Plum Good!

I'm steadily making more progress with my recovery. I've finally reached a point where I can start going to physical therapy every other week instead of every week. I was able to sustain about 6 mph on the elliptical machine and 11 mph on the stationary bike. If things keep going this way, I can start running in a couple weeks. My orthopedic gave me the ok to start at 3 months post op, which is later this week and about a month sooner than someone with my surgery normally has to wait. I'm so excited!! This means that I can start swimming and get back to lifting heavy things soon!

Well, I've been making my usual Saturday trip to the Public Market and noticed that several vendors had fresh plums. I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to eat some of this harvest seasons eats! The only problem is deciding do with with a large basketful of plums. Don't get me wrong, I love eating them fresh and know that they'd taste really good in a plum pie or some plum pudding. I finally figured that I wanted to try something a little more savory with them. I give you:

Plum Chutney

(I swear this tastes and looks better than the picture! I really need to get a better camera...)

Ingredients:

• coconut oil
• 12-15 ripe plums
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped finely
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1-2 tbsp honey (preferably raw/local), use less if you want it less sweet
• a splash apple cider vinegar
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 cup water

Method:

• Cut the plums in half and remove the pits. Cut the halves into small chunks. Set aside.
• Heat a small saucepan over medium high heat. Add some coconut oil and let it melt.
• Add the onion and let them cook until softened. 
• Add the garlic and ginger. Let cook for another minute.
• Add the plums, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, and water. Let this come to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and let cook for a 5-8 minutes (you want the plums to soften). Remove the cover and let everything continue to simmer for 20-25 minutes or until thickened. (I added a half cup of water. My final chutney ended up a bit more watery than a typical chutney and more like a sauce. It's up to you how thick you'd like it to be.)
• Taste, add any salt/pepper.
• Serve over your desired protein (like pork or chicken). Enjoy!

I served this chutney/sauce over some curry roasted chicken, and it was fantastic! It's not overly sweet and is evened out some with the cider vinegar. I can only imagine that this would taste equally good over some pork or some roasted turkey or even, dare I say, ice cream... Mmm...