figs!

Went to the north side to hang out with Sonia last weekend. We were gifted tickets to see The Black Keys and Kings of Leon on Friday night, so we went to the show and then had a slumber party. Spent Saturday morning walking around Carmel at the Farmer's Market and Whole Foods. Two pints of these little beauties came home with me, destined for jam, and now I'm determined to plant a fig tree on the patio next year.

This jam was a total experiment on my part - I've never eaten a fig outside the context of a Fig Newton/Newman, so my expectations were pretty low. I used the Pomona's Pectin formula as a starting point, using a little sugar to mix the pectin and a lot of honey to sweeten, threw in some ginger, cloves, and cinnamon, and hoped for the best.

Honeyed Fig Jam

4 cups (2 pints) rough chopped figs (I only peeled the grody looking ones)
1/4 cup water
12 ounces honey
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tsp pomona's pectin powder
4tsp calcium water
1/4 tsp ginger and cinnamon, dash of ground cloves

In jam pot on the stove, simmer figs in water just until they are soft and can be mashed with a spoon. (I used my stick blender to break up all the peels for a more uniform texture.) Add lemon juice and calcium water and bring to a boil. Stir pectin powder and spices into sugar and mix well. Add honey and the spice/sugar/pectin mix to the pot and stir for 1-2 minutes. Return to a boil and remove from heat. Fill sterilized jars and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
yield: 2 pints (four 8oz jars)

~RLM

{this moment}

pulled out the dead squash and marigolds. put in bush beans and more beets and lettuce.

~RLM

It's been awhile...

August is nearly over.

There's already a chill in the morning air and a cool breeze cutting through the afternoon heat.

I've got a wool cardigan on my needles and can't seem to stop knitting.

The makeshift basement pantry is filling up and the kitchen windowsills are lined in not-quite-ripe tomatoes from the garden.

Two trips to the orchard in Trafalgar over the last week brought home 40 pounds of peaches and the first of the fall apples.

I'm loving God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise - Ray LaMontagne made the perfect 'waiting for autumn' soundtrack.

I've been canning and preserving like a crazy person, and need to do a better job keeping track of it all, so the blog should be coming back to life. 

~RLM