My two weeks out of town coincided with the peak ripeness on our plum trees. I'm just now getting around to them, and we've basically lost the crop. I pulled of a large bowlful of good plums from both trees, and that's going to be it. Everything else is wrinkled and shriveling away.

I'm only slightly disappointed. It's a lot of work to process those plums. They are quite tart, so must be used for jams or chutneys. They make great-tasting pies, but there's no texture to them. Once you cook them, they're nothing but juice. And of course, all of these uses, require huge amounts of sugar.

Lots of calories, in other words. And one jar of jam or chutney will last us a year or more. We just don't eat them very much.

I've got my small batch cooking boiling over on the stove right now. I'll probably make a chutney out of it and give it away as gifts. Or maybe I'll just go ahead and make that pie for myself. With ice cream....

Um... those plums that were cooking boiling over on the stove?

BIG mess. Take-the-stove-apart-down-to-its-underwear-and-soak-all-the-juice-up-mess.

Hey, at least my stove is shiny clean.

I am so making pie.

But! On that note - I'd like to just say that over the last two months, I have misplaced about six pounds. Even with a wedding, a two-week holiday, and a BBQ party. And popcorn at the movies.