Fig-a-licious



First harvest this year.

One of our trees.

Figs are one of those foods that no one really knows what to do with. I never did, even though every house that I have lived in, have memory of, had a fig tree in the yard. My grandmother had a huge tree right outside her back door. There is a picture of me and a family friend in that tree, I was about 12, and the leaves are so big and the foliage so thick, all you can see is our heads. I won't post that picture as the early adolescent years weren't kind. Our backyard boasts three fig trees, planted by the prior homeowner who was an avid gardener. The neighborhood kids referred to her yard as the one with all the fruit (trees). Fig trees are very hardy, apparently, and will produce fruit with absolutely no attention paid to them. I swear.  We lived here  a few years before we started really harvesting the figs because we did not know what to do with them. I made it a quest, well not so much a quest as I spent about an hour one afternoon pouring over my cookbooks, and found a recipe or two that are good and easy to make. I don't make fig preserves. I tried one year and the boiling concoction turned into candy, sorta. I leave the fig preserves to the Curb Market ladies.

Fig Cake or Bars
I found this recipe in my trusty 1967 Joy of Cooking. It is easy to make, don't let the strange measurements scare you. The cake version is extremely moist, almost like bread pudding, and is very tasty with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or creme anglaise for the gourmet). I will warn you, it is tres addictive.
     Pre-heat oven to 325
Sift 1 cup of sugar (granulated for cake, powdered for bars)
Beat until light: 3 eggs
Add sugar gradually to the eggs and blend until the ingredients are very light.
Sift before measuring : 1 cup all purpose flour; measure 7/8 cup flour from the sifted 1 cup (7/8 is between 3/4 and 1 cup, I estimate)
Re-sift the flour (7/8 cup) with :
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves (ground)
Add the sifted ingredients to the egg mixture and blend with 1 tsp vanilla until all ingredients are well mixed.
Add 2 cups chopped (I quarter the figs) figs, and mix well, by hand.
Pour batter into 9 x 13 greased and floured pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.


Fig bars.

My helper, ready to sample!

Fig Fruit Salad
Quick and easy. Mix in your favorite fruit.
Amounts vary according to servings.
Quartered, fresh figs
Chopped or cubed cantaloupe
Craisans
Toasted Almonds/Pecans (optional)
Blueberries
Toss with a sweet dressing, I use Ken's Steak House Raspberry Pomegranate Vinaigrette. Brianna's Blush Vinaigrette is good too.
Serve on butter lettuce (from Oakview Farms!), on its own, or if you are really Southern - a canned pear half.

Quartered and ready to use.