Give a fig about fruit
Our fig tree may not be very large, but it certainly is an
enthusiastic producer.
Figs are unusual in that they produce two crops per year, one in
the late spring and a much heavier one right about now.
Give a fig about fruit
Our fig tree may not be very large, but it certainly is an enthusiastic producer.
Figs are unusual in that they produce two crops per year, one in the late spring and a much heavier one right about now.
I’m the only member of the household who enjoys the lush fruit of the fig, so on Saturday, I spread a little produce around. Friends got a sackful on the front porch. I arrived at my father’s just as he was finishing lunch. You can guess what he had for dessert.
I like figs fresh. I like fig jam. Last year, I even pickled figs. But the figs threaten to become the zucchini of the fruit world, so dedicated are they in their yield.
On Sunday, the figs were still there, more than a day before. I turned to “Something Extra” a slim giveaway magazine that’s available in the check stands at Nob Hill Foods. It’s a pretty good magazine, filled with folksy advice and recipes that effectively induce readers to buy more stuff from Nob Hill Foods.
In the current edition, I located a recipe for figs – hallelujah!.
I whipped up a plate in a few minutes and they disappeared in not much more time than that. Nearby was another recipe, one based on green ripe olives.
As a kid, I didn’t like green ripes. Green olives should taste like green olives and ripe olives should be black, I reasoned.
But what makes canned American-style olives black isn’t their ripeness. It’s iron oxide. The olives went together faster than the figs, and the result guarantees that they’ll make a return visit to our table.
Blue cheese, honey and walnut figs
Stir together equal amounts of chopped, toasted walnuts and crumbled blue cheese. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and honey to taste. Spoon onto ripe fig halves, sprinkle with a pinch of fresh rosemary and serve.
Lemon and toasted cumin olives
1 16-oz. can green ripe olives
3 lemon slices
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. toasted whole cumin seeds
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
Drain olives and place them in a bowl. Cut the lemon slices in half and gently squeeze over the olives, adding the slices. Add all other ingredients and toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
The olives had a bright, fresh flavor. I briefly rinsed them after draining to wash away a little more brine and reduce salt.
The figs even drew cautious enthusiasm from non-fig eaters in the group. Figs can be hard to find in stores. The fruit is best picked ripe, and it’s so fragile that it does not handle shipping and handling very well. The good news is that in our area, nearly everyone has a neighbor only too happy to share the seasonal bounty. Just ask around, or better yet, call me.
