Summer Love

So much for the dog days of summer. We've been having spectacular weather lately, with the morning temperature when I set foot outside for a run somewhere around 75. Skies are sunny and blue, and the humidity's low. Can we have this weather for a few more months, please? Oh, and while we're at it, can we continue to have the amazing fruits and vegetables currently on offer at the greenmarket?

I finished a six-miler yesterday at the market, and picked up a dozen or so plums from Miglorelli, the kind with rosy pink skin and yellowish flesh. They finished ripening while I was at work, and I when I got home, I set to work slicing them, then halving the slices. Into a square ceramic baking dish they went, tossed with a tiny bit of flour and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, I whisked rolled oats, brown sugar, flour and salt; then I cut in a cold stick of butter. I sprinkled the sugary, oaty, buttery crumbs over the fruit, forming a thick carpet, then baked it for 40 minutes. The smell was heavenly, and after the dish was bubbling and lightly browned, I took it out of the oven and let it cool by the window (nice touch, right? I was in a rush to get the thing uptown to book club).

Somehow the crisp made it safely 20 blocks north on the subway, and my friends and I enjoyed it, still warm. Sweet, a little tart, gently crunching from the oatmeal, kind of slurpy--this is August at its best.--S

Plum Oatmeal Crisp

serves 6

1/2 c plus 1 T all-purpose flour
1 c plus 2 T packed light-brown sugar
1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 t salt
1/2 c cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 1/2 lbs ripe plums, cut into 1-in. pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, stir together 1/2 c flour, 1 c sugar, oats and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until coarse crumbs form.
2. In a shallow 2-qt baking dish, toss plums with remaining 2 T sugar and 1 T flour; sprinkle with oat topping. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until topping is golden brown, 40-45 min. Let cool 20 minutes before serving.