Andrea’s Weblog

This quote about fig trees pretty much sums up my week. “The plant starts off really cute and petite and producing just enough figs for the family to enjoy. As the years pass so does the ability of the family to consume the abundance of figs produced.”
This means canning and jamming a couple pounds of figs just about every day for the last week. Harvesting figs is a messy ordeal because they have a sticky white latex-y sap that I haven’t figured out how to remove from things. Standing over pots of boiling water is also not the most comfortable thing to do in 100 degree weather, but figs don’t keep.

I’ve made fig chutney (our favorite), lavendar-fig jam, cinnamon-fig jam and sesame-fig jam. The first year we had the tree, it yielded 3-6 figs–enough to bake with some gorgonzola and top with honey for a tasty appetizer. This year, it’s third year, we’ve harvested about 13.5 pounds and still counting.

As if figs weren’t enough, I got a hankering to try making some pickled eggs. I blame the pregnancy for this craving. You’re not supposed to eat them for a month, but I snuck one anyway and it was terrible. There is something a bit weird about eggs floating around in vinegar, so I shouldn’t have been too surprised.

Elizabeth has been a great helper. She’s let me hand her figs while I’m up on the ladder and stayed clear of the boiling pots of water and sticky jam. The house has suffered as she’s played by herself, emptying her toy box across the living room. I think she had the most fun when I left a laundry basket out. Every time I saw her, she was wearing a different outfit. There were clothes everywhere! She also learned how to pedal her tricycle this week. Hopefully she’ll resolve the steering while pedaling problem before she has too big a wreck!