notes from liguria, italy

The Plum Tree That Felt Our Love

By Margherita Patrone - July 18, 2026 - 3 min read - Issue #3

There is a plum tree in our garden in Liguria that has always been quite shy.For years, it did not give much fruit. Maybe a few plums here and there, but nothing we could really use.Then this summer, something changed.It started producing.Not dramatically. Not like our lemon trees, which are generous and almost theatrical. But enough for us to notice. Enough to make jam. And then enough jam to make a crostata.In Italian, we call them prugne. In English, the fresh fruit is usually called plums, while prunes are the dried version. I love these small translation details because food is never only food. It carries language, place, memory and culture.This is also why I started writing these notes.I am realizing this newsletter is not only about recipes. It is about food as a way to understand people, places and life. The ingredients we trust. The rituals we repeat. The flavours that make us feel at home. The small things that reveal something bigger about how we live.And this summer, for me, home has tasted a lot like plums.We have been taking care of the garden more this year.Watering it. Cleaning it. Observing it. Speaking about the future of this house, this land, this new chapter in Liguria.And I know this may sound a little spiritual, but I really believe the tree felt it.I do not mean this in a complicated way.I mean that attention has energy. Care has energy. Love has energy.Maybe this is why gardens are such good teachers. They remind us that we are not separate from the things we nurture. We affect them. They affect us. Something moves between us all the time, even when we cannot see it.Maybe the tree simply had a good year.Or maybe it felt that we were finally here. More present. More committed. More in conversation with the garden.Either way, it gave fruit.First, we made plum jam.Jam is one of those things that feels simple and ancient at the same time. Fruit, sugar, heat, patience. Nothing fancy, but somehow deeply satisfying. A way of preserving summer before it disappears.Then I used the jam to make a crostata di prugne.A plum tart.A simple pastry base, a layer of plum jam, fresh plums arranged on top, a little sugar and some flaked almonds.It is the kind of cake I love because it does not try too hard. It works for breakfast, for merenda, or after dinner. In Italy, this kind of cake does not need a big occasion. It can sit on the kitchen table and slowly disappear slice by slice.I think this is one of the things I love most about Italian food.It follows the season.You have plums, so you make jam.
You have jam, so you make a tart.
You have a tart, so someone makes coffee.Nothing is overdesigned.But everything has meaning.Crostata di prugneThis is a simple plum tart made with fresh plums and plum jam.- IngredientsFor the pastry:2 eggs
100g sugar
100ml butter
300g plain flour
8g baking powderFor the filling:10 fresh plums
200g plum jam
2 tablespoons sugar
flaked almonds- MethodMix the eggs, sugar and oil in a large bowl until smooth.Add the flour and baking powder, then mix until you have a soft dough. Work it briefly with your hands until smooth.Wrap the dough and let it rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.Roll it out and place it into a tart tin.Spread the plum jam over the base.Slice the fresh plums and arrange them on top.Sprinkle with sugar and flaked almonds.Bake for around 35 minutes at 180°C, or 170°C fan, until the pastry is golden and the fruit is soft.Let it cool slightly before serving.A small thought from LiguriaThis plum tree made me think about how much of life depends on the energy we bring to things.A garden.
A home.
A relationship.
A business.
A new idea.
A new version of ourselves.Sometimes we think nothing is happening because we cannot see the result yet.But maybe care is never wasted.Maybe attention is never neutral.Maybe the things we love do feel us, in ways we cannot fully explain.This week, that thought came in the shape of a plum tart.What is something in your life that started to change when you finally gave it your attention?I’d love to hear your story.Until next Saturday,
Margherita