Posher than plums

I love late summer. July was a bit of a washout, but it seems summer is here now. I love how the weather is sunny and warm, enabling you to still walk around with bare legs and on flip-flops. I love how there still seem to be endless opportunities to enjoy the warm weather before the days really turn shorter and colder again. It is not too late for a BBQ yet!

But what I love most is the fantastic variety of fruit and veg at the moment. We have been gorging ourselves lately on beetroot, blueberries, corn, peas, plums and runner beans, to name just a few. I get so enthusiastic about all the different seasonal produce that when I go to my local stall, I end up buying enough to feed a whole family. Which usually means me practicing to be a domestic goddess and filling up the freezer since there is no way we can eat everything.

When shopping this morning I couldn't resist the look of the damsons on offer. Friendly, if a bit sour cousins of the common plum that benefit from cooking. That is what the owner told me. Since the damsons and I are yet to get acquainted, I am still contemplating what their best purpose would be.

I am toying with the idea of turning them into a chutney. There is something really good about home-made preserves. I love how you can just boil up some fruit with sugar and feel that all is right in the world. Perhaps I could bake a tart to congratulate myself with the purchase of the damsons. A surprise plum tart for when Jonny comes back!