UnRecipe: The Secret Ingredient - Overripe Fruit!

One of the reasons I like cooking so much is the challenge of ingredient usage. Don't lie -- you know sometimes you open up your refrigerator, peering into its depths, wondering what will be revealed to you like a secret ingredient in an episode of Iron Chef, minus the appearance of the Japanese Liberace, Chairman Kaga. The waste-not-want-not part of you wants to make sure you use every scrap possible, not letting anything go to waste, at least that's the thought that runs through my mind. Because of the bounty of fresh summer fruit, it's hard not to overbuy thinking you'll be eating handfuls of fresh fruity-berry goodness every day. What always happens is, the fruit sitting on the counter starts to get a little soft, you throw it into the fridge to prolong its half-life even though everyone says not to, and there it sits, usually to rot. But rot not, fair summer fruit! A Mixed Fruit Crumble is here to save the day!

I crumble for you. I crum-ble for youuuuuuuuuuuu - Photo and bad singing by Wasabi Prime

Two super-soft nectarines, questionably safe cherries and an overripe plum later, I had it in my head to make mini fruit crumbles. I wasn't quite enough to make a whole pie or tart, and honestly, I just didn't feel like rolling out a crust. I blame summer for my laziness, so there. I mixed some melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and handfuls of rolled oats until this mash came together in a chunky, sticky texture. This was sprinkled over small ramekins of sliced fruit and everything was thrown into the oven until the fruit became bubbly-soft and the crumble topping turned a nice golden brown. I had enough to make four individual-sized crumbles and they were served heated with a dollop of mascarpone cheese on top, to make it into a kind of creamy, sweet, fruity mush. Sounds appealing, no? But egads, it was tasty and no fruit went un-nommed.

Farmers market fruit in its halcyon days before  languishing in our fridge - Photos by Wasabi Prime