Plum Galette and Asters ...

Stone fruit galette ... oh, what an easy and elegant way to share the plums that came home from the market this week! This dessert is such a quick bit of work, which is good at this time of year. There are tomatoes to cook down for pizza sauce and cucumbers to pickle, beets to blanch and freeze, potatoes to dig and dust off a bit before storing, squash to chop and freeze, zucchini to shred and bake with, basil to make into pesto and put up in freezer jars. It all seems so endless, and yet we know there is an ending coming. Then, there will be time to put up the feet and bemoan the lack of fresh produce. Right now, though, every spare moment seems to be used for canning, freezing, or stepping out for more pectin, jars, rings and lids, pickling salt, vinegar, or sundry spices.

The purple of plums is so deceptive, don't you think? Here are these lovely deep purple fruits with this shockingly golden interior ... velvety and full of juice compared to the almost sticky outer skins ... they weigh heavy when you hold these plums. It's evident that they are full ripe and ready to be turned into something delicious. They are a perfect reflection of the time of year ...

Today, they are playing nice with a drizzle of homemade blackberry jam ... there is nothing better than pie and ice cream. Well, perhaps pie with whipped cream might come close.

While the galette cooled on the back porch, I went into the back yard and picked the first asters ... they perch well in between the oregano in a little bouquet ... there is a purple theme going on here.

Jacques Pepin's Plum Galette with Blackberry Jam Drizzle