Plums
By Veronica Sliva
Wild plums are native to North America and were gathered and eaten by aboriginal peoples and European colonists alike.

Plums are relatives of the peach, nectarine and almond. Depending on the variety, they range in flavours…from sugary-sweet to tangy and almost sour-tasting. They come in many shapes and colours too. They are smooth-skinned and are usually rounded, although they can also be oval or heart-shaped. Some, such as prune plums, have dark blue skin with yellow flesh. Others have red, golden or black skins with red or yellow flesh. All plums contain a large flat seed. When plums are dried, they are known as prunes.

There are three different types of plums sold commercially, European, Damson and Japanese groups. Familiar varieties of the European type are Stanley, Reine Claude (Green Gage) and the French and German prune (Fellenburg) types. The European-type plums are best for eating fresh and for canning. Damson type plums are very tart and are used mainly in cooking and for making jams and jellies.

One plum contains 36 calories, and is a good source of vitamins A and C, potassium and fibre. Plums are rich in antioxidants that are said to reduce the risk of cancer. Plums and prunes are known for their laxative effect. And though plums provide fibre, it is isatin, a natural laxative in plums that gives prune juice its claim to fame as a laxative.

Buying and Storing
Look for plums that are plump with lots of colour. Choose fruit that yields to gentle pressure and is slightly soft at the tip. Avoid fruit with tears or shriveled skin, or soft, mushy spots.

If plums are not ripe when you buy them, leave them out at room temperature to ripen. Once they are ripe store plums in the refrigerator. They keep for three to five days.

Availability
Imported plums are usually available year round. Local plums come to market in late summer.

Preparation
Wash plums just before using. Fresh plums are best eaten at room temperature for maximum flavour. They can also be baked or poached. Cooked plums are usually eaten with the skins on, but if you wish to peel them, first blanch them in boiling water for about 30 seconds and then submerse them in ice water to loosen the skins.

Plums can be enjoyed raw, whole or cut up in salads, on cereal, pancakes, and waffles and as a main-course garnish. Prune plums are especially well-suited to baked cobblers and crisps, pies, shortcakes, coffee cakes; in preserves and meat and game sauces; and as flavouring for ice cream. They also make a good base for a chilled summer soup.
Try it today:

* Plum Ricotta Pancakes
* Upside Down Plum Cake
* Asian Spiced Lamb Burgers with Plum Sauce
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Zucchini and Apple Soup
Yield: 4

Try a Pink Lady apple or a Braeburn apple for this soup.
Ingredients:
Zucchini and Apple Soup

* 1 tbsp vegetable oil (15 ml)
* 1 to 2 tbsp butter (15 ml to 30 ml)
* 1 leek, white part only, chopped (about 1 cup)
* 1 tbsp chopped ginger (15 ml)
* 2 tsp curry powder, or to taste (10 ml)
* 3 zucchini, roughly chopped (about 4 cups)
* 1 apple, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
* 1 tbsp apple butter (15 ml)
* 1 bay leaf
* 3 1/2 cups chicken stock (900 ml)
* 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
* coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
* 1/4 cup whipping cream (60 ml)

Directions:
Zucchini and Apple Soup

1. In a large pot over medium high heat, sauté leeks in oil and butter until they start to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add ginger and curry powder and sauté another 1 minute. Add apple, zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes or until they start to soften. Add apple butter. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Increase temperature to high and add potatoes, bay leaf and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer soup until the potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes (depending on how big the potatoes are chopped). Remove bay leaf.
2. Puree mixture with a hand blender until smooth. (Alternatively, carefully transfer to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth and transfer back to the pot). Add cream if desired and gently reheat over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
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Pork Stuffed Apples
Yield: 4

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don?t like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

There will be leftover stuffing from the pork chops. Use it to stuff apples as a side dish for the pork.
Ingredients:
Pork Stuffed Apples

