

That’s the thinking of Neighborhood Fruit, created by San Francisco urban farmers to reduce the tragic waste of fruit, which is forbidden in their vision of sustainability. Their website lets subscribers find and share fruit locally both in backyards and on public lands.

Since planting the seed in June, they’ve attracted between 3,000 and 5,000 visitors a month and located a total of 10,000 trees nationwide and growing.

Much of the fruit the nation consumes is grown in water-intensive orchards far from our homes and shipped at the high cost of fuel. Instead, co-founder Kaytea Petro sees a future where the bulk of seasonal backyard fruit is utilized and shared between neighbors for snacking, baking, putting up organic preserves, even setting up a lemonade stand – any good uses you might have for the bounty.

“I first thought of the idea when I lived on Bernal Hill and my neighbor had an apple tree with a lot of excess fruit that she would never share,” says Petro, who decided to refine the fruit network notion for her graduate thesis at the Presidio School of Management, where she received an MBA in sustainable business.

“We’re a nationwide tool that helps people connect locally,” says Petro. “The typical user is someone with a plum tree who knows what a pain it is when the fruit comes in because it all comes in at once. Those seeking the fruit are into making pies and jams or to show their city kids where food comes from.”

The mechanics of connecting are simple. I register my lemons and oranges and when the fruit arrives, I put out the word on the site. “Come and get it!” I decide if I want to pick it myself or have interested takers come over with their bushels to help pick what they want.

It seems to be attracting those who don’t want to go through the red tape of becoming a registered producer who sells at the farmers’ market, the only way to sell fruit legally.

“It can be a lot of paperwork,” observes Petro, who adds that 25% of her users are people with fruit trees. And for obvious reasons, those with trees in L.A., Miami and Austin see more of a year-round yield than those in Boston and Seattle.

In addition to making connections, Petro and co-founder, Oriana Sarac, manage a monthly newsletter, The Grapevine, featuring the voices of gardeners, bee keepers and other experts in the field, as well as a blog for sharing timely articles, recipes and success stories.

They call their neighbor fruit sharing network Fruitfillment. Anyone who believes in this vision for making use of our abundance knows the ripe concept is fulfilling a mission, indeed.

Images: DieselDemon, Seph Swain, Neighborhood Fruit

The post Forget Borrowing a Cup of Sugar When Neighbors Are Giving Away Fruit! appeared first on EcoSalon.