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When cold rainy days happen to Southern California, it might as well be the Canadian Rockies in January. This is our cold season, the trigger that brings out Uggs, woolen coats, and scarves and gives us a long overdue excuse to stay inside. We had two days of California winter and I launched into hibernation mode with soups and baked desserts. Let’s not forget that a record heatwave would likely follow, but for the moment we were resigned to winter cozy.

Armed with a smart set of juicy plums, reds and blacks from my farming friends, and rather tired of snacking on these fine stone fruits as is, I tried another incarnation. I had held onto this recipe which I had found while looking for a new fix on granola. This inspired dessert relies on oatmeal and almonds for the crumble . Sure, like everyone, I delight over crumbles and cobblers with their intensely brown-sugared and buttery toppings – heck, I don’t even need the fruit with that kind of delectable – but we are always trying to have real food work on our behalf not against us, so I opted for more whole grain and less whole fat preparation. And, not to be outdone by the starring role of oats in this dessert, almonds joined in for a performance by adding good flavor and natural oils providing a much needed dosage of brain power. Now, that’s good thinking.

I could have prepared this dessert in advance had I been on top of things that day, but this recipe is fast and easy – the crunchtime mantra – so it was no feat to make it after dinner, allowing the family time to build up an appetite.

At this point, we could freeze the dish for presentation at a later date, which is a good way to extend the life of fruit that’s about to take a turn for the worse. Tryserving it for breakfast as a warm parfait.But, if you’re like me, you won’t be able to wait to eat this tasty, healthy concoction.

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