fun with figs

Home from work, with a break til a doctor’s appointment. AND MY CAT IS BEING SO CUTE AND I CANNOT STAND UP AND UPROOT HER FROM MY LAP. She’s just so purry and cuddly and sleepy and happy. Also warm.

So I will blog.

FIGS!

Fig preserves:

 

My aunt has a fig tree which produces figs which means, of course, it produces 10,000 figs, because that’s how fig trees roll. We spent maybe twenty minutes picking them (while gabbing, of course) and she counted that, plus the amount she’d already picked that morning and preserved, to be, oh, ten cups.

Pause for a moment to think about how expensive figs are at the store. Maddening, no?

Bounty!

We sat down to lunch, where I was reminded how much I love just throwing together a whole bunch of tasty nibbles…

… and taught that olives are infinitely more delicious when heated in olive oil. Who knew?

 

An absurdly delicious tasting plate.

I took a baguette (oh guess what I LOVE BAGUETTES and eating 100% whole grain is just not satisfying. I can do 50 and perhaps even 90 percent but baguettes I love you indescribably.)

On one half of the baguette piece, I put fresh sliced tomato and drizzled it with a wonderful homemade vinaigrette that involved tarragon-infused vinegar. On a quarter of it, I put sun dried tomato hummus. On the other quarter, garlic hummus and cucumber. On the side, smoked salmon and a wonderful grilled variation on ratatouille. It was the BEST.        

My aunt Jeanie is one of my favorite people to talk to ever. Her wisdom and humor make the hilarious dysfunction of my extended family seem amusing and interesting rather than depressing. We watch Top Chef together and gab about things to make with miso (my favorite miso soup- found in Recipe Inspiration- apparently had my uncle Tim “writhing in ecstasy” when she made it the next day)

I always get sent home with gifts.

Farm-fresh garlic!

And of course, a boatload of figs.

I brought some to my boyf and his roommate. Steve has only had fresh figs in my presence, and Daniel hadn’t at all. They hoovered them in under ten minutes.

But I saved some for me, for fab post-church brunches :)

In a bowl, with yogurt

Avec a toasted English muffin and leftover roasted potatoes. The English muffin was toasted with the most SPECTACULAR and OH SO EASY bean dip.

Awesome bean dip

1 can white beans, drained
whole buncha fresh sage, ideally picked from one’s deck
olive oil and lemon, to taste
lotsa black pepper

GOD IT WAS SO GOOD.

And obligatory tea bucket. Delightful!

  

Then the potatoes weren’t doing it for me so I got out some absolutely scrumptious farmer’s market tomatoes and had those instead. With more bean dip! So good!