So many FIGS so little time

When I was a kid, I hated fig newtons--my only reference to figs. Yuck, health food is what my sister and I thought and those crunchy brown bits between that soft layers of dough, ew! We liked chocolate chip cookies that were hard on the outside and soft on the middle with oozy chocolate, but I digress.

Five years ago, I was in Portugal at a wine makers Quinta and we were dining under the trees at an old wooden plank table. It was a lovely meal with incredible wines (look up Dirk in Portugal for excellent Douro wines) and for dessert they brought a big plate of figs. I had not seen them in their "live" form (only fig newtons as I explained earlier). I tentatively picked one up not know what to expect or what to do with it. I looked around the table and some guests were pealing them others were biting right into the figs exposing their red juicy and seedy hearts. It was love. It was real. It was real good.

This was at about the same time that I was learning what fennel was (I blush to say, I never tasted it until I was 28 years old), where my food came from, frequenting farmers markets to meet the farmers and the produce. I started listening to Good Food on KCRW each Sunday (my goal is to be a guest on that show) and learning about fresh food. It was a turning point in my life. It was also when I heard about Slow Food from another wine maker in Portugal who was part of the Slow Food movement. Eat slowly I thought. Ok. I can do that. But it's so much more, it's about preserving the heritage of our foods. Eat organic foods that have not been genetically modified, seed killed or pesticides placed inside their DNA. You are what you eat. Wouldn't you rather be a fifth generation heirloom rather than a mutant Eunuchs?

Back to the figs! I have two volunteer trees now in our grandfather's garden (our future garden) and I pick for days and still have not made a dent. Already made Duck Breast with Balsamic Vinegar, Honey and Fig sauce. Did oven roasted figs where I made a cross on the top and let them melt in the oven, fig salad with green apples and onions, then made some fig fruit leather and a ton of steamed figs for baby food which I froze into baby sized portions and she loves them fresh too. Next up, Fig and Apricot Lamb Tagine, Fig Yogurt, Fig Gelato and then Fig- Matcha Milk Shakes... anywhere that I want some sweetness, I will add a fig or two. And I will eat slowly and love my food.


This is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Scott at the Real Epicurean this week.