Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Fig Fail



I love figs so much.  We bought our house during a horrible drought, and I wasn't sure the fig tree in the backyard would ever recover.  But luckily it survived, and is now big and beautiful. I have been waiting anxiously for the figs be ripe so I could make massive amounts of fig preserves.  Last summer we went out of town right as the figs were perfect, and I vowed to make sure that not a single fig was wasted this year.  So, I had stocked up on mason jars and found the best looking recipe.  A few days before the figs were ready to go, I made 1 batch of preserves with the few figs that were ripe already as a test run and they were just perfect.  I was ready to can away.  

So the day of my big harvest rolls around and I am ready to spend the day inside hiding from the heat with my very first little canning factory.  I go out with my bucket to start picking, and saddle up to my tree to find that there is not a single fig left on the tree.  The carnage was all over the ground.  A gang of squirrels and birds had binged on my fig tree.  At least I got 2 jars of figs, so it wasn't a total waste, but still a total fig fail for me in the end.  Lesson learned, next year I will put a net over my tree in hopes my vision of fig goodness can become a reality.  
An homage to my singe batch of successful fig preserves.  RIP fig carnage.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Summer Lunch

Since my husband and I both work in education, summers always provide some amazing time off that I always do my very best to take full advantage of.  One thing I love about summer when I have an easier work schedule and/or time off work, is to make an amazing lunch.  During the school year, lunch is something that stresses me out more than anything since it is yet another thing I have to think about getting ready to the night before or at 6am the next morning as I run out the door.  Not to mention the fact that I usually eat lunch in a meeting or at my desk.  So summer luxury to me means enjoying making and eating a great lunch.  

BUT...considering the facts that it is incredibly hot and I am 6 months pregnant, I am not cooking up a storm here.  We spend a week in Seattle and I was in love with all the beautiful fresh food at Pike's Place Market that has inspired me to see what I can do with all this summer goodness that does not involve standing in front of a stove.  




I can stand at the stove long enough to make eggs though.  So we have been eating lots of "put an egg on it" sandwiches, salads, and quinoa bowls.  


 Josh whipped up this amazing salad with roasted corn, black beans, purple onion, cherry tomatoes, chives, and a spicy Boca mock-chicken patty that I am now constantly craving.


However, I can't avoid the stove and oven forever.  My fig tree is finally producing some ripe figs, so fig preserves are next on the list.  I will crank down the AC and throw on a sundress and do some stirring to get my hands on fresh fig preserves.  In the meantime I will be thinking of great ways to enjoy some fresh fig preserves (besides with a buttered croissant which sounds amazing but can not become a staple of my pregnancy diet no matter how much I would like to have that for breakfast every morning.) 

Hoping you can slow down, beat the heat, and enjoy all that summer has to offer!