Plum something

Im not sure if I made plum sauce, per the recipe I sort of followed, or plum ketchup. Either way, it is tasty and pretty darn near free!

Foraging friend, Jackie, kindly picked a gallon of wild plums for me and thus I ended up with about 5 pounds of delicious fruit. Well, wild plums are kind of tart/sour, but not so bad when fully ripe as they are now.

The plum cake I made a while ago was good, but I wanted something that would last longer. A search on the Internet led me to the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, where I found an enticing Wild Plum Sauce recipe.

Although the recipe says to plop the plums whole into a pan, cover with water, and simmer until the skins pop, then press through a colander, I opted to spend about 10 minutes jabbing the soft fruit with the tip of a knife and slipping out the seed. A large portion of the wild plum is its seed. As you can see in the photo, these plums are small and therefore somtimes called cherry plums.

I cooked the plums for about 15 minutes while I chopped garlic (from my own garden) and ginger root.

I put the plums into my mighty Vitamix and created a wholesome pulp. This went back into the pan, with the garlic and ginger root that I had sauteed per the recipe, stirred in the called-for cayenne, soy sauce, and onion powder, and let simmer for 15 minutes to thicken.

It really thickened! All that skin, I suppose. My advice about this recipe: if you keep the skins on, be prepared to add sugar and salt. I stirred in a fistful or so of brown sugar, which made it "sweet and sour" instead of just "sour."

I doubled the recipe and got about 3 cups of . . . plum stuff.

Im eating it right away (I do love it on my all-time favorite food, roasted potatoes), but also freezing some. Im not sure if freezing will really work, so I have my fingers crossed. If it does, Im set for winter!

Now I still have 3 pounds of plums left. Perhaps I will make freezer jam tomorrow.

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Yum yum plum cake

It starts with wild plum trees by the side of the road. Thanks to my foraging friend, Jackie, I know where to find them now. The plums arent quite ripe, but I picked enough that were to make a nice little cake.

My inspiration: a recipe from the New York Times food section, "Crunchy-Topped Whole-Wheat Plum Cake." The name just sounds scrumptious!

As the recipe suggests, I bought some more plums to round out the taste. The wild plums are quite a bit smaller than commercial varieties.

They are also more sour. Adding sugar helps. (Mary Poppins was always right.)

I enjoy cooking with plums. They are like jewels. My photos cannot do them justice. This is something you must try at home, to see for yourself.

The best part is eating. Of course.

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Plum good

The last of my wild plums went into jam jars today.

Wild plum jam is one of those things you need a big spatula for -- to scrape out every last bit of goodness from pans and bowls right into your mouth. This jam tastes ever so slightly sour, which is awesome with the sweetness.

And homemade jam is one of those things that just gets everywhere and makes everything sticky. Not so good in fly season, which seems to have burgeoned here today. Thus washing those piles of dishes and the countertops is a particular necessity. So is covering sterilized jars and then sticky filled jars with a dish towel while they sit out waiting for the next step.

As you look at my real-life photos of jars sealed with plastic wrap and labeled with masking tape, youll note that I do not pretend to be one of those clever food blog photographers who know how to adjust lighting and place that shimmering blob of jam off-center just so for the perfect shot.

Nor do I see any need to print out cute clip-art labels to make my shelves or, in this case, freezer, more attractive. My homespun philosophy for just about anything here on the ranch is: use duck tape for general use and masking tape for kitchen use. I learned this from watching my rancher neighbor fix things. If it doesnt work after you hit it with a wrench (or even if it does), wrap it with duck tape.

He doesnt hang out in the kitchen, so I discovered the masking tape thing myself. The bit of tape youve used as a label will neatly peel off, making the jar ready for its next use.

Wild Plum Freezer Jam

Agricultural Extension Agency, Washington State University

3 cups wild plums (finely mashed or sieved*) -- about 3 pounds

6 cups sugar

1 box powdered pectin

1 cup water

Combine fruit and sugar. Let stand about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put powdered pectin and water into a large pot and boil rapidly for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Add the fruit and stir about 2 minutes.

Pour into jars; tighten lids.

Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours or until jelled.

Store in freezer or refrigerator.

Yield: 9 cups

* I pitted my plums and then whirled them in my Vitamix (a blender would work) until skins were in small shreds.

And in the end, the proof of anything you make in the kitchen is in the eating.

Delish.

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