Fruit & Cheese Plate

Autumn in New England brings about a whole new crop of fruit.  As peaches and berries come to a sad end (for some) the trees are bursting with all new kinds of fruits.  Erica says this is the busiest time of year for their farm as pears and apples begin their harvest.  Most everyone loves a good spread of fruit and cheese so when we were surveying the bounty of fruit we decided to just use it all and pair it with some locally made cheeses, bread and honey.  

We used Gala apples, Seckel pears, Italian Prune plums and grapes; all of which came straight from the orchard. It was my first time experiencing Seckel pears and the grapes.  The grapes were similar, but different, to the ones that you would find in the grocery store.  They were juicy and the darker ones were sweet; tasting exactly like grape juice does. Seckel pears are small, almost bite sized, and beautiful with their shades of green and red. 

The cheese selection consisted of an herby chèvre, a nice sharp cheddar and a blue cheese.   We sliced, spread and drizzled and ended up with a variety of different combinations but we definitely had some favorites. Tangy blue cheese with the Seckel pears was a nice contrast. The blue cheese was quite tangy and the pears were crunchy and sweet.  

Apple with cheddar is always a classic combination; perfectly paired in any setting. 

I think the winning combination was the chèvre with the plums and grapes. The cheese was soft, easily spreadable and struck the perfect balance of sweet and savory when accompanied by the fruit.  We drizzled wildflower honey over top and it was quite tasty. 

Fruit and cheese, though maybe not the healthiest dinner, is definitely a favorite dinner. "We could eat this every night!" we exclaimed every time we bit in to a new combination.  It is an easy, effortlessly beautiful, way to enjoy the bounty of fruit this time of year. 

We enjoyed this spread on the grass in the front yard on one of the first chilly nights of the fall.  The sun was quickly setting behind the crop of apple trees, a stark reminder that fall is upon us. Invite friends over, slice up your favorite fruits and cheeses and enjoy a glass of wine. Oh, and be sure to let us know about your favorite combinations!

Fruit & Cheese Plate

This isn't so much a recipe as it is a suggestion, feel free to choose fruits and cheese that are to your liking

Fruits of your choice: Apples, Pears, Grapes, Plums

A variety of cheeses including hard and soft cheese; pick what you like!

Baguette

Honey

Slice up your cheeses, fruit and bread.  Try different combinations!

Golden Plum Jam Cocktail

When you live in New England, now is the time to start preserving summer’s bounty.  It is honestly amazing how quickly summer fades into fall and fall turns into winter.  And once winter’s snowy days are upon us, it is difficult to remember the abundance of fruit and vegetables we were once surrounded by, even for fruit and vegetable growers.  That is why making jam, canning, freezing, and pickling, are such important parts of New England history.  

I normally make a few batches of jam; the type of jam I make always depends on what we have available and what unmarketable fruit we have in the cooler.  This year, I made a few batches of Golden Plum Jam, made with a mixture of Early Gold and Shiro plums.  Plums come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and the golden plums might be the most striking of all of them, however, they are extremely delicate and prone to bruising.  So with our bruised plums I set out to create something delicious we could enjoy in the winter months.  Plum is one of our favorite jams here at the farm because it has a natural tartness to it, which works well with the sugary sweetness of jam.  

So when when we set out to make jam cocktails, I knew I had just the thing, a perfectly sweet and tart mixture that would make a drink sweet, but not cloyingly so. We decided to use fresh lavender to give the cocktail a bit of an herby kick. We simply shook the lavender buds in the shaker with the other ingredients. You can chose to serve the drink with the buds in it, as we did, or strain them out. If you have a bit more time you might consider infusing your lavender buds with the vodka. This drink would also be terrific topped with a little sparkling water to add some bubbly, if that's what you prefer.

Golden Plum Jam Cocktail

1 tbsp golden plum jam

2 oz vodka

1/4 tsp fresh lavender

1 tsp honey

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake with ice until chilled.  Strain into glass and serve with additional ice cubes if desired.