A few months ago, I literally run to the airport to pick up mom! It was incredibly anxious to see her and spend some time with her. I’ve already made up my mind about all the recipes and cooking we would do together and all the questions that I would ask her about some traditional favorites from back home. So, she and I both have been spending everyday talking, laughing, and yes…cooking. And while I use a lot of measurement in my cooking and recipes, mom doesn’t do that much when cooking she prefers to measure ingredients by hand and eyeball quantities. I completely admire that in her way of cooking because that’s not an easy skill to acquire, but after years of preparing and cooking many meals, I guess that becomes effortless.
On Christmas eve we will be preparing some dishes together, the celebration will be Argentinian style. But this time, we’ll be adding these ''Plums in Balsamic Syrup'' as well. Mom never cooked plums in these form before and the first time I made these for her, she loved it and immediately wanted to know how to make this. I’ll be making another batch of these plums to serve as an appetizer over mozzarella cheese tomorrow since the first one I made has already been eaten. Haha’’
So here is one more uncomplicated, quick recipe you can put together for Christmas. Even at the last minute? Yes, because you can cook these plums on the stove really quick. Believe me, no matter how many side dishes you planned for Christmas there’s always room for that extra something with a pop of color and delicious fragrance on the table!
After a couple days out of the city last weekend, while driving throughout the Coromandel region we stopped at a few organic farms and brought with us some beautiful, juicy, sweet plums (plus a good size bag full of other fruits and vegetables), so in addition here’s a little bit from our road trip in photographs.
I hope you enjoy the festive season and spend lots of time with the people you love. I’ll spend mine with my favorite people, doing some sightseeing, sipping smoothies, watching movies and taking things as slow as I can. Have a Happy Christmas and wonderful New Year ‘2018’ too!
PLUMS IN VEGAN BALSAMIC SYRUP WITH BLUEBERRIES
You can serve these fragrant plums over mozzarella cheese with walnuts, with ricotta or mascarpone cheese, over pancakes, plain yogurt, and even chocolate ice cream!
10 Medium Semi-Firm Plums, cleaned, seeded and cut into halves
A Few Blueberries, optional
8 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 C. Water
1/2 C. Coconut sugar or organic cane sugar or to taste
2 Tbsp. Vanilla extract, optional
Preparation:
In bowl combine vinegar, water, and vanilla extract. Mix and set aside. In a frying pan add plums and pour the vinegar mixture over plums, pour sugar. Bring to a boil and then quickly reduce heat to low.
Simmer until liquid has reduced by half and plums start to get a semi-soft (not mushy). If using blueberries be sure to add these a few seconds before plums get ready so they keep their texture and don't become mushy.
