for those of us consistently disappointed in the quality of plums available at the supermarket

make this as soon as possible. go to your nearest grocer, compile these ingredients and enlist a very good friend to help you eat it....i'm not joking.

plum walnut crisp

-2 lbs ripe plums (about 12) pitted and cut into sixths...i would like to note that the plums i found were crap...but the bubbling juices transformed them into well...delicious.

-1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

-1 tbs. unbleached flour

-2-4 tbs. orange juice....if you've found some really juicy plums, go for 2 tbs. however, if they're mealy or dry...go for 4 tbs.

the topping

-1/2 cup unbleached flour

-1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts...i found that 1/2 cup was just enough, but thought i might try it with more walnuts in the future.

-1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

-1/4 tsp. ground cloves

-4 tbs. chilled unsalted butter, cut into bits

make it!

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. place the sliced plums in a shallow 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish. sprinkle on the sugar, flour and orange juice, then toss lightly.

3. to make the topping, combine the flour, walnuts, sugar, and cloves in a medium sized bowl. drop in the butter buts and toss to coat with the flour. with your fingertips rub the butter into the flour mixture until evenly moist crumbs form. sprinkle all over the plums.

4. bake 35 minutes or until juices bubble and the top is brown. cool on a wire rack. serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.

we made this last night for dinner with janel....jojo made some delicious kabobs which were light, but filling. and the plum walnut crisp was totally perfect as a follow up. even if you've never had a good plum, even if you've never had plum in a dessert....you have to try this! i suppose that this is more of a fall dish, but let me tell you....i laid in bed for about an hour and a half debating on whether to eat the leftovers, right then in there out of the pan or to save them for the next day. in other words, this magical crisp actually kept me up last night!

original recipe: 'simple vegetarian pleasures' by jeanne lemlin with some changes made by me!