When a letter recently arrived describing a plum tree being “heavy with plums this year,” it was time to celebrate the first fresh plum recipe request of its kind since this column began. Readers Deb and Tony Ankowicz needed help and their request found me searching through countless cookbooks […]
Click here to view original web page at madison.com
When a letter recently arrived describing a plum tree being “heavy with plums this year,” it was time to celebrate the first fresh plum recipe request of its kind since this column began.
Readers Deb and Tony Ankowicz needed help and their request found me searching through countless cookbooks before a blossom of satisfaction finally arrived. It also found me reminiscing growing up on Talmadge Street back in the 1940s when apple and cherry trees seemed to grow in everyone’s backyard like ours, but nary a single plum tree.
Plums come in all sizes and colors throughout the world, but here in Wisconsin, native plums are within reach along streams and lakes and wherever the soil is moist, according to Marian K. Towne’s "A Midwest Gardener’s Cookbook," an exceptional compilation published in 1996 covering our four seasons here in Wisconsin, also learning that wild plums are tangy and tough-skinned, but excellent for jams and baking. If you plan to freeze plums, do so individually by washing, halving and pitting the plums, then spread them on cookie sheets. Freeze until firm, then pack into plastic containers or freezer bags. Seal tightly and return to freezer.
1 cup fresh plum quarters, with pits removed
¼ cup white corn syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Sugar to taste
Puree plum quarters I blender. Add corn syrup and lemon juice. Sweeten to taste with sugar. Serve on sliced peaches, ice cream pancakes or waffles.
1 pound wild plums
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
Clean plums, removing stems and damaged areas. Cook in water until skins pop and pulp is tender, 10-15 minutes. Cool. Run through colander to remove seeds. Add sugar and heat slowly until sugar is dissolve, then cook rapidly until thick. Cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal or pour into jam dishes and store in refrigerator.
Yield: 1-2 cups
1 cup mashed overripe plums
1½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
½ cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan. Mash plums with fork or blend in electric blender until mashed but not pureed. Sift together dry ingredients. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat again. Stir in mashed plums and sour cream. Gently stir in flour mixture and pecans. Spoon batter into greased pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand upright 5 to 10 minutes before turning upside down on wire rack to cool completely. Do not slice until cool.
This is an old traditional German recipe.
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter
⅔ cup milk
4 cups sweet, juicy plums (about 1½ lbs.) cut into eighths
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Blend together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat together the egg and milk; stir into flour mixture until well blended. Spread dough in greased baking pan (about 8x12 inches). Arrange plums in rows, overlapping slightly, and press into dough. Pour melted butter evenly over plums. Mix sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over top. Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes. Serve warm.
Not sure when this will be served, but it was a plum recipe discovered in a 1989 Time Saving Recipes from The Weekday Cook, a soft cover Bon Appetit compilation featuring fast and easy favorites.
3 plums, pitted and sliced
3 tablespoons slivovitz or other brandy
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon grated lemon peel
½ cup chilled whipping cream
1 egg yolk
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 servings; can be doubled or tripled
Combine first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Stir to blend. Let stand at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours), stirring occasionally. Drain plums, reserving liquid. Set aside. Using electric mixer, beat cream until peaks form. Mix in yolk and vanilla. Beat in plum liquid and continue beating until sauce mounds in spoon. (Can be prepared 1 hour ahead. Cover and refrigerate plums and sauce separately. Gently mix sauce before using.) Divide most of plums between 2 large stemmed glasses. Spoon sauce over. Top with remaining plums.
From the same Bon Appetit Weekday Cookbook, is this Italian-flavored salad of fennel, zucchini and carrots in a walnut-flecked mustard vinaigrette. Fennel resembles celery in texture, but anise or licorice in taste. If it is unavailable, use celery instead and add a couple of crushed anise seeds to the dressing.
2 medium carrots, peeled
1 medium zucchini, trimmed
½ medium fennel bulb, cored
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme or pinch of dried, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper
⅓ cup chopped walnuts
Red leaf lettuce
2 servings; can be doubled or tripled
Cut carrots, zucchini and fennel into ⅓ x 1½-inch julienne strips. Transfer to medium bowl. Combine orange juice, mustard and vinegar in small bowl. Gradually mix in oil with fork. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables and toss lightly. Add walnuts and toss again. Line bowl with lettuce leaves. Mound salad in center.
Apple Dessert with Butter Sauce
With fresh fruit ripening in neighborhood backyards, apples immediately come to mind, especially the Snow apples we picked and enjoyed back in the “old” days when we lived on Talmadge Street.
¼ cup shortening
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups apples, chopped fine
Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs. Sift in half of dry ingredients. Add remaining dry ingredients to apples. Combine mixtures. Bake in lightly greased 8x8-inch pan 30 minutes at 350 F. Double the recipe for 9x13-inch pan and extend baking time.
Butter sauce
½ cup cream (half & half or evaporated)
Heat, stir and serve warm over dessert.
Rhubarb-Apple Crunch
If you just happen to have frozen rhubarb in the freezer, here’s another fall-time dessert to enjoy from the same Too Busy to Cook book.
2 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
1 cup sliced apples, about ¼ pound
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1½ cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
Vanilla ice cream
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease 10x10-inch baking dish. Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl and mix thoroughly. Spoon evenly into dish.
Combine oats, brown sugar, flour and butter in another large bowl and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over rhubarb-apple mixture. Bake until top is lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.
Contact the Cooks’ Exchange in care of the Wisconsin State Journal, P.O. Box 8058, Madison, WI, 53708 or by email at greenbush4@aol.com.
