Monday, September 3, 2012

Spotlight on Figs

Hello hello!

It's great to be back home in chilly, crisp San Francisco. The past week has 
been a great adventure, involving trains, bikes, highways, strip malls, family, 
and dolphins. Here's a little taste:


This week, we'll be making an old favorite, fig rosemary bread. The bread uses 
house-dried mission figs from Arata Farms, and fresh organic rosemary from 
Serendipity Farms. Order yours here today! (Photo by Vanessa Christie)


Figs, as it turns out, are a "false fruit," a sort of inside-out edible flower with 
seeds in the interior. As you may imagine, the pollination of an inside-out flower 
can be difficult. There are a few varieties of fig that do not require pollination to 
grow, and those are what you'll be seeing in the markets (black mission, turkey, 
etc.). 

I use figs as an appetizer or refreshing snack:

1. Serve sliced in half with a soft but tart cheese (try the sheep feta from 
Swallow Valley Farm, available at the Upper Haight, Sunset, and 
Divisadero Markets). 
2. Drizzle with some local honey (CityBees at the Castro and Sunset Markets).

Or, 

1. Cut in half, drizzle with honey and fresh thyme leaves (Happy Boy Farms, 
Castro, Noe Valley, Ft. Mason, Mission Community Market, or North Berkeley 
Market)
2. Bake at 350 until warm and soft, about 15 minutes.

Pick up a basket of figs today! You can find figs from Arata Farms at the Castro 
Market, Wednesdays from 4-8. Many vendors have figs for sale at the Saturday 
Ferry Plaza Market, and Capay Valley Farms has a gorgeous crop of candystripe 
fig (green striped exterior with a watermelon pink interior) at the Sunset Market.

Enjoy!

No comments:

Post a Comment