I love Marin in September. The mornings slowly get darker and the air crisper, but the afternoons are still warm. Late summer fruits and vegetables are also at their peak and their fall successors are getting ready to be harvested — just look at the grapes I spotted in my neighbor’s front yard on a recent walk!

(It was so hard not to take one and try it. I didn’t. I couldn’t.)

After admiring my neighbor’s gorgeous grapes, a couple more minutes into my walk, I saw a plum tree growing on the side of the road. This is the main road that leads to downtown. The tree was full of plums, and this time I couldn’t resist the urge to taste one. The tree was so full of fruit that the branches were hanging a bit low. This tree wasn’t planted in anyone’s yard, it was planted outside a fence on a hill that seemed like public land, at least that’s what I hoped!

So I ignored the cars driving past me and what the people inside them could think of this woman possibly stealing plums in plain sight, and focused on stepping up the hill a bit and stretching my arm upwards to gently pull down one of the branches to take a few of the beautiful plums – one for each of us. It was a little difficult to do this one-handed while holding Estelle’s leash with my other hand.

I thought I should wash them first, so I walked home cradling the plums in one hand, but somehow still managed to drop one. It was getting hot and my hands were sweaty. I wish I had grabbed a few more, they were so sweet! I thought they’d be perfect for a quick cake or galette. I contemplated going back to see if I could get a few more but figured I could just buy some later at the store.

a famous plum cake

With plums on my mind, a recipe for Plum Torte in my inbox later that day felt like a sign. The recipe had 5 stars and 11,476 reviews on NYTimes Cooking. Wouldn’t you have tried it, too?

The story behind this recipe (Marian Burros’s famous Plum Torte) and how many times it’s been published was interesting. Apparently, after publishing it for seven years in a row every September from 1983-1989, the New York Times decided that was enough, but soon readers got mad and demanded to get the printed recipe back. The newspaper then promised to publish it every year around this time, when plums are at their best.

Probably the reason the cake is a hit is that it’s pretty much foolproof, so feel free to get creative by switching out the plums for other types of fruit. I read in the comments that someone had used mangoes instead of plums; someone else used bananas, others blueberries, cherries, and the list goes on. I think you can’t go wrong with your choice of fruit.

plum torte
(a recipe by Marian Burros, published by NYTimes Cooking, slightly modified)

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar (The original recipe calls for one cup. I could have used even less. I’ll try 1/2 cup next time.)
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
24 halves of pitted plums, or as many as you can fit in your pan (I could only fit about 14)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 Tbs sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to sprinkle on top before baking

Method
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the sugar and butter with a hand-held or stand-up mixer. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and eggs and beat well. Scoop the batter into a 9-inch springform pan (a slightly smaller or larger pan will work, too). Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice (from half a lemon), depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Bake for approx. 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before moving to a plate; refrigerate or freeze if desired.

The cake can be served plain, but it’s best with ice cream or whipped cream. It also tastes better if you let it sit for a couple of hours.

latest audiobook

I finished listening to Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett, last Sunday. The audiobook is narrated by Meryl Streep and I found it easy to listen to while I worked on my latest knitting project. It is a story within a story with some unexpected twists. If you are curious about the book, I enjoyed this review.

I have a goal of reading 10 books this year. I know that isn’t much, but the thing is I also want to knit a lot because I have too many unfinished projects. Audiobooks are great when it’s safe to multitask (easy garter stitch, straight edges) but I also love quiet, so I don’t always want to be listening to someone talk. So unlike other knitters who can listen to a few books a week, my listening is also slow; little bits here and there are all I can handle, but it is a great way to “read” more when your hands are always busy. Five more books to go; I can do this!

off the needles: a green shawl

I’ve named it the Falcon’s Shawl. The original pattern is called Trista. This is an easy project for an intermediate knitter or an adventurous beginner. You start out with one stitch on your needles and gradually add more stitches until you have a triangle that measures about 21 inches along the middle. Mine turned out bigger because I was using thicker yarn than the pattern recommends. You then decrease at the same rate you increase to end up with one stitch. You can make this shawl as large or small as you like with pretty much any yarn. I chose wool because I already had some yarn in the perfect green shade to match my son’s football team colors. Now I feel ready for fall – and for the next game!

Check out Ravelry for more details.

a few other good things this week:

Two super easy recipes I’m adding to my recipe box: ginger beef & green bean stir-fry and coconut chicken cutlets with mango chutney slaw

Green Flash: art exhibit by Rachel Kaye at the Sarah Shepard Gallery at the Marin Country Mart. Runs through Oct. 31 (Love seeing how others combine colors.)

Grateful for a very special family gathering this evening.