Phyllis Macay's Now Famous Plum Bread

RVHS Photo 2002.036.0099.

Seattle in April—a time for strolling through blooming cherry blossoms, tuning in to the earliest Mariners’ games of the season, and rejoicing at the occasional sixty-five and sunny afternoon. This month’s recipe takes us back to Rainier Valley nearly a century ago and reflects the spirit of spring gardens flourishing all across the city: Phyllis Macay’s “Famous” Plum Bread.

Phyllis Macay was one of many Italian immigrants who lived in Rainier Valley’s old “Garlic Gulch” neighborhood, an area around Rainier Avenue and Atlantic Street, which earned that name in the 1910s because of its large population of Italian immigrants. As Phyllis Macay’s grandchild Vincent LaSelle recalls, Macay had a wonderful garden where she “raised garlic, onions, peppers, tomatoes…In the middle of that garden was a pear tree. And oh! It used to produce pears, I’m gonna tell you that. Then she had five great big cherry trees. Oh man! And one great big Italian prune tree. They would pick the prunes and they’d bring them down to the store and they’d sell them for a pretty good price. They were Italian prunes. Real tasty.”

Many of those prune trees—also known as Italian plums—still feed residents of Rainier Valley, serving as a living heritage of the old “Garlic Gulch” neighborhood. Below is Macay’s recipe for plum bread from page twenty-four of the Rainier Valley Food Stories Cookbook, which she created after realizing that she had “a million plums and no idea what to do with them!” Be careful when you make this bread, though, because, like Macay, your friends might soon end up demanding you bring it to every occasion.

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PHYLLIS MACAY’S NOW FAMOUS PLUM BREAD

Phyllis Macay

Mix and set aside:

½ cup sugar

1½ cup frozen Italian plums chopped

½ cup dried fruit (cranberries)

In a large bowl, separately mix together and set aside:

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup unbleached flour

2 Tbsp. wheat germ

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp.ground fresh ginger

In a small bowl, separately mix together:

1 cup shredded raw carrots

1 cup chopped nuts

Lightly coat 2 bread pans with cooking spray and dust with flour. Mix plums into flour mixture well; add carrots and nuts; add 1 Tbsp. vanilla and 2 eggs. Stir well. Pour into pans. Top with whole halves of nuts. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Cool, then wrap in wax paper. Wait for 24 hours, enjoy or freeze!