From the East coast to the West coast, Italian plums are ripening. I grew up picking the delicious fruit off the tree in my grandmother's back yard, and now I have my own tree in my front yard. The fruit is abundant in the stores, and should be locally grown in many parts of the country right now.
One serving of plums will give you 20 percent of your daily need for vitamin C, so popping 2 sweet plums is a great early Fall addition to citrus, melons, mangos and berries.
I'll be making roasted turkey this week with a very easy plum chutney. Here's my version of the recipe:
Good Mood Italian Plum Chutney
1 pound plums, pitted and chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
dash of smoked chipotle sauce
1. Combine plums, vinegar, honey, crushed red pepper and chipotle sauce in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a simmer over high heat.
3. Cover, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the plums start to break down, 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Transfer to a blender or food processor and pulse several times into a coarse puree.
5. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
And before I end I'd like to say hello to Kara and her family. I met Kara shopping for shoes with my daughter the other day, and she recognized me from my photo on the inside back cover flap of The Good Mood Diet. Great memory, Kara!
Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner