plum tuckered out.

Well anyone would be after a weekend of rubbing shoulders with the zillion people at your local Food Festival. OK, maybe a zillion is stretching it a bit, still, those streets were packed! I took a mosey on down by myself on Saturday, to gauge all the goodies. Momma Cherri was there, complete with microphoned headset, teaching the masses how to make her downhome cuisine. I strolled past booths offering not just your British banger-in-a-bun, but Mexican, Moroccan, Nigerian and Thai. Too bad I had lunch before going! I made it back with some Cheeky Monkey banana chutney courtesy of The Garlic Farm and 3 bars of chocolate from the Chocolate Alchemist. The white chocolate & cinnamon is currently rocking my world. I returned on Sunday, this time with Stephen in tow and we scarfed down some of the best chicken burritos I've ever had, courtesy of Coriander. We came back with some locally produced cider, chilli piccalilli and wild boar & leek sausage rolls. YUM.

With such an array of chutneys, jams and such on display I got inspired. Well, that plus thumbing through my new copy of Everyday Food got me inspired:

How I do love this magazine. And I hate Martha Stewart! Such irony. Anyways, this month has plums on display and so I decided to use up the Riverford plums (as they weren't the red plums I prefer) by making chutney. I even got to use my new Le Creuset pot! Joy!

Plum Chutney

• 1 lb (450g) plums, pitted and cut into 1/2" pieces
• 2T olive oil
• 4 shallots (or 1/2 red onion), chopped fine
• 1 chile, seeds removed and diced finely
• 1/3c light brown sugar
• 2T cider vinegar
• 3/4t curry powder
• 1/3t ground ginger

1. Heat oil in small pot and saute shallots and chile over med-high heat for a few minutes, until soft
2. Add plums, sugar, vinegar and spices plus 1/4c water.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook til slightly syrupy, about 7 minutes
4. Allow to cool

I think if I had to pick a favourite condiment, chutney would be it. Be it any flavour or level of spiciness there's just something about it that I love so dearly. Give me some chutney, a fresh baguette and some good strong cheddar or brie and I am a happy monkey. I also love to smear it over jerk or cajun chicken but you can of course use it over simply cooked chicken or pork.