Fig Spread

Fig season is still in full swing, and I brought home a beautiful basket of them from my CSA to prove it. The fresh fig is a bit of an oddball, and while it goes beautifully with certain ingredients (arugula, goat cheese, honey, to name a few), I was starting to run out of ideas of what to do with them. I love their flavor, but I don't particularly love eating them straight up. I need them to be an ingredient, not the whole dish.

I found this recipe in Heidi Swanson's beautiful book, Super Natural Cooking, and it seemed like the perfect solution. A jam that is not quite a sweet and not quite a savory, so it can be used in a variety of situations. Perfect for a cheese plate, in a sandwich, or just on toast, this is a sophisticated and delicious spread that you can use in all sorts of ways.

If you haven't experimented much with fresh figs, this might be a good entryway for you. I am already looking forward to using mine up.

Fig Spread
adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking
makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. fresh black mission figs, stemmed and diced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Toss figs and lemon juice in a bowl, and stir in honey and black pepper. Let sit for 10 minutes. The mixture will get soupy.

2. Put the fig mixture into a heavy pot over medium heat and bring to a slow, gurgling boil. Cook, stirring frequently, until figs start to reduce and thicken, about 10 to 15 minutes. Mash them up gently with a potato masher if desired. Stir in sesame seeds and remove from heat.

3. Let sit 5 minutes, taste, and add more pepper if needed. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold. Will keep in the fridge for about one week.

Enjoy!

"Spring" Asparagus Puree

I know it's odd to have a springtime recipe this late in the summer, but strangely, asparagus is still in season. I don't know if it's global warming, or just clever farming, but I got asparagus in my CSA bag again this week (so no, it's not imported from some parallel universe where it's still spring). See if you can still find it at your farmers' market - otherwise, store this recipe for next spring!

This really is another type of pesto, but it's much more robust and filled with bright flavors. Asparagus and spinach are the showmen, and they are accompanied by the hint of a lemony zing. You can make this puree and have it with pasta, or use it as a pizza sauce, a bruschetta topping, or even a dip.

If you're a fellow asparagus fan, get it while it still lasts, and make this sauce!

"Spring" Asparagus Puree
adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking
makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch asparagus spears, trimmed and halved
1/2 bunch spinach leaves
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
pinch of sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the asparagus pieces for about 2 or 3 minutes, just to blanch them. Drain.

2. Put blanched asparagus, spinach, garlic, parmesan, and pine nuts in a food processor. Puree, and stream the oil in while the processor is running. Continue to process until smooth.

3. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Serve.

If you're using this as a pasta sauce, thin it out with just a splash of the starchy pasta cooking water. Enjoy!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower is hardly a sexy vegetable. Most people don't particularly like it. Those who do like it don't particularly love it.

All that being said, I'm not above a challenge. I was ready to make a delicious cauliflower-based dish. And I have to say, I succeeded thanks to Heidi Swanson's recipe for creamy cauliflower soup. (I realize the picture above looks like abstract art - let's pretend I was drawing a picture of Mary Todd Lincoln using herbed olive oil as paint and the soup as a canvas, shall we?)

This soup is velvety, spicy, and surprisingly flavorful. You can top it with whatever you like - pesto, flavored oil, chopped fresh herbs, you name it. I used a balsamic and sun-dried tomato olive oil. Even without the oil, the soup was very tasty. We had ours with some crusty sourdough and it was a satisfying lunch.

So put away your cauliflower skepticism and try this soup. I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup
adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking
serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 tablespoons EVOO
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 head cauliflower, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 cups low sodium veggie or chicken stock
2 tablespoons heavy cream
sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the EVOO in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions, and red pepper flakes, and saute for 3 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Stir in potato and cauliflower, and cook for another minute or two. Add stock and bring to a simmer.

2. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes, or until potato is tender and easily pierced with a fork. Turn off the heat and puree soup thoroughly with an immersion blender (or your preferred method).

3. Stir in cream and season with salt to taste. Serve as is, or topped with a drizzle of flavored oil or pesto.

Enjoy!

Carrot Coconut Cookies

These cookies are a work of art. They taste absolutely phenomenal, and there isn't a single ingredient in them that should inspire guilt. Nothing refined, nothing artificial, nothing animal-based. It seems impossible that something so flawless can taste so good.

I found the basis for this recipe on my very favorite food blog of all, 101cookbooks. Heidi comes up with the most incredible, wholesome vegetarian food. I own her cookbook, I visit her blog daily (or whenever she updates it), yet somehow this is the first recipe of hers I've ever actually tried. I changed it up a bit, but I would never have even dreamed it up without her blog. Heidi, I salute you.

I highly recommend you make these cookies this weekend, and keep them around to snack on. Healthy though they may be, they are still sweet, and they are still cookies - so be warned. They are dangerous. Especially when you make them bite-sized like I did.

Carrot Coconut Cookies
adapted from 101cookbooks.com
makes 2 dozen +

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded carrots (about 2 or 3 medium carrots)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup neutral vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375, and line two cookie sheets with silpat liners or parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and oats. Add carrots, coconut, and pecans, and mix.

3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together maple syrup, oil, applesauce, and ginger. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

4. Drop cookie batter by level tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving an inch or two between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden.

I waited about four seconds before tasting one. Ha, that's funny. One.

Enjoy!