So Bring Me Some Figgy Ideas

Sometimes, when you haven't been blogging for awhile and you're trying to get back on the horse, you feel like you need to have something profound to say at first. But nothing is coming to me so...

We're going to talk about figs today. 

Because I am so over how much junk food I LOVED eating on our Stateside vacay and I'm so happy to be back in Germany where good quality food is really cheap!

And also because I bought some and realized I didn't have a blessed idea what to do with them.

So instead of spending my time wisely thinking of something meaningful to write for you, or trying to figure out how to recap our vacation adventures, I spent over an hour on the internet learning everything I could ever want to know about this strange little fruit that I'd never eaten before.

And I decided to be nice and share that info with YOU! You're welcome ;-)

PS thank God for Pinterest.

So I've never eaten a fresh fig before. I will blame it on the fact that I don't really care for fig newtons. But also because I just never ate them and therefore don't know what to do with them... so it's remained an "exotic" fruit that has been on my "to-try" list. Until now.

Quick punny exchange between My Love and I that morning:
me: "I bought fresh figs for the first time today!"
J: "Figures."

ha. ha. he's so hilarious ;-)

You can eat figs fresh and whole (skin and all), as a topping for oatmeal or yogurt, as a smoothie ingredient, sliced and topped with a favorite cheese and some balsamic dressing, baked with honey as a dessert topping, and added to your favorite fruit salad or green salad.

Or you can wrap them in bacon or prosciutto and GRILL THEM! Yay for grilling season! 

First I just ate the figs with my favorite lunch of fresh bread, herbed goat cheese, and smoked salmon. And then we ate them in our morning yogurt with a drizzle of elderberry syrup on top. Very good. I wanted to try to blend them with maple syrup to pour over french toast or pancakes but we ran out ;-) So, next time!

Here are tons of fun facts and delicious recipes featuring figs: 

Some of them seem a little too fancy for my table, but since my girls loved our first experiments with them, I might go for it and see what happens!

Enjoy! 

The World's Healthiest Foods fact sheet

Fig Varieties 

Valley Fig Growers fun facts

Bacon, Melon, and Fig Salad You had me at bacon.

Pancakes with Calcium-Filled Fixins Love the idea of using figs and tahini as a maple syrup substitute!

Dark Chocolate Covered Figs  I need some of THIS in my life for SURE!

Coconut Fig Popcicles I think this would get me a billion gold stars with the girls.

Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing 

Butternut Squash and Fig Soup

Simple Figgy Focaccia

Marinated Fig Skewers with Prosciutto, Mozzarella, and Basil

Figs on a gorgeous Cheese Platter These pictures make me want to host a cheese and wine party even though I'm more of a pizza and beer girl ;-)

Fig, Beet, and Watermelon Salad with Caramelized Shallot Dressing 

Roasted Butternut Squash and Fig Salad

Fig and Rosemary Chicken Pizza  Is it too early to start grilling pizza every other day? Nomnom

Oven-Roasted Fruit with Ricotta-Vanilla Cream This is my kind of easy dessert!

Free-Form Fig Tart

Fig Chips  I don't usually have luck with these types of "turn fresh food into chips" recipes but they are so pretty and would be so great in the girls' lunchbox!

Grilled Fig and Cheese  Oh my.

Salted Honey and Fig Cheesecake  I wonder if I can make this one without a food processor? And I'd have to call it a "cream cake" or something cause J would cry if I called a faux-cheesecake a cheesecake (his favorite.)

Avocado, Gorgonzola, and Fig Baguette Awesome easy dinner idea!


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