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Easy roasted glazed plums with ice cream

by Jeanne Horak on October 19, 2012 10 Comments in Dessert, Fruit, Gluten-free

Roasted plums 1 © J Horak-Druiff 2012

 

When I was a little girl, I often asked my mom why I had brown eyes when she had bright blue eyes.  Surely if I was her daughter, I would also have the blue eyes that I so hankered after?  She would always smile and patiently explain to me that things like the colour of your eyes or hair; or the shape of your hands and feet are things that you inherited from your parents, and that there was no way of telling which bit you’d get from which parent. So, she would say, my eyes must have come from my dad while my ridiculously tiny wrists with their prominent ulnar head must have come from her. A few years later at school, we did some basic genetics and I was mesmerised.  I loved learning that the reason I had brown eyes was because my of my dad.  Since my mom’s blue eyes were the result of a recessive gene, she must have had 2 blue genes from her parents – but my dad had to have at least 1 brown gene to make up his hazel eyes. And I loved even more learning that the reason I could roll my tongue and my mom could not was because this is a dominant gene from my dad (ditto being able to wiggle my ears!); or that the gap between my front teeth was the result of a dominant gene from my mom.

 

Mirabelles cut © J Horak-Druiff 2012

 

But of course, it’s not quite as cut and dried as high school biology would have you believe. There are 60,000 to 100,000 genes (made up of DNA) in a human being’s 46 chromosomes. A baby gets 23 chromosomes from their mother and 23 from their father. With all the possible gene combinations, one pair of parents has the potential to produce 64 trillion different children.  The possibilities quite literally are endless. It is now thought that most human traits are actually polygenic, in other words the result of many genes acting together. If there were just one pair of genes involved in selecting eye color, there would be at maximum three shades of eye color: brown, blue and green. But human eyes come in a whole spectrum of different shades of these colors, because eye color is a polygenic trait.

Without going and doing a PhD’s worth of research on the topic, I’d say that personality is another polygenic trait, with a dose of environmental factors thrown in for good measure.  Take me for example: most of the time, I would say my personality is closer to my mom’s.  She had an abiding love of and interest in other people; she was a born and natural teacher, both of her own children and her many radiography students; and she was quick to anger but generally ridiculously optimistic. Even though she was the one who suffered from a devastating kidney disease he entire adult life, she was always a “glass half full” kind of person, always seeing opportunities for enjoyment even as her world shrank  because of her disease.  My father, on the other hand, lived a hale and hearty life to age 89 with a half empty glass all his life, disgruntled at the fact that nobody offered to fill it for him.

 

Mirabelles roasted © J Horak-Druiff 2012

 

I am almost always in my mom’s camp. Looking at the way she lived her life taught me that happiness is a choice of how you choose to look at things; and that no matter how bad things are, there is always somebody worse off than you.  Although by the end she was confined to a wheelchair and in constant pain, she was grateful every day for her computer and e-mail whch meant we could have rambling late-night chats despite the continent between us. I think about her every day as I swing my fully functional legs out of bed in the morning without a second thought and it reminds me to be happy and thankful because, really, there is nothing at all to complain about in my life.

My father, on the other hand, was a man given to melancholia and dwelling on the worst case scenario – and although mostly I steer well clear of these two, when autumn comes I feel the pull of his genes on my mood.  Maybe it is the shortening of the days or having to say farewell to the green leaves of summer.  Maybe it is just that after 30 years in temperate, almost seasonless Port Elizabeth, my psyche will never quite adjust to the sudden and dramatic seasonal changes that London experiences.  Or maybe it’s just the general melancholic sense of things coming to an: the summer roses dying, the leaves falling from the trees, the rain dripping like tears from the eaves, and the calendar year drawing to a close. Today also marks nine long years since my mother’s death and is always filled with bittersweet memories for me.  It’s the one time of year I feel justified in behaving like my father’s daughter.

But, unlike my father, I have many strategies for refilling my glass and bouncing back to being my mother’s daughter instead – the most common being cooking.  When my mood turns a little gray, I need something quick, easy and simple to pick me up – and this recipe is perfect. Although I used mirabelle plums to make mine earlier in the summer, it is a dessert I often make in the Autumn when plums are plentiful.  It’s great for a quick weeknight treat and also a good way to use up past-their-prime plums lurking in the back of the fridge. You’ll love how the fruit collapses a little during roasting and coats itself in the sticky glaze of butter and sugar – and of course you’ll love the taste. It’s a perfect blend between the sweetness of the caramel and the tang of the fruit, just like I am a perfect blend between my mother’s optimism and my father’s melancholy.

 

Roasted plums 2 © J Horak-Druiff

 

 

Easy roasted glazed plums with ice cream
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
30 mins
 
This recipe is perfect for when you have unexpected guests and need a quick, no-fuss dessert - and it's naturally gluten-free
Author: Jeanne Horak-Druiff
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • about a dozen small plums (if you can find them - or 4 large)
  • butter
  • soft brown sugar
  • good quality vanilla ice cream
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
  2. Halve and stone the  plums and place them cut side up on an ovenproof dish. Add enough soft brown sugar to nearly fill the hollow of each plum, then add a small knob of butter to the top of the sugar in each plum.  Sprinkle each lightly with ground cinnamon.
  3. Bake for 20 minutes or until the plums are starting to collapse slightly and the butter and sugar are caramelising.  You can turn the grill on for a few minutes to get a nice caramel finish.
  4. Place one or two scoops of ice cream in each bowl and divide the hot plums between the bowls, making sure to spoon over the caramel juices too.
  5. NOTE:  this recipe also works well with nectarines, peaches or apricots
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
3.1.09

 

And in other news…

My latest article to appear in Crush Magazine (p34-35) is all about visiting the Vaucluse region of Provence – have a look at the gorgeous layout of my words and pictures that they have produced!

 

Crush Vaucluse article 1

 

 

SidebarIrelandAlso – this week we mark another milestone in our Plate to Page story. We’ve been working on our sparkly new website behind the scenes and putting together a brand new workshop for 2013. We’ve worked hard and there were many frustrations, highs and lows but in the end we rocked it. The Plate to Page website is looking hot – isn’t it?

We’re absolutely thrilled about our fourth workshop taking place in May 2013 in Dublin, Ireland. Mark those calendars! From 10th – 13th May 2013 we’re taking the From Plate to Page workshop to the beautiful rolling green hills of County Meath, Ireland. You’ll find all the details to the workshop in our Ireland announcement page. And if you’re wondering whether the workshop is right for you, just read what our past participants have said about our workshops!

 

 

 

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  1. bellini says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    Although I do have blue eyes I have always longed for the ice blue eyes of my dad to stare you down, and the petit frame of mom. But we deal the hand we are dealt and enjoy life. Such a good read Jeanne and a delicious recipe to boot.

    Reply
  2. Andrew says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    are my eyes still sparkly deep blue? or have they changed to a cynical, cold, heartless steel grey/blue…

    Oh, quite nice pics by the way…

    Reply
  3. Ailbhe says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:24 pm

    Lovely article Jeanne. Yesterday I looked in the mirror and saw my mother look back which surprised me as she was dark, brown eyed and very spanish looking from the west of Ireland and I’m as freckly grey eyed irish you can get but there was something about the look, and the cheekbones (I’ve lost some weight so I can see them!) that looked like Mum. Funny isn’t it?.

    Indeed they are nice pics : )

    Reply
  4. Stephanie says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:25 pm

    I love your site! You should post some of your food pics on FlauntMyFood.com it could help get you more readers.

    Reply
  5. Kit says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:25 pm

    Now you’ve taught me something new about genes – I never knew about polygenic traits before – explains the puzzle of my kids’ three (not fifty) different shades of grey eyes – grey/hazel, blue grey and grey with a hint of green, when I have green/hazel and my husband has brown eyes and no blue eyes in the family at all. And I thought we had a good chance of a gorgeous brown eyed child!

    Great post about your Mum – she sounds wonderful and inspiring. And a London autumn can be enough to make any glass half empty… until the sun comes out and you kick piles of golden leaves in the park and find some lovely shiny conkers … xx

    Reply
  6. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:26 pm

    We are a strange and wonderful mix of our parents best and worst traits aren’t we? I think that’s how they stay by our side live on in us when they’re gone.

    Reply
  7. Zirkie says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:27 pm

    This is a lovely post, Jeanne! Although I am mostly an optimistic person, I get very melancholic on Sundays! I them miss my daughters even though they are a mere 70km’s away and I really miss my belated Mum and Dad on Sundays. I don’t know from who I enherited this. Luckily cooking also lifts my mood!!

    The plums are looking delicious!

    Reply
  8. Firefly says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:28 pm

    Believe me, if you spent the last year in PE you would have seen a distinct wet winter ala UK. LOL!

    Reply
  9. Simone says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:29 pm

    It’s funny but I used to be really interested into genetics too while growing up. I even did a course after school to learn more on the subject… I’ve always taken more after my dad in terms in character, even though I look a lot like my mum in terms of features. I did wish I had her slender figure too though! I did inherit that part from my dad. Who is skinny too but his sisters are very similar in shape and size to me. Funny how that works. The seasons changes normally doesn’t bother me so much but this year it does more then other years. I am wondering if it has anything to do with the approaching fifties… Brrrr… scary thoughts. I think I need some of those roasted mirabells with icecream for sure!

    Reply
  10. Rosa says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:29 pm

    A delightful dessert! I am a sucker for plums…

    Genetics are very interesting. A passionating subject.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
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Are you a cook... or a baker?
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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