It’s No Fig Deal
It’s no fig deal… we’ve got figs! And tons of them… Do you like figs? We love them.
But… let’s start at the beginning, though.
My grandmother had a fig tree in her 1950’s home. She was an avid gardener, definitely had a green thumb and the figs were just the beginning. She had citrus, avocado and fruit trees, tomatoes, berries, rhubarb and more. Her love for the outdoors brought her out to take care of her garden but I think her true love was her roses. But in either case, by the time I was a child and running around her backyard, the fig tree was decades old. The tree was big, thick trunk and gnarled limbs. It produced a LOT of figs. I remember in my adult life, after my parents visiting her home when I couldn’t because of work and such, bringing back egg cartons full of figs as she knew my love for figs matched hers. After she passed, all I could think about was how to transplant that 50+ year old fig tree. I felt connected to that fig tree. I felt her in that fig tree.
The tree, of course, was never transplanted, but I told the story to Brian after we started dating. It came up when we were out to dinner one night and it was fig season. We ordered the cheese and charcuterie plate, as we always do… Saint Andre with fig jam was the highlight. It was a show stopper. And, if I’m remembering correctly, I think I ate most of it that night. While enjoying, I shared the story about my love for figs and how my grandmother inspired my love of food and cooking. I think he was touched by the story.
A few weeks later or so my birthday rolled around. Anyone who knows me, I don’t really like my birthday. I don’t like being the center of attention and prefer just to skip it. Family, friends, dinner and cake, is… ok. But I won’t be throwing a party… or enjoying hoopla. Brian knew this fact about me. I actually warned him of the potential backlash, ha! I’m not sure how he did it, he still surprised me but in an unbelievably good way. Thinking back, I knew he was THE ONE, that day. He gifted a fig tree with a note that said he knew it wasn’t my grandmother’s but hoped I’d enjoy it just the same. Truly amazing.
Since then we have watched it grow. This year was an unbelievable harvest. During the 100+ degree days the beginning of September we were pulling 20 figs off the tree a day for a good week. Check out the pictures of the tree prior to ripening below.
In all honesty, we couldn’t keep up the last couple of weeks with the amount of figs ripening at the same time. We gave some away but they were going to go bad. So, I cooked them to dry like raisins. In the pictures below you will see the cookie sheet with the quartered figs to slowly cook. It was ideal.
Dried Figs
- Quarter figs (wash, no oil, no sugar, no seasoning, plain) and disperse on a cookie sheet evenly
- Cook at 200*F for 4-6 hours, checking every hour
- Let cool completely (will be moist and sticky with natural sugars) and place in an air tight container such as a mason jar
- Keep in fridge for up to 3 months
- Great for cheese plates, salad toppers or all baked goodies
So, in the spirit of the First Day of Autumn (despite the scorching heat here in Temecula) we decided to make pumpkin muffins. We thought we might use the figs (we have multiple mason jars full, ha!) in the recipe and reviewed my grandmother’s cookbook for baking inspiration. Sure enough, she had a pumpkin bread recipe that used raisins and nuts. How perfect. So! We made some slight changes to swap out raisins for dried figs and our choice of nuts was walnuts. Anyone else drooling now?
We were convinced after enjoying the muffins this morning that it might have been the best muffin we’d ever had. Maybe we are biased? See for yourself…
Pumpkin, Fig and Walnut Bread
1 1/2 c. sugar (Tip! We like our breads more savory so we only added 1 c.)
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin
1 3/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/3 c. water
1/2 c. diced dried figs
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Mix all ingredients together in order listed. Bake at 350*F for 55 minutes – 1 hour in a loaf pan or 20 – 25 minutes for muffins, or until toothpick comes out clean. Tip! Although not called for in the recipe, we sprinkled a dash of nutmeg on the top before popping into the oven. Enjoy!
#locatedhere
Sara
