Apples, Plums and Pigs
We have a Fuji apple tree in our backyard that is just starting to deliver ripe apples. Of course, the problem with large apple trees in your backyard is that there is no way the apples can possibly be consumed by the owners. This time of year is mostly a test of how many of our friends and neighbors can be convinced to take a shopping bag full of apples home. However, we try to make a small dent, and this weekend the kids collected a couple handfuls of the best looking apples they could find.
In previous years, we also had plum trees that ripen at the same time. The cul-de-sac where our house is located was once a plum orchard, so there are dozens of trees still scattered about. Unfortunately, in this part of California, trees that drop fruit like crazy attract insects like ants and flies. Even worse, they attract wild pigs! Every year the pigs begin making their evening appearances starting in late August, munching first on the free offering of fruit scattered on the ground, and then moving on to the sod and plants that we’ve call our front lawn. We’ve tried every idea in the book to discourage the pigs, to no avail. In fact, after the herd of several dozen pigs completely rooted up our front lawn, I threw in the towel. Which means our front lawn is currently barren of plant life, pending my delivery of a “desert landscape” design to our gardener. Fortunately, we’ve a got a fence around our backyard…
Anyway, I digress. Last year, after the lawn got wiped out, I eliminated virtually all of the plum trees on our property. However, our neighbors still have quite a collection of them in their backyard, enough to deliver over 800lbs of plums during this year’s harvest. Conveniently, one of the kids and I were wandering around the fence line and noticed a branch loaded with plums dangling over the fence that divides our property. We took the opportunity to pick a bunch of the best examples, and along with the apples, delivered them to my beautiful wife and expert baker for transformation into an awesome dessert. In short order, Laura, along with her mother, visiting from Michigan, came up with a simple apple and plum crisp that totally rocked. The recipe is in the recipe box on my website, www.itsfoodtime.com, or you can click here: Apple and Plum Crisp.
I hope you enjoy.
– Chris