Pomegranate Season

 Pomegranate Seeds

Growing up in California, pomegranate season has always been a sign that summer is ending and fall is beginning.

Now that I live near a farm in Yuba County, I have been able to watch pomegranates grow, ripen and come into season over the past few months.  According to my local farmer, Lacie Robertston "they are ready now with the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness".

At the farm...

 Pomegranate buds in early August

Pomegranate in late August

 Pomegranate in September

It's late September and the pomegranates are ready now.  Besides just cracking them open and eating the seeds, we loves them in salads, too.  

Pear Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Pomegrantes

This beautiful fall salad by Georgeanne Brennan was inspired by a cheese plate.  Having just returned from vacationing in Oregon where we sampled a lot of cheese plates...I couldn't wait to make this salad.

  I made it today with just picked pomegranates and Barlett pears from local farms along with Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company's Original Blue.  I highly recommend spending the extra money to buy a really good blue cheese like Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese. (Locally both Raley's and Nugget Market carry it.)

You can find the recipe in the Williams-Sonoma book Salad of the Day by Georgeanne Brennan or here at this link on the Williams-Sonoma website:

Pear Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Pomegranates

I can't wait to make it again and try it with hazelnuts next time for a little more Oregon flair!


(Farm photos taken at Robertston Family Farm in Yuba County, CA)

Plums & Pluots

Dapple Dandy 

Nothing tastes better than fresh fruit picked right off the tree.  This summer we've been enjoying the local bounty of fruit, including plums and pluots.  In July, Dapple Dandy pluots made their appearance in our weekly CSA produce box for a number of weeks.  And, now going into late summer we are enjoying late plums and more varieties of pluots.  

Robertson Family Farm Orchard

Here in the Yuba-Sutter area, we have an abundance and variety of crops.  I recently discovered that not every one has heard of pluots including my British pen pal, Teresa.  In Britain they have damsons which are small plums native to Great Britain.  She had not heard of pluots.  So for Teresa and anyone else who isn't familiar with pluots, they are a hybrid and later generation fruit from plum and apricot parents.  Some varieties taste more like plums and some varieties taste more like apricots. 

Plum or Pluot?

 So is it a plum or a pluot?  And, how can you tell the difference?  I'm not really sure because plums and pluots (especially the purple ones) usually look alike to me.  I rely on my local farmer to keep me straight.  Last week at the farmers' market,  I came home with bags full of both plums and pluots from West Butte Orchards.  Both varieties are juicy, sweet and a bit tart!

Elephant Heart Plums

The elephant heart plum is now my favorite plum!  My dad has been talking about them all summer long and told me to watch for them.  Now I know why.  They are delicious! 

  They are also known as a blood plum.  With their deep ruby red color and shape you can easily see how they got their name.  I read that they are often referred to as the king of Japanese plums.  A title well deserved!

This plum variety ripens in September and shows up at market long after other plums are gone.  I was so excited to see them at our market this past week.

Flavor King Pluots

The Flavor King pluot looks and tastes the closet to a plum to me.  I've been enjoying eating them fresh and baking with them,too.  They were excellent in my Spiced Pluot Crostata and Spice Pluot Cake that I made this last week.

Sadly the season is winding down now.  I just found out from Paula Bicknell of West Butte Orchards that this coming week will be her last farmers' market of the season.  My fingers are crossed that she'll still have elephant heart plums for my dad and me. 

(Farm photographs taken at Robertson Family Farm in Yuba County, CA.)

I made a Crostata!

 Spiced Pluot Crostata

I had five gorgeous, deep purple pluots from the farmers' market ripening on the counter...

so I decided to make a crostata.  

I'm not really a pie baker, so I knew I would love making an easier rustic crostata.  If you don't already know, a crostata is just an open free-form tart similar to a French galette.  There are no special pastry skills required to make one...just a good crust recipe and fresh fruit! 

