Plum Crumble

Plums, which are in season from May to early October, have been the best buy for fruit in my local supper market lately. They have 2lb bags of dark purple skinned plums for just under $2, making them the cheapest fruit I can buy right now. When plums are ripe, they're soft and sweet and are wonderful in this dish. They cook down and become this beautiful ruby red color. The topping is sweet and crunchy and once you learn the recipe, you can use it for just about any fruits. Stone fruits, like plums, peaches, and nectarines work really well as a crumble. Apples are another great choice and with apple season in full swing, a crumble is a great way to use up some of them. You'll noticed that I didn't put any sugar in with the fruit. When you have ripe fruit, it's generally sweet enough and no extra sugar is needed. To make sure this is true for you, taste a slice or three from your fruit and add sugar ONLY if them seem a little sour.

What You Need:

2lbs plums, sliced
juice of 1 lemon
2 cups old fashion oats
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
pinch of salt

What To Do:

Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar and butter in a bowl, mixing well so that everything has been coated with the butter. Place in the fridge while you slice the fruit. Mix the fruit with the lemon juice and place it in a deep dish pie plate or similar dish. Bring the topping out of the fridge and using your hands, squeeze together a handful of topping to make a clump and place it on top the fruit. Continue doing this until the fruit is covered and the topping is all used up. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until the topping is golden and the fruit is soft and juicy about 45-50 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top if you choose.