Plum Crumble Bars

Growing up, my grandma and grandpa lived about five blocks away from our house, and they had the best backyard.  They had a big above-ground pool with a great deck, a little sandbox with an awning, a lovely fenced in garden, and both flowering and fruit trees.  The yard wasn't big, but it was wonderful.     

Italian plums.

One of the trees they had the most beautiful pink flowers in the spring, another tree had a trunk and branches that were perfect for climbing, but one of my favorite trees was the plum tree.  It had delicate, thin branches with lush leaves, and the drops of ripening fruit were so temping.  By the time they were ready to pick, the deep purple maroon color belied the green flesh underneath at just a few spots, and the blue waxy sheen was enticing.  When they were barely ripe and tender we could pick them and eat them, but they were more tart than sweet - after a little longer, they were 'over-ripe' but definitely at their sweetest.  My grandma used to slice them up and bake them on a yeast dough as a treat for us, and it was something I looked forward to every year.       

Pale flesh of sliced red plums. 

I have tried to replicate her recipe a few times, with varied success, so in the fall I usually just send up baking plums into simple crumbles or cakes, or I use them for cooking in savory dishes.  Although Italian plums are definitely my favorite (I think it is a combination of taste and size mixed in with a little nostagia), I really love all plums including red and black ones.    

Red plums, sliced for baking into bars. 

This fall, I was tempted to do something else with with my plums - make crumble bars.  I was inspired by a peach shortbread recipe that I tried from Smitten Kitchen last summer, and though I did like it, the bars didn't have nearly enough fruit for my taste.  Not to mention, her recipe called for browning the butter, and although we can all hail queen Browned Butter, it didn't really do it for me in this recipe and just seemed like a fussy extra step.  Then this year I saw a recipe for peach crumb bars with hazelnut streusel by my friend Dara from Cookin Canuck. The amount of fruit in her bars was definitely up to my standards, but she peeled the peaches before baking (and has a great tutorial on how to do it) and I really didn't want to do that much work this time.  Plus, I love the way the skin of the fruit stains the crumble bars a deep pink color so I wanted to leave them on.

Making (Organic!) Stone Fruit Preserves for Pennies

Alright friends, I have to admit it.  I have been obsessed with stone fruits lately.  And I mean OBSESSED.  I go the farmers market with the intent of picking up some healthy vegetables, maybe some locally baked bread, or even possibly shelling out the money for local, pasture-raised chicken.  And what actually happens?  Oh right, I come home with pounds and pounds of peaches, bags of apricots, and jewel-toned plums.  Not a huge problem I guess, because who says a girl can't live on fruit?

I think this whole obsession got a slow start around the end of July and is snowballing into August. You saw my lacquered peach, right?  I thought that was the pinnacle of my stone fruit season, but it just keeps going.  Next there were some apricots that were intended for a lovely cobbler, but somehow ended up in my stomach uncooked... I even put plums in my curry, and later this week I have an awesome peach salsa to share with you.  I hope you are willing to come along with me on this fruity ride, because there seems to be no end in sight as long as stone fruits are in season.  Apricots, peaches, plums, pluots, nectarines... I. Just. Can't. Stop!  And who says I have to?

A great way to keep enjoying fruits (and even vegetables) long after they are out of season is to make jam.  If you have never made jam before you might think it is difficult, and maybe not worth your effort.  You might tell yourself, "I can just scoot my little butt up to the grocery store and buy some apricot jam for $4 if the mood strikes me."  And this might be true.  But that mass-produced, preservative-laden, artificially-colored stuff in those jars will never, ever, ever compare to the real stuff made with your own two hands and fresh, in-season fruit.  Maybe you are worried about the cost of buying the fruit to make the jam?  Well, that is where I can share a little secret I learned with you.