* 4 x Cortland apples

Directions:
Pork Stuffed Apples

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice the tops off of the apples and scoop out much of the flesh. Fill with leftover pork stuffing, place the tops back on and put into a baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, until the apples soften and the filling heats through
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Maple Apple Cheddar Tart
Yield: 6
Ingredients:
Pastry

* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 1/2 tbsp sugar
* 1/2 tbsp cornmeal
* 1/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
* 1/4 cup medium cheddar, grated
* 1 tbsp sour cream
* 1 tbsp to 2 tbsp cold water

Filling

* 1/2 cup creamy ricotta cheese
* 2 cups medium cheddar, grated
* 3 cups Mutsu or Granny Smith apples, sliced
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

To Assemble

1. Combine flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until the texture is coarse and crumbly. Blend into grated cheddar. Stir together sour cream and water adding half and then half again (if needed) just until dough comes together. Shape into a disc, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
2. Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix ricotta cheese with grated cheddar to combine and set aside. Toss sliced apples with sugar and cinnamon to coat and set aside. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Transfer dough into removable-bottom tart pan and trim edges. Spoon cheese filling evenly over dough. Arrange apples evenly on top of cheese filling. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until pastry is a rich golden brown.
3. Cool tart for 10 minutes, then brush entire surface of tart with maple syrup. Tart is best served warm.
4. Yield: One 3 1/2 x 13-inch rectangular tart pan. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
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Apple-Stuffed Veal Roast with Minty Rub
Yield: 8
Ingredients:
Apple-Stuffed Veal Roast with Minty Rub

* 4 x lb. boneless veal loin

Rub

* 1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped (75 ml)
* 1 x tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (15 ml)
* 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (1 ml)
* 2 x tsp garlic powder (10 ml)
* 2 x tsp celery salt (10 ml)

Stuffing

* 1 x tbsp olive oil (15 ml)
* 1 x large green apple, peeled and diced
* 1/2 lb. cooked bacon, cold and crumbled
* 1 x tsp lemon juice (5 ml)
* 1 x tsp fresh sage, chopped (5 ml)
* 2 x cups white wine (500 ml)
* 2 x rosemary sprigs
* Small bunch of fresh mint leaves

Directions:
Apple-Stuffed Veal Roast with Minty Rub

1. In a small bowl combine freshly chopped mint and rosemary. Add black pepper, garlic powder and celery salt. Toss to mix well.
2. Place the veal in a large seal able plastic bag. Add the rub and shake well, coating the veal loin. Remove the veal from the bag and set aside.
3. In a non-stick skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Cook apples for 10 minutes or until softened. Let cool. In a bowl combine the apple, bacon, lemon juice, lemon peel and sage. Mix well.
4. Cut a wide deep slit into the side of the roast. Stuff the pocket with the apple mixture. Tie the roast at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals with heavy string.
5. Place a drip pan under the grill of the barbecue, pour in the wine and add the rosemary springs and mint leaves. Preheat one side of the barbecue to 325°C/175°F.
6. Cook the roast using indirect heat, placing the meat on the cool side of the grill and keeping the BBQ lid down, for 2 hours.
7. When ready take veal off the barbecue and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
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Chinese Moon Festival
By the Foodtv.ca Editorial Team
Many cultures around the world celebrate some sort of autumn festival—there are several throughout Asia alone.

Zhong qui jie, or the Chinese Moon Festival as we call it in North America, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar when the moon is the brightness.

Family and togetherness are central themes celebrated and the most famous dish associated with the holiday is the aptly named moon cake. A small, palm-sized pastry, the moon cake is cut diagonally in quarters and shared. These cakes generally contain an egg yolk in the middle to represent the moon, but other fillings include pork, lotus seeds, sesame seeds or dried gourd.

