A Plumy Good Time

Plums, I love. Mealy plums, I can't abide. And since the baking needed to stop with the zucchini tart (and some nut cakes that I am too ashamed to feature here, although they were delicious!), no pies or pastries could be used to break down my recent CSA supply into the tart and silky delights that are cooked plums. But a sauce-- a plum sauce! That's the ticket.

I wasn't sure that my plum sauce would really resemble what you get at the local Chinese restaurant. I'm always wary that recipes for Asian foods are missing some secret restaurant ingredient (um, MSG?) And already mine would most definitely be missing something -- since star anise is not in the Lemonville spice rack. We'd spent enough last week on groceries, so I figured maybe some leftover fennel stalks could sub in. And boy did they ever.

Serious Eats (a great food hub!) had the same thought about plums and had posted a recipe from Sherri Brooks Vinton's book Put 'Em Up. Aside from the star anise, this was an on-hand recipe list I could deal with and it turned out beautifully. Imagine a tart and spicy ketchup in a gorgeous shade of magenta. And best of all -- it keeps up to three weeks in the fridge. This plumy good sauce will be gracing chicken, vegetables and anything else I can think to put it on.

Fresh Chinese Plum Sauce

Adapted from Put 'Em up via Serious Eats

1 cup fennel stalk sliced thin (1 Star anise if you have it)

2 lbs. plums, pitted (I had about 15 small dark purple plums)

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger

2 cloves garlic

In a non reactive sauce pan (stainless steel works), put a small amount of olive oil and the fennel stalks and let them start to cook down. When sliced really thin, this doesn't take too long -- about 4-5 minutes. If you have star anise, obviously you can skip this step.

Cut plums apart and remove pit. Leave the skins on! Add to the pot along with the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, grated ginger and grated garlic cloves. Cook and bring to a boil for about 25 minutes.

Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until pretty smooth. Let cool and store in fridge for up to 3 weeks (If it lasts that long...)

A Break in the Summer Heat

Thank goodness the weather took a break from full-on swelter. Aside from the joy of not wilting as soon as I step out of the shower, the cooler weather finally gave me a chance to address the fall veggies that the CSA has been sending along each week. Turnips, carrots, fennel, apples and cabbage, oh my! Sure, these can all be turned into dishes for a hot summer night, but I think they are even better cooked together in the spirit of fall.

So that's just what we did: cracking open a bottle of pear cider (a Swedish brand that's been on super sale at the Pioneer), I started to gather my cool-weather roots and assembled a dinner with roast vegetables, thick pork loin chops (also on sale), and sauteed savoy cabbage with apple. Perfect food for a fall break from the summer heat.

Pork Chops

Thick cut pork loin chops

olive oil

salt and pepper

Roast Fall Vegetables

1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 leek, sliced thin and soaked in water to get the grit out

1 small bulb fennel, tops trimmed off and sliced into 1/4-inch slices

5 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Sauteed Cabbage and Apples

Olive oil

1/2 small Savoy cabbage, shredded

1 medium apple

Caraway seeds

Putting it together:

Preheat oven to 375F. Trim and and toss the root vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper on a foil-covered baking sheet (easy clean up!). Start roasting, at least 25 minutes, but longer works, too. This is great if you're not sure when dinner will happen.

With the veggies in the oven, heat some olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the cabbage and start stirring so it doesn't stick/burn. Once it has started to wilt a bit, add the thin apple slices and a generous sprinkle of caraway seeds. Turn back the heat and let this mixture get nice and soft.

Now, the pork. Heat some olive oil in an oven-safe saute pan. (No nonstick, metal handle.) When the oil is heated through add the pork chops and salt and pepper the chops. Let one side get a nice crust/browning and flip it. Once both sides look browned the middle will still be very raw. Now, put the pan, pork and all, into the oven. I liked mine at 12 minutes, but Mr. Lemon likes his pork d-o-n-e at 16 minutes. Mine was juicy. That's all I'm saying.

And that's it. Lots of vegetables, some succulent moist chops and a taste of fall on an August night.

Tally:

Fall veggies from the CSA inspire a mid-summer roast

Pork and Pear Cider, deliciously on sale

Lots of vegetables, lean-ish protein, easy dinner

Filet o' Fish with Fennel Salad

Sometimes, I brave parts of the fish counter for the sake of thrift and I live to tell about it. This is the true (fish)tail of a fishmonger visit that ended well, with just $5 spent, leftovers to spare and a happy discovery: basa. Basa!

I've read a lot about farmed fish and for the most part I'm not impressed verging on squeamish. They are, however, the best bang for your buck and the other night, in the mood for some light white fish, I entered the land of the basa fillet, a farmed mystery fish from Vietnam. Heaven help me.

But guess what? Basa turned out to be light, slightly firm and a somewhat sweet fillet that cooked up beautifully in my grill pan with a little olive oil and lemon juice. I topped it with a little fennel salad and threw some cooked green beans on the plate for good measure. A light and refreshing dinner that will have me returning to the fish counter for some more adventures.

Filet o' Fish with Fennel Salad

2 fillets basa

olive oil

1 lemon

1 small head fennel, shaved thin

1/2 medium onion, sliced thin

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon capers

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Rub a grill pan with olive oil and heat. It should be hot when you put the fish in. Rinse the basa fillets and put in grill pan. Salt and squeeze lemon juice over the fish. Cook until edges are white and then flip it over to finish cooking. If the pan has gotten super hot, just turn off the heat. The fish will be opaque and flakes in big pieces (unlike flounder, for example.)

Meanwhile, toss together the fennel, onion, vinegar, olive oil, capers, parsley and the juice of half a lemon. I plated the fish with the salad on top, but this could easily be on the side.

Tally:

Fresh fish is within the budget

A nice summery use of fennel

Fast dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day