Autumn has arrived, the sun is weaker, the mornings and evenings have turned chillier and the leaves on the tree’s are starting to turn. I love the seasons, I love how everything changes and the joys that each season bring. Autumn for me is a time of foraging and harvesting, the hedgerows and garden are full of natures bounty and now is the time to enjoy it and to preserve it for the cold winter months.
Autumn for me is the time to light fires, get the candles out, eiderdowns on the sofa, time to snuggle down with the family in the warmth of the home and enjoy warming, comforting food together.
Anyone that knows us, knows that meal times are very important time of the day in our family, everyone is busy during the day with school, college and jobs, so dinner time is the one time that we can all sit together and discuss our day. The kitchen to us is like to many, the heart of our home and I work really hard to make it as warm and as inviting as I possibly can.
Over the summer I turned the large shed in our garden into a workshop, decorated with fairy lights and bunting of course, I have spent hours out there renovating furniture for our home and one of my favourite pieces has to be our kitchen table and chairs.
This kitchen table has been apart of mine and my Husbands life together, almost from day one, it has shared good times and bad and I always say that if the table could talk it would have many tales to tell, lots and lots of fun, laughter and tears have been shared around this table. We really missed sitting around it whilst it was out in the workshop and it is lovely to have it back in the kitchen.
Last night we all sat round the table together and enjoyed this very simple, but very tasty plum crumble and I thought that I would share it on here with you all as I am feeling sentimental today.
Buon appetito
SERVES 4-6
750g plums, halved and stoned
45g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
FOR THE TOPPING
225g plain flour (I used spelt flour)
100g butter (room temperature), cut into cubes
45g granulated sugar
Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C/350°F/Gas 4).
Put the plums in a baking dish measuring about 25cm x 20cm (10in x 8in) and 5cm (2in) deep. Sprinkle the fruit with the sugar and water.
Make the crumble topping:
place the flour in a bowl and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour as in the tips below, then stir in the sugar.
Scatter the crumble topping evenly over the plums.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling. Test the plums with a skewer to see if they are tender; if not, cover the crumble with foil and bake for a further 10-15 minutes.
Serve warm with cream or custard.
Note : As with any recipe, play with it, add any fruit that you have to hand or is in season, add nuts, oats and seeds to the crumble mix, add spices to compliment your chosen fruit, to give a warming lift, I added cardamom to my plums and it was delicious, but most of all, enjoy!
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