Make Your Own Moon Cake
Because they are labour-intensive to make, most families simply buy moon cakes from the bakery. Some people are even willing to pay extra depending on the bakery that the cake is from, which is why the baker’s insignia, which is on the top of the cake, bears such importance. However, if you’d like to try your hand at making a moon cake, try this recipe from Chef Kathleen Chim, an instructor at George Brown College’s School of Culinary Arts:

Pastry
12 oz Lyle’s Golden Syrup
8 oz vegetable oil
1 tbsp alkali water
20 oz pastry flour

Filling
4 can lotus paste
20 x salted egg yolks
2 rose liquor
1 x whole egg, beaten

Directions:

Pastry
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the salted egg yolks under running water then drain well. Toss with the rose liquor then bake for five minutes. Set aside.

Whisk the syrup, oil and alkali water together until thoroughly mixed. Form a pile of the flour in the center of your work surface. With your hands form a large well in the center of the pile. Add the syrup mixture and stir gently gradually incorporating the flour until both are well combined and a dough forms. Continue kneading the dough another few minutes until it is smooth and pliable. Cover it with plastic wrap, refrigerate and let rest for at least two hours or overnight. This will help the dough ‘relax’ and prevent it from sticking to the mold.

Filling
Meanwhile divide each can of lotus paste into five equal portions. Wrap each around an egg yolk forming an even ball. Divide the pastry into twenty equal portions. One at a time roll each pastry portion flat then wrap neatly around each lotus paste ball.

Assembly

Dust the individual cake mold with flour. Gently press the dough ball into the mold lightly pressing it into shape. Remove the cake from the mold by firmly knocking first the left side, then the right, then the front. Finally flip the mould upside down and knock the cake out into your hand. Place on a baking tray. Repeat.

Lightly mist each cake with water than bake for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly brush each cake with the beaten egg. Return to the oven, reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, about another 25 minutes.

Menu Ideas
Host a special evening at home with friends by lighting a few inexpensive lanterns and whipping up a menu comprised of simple Chinese-inspired dishes:

Appetizers

* Edamame Appetizer
* Duck Pot Stickers with Plum Sauce

Main Dishes

* Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas
* Long Bean and Tofu Stir Fry
* Five Spice Pork Tenderloin

Side Dishes

* Asian Long Bean Salad
* Chinese Noodles with Sesame Dressing
* Steamed Pork and Vegetable Buns

Drinks

* Ho Chi Mojito
* Peking Sun Cocktail
* Orange and Pineapple Cooler
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White Vegetable Puree
Yield: 6
Ingredients:
White Vegetable Puree

* 3 sprigs fresh thyme
* 3 stalks parsley
* 1 x bay leaf
* 2 x large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 3 x medium turnips, peeled and cubed
* 1/4 cup 35% cream (60 mL)
* 3 x leeks, cleaned, white part only, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
* 6 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1 tbsp butter (15 mL)
* 2 tsp kosher salt (10 mL)
* 1 tbsp fresh grated horseradish (15 mL)

Directions:
White Vegetable Puree

1. For bouquet garni:
2. Place thyme, parsley and bay leaf in a 5-inch (12.5 cm) square of cheesecloth. Tie corners together with kitchen twine, leaving ends long to tie to pot handle.
3. Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan of cold, well salted water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for about 25 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and mash potatoes with ricer or masher (do not use food processor). Transfer to a bowl.
4. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan of boiling, salted water, tie bouquet garni to handle of pot, and immerse it in the water. Add celery root, turnip, garlic, and leeks and cook, over medium-high heat, until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and transfer to bowl of food processor. Pulse until smooth. Fold into potatoes with cream, butter, horseradish and salt.
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Mini ‘Tatin’ Apple Tarts with Caramel

Yield:
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

Mini 'Tatin' Apple Tarts

130 g puff pastry
1 cup sugar (250 ml)
1/2 cup water (125 ml)
4 Royal Gala apples, peeled, seeded and cut in 3/4 inch cubes (2 cm)

Caramel

1/4 cup of water (60 ml)
1 cup sugar (250 ml)
1 tbsp corn syrup (15 ml)
1/4 cup cold semi-salted butter cut in cubes (60 ml)
6 x tbsp 35% cream (90 ml)

Directions: