New mixed fruit tree blossoms

 

Also end of February.  Can't wait to see what the new fruit tree is like!

Apricot blossoms

 
From end of February  -- in the before times. 

so many things to blog...

I need to blog about our plum tree and how many plums it gave us.  I need to blog about how I finally learned how to do something with the plums!



Back in 2013, we made a plum crisp... http://veryveryverygreen.blogspot.com/2013/07/from-trees.html I called it tart, and initially I thought I just needed more sugar, but as I thought about it, I realized it was BITTER.  I also realized that no matter how much sugar I added, it wouldn't solve the problem.

I don't remember if we had many plums in 2014, but in 2015, we barely had any so I didn't think about how to use them.  However, this year, we had a bumper crop and I needed to do something with them. Even if one likes plums, you can only eat so many a day!

One friend (with four kids) took about 50 of them (in two batches). I gave another 30-40 or so away at work.  I think I lost about 20-30 letting them go bad on the counter... And that just left me about another 200-250.

Sigh.

We let a lot fall off the tree 'cause we didn't pick them fast enough ('cause I didn't know what to do with all the plums).  (You have to pick our plums when they are still sort of red.  They turn deep purple when ripe, but too many fall off the tree when you let them ripen all the way so you have to pick them a day or two early.)
I finally turned to my friend google and googled bitter plums...

I learned that it was most likely the skins that were causing the problems.  I learned a good trick to getting the skins off.  Roast 'em!

Rinse plums, remove any stems that might still be on them, and place plums on a baking tray (with sides 'cause the juice will run off if you don't and will make a mess if you don't have sides).

Stick in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Let 'em cool until you can handle them and peel the skins and pit them.  The skins will totally slip off.  You do have to do some work to get the pit out.  I was covered in plum juice (very red!) and I won't talk about how I accidentally went to the store with plum juice splattered on my face.  (And yes, I did have some dribbled down by my mouth 'cause I was eating some of those roasted plums -- you know, for quality control!)

Some one suggested a food mill and someone else suggested a poor man's food mill which is a colander and a spatula.  (Note, I might invest in a food mill someday... Any suggestions or favorite brands, let me know.)

I am happy to report that google (and all the people who posted about their experiences with bitter plums) was right.  Skinning the plums made a difference and now our plum crisps are awesome.  They are a little tart, but they aren't bitter.  I even made sour plum (but not bitter) jam!  Fun!

I plan to use this roasting trick on our tomatoes -- they are just about getting ready to burst forth!  (I think the roasting trick will work better than the boiling a peeling method I did last year.)
 
Okay, I can cross off my need to blog about plums, but I still need to blog about many other things:

I need to blog about my workout and twice a week at Body Pump!

I need to blog about getting ready for the fourth of July!

I need to blog about our awesome new granola!

I need to blog about vegan friendly treats at Baskin Robbins!

I need to blog about getting a deep freeze for all the wonderful foods from our garden and trees! (We're still looking!)

Pear

 prototypical pear picture

YUM!

A yummy birthday present

 

Wow, in February, you'd think I could have managed to post this, a picture of one of my tastiest birthday presents! Thank you Audrey and Don!  

Nope. Apparently the ski trip took all I had.  (Oh, and a big meeting for work.)

We had a BBQ!

In honor of my (vegan) friend's birthday!

She made hummus and black bean dip (and all the lovely veggies you'll see below on the grill).

I made Roasted corn salad: Roast corn and onions (I roasted without oil and next time, I'll use just a teeny bit).  I used two 16 ounce bags  frozen corn, but you could use fresh. Cut up fresh tomatoes--I used 4 small - medium ones.  Put the roasted corn and onions, and fresh tomatoes in a bowl and add a little rice vinegar--about 1/2 cup, plus salt, pepper and a few red pepper flakes (~1/4 teaspoon).  Mix well, let marinate for at least a few hours in the fridge and then enjoy!

My friend Mark made this super yummy mango guacamole.  He used 2 smallish avocados, 1 yellow mango, 2 medium tomatoes, lime juice, and 1/2 a red onion.  It was divine!  I never would have been brave enough to put mango in my guacamole, but he's a fearless cook.  

Pretty flowers for the birthday girl.  We did not eat them.

Veggies and vegan sausage on the grill.

Then we gathered fruit from the backyard...

fresh blackberries, grapes and a pear.

I didn't get a picture of dessert, but I made a vegan ice cream cake.  I baked a brownie--I almost have a decent recipe to share with you. After the brownie cooled, I spread melt-y almond dream vegan ice cream on it. I stuck it in the freezer for a few hours, but it needed a few more hours to really firm up. I think the poor freezer was over burdened with food, or the brownie wasn't as cool as I thought it was 'cause the ice cream cake was still very melty.  

With the help of my girls, we decorated it with soy whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. It wasn't super pretty, but it was very tasty. 

As soon as we move, and things settle down, I want to make the cake again with homemade almond vegan ice cream.  A non-vegan friend said the dessert was very good.  (You can't really go wrong with an ice cream cake--even a vegan one!)

Previous bbq picts here.

from the trees...

getting ready to go into the oven

The topping

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup flax
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup maple syrup
1-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons canola oil (optional)*
1/4-1/2 cup water

Mix it up and spread over the fruit. (Make sure you have small-ish pieces--NOT thick ones!) (I know this is a sweet treat... we don't make it very often because of the sugar.)

You may want to put about 3-6 tablespoons of maple syrup on the fruit and mix well.  You may also want a tablespoon of oil on the fruit. The version I made with plums didn't include any extra sugar or oil and it needed a little sugar. We had a very tart crisp!  I may try making a crisp with erythritol some day. 

Bake at 350 until the juice is all bubbly. About 25 minutes or so. Start watching it at 20 minutes, but it will probably take closer to 30.

This crisp is super easy! You can use fresh berries / fruit or you can use frozen!

I've made it with frozen strawberries, blueberries, peaches and all of them mixed together. With frozen peaches, I've use about 24 ounces with a pan about 8 x 12 inches.

With frozen, let the fruit thaw--you can microwave them a couple of minutes to speed things up or just let them sit on the counter.

*I leave it out now. I'm trying not to add oil to anything. I'll add nuts for fats, but I'd like to keep the food whole. Not using oil is a new challenge for me.

Update from the trees

Remember these guys?  They are making progress!

Apricot harvest soon!  We'll need all our friends to come and pick and then enjoy!

Coming soon

 

These will be plums!

 

 

A whole tree full!

 

 

These will be apricots!

 

 

One of the two apricot trees in the yard!

 

 

Believe it or not, come August/Sept/October, we'll have fuji apples!  They are so good!   

Turkey fun

 

 This was our turkey!  We dipped him in chocolate (dark, no dairy chocolate chips and soy milk melted in our fondue pot).  We all loved him!  Super fun! 

super cute Thanksgiving idea!

Isn't the little turkey cute? It's from cleanandscentsible's blog.  I doubt it's a vegan blog, but you could easily turn the turkey vegan with carrots instead of cheese (for the beak and the feet).  On the blog, Clean and Scentsible made this presentation for using in a chocolate fondue.  Dark chocolate is vegan... just saying that it's a super cute idea for a vegan holiday dessert!

ROYGBIV

George Takei showed this picture of these. Don't they look super yum? You could eat them with pride for nutrition and rights. Strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, green grape, blueberry, purple grape--a rainbow of antioxidant goodness.