September Fresh Starts
Bridging the seasons with plum crumb bars.
Hi Bakers!
Welcome to Fall! We are officially IN IT, friends. Apple picking, light sweaters, hot coffee, and the first soup of the season. We also have soccer games, ballet lessons, and for the first time, days where all three kids are at school. I feel like I’ve been waiting 9 years for this moment. And as my youngest went off to preschool last week, I thought, “now what?”
Of course my to-do list is always a mile long, but now I can tackle some of the meal-prep and recipe testing during normal working hours. This apple cider cake (stay tuned) isn’t going to bake itself!
Speaking of, I’ve started the school year off strong with meal prep. My eldest daughter doesn't like sandwiches, but she is keen to eat a salad for lunch. I’ve been preparing grain bowls and pasta salads for her and myself to eat for the week.
I’m back on the sourdough train and taking my own advice and making more muffins and fruit-laden snack cakes regularly. These get easily tucked into lunch kits, served with Greek yogurt for breakfast, and enjoyed en route to the next activity.
I love summer and I am always a little sad when it is over. Mostly because of the rain we get the other 9 months out of the year. But honestly, I think fall is actually where I thrive - with a fully-booked but predictable schedule. I am re-energized and motivated to tackle what comes next. September fresh starts are way better than New Years.
What I’m Eating:
Late Summer Tomatoes - My neighbor gave us a big bag full of fresh tomatoes from his garden on our first walk to school for the year. In return, I made him sourdough. This wholesome exchange is one of my favorites and his tomatoes are even sweeter. I enjoy them best just sliced and salted, eaten straight off the cutting board. I also added them to a BCT (bacon, cheese, tomato) grilled cheese and it was so so good.
Pizza - If you’ve been around a while, you know about our beloved Pizza Fridays. I’ve been wanting to get an outdoor pizza oven since we moved to our current house. Three years later, it finally happened! We have been experimenting with summer toppings like sliced jalapeño and sweet corn. I plan on doing some fall flavors soon with fresh figs, prosciutto, and pear.
Roasted Vegetable Couscous - I meal-prepped this dish last week, and can’t stop thinking about it! I took a ton of summer vegetables like tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, and red onion and roasted them on a big sheet pan. I then tossed them with a can of white beans, couscous, and a simple vinaigrette.
Warm Chia and Oat Cereal - I love chia pudding, but don’t always have the foresight to make it in advance. What I also love is eating it warm on chilly autumn mornings. I take a portion of my rolled oats and replace it with a tablespoon or two of chia seeds before cooking/microwaving. Add a splash of milk, some brown sugar, and sliced apple for a comforting breakfast with added fiber.
Not Figs - Our beloved fig tree died and it breaks my heart that we aren’t drowning in fruit right now. Truth be told, I don’t even like figs that much. But I did love making fig jam! Instead, I’ve been dulling the pain with plums. I swapped them in these Fig Crumb Bars - delish!
What I’m Reading:
First Lie Wins - This was a twisty yet fun spy/con-artist book. A little Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It had a lot of backstory that was a little slow at first, but it then tied everything together perfectly by the end.
Before We Were Strangers - This love story was all rom and no com(edy). It follows a young college couple in the 90’s that lose track of each other (pre-social media), and don’t see each other again until 15 years later on a passing subway train. A bit gut-wrenching at times and heavier than the typical beach read I grab for the summer, I still found myself rooting for them.
Salad, Pizza, Wine - From the restaurant Elena in Montreal, I easily convinced myself that we needed this book to use with the new pizza oven. If you absolutely adore simple Italian fare as much as I do, this book has you covered.
What I’m Growing:
This is my first year gardening, so I am still very much learning what I am supposed to grow in each season. Summer was a bit weird here in the PNW, but I was still pretty happy with some of our harvest.
What worked:
Blueberries! Snap Peas! Green Beans! English Peas! And even Cucumbers!
The tomatoes were pretty much a fail. Half of them never turned red and another portion had root rot. I had to sacrifice them in order to clear up some real estate if I was going to try my hand at fall vegetables instead.
What I planted for fall:
Beets
Carrots
Turnips
Swiss Chard
Arugula
Bok Choy
Cauliflower
Broccolini
Plum Crumb Bars
The Ingredients:
1 cup (125g) + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons (33g) rolled oats
6 tablespoons (36g) almond flour
6 tablespoons (82g) brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (180 g) unsalted butter, diced
1 egg yolk
3 ripe plums or 8 to 10 Italian prune plums, sliced ½-inch thin
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
Squeeze of fresh lemon
The Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the all-purpose flour, oats, almond flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined.
Add the diced butter. Turn the mixer up to medium-low speed and mix until the butter breaks up and is coated with the flour mixture. It will look dry and sandy.
Add the egg yolk and mix until the dough forms large clumps. When done, the dough should stay together when squeezed.
Toss the plums with the ¼ cup granulated sugar and lemon.
Dump about ⅔ of the dough into an 8-inch square pan. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. Spoon the plums all over the top.
Sprinkle the remaining dough over the top of the plums in large clumps.
Bake the plum crumb bars in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until slightly browned on top. Cool before slicing.
Baker’s Notes:
This recipe is pretty versatile. Use whatever stone fruit you have at home. You can even sub for jam. Feel free to add spices and/or chopped nuts to the crumb.
Loved your post today, especially regarding your first time garden.