 Rustic Tart Crust 

I turned to Martha Stewart for my crostata crust recipe.  I wanted an old world Italian style crust and liked that Martha's had fine yellow cornmeal in it.  It was easier than pie to make!  

You mix everything in your food processor, of course, using really cold butter and really cold ice water.  The dough comes together magically in the the food processor.  Next you turn your dough out, knead it a few times and flatten it into a disc.  You wrap the disc in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour.  Then you roll, fill and bake!

Spiced Pluot Crostata

For my filling:

1 1/2 lbs firm-ripe pluots, sliced (approx. 5-6 large pluots)

2/3 c. granulated sugar

3 T. corn starch

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. allspice

Combine the ingredients together until moistened.   Mound the pluot filling in the center of your dough right away.  Don't dillydally here.  I mixed my fruit and then rolled out my dough.  Those few extra minutes created a lot of juice in the pluot mixture.  Next time, I will roll out my dough first and then mix up my fruit filling.  

My other tip, is to have sanding sugar in your pantry to sprinkle on the crostata (after the egg wash) before you bake it.  I didn't have any so I used granulated sugar this time.

Thank you Martha for a wonderful rustic crust recipe.  Here's the link where you can find it:

Rustic Plum Tart

Farmhouse Bread & Butter Pickles

 Homemade Pickles

Pass the pickles, please!

In  July, our weekly CSA produce box included three Kirby cucumbers also known as pickling cucumbers.  They were the perfect nudge that I needed to give pickle making a try. 

Making Pickles

 I decided to make a small batch of quick process pickles.  I opened up my canning books and consulted my grandmother's Kitchen Guide (that she cooked with on her Pennsylvania farm back in the 1930's/1940's) for pickle recipes.  

I discovered that not much has really changed with pickle making from when my grandma would have made them on the farm to now. Inspired by the recipe in my grandma's Kitchen Guide book, I created my own updated version.  In her memory and my Pennsylvania farm roots,  I'm calling them Farmhouse Bread & Butter Pickles.  

 Pickle Making Tips

Here are the best tips I gathered for making pickles according to good country cooks:

Use pickling variety cucumbers.

For best results, use firm and fresh cucumbers within 24 hours of harvest. 

Always cut off 1/16th of the ends off the cucumber.  (The blossom end contains enzymes that can cause spoilage and softness.)

Toss your sliced cucumbers with salt and ice cubes and chill for 3 hours in the refrigerator to crisp them up before pickling.

Modern 5% acidity vinegar flavors pickles and preserves them.

White distilled vinegar gives pickles the best color.

Cider vinegar may darken pickles but adds flavor.

And, to save you from running all over town (like I did)

you can find a vegetable crinkle cutter at Target.

Here's my recipe
along with a printable recipe.

Farmhouse Bread & Butter Pickles

(Small Batch)

1 lb Kirby pickling cucumbers (approx 3)
1 sweet or white onion, thinly sliced
2 T. Kosher salt
Ice cubes

Wash and crinkle cut the cucumbers.
(I cut mine just under 1/2" thickness.)
Combine the sliced cucumbers with the sliced onions.  Toss these with salt and ice cubes and chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours until crisp and cold.  (Add more ice cubes if  necessary during crisping.)  Rinse and drain them in a colander.  They are now ready for the pickling liquid.

Pickling Liquid

1 c. white granulated cane sugar

1/2 c. distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)

1 t. mustard seeds

1 t. celery seeds

1/2 t. tumeric

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. black pepper 

Combine the pickling mix ingredients in a non-reactive pan.  Once the sugar is dissolved, boil  for 1 minute.  Add the cucumbers and onions to the pan and heat thoroughly.  Pack into sterilized 1/2 pint canning jars. Ladle pickling liquid to fill jars leaving a little head space.  Wipe jar tops clean and place lids on and screw bands on firmly.  Cool completely before refrigerating.  Refrigerator for at least 2 days to cure.  Store in the refrigerator for up to two months. 

Makes approx. four 1/2 pints.
Printable Recipe