June 17, 2013 - Plum Disappointed

We have a flowering plum tree in our front yard.  I'd say it's 15-20 years old now, and it has never fruited.  It's not supposed to.  But this year we have plums!  They are very small, they look rather like Bing cherries.  I happened to notice them today, so I plucked one off the tree and popped it into my mouth.  Mr. Granny had fits, and insisted it was probably poisonous.  I said no, it's a plum tree, it has plums.  Very good tasting plums!  Sweet, juicy plums!  While visions of (sugar) plums danced in my head, I picked a few.  Mr. Granny said "They have worms".  I said I hadn't seen a worm in the one I ate, but then again, I didn't even really look, I just ate.  I picked a few more.  Even if they had a tiny worm or two, I could flick them out.  It wouldn't bother me to eat them as long as the worm was gone.  I took them in the house and cut one in half.  Or, at least I tried to cut it in half.  It turned out to be one of those that will not come loose from the seed, so I just had to kind of gouge it away.  And there was the worm.  I tried another.  Another tiny worm.  Like I said, it wouldn't bother me to eat them, once the tiny little worm came out, but there was no way I could open every one of those little fruits to check them out.  The only way they could be eaten is to pop the entire thing in your mouth and chew the fruit off of the pit.  I'm sure I've consumed worse things than those tiny worms, but I just couldn't do it!

 Plum pretty.

I had to open 3 more of them before I found one with a worm.  It's right above the tip of the paring knife.

So....since I couldn't do plums, I did sauerkraut.

 I went out to the garden and picked two more cabbages to add to the two I had in the fridge.

 Since my (almost) new Cuisinart food processor broke while grating a piece of mozzarella cheese, I had to use the mandolin to slice up five pounds of cabbage.  We'll discuss the Cuisinart in a separate blog post.  And maybe the piece of crap new Black and Decker electric can opener. :-(

 After mixing in some salt and then letting it sit for an hour or so to go limp, I packed it firmly into clean quart jars.

 I smashed it into the jars until the brine covered the surface, leaving about an inch of headspace.

I cut some cabbage leaves to fit the top, then pressed them down over the contents until the brine rose above them.

 Then I used some crumpled plastic wrap to ensure the shredded cabbage would stay under the brine.

Lids were put on, and the jars were set on paper towels on a large plastic lid.  They went out to the garage, where they will stay fairly dark and cool for the next 6-8 weeks.  I'll check them every few days to make sure the brine is still covering the cabbage.  If any has seeped out, and it usually does, I'll dissolve a tablespoon of salt in a cup of cold water and add it to the jars.

There were a lot of outer cabbage leaves, and bits and pieces that didn't go through the mandolin, so I decided I needed to use them to make a big pot of soup.  I tossed the scraps into the pot with parsley and onions from my garden, carrots and celery not from my garden, some beef soup base and water.

 I simmered it for a loooong time, then strained the resulting broth into another pot.

I pureed the carrots and added them back into the broth, then added corn, peas, green beans, carrots, diced tomatoes, a can of white beans and a lot of course ground pepper.  I simmered it for another loooong time.  Oh, my, it was the best soup!  I had a huge bowl of it for my dinner, saved some for the next day, and froze the rest.

So....the plums were disappointing, but the rest of the day was quite productive!

21 comments:

  1. Now YOU are making me hungry, Granny. Just woke up from a looong nap, had a splitting headache from being in the sun all day, not in the garden, but in an elementary school with screaming children all around! I'm ravenous and that soup looks mighty tasty. I really wish I lived close by, so I could take your leftovers.

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    1. Haha, you'd have to fight me for it! It was so good, I ate two cups of it for dinner, along with a big salad! It's all diet friendly though ;-)

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  2. Oh, that soup sure sounds delicious! Sorry about the plums but you could have gotten your protein that way! I don't do sauerkraut. Not sure how much of it we would eat! Glad your day was not totally disappointing! Nancy

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    1. Nancy, I can't stand sauerkraut! My husband and daughter love it, so I make it for them. Yes, I had meatless soup for dinner, and my protein in the plum I ate! Maybe, anyway, I'll never know :-)

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  3. "And maybe the piece of crap new Black and Decker electric can opener. :-( "

    Granny, you just crack me up!

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    1. Ray, don't even get me started....just this month; seeds, potatoes, food processor, can opener, canister impact sprinkler. I shudder to think of what's next. Twice yesterday, while driving through a parking lot, then on our way home, somebody almost backed right into the side of our new car, and last week I came "this close" to getting rear-ended at a stop light! The car behind me got hit hard, I don't know how he managed to not run into my car. I need to hurry and get out of June!

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  4. Now I'm hungry...We make sauerkraut the same way only here we don't do it in glass jar, we make it in big plastic or wooden barrels.

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    1. Leanan, I used to make it in a big old crock, but the crock cracked years ago so I've done it in jars since then. I might try doing the next batch (if there is a next batch) in a plastic container.

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  5. Plum disappointed?.... ha, ha... You've been reading the Plum series, haven't you? I sure do and was curious to check it out....

    Do plums have worms? Hmmm.. We have plum trees that set fruit depending on the last frost(have lost some harvests), but this year we might get some again. I wonder if I should cut it open and check for worms....

    I have a Cuisinart too that I've been using for a few years, so far so good. I have used it to grate cheese many times, but it is still working great... Sorry, yours did not hold up to the task...

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    1. Random, I had to Google "Plum series". No, I haven't read any of them, but I loved Nancy Drew mysteries many years ago, so I suspect I would enjoy these books as well.

      We had plum trees at one of our previous houses, and I don't remember them having worms. I do wish these had removeable pits, because they are so sweet and juicy they would make fantastic jelly, as well as fresh eating.

      My old Cuisinart lasted for more than 20 years, so it was replaced with another when it finally died. Checking reviews, I find quite a few have had a problem with the bowl breaking where it locks down onto the base, and replacement bowls, in most of the cases, have not been the correct ones. They were under warranty, but in all cases, the manufacturer required them to pay for shipping the broken one back, as well as for return shipping on the replacement bowl ($10 each time).

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  6. That soup sounds wonderful. Sorry that your small appliances are staging a revolt. I gave up on electric can openers long ago. The manual kind always works. Well works until I get arthritis I guess. Until then I don't have to deal with them. I think I pull out my Cuisinart about once or twice a year. Mine however has lived a long if lonely life. I got it for my wedding and we hit 29 years last week. I can't live without my mini processor though. I use it constantly.

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    1. Daphne, I have arthritis in my right hand, and it hurts to use the regular can opener. However, trying to get this new can opener to actually open a can is frustrating. There again, my old opener lasted for many years. It seems like all the new small appliances are just cheap, plastic crap! I guess I'll have to give Mr. Granny another job. In addition to being my jar opener, he can now be my can opener as well!

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  7. Bummer about the plums!
    Awesome simple instructions for making fermented veggies! Do you only do sauerkraut or other veggies too? I want to try fermented pickles.
    Nice soup!

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    1. Shawn Ann, I don't do other veggies. I am not a fan of fermented foods, I don't even like dill pickles! I only give in and make the sauerkraut because the rest of the family likes it.

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    1. Vanessa, it was. The only thing different from the other vegetable soups I've made was the carrot puree I added back into it. It gave it a sweetness that I really liked. It wasn't a lot of puree, I think I had three or four carrots in the entire big pot. I strained the veggies from the broth, but pulled out the carrots, mashed them up and returned them to the broth with some of just about every veggie I had in the freezer.

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    1. I think I'd rather eat crow than eat worms! I swear, the crows in my yard are as big as turkeys, and so many of them I'd never starve.

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    2. Where there is a problem, one soon finds a solution... Crafty. I'll be watching my antics around you...

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    1. Stoney, it was either compost the cabbage trimmings or cook 'em! I'm glad they were turned into soup. It helped me get some dibs and dabs of veggies cleaned out of the freezer as well.

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