Plums

I'm excited to see some nice clusters of plums on the tree, since we had none at all last year. This is the versatile Italian prune variety. Last year a friend gave me a recipe for plum ketchup I want to try, and they're also good canned whole in a light syrup. And of course, a person can eat quite a few of them right off the tree while dinking around outside. Unlike the wormy homegrown apples, they never have a spot on them.

And John will want a plum kuchen. You can make plum cake with yeast dough, or a plain butter and egg batter. Either way, you layer the sliced, raw plums on top of the dough before baking and sprinkle with sugar. They get soft and juicy as the cake rises up around them. Simple and good! Fresh fruit cake doesn't keep well, but it isn't a problem to eat one in a day.

Years ago when we lived in Germany, our elderly neighbors would make a new cake each morning for their Kaffetrinken. They used whatever fresh fruit was in season. These people had survived a depression and war so nothing edible was ever wasted, especially fruit. Amanda was the only baby on the street, and being Americans we were somewhat of a novelty. After the first morning chores were done (which everyone did at the same times, on the same days) I was often invited over for coffee. Even in old age, they were hard working people, but there was always a break in the late morning for gossip, coffee and fresh cake.