What's in Season

Pick of the Week:

• Plums. Check out plums at Lone Oak Ranch, Hamada Farms, Twin Girls Farms, and many more this Saturday!

Other items in season:

• Corn

• Watermelon

• Cantaloupe

• Strawberries

• Eggplant

• Peaches

• Nectarines

• Zucchini

• Cucumber

• Summer squash

• Tomatoes

Tips for selecting, storing and preparing plums:

• Select unwrinkled, smooth-skinned fruits with no blemishes, free of soft spots or discolorations. The grayish sheen on plums is natural and does not affect the quality of the fruit.

• If plums are too firm, place several in a loosely closed paper bag and leave at room temperature for a day or two. When ripened, they can be refrigerated for 2 or 3 days.

Spiced plum shortcakes

Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 cup half and half

Spiced plums

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

2 pounds dark red or purple plums, halved, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup chilled whipping cream

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Additional powdered sugar

For biscuits:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add half and half; stir just until dough forms. Gather dough into ball with floured hands. Gently knead 8 times against side of bowl. Roll out dough on floured surface to 3/4-inch-thick round. Using 3-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut out 5 biscuits; place on ungreased baking sheet. Gather dough and reroll as needed to make 1 more biscuit. Bake biscuits until pale golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. (Biscuits can be made 8 hours ahead; cool completely and store in airtight container at room temperature.)

For spiced plums:

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add plums and sugar. Cook until sugar dissolves and becomes syrupy and plums are just tender, stirring constantly, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon and ground ginger. Cool 5 minutes. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature; re-warm before serving.)

Using electric mixer, beat cream in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Add 2 teaspoons powdered sugar and beat to firm peaks. Fold in crystallized ginger.

Cut biscuits in half; place bottom halves on 6 dessert plates. Top with warm plums, then cream. Cover with biscuit tops. Sift powdered sugar over.

Recipe from www.epicurious.com

What’s in Season is provided by the College of San Mateo Farmers’ Market, which operates year-round, rain or shine, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the College of San Mateo, 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd. The market is operated by the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association. For more information, or to find other farmers’ markets in the area, visit www.pcfma.com or call (800) 949-FARM.