Fig-plum jam

Dave was in Napa last week and he brought home a big bag of lovely fresh plums and some fresh figs. Usually, I would make a tart or a cake or something to really take advantage of such gorgeous fruit. But, I was very distracted last week and didn't really get to do any baking. By the time I remembered the figs and plums they were over-ripe and needed to be used immediately. I decided to make a jam which is something I frequently do when I need to use up fruit. This was so simple - all I did was cut the figs and plums into smallish pieces and cook them with sugar, a little lemon juice, and a small amount of water. When the fruit was really mushy I pureed it with a hand blender until it was thick and fairly smooth. For something that was a complete afterthought, the jam was delicious.

With some of the jam I made a simple cobbler for breakfast. I put the jam in a casserole dish and covered it with a layer of thick pancake batter that had extra sugar added. I just used a boxed mix from the health food store. I topped the batter with some decorating sugar for extra sweetness and crunch. I baked the cobbler in a 325F oven until the top was browned, about 25 minutes. It made a nice, warm breakfast and leftovers were good with ice cream.