#and dried figs

[thebigcomed0wn]

the SECRET to being NAUSEOUS and LOSING YOUR APPETITE is ROMAN EMPEROR DINNER.

[morethansalad]

Vegan Charcuterie Board

[fullcravings]

Chocolate & Cognac Fig Cake with Chocolate Glaze

[therecipelibrary]

Tomato Figs

-American Housewife Cook Book 1880

[in-the-horniman]

We were getting some dolls out for a visitor when we saw this curious object in the same box.

We didn’t think it looked like a doll at first, but on closer inspection it is indeed a figure. Before we tell you, can you guess what it’s made from?

Object number 19.2.58/1

The first part of the number, is also the date in which it was acquired by the museum.

Answer: Fig doll or nawakee from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

[calabria-mediterranea]

The ancient tradition of drying figs in Calabria

Figs are a unique fruit resembling a teardrop. They’re about the size of your thumb, filled with hundreds of tiny seeds, and have an edible purple or green peel. The flesh of the fruit is pink and has a mild, sweet taste. The scientific name for the fig is Ficus carica.

The Dottato fig variety (or Kadota in the US) is the most common in Calabria and is usually found from the 2nd week of August into September (it’s also my personal favorite). The Dottato fig has green skin and a white / golden interior. The flesh is creamy, sweet, and bright tasting. The dottato fig variety is also a good choice for drying.

In Southern Italy's Calabria dried figs are a centuries-old tradition, which came here alongside with the Phoenicians. The particular environmental situation of Calabria has created special conditions which in other areas of Mediterranean were impossible.

Figs — and their leaves — are packed with nutrients and offer a variety of potential health benefits. They may promote healthy digestion, decrease your risk of heart disease, and help you manage your blood sugar levels.

Dried figs are high in sugar and rich in calories, as the sugar becomes concentrated when the fruits are dried.

Calabrian crocette are dried figs stuffed with almonds or walnuts and then baked in the oven with a pinch of cinnamon and a touch of your favorite liqueur. They can be consumed as is or covered with a thin layer of chocolate. They must, however, be stuffed and closed according to tradition. Each crocetta is made of four figs opened in half and held together. They are overlapped with another open fig so as to form a cross – hence the name. At this point they are stuffed and closed with two other half-opened dried figs.

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

[pathetic-gamer]

I used to host a lot of parties ‐ house parties, cocktail parties, dinner parties, you name it. This was back when I lived in [insert small city in the intermountain west] and had recently graduated from college, so the two distinct social circles me and my partner came from did have a little overlap, but weren't by any means the same, which means the different parties were for different people and had EXTREMELY different purposes. The most popular ones, which I held annually for like five years and actually had people tell me they looked forward to, were my themed Halloween parties and their platonic opposite, my Dec 24th cocktail parties. Cocktail parties were easily my favorite to host, but that one was always special. (Fun fact, in some social groups if you manage to host like one single good cocktail party with the right people in attendance, you will always get invited to any cocktail parties hosted by anyone in that circle always and forevermore.) anyway, I mention this because I haven't hosted any parties since moving away five years ago because I haven't made enough (cough cough any) friends to do so and all this talk of Arrival Time Etiquette is making me kinda sad about it lol

[rookthebird]

me in my past life in 1,000 BCE writing in hieroglyphs to my bestie like "what if... set begat a child upon osiris... and then... no i shan't say, as it would have me removed from the ranks of the priesthood. hope your crops are flourishing xoxo. little drawing of a scarab beetle"

[askwhatsforlunch]

Fruity Christmas Pudding

I've baked this rather special Chocolate and Apricot Figgy Pudding for the Holidays for a few years now, and it's always been a resounding success, both a decadent and moist and light dessert to indulge in until midnight strikes! I wanted to try something a bit different this year, and made this very Fruity Christmas Pudding. Laden with all sorts of dried