William Carlos Williams’s short poem “This Is Just To Say,” which has been written about and analyzed in much more detail than this short column could allow (and is readily available online if you’re unfamiliar with it), offers an apology to “you” for having taken and eaten the plums “you were probably saving for breakfast.”
It popped into my head last night as I was eating a local plum; I have no idea what Williams’s intent was, but his choice of a plum as the object that animates the narrator’s awkward apology felt fitting to me as I thought about the sweetness, fragility and fleeting availability of the fruit I was eating.
OK, English class is over. Besides just biting right into a ripe local plum, you can use its sweetness and juiciness to complement something savory. Try slicing some pork tenderloin and browning lightly in a pan, then adding some sliced plums, red onion, a splash of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt. Simmer everything together until the pork is cooked through.
This goes well with roasted potatoes as autumn nights start to get chilly.
— Brian Snell of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture)