Small Batch Honey-Fig Jam

If you're one of the lucky ones who has ready access to a flourishing fig tree, I'm sure you're up to your eyeballs in sweet, ripe figs right about now. One easy way to use up some of your bounty is to make some fig jam. This is a super easy recipe that utilizes honey instead of sugar. I just made a batch this week with a bag of plump Mission figs my friend Dawn gave me and some local honey I buy from another friend, Neal. Since it was a small batch I skipped water bathing the jam and just popped it in the fridge. It'll keep there for about a month, but I'm sure it'll get eaten up much sooner than that. Plopped on some Greek yogurt, spread on some fresh-baked bread or accompanying a simple cheese platter...mmm...I'm getting hungry just thinking about the uses!

Small Batch Honey-Fig Jam

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh figs, cut into quarters

1.5 cups good quality honey (go for the lighter color honey, so that it won't overwhelm the flavor of the figs)

6 tablespoons of water

lemon zest of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons of lemon juice


Instructions

1. Sterilize your half-pint jars in boiling water. Place your lids in a pan of VERY hot (but not boiling) water for at least 5 minutes.

2.  Wash figs and remove stems. (I don't peel them as the skins get quite soft during the cooking process and I like the texture.) Slice figs into quarters.

3. In a large saucepan, combine the figs, honey and water. Let sit (unheated) for about 25-30 minutes.

4. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat immediately to a simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes. Stirring frequently (you don't want the honey to burn). You'll notice that the figs will start to break down and the mixture will thicken. (Optional: If you want smaller bits, you can mash them up a bit with a potato masher at this point.)

5. Add lemon zest and juice. Stir. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

6. Remove from heat. Ladle into hot-sterilized jars. Place lid on. Allow to cool, place in fridge.

7. Will keep for about a month, refrigerated.

Quick Pickled Red Onions

Did you have a nice weekend? Mine took a turn for the crazy right near the end. I spent Friday and Saturday at a friend's in Lodi, where we did an insane amount of canning- pickled red onions, marinara, spicy red pepper spread and dilly beans. Supervised by Miss Mija, tiny dog extraordinaire:

My feet ached intensely by Saturday night from standing all day, thank goodness we were able to drink a lot of wine to dull the pain. Sunday, I thought I had a little bit of time to laze about before attending a dinner party in the eve, but that plan was shot to hell when a crazy drug addict tried to break into my cottage- in the middle of the day, WHILE I WAS HOME. When I confronted her, she tried to tell me her cousin lived here...what the hell? I ended up calling the police, they came out and took a report and they think they might know who the perp is. Luckily, the dinner party was fun and took my mind off of things. Funny enough, I wasn't scared by the burglary incident, I was MAD though!

Anyhow, while in Lodi, my friend Cate and I made several jars of pickled red onions. They came out terrific and since you can eat them right away, I did! (I've had a hankering for pickled onions ever since Mr.S. and I stopped at a nearby Mexican restaurant and they threw a few on my carnitas.

Pickled Red Onions (adapted from "Put 'Em Up!" by Sherri Brooks Vinton)

Ingredients

6 lbs. small red onions
6 cups distilled white vinegar
3 cups water
9 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons salt

Instructions

1. Sliced onions. We used a food processor.

2. In a large non-reactive bowl- mix together: vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Make sure the sugar and salt dissolves thoroughly.

3. Add the sliced onions and stir well so that everything's coated.

4. Let it sit for about an hour. Once the onions get wilty, you can go ahead and put them in jars.

5. We were able to make 11 half-pint jars and 2 pint jars. Refrigerate, will stay good for at least a month.

6. Be sure to keep the leftover extra pickling juice- you can use it when making vinaigrette for your salad.

They Call Me Mellow Yellow... : Lemon Curd

Fourteen dollars for a jar of lemon curd? U-uh, no way, nein! Remember all those Meyer lemons I had taking over my kitchen? Well, some of them got put to good use earlier this week…they were turned into a batch of creamy, tangy lemon curd. Mmm! Have you had it before? It’s wonderful…like a jarful of liquid sunshine. Lemon curd is super easy to make and you can use it in all kinds of dishes- as a filling for a tart, to put on thumbprint cookies or spooned over homemade ice cream just to name a few. My favorite way to eat lemon curd though is to pop a dollop on a fresh blackberry scone. The tartness of the curd complements the sweetness of the berries perfectly.

To make this batch of curd, I used a recipe from (the now defunct) Gourmet Magazine; however, I made a few changes. If you’d like to see the original recipe, you can find it here: Gourmet- Lemon Curd.

Oh, I also had a little help from my lovely assistant:

Isn’t he super adorbs? With a name like Pepper, this cute guy is right at home in the kitchen. I love it when Mr. S. lets me borrow him for the day. Pepper supervised the curd making and afterwards we took a much needed nap. He’s an excellent napper, as you can see.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

(3 Meyer Lemons for juicing and zesting)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest (I used my handy dandy microplane)

1/2 cup sugar

3 large eggs

3/4 stick unsalted butter, sliced into six pieces


Instructions

- Bring about 3 inches of water to a simmer in a medium-sized pot.

- Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a large non-reactive bowl.

- Place the bowl on top of the pot of water, without the bottom of the bowl actually touching the water (essentially, you’re creating a makeshift double boiler).

- Stir in the butter a piece at a time, allowing each piece to melt and whisking frequently; until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6-8 minutes. Take care not to overcook the curd.

- Remove the bowl of curd from the heat and pour the mixture through a sieve that you’ve placed on top of a new bowl. Gently work the curd through the sieve using a wooden spoon.

- Cover the lemon curd with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap directly onto the surface (this prevents a skin from forming on the top). Keep in fridge until completely chilled (about one hour).