The fruit of my summer

The Texas heat has hit. One hundred degrees will be the norm here for the next 4 months with no rain in sight after an extremely dry winter and spring. This Alaskan girl has somehow acclimated to this strange climate, with the help of fruit. 

Fruit growing from trees outside the front door is a thing of dreams up North; but here the plums, nectarines, peaches, tomatoes, and peppers grow with ease despite the dry, harsh climate. (With some help from the hose of course.)

I feel positively spoiled, with this bounty of fresh fruit ripening outside my window. I know that this will be a hard thing to leave behind when I return home. Perhaps I am merely craving what is locally available because this is my geographic location at this time, but at this moment it is hard to image a life without avocados and tomatoes. 

Two weeks ago the plums ripened. Small, deeply purple plums warmed by the sun and delicately sweet on the tongue. The crop (one little tree's worth) was hardly enough to warrant a load of canned plums, so I enjoyed most of them fresh, two or three with every lunch for a week, then made a bit of meat-plum sauce to freeze and enjoy as needed.

Lamb is my most favorite meat right now, and why not some savory yet sweet plum sauce to accent the gamey flavors of the lamb! Only five ingredients and it was divine. 

Lamb with Savory Plum Sauce

Serves 2

2 lamb chops

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup ripe plums, chopped

2-4 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup pinot noir or other red wine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pat the lamb dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a cast iron pan (or other oven safe pan) over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and sear, turning about a minute per side, until browned on all sides. Transfer skillet to oven and heat until cooked to desired doneness, approximately 8-10 minutes. 

While the lamb is in the oven, prepare the sauce. In a saucepan, add the plums and sugar and heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Add the wine and increase the heat, bring to a simmer. Add more wine if desired. When you pull the lamb from the oven, transfer the lamb to a plate and allow to rest for ~5 minutes. Pour all the pan juices into the plum sauce and simmer for another two minutes. Continue to simmer until desired consistency, remembering that it will thicken as it cools. 

Serve the plum sauce over the lamb, with some pooled at the side for color and dipping.

To lighten up this dish, serve it with a garden fresh salad; seen here with a Cucumber-Tomato Salad with a Mint-Yogurt Dressing. Also served with a Smokey-Cheesy Polenta.