Too-many-plums tart

Wayne picked up a box of big purple plums at Costco last week, but they weren't quite ripe yet. Suddenly it became clear that when they did get ripe, they'd all be ready at once! Yikes...there must be 15 of them!

I'm not much for making desserts, but I do like something sweet and fruity for breakfast. So I dug through the cookbooks and came up with a blueprint for a simple plum tart. It wasn't bad for a first try. Actually it was just fabulous with a good steaming cup of coffee.

Make a single pie crust, or you could use a frozen one. It's easy to make, though, and flakier:

• Put one cup all-purpose flour in a medium bowl with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix it up with a fork.
• Put an ice cube into 1/2 cup cold water and set it aside till you need it.
• Cut up 6 tablespoons cold butter in little pieces.
• Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender until it resembles course meal. Some small pieces of butter should still be visible.
• Add some of the ice water to the flour and butter, mixing with the fork until it just holds together. You probably won't use all the water.

Gather the dough into a rough ball with your hands and wrap it tightly in cling film, pressing it down to flatten it a little. Put it in the refrigerator to rest and chill for 1 hour, or in the freezer for 20 minutes. [It could also be refrigerated overnight (not freezered!!) if you want to eat quicker in the morning. Take it out first thing in the morning, before you do the plums, if you do this.]

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, seed 4 large or 5 medium plums and cut them into slices. It's better if they're not quite ripe. Toss them with a little sugar and whatever else you want...I put in some chopped candied ginger and grated orange peel. You could use raisins or dried cranberries instead.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator or freezer. Put a sheet of parchment down on your rolling surface and discard the cling film. Lightly flour the parchment and the top of the disk of dough. Roll it out until it is fairly thin and more or less circular. Carefully brush off extra flour and transfer the dough-laden parchment to a big cookie sheet.

Pile the plums in the center of the crust, fanning the slices out until you have about 2 inches still free all around the edges. Fold those edges of dough back up over the plums...they'll only come up partway leaving the center beautifully plummy.

Brush the foldover dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter, dripping any remaining over the center plums. Sprinkle all with about 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the tart is lightly browned. Let cool for 10 minutes or so before digging in. This is a perfect time to put the coffee on. Yum!!

Do you love beets?

Dear readers, do you love beets like I do? The two farmers' markets I go to are filled with beets right now - deep red beets, yellow beets, orange beets, striped beets. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Mmmmmmm!

Anyway ... it occurred to me that many people don't know how to cook beets and they have to get them out of cans and jars. I mean, those are OK, but they taste nothing like a freshly roasted beet. So I decided to share my TOTALLY EASY recipe for roasted beets with a yummy walnut vinaigrette.

Roasted Beets with Walnut Vinaigrette

• A bunch of medium-sized beets of any color, or a combination of colors
• 1/2 tablespoon sherry
• 1/2 tablespoon unflavored rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• sea salt
• 1 tablespoon walnut oil
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Italian parsley, chopped
• freshly ground pepper
• a few walnuts (if you want them)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the leaves off the beets, leaving an inch of leaf stalk, and save the leaves for another use. They are wonderful in soups or salads, or cooked with other greens, but they only last a day or two, so use them quickly.

Also cut the "tail" off the beetroot, leaving about an inch. Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil and place them in a baking dish that's large enough to hold them in one layer. Add about an inch of water to the baking dish, and place it in the preheated oven.

Roast the beets for one hour, or until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

Remove them from the oven and let them cool enough to handle. Then remove the aluminum foil and peel them with a paring knife. You can also get the peel off by rubbing the beets with a paper towel, but I usually get impatient with this and just get out the knife. Cut the beets into slices, quarters, or bite-sized pieces. WARNING: Beet juice stains, so wear an apron and be careful not to spatter the juice on your clothing!

Meanwhile, prepare the vinaigrette. Combine the vinegars and salt, mixing well, and add the oils. While the peeled and cut beets are still warm, dress them with the vinaigrette and the parsley. Try them, and if you'd like them to be a little more tart, add a bit more balsamic vinegar.

Season with freshly ground pepper, sprinkle a few walnut pieces over the whole thing, and enjoy!

Uses: These beets are yummy in a salad. They are a healthy side dish with most meat and vegetable dishes. They would also be a welcome addition to your Thanksgiving dinner table, adding color and a delicious contrast to more, shall we say, rich traditional dishes. You know, the ones topped with marshmallows! :-)