Upside Down Plum Tart & Spiced Pear Zucchini Bread

My fruit CSA from Wayward Seed Farm has been just prolific over the past few weeks--pears, apples, plums, and melons have been piling up on my dining room table. To cope, I dug out two of my favorite recipes and refitted them for use with my current bounty. First, a plum tart that I modified from a New York Times pear tart recipe:

Upside Down Plum Tart

1/4 cup honey
5-6 plums, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cored
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9-inch ovenproof skillet (not nonstick), simmer honey until it begins to reduce, caramelize and darken in color, 6 to 10 minutes. Don't let it burn!
2. Arrange plums, close together and cut-side down, in a circular pattern in skillet.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together sugar and spices. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Fold in flour and salt; stir in 1/2 cup butter.
4. Gently pour batter over the plums. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cake cool for 30 minutes in pan. Run an offset spatula along edges of pan to loosen cake; carefully invert cake onto a serving platter. Serve warm or cooled.

Second, a way to use some really ripe pears and the ubiquitous summer/fall zucchini. Don't get me wrong, I love zucchini as much as the next girl, but can only stand so much of it sauteed, grilled, or carpaccio-ed. (Not a real word, I know.) I have found that I can quite happily eat my weight in zucchini bread, and have made a half dozen or so loaves over the past few months. This time around, I decided to forgo the usual chocolate chips and cherries and go for a more "autumnal" theme...Hence the pears and an extra dose of spices.

You may notice that this is the second zucchini bread recipe I've posted here, but I've tweaked this one even more, cutting down on the sugar and butter--my vain attempt at being "healthy." Ha! (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture.)

Spiced Pear Zucchini Bread (makes two standard loaves)

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 cups white sugar (divided)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup melted, cooled butter
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cups grated zucchini (sugared and drained, see below)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 pears, peeled, cored, and diced
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a colander, toss 1/2 cup white sugar and shredded zucchini, allow to drain 15-20 minutes. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar, and remaining 1 cup white sugar. In a separate bowl, combine butter, eggs, yogurt, lemon juice, and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry, wring out zucchini in a paper towel to release any remaining liquid and and fold into batter with pears and nuts if desired. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray or lined with parchment paper, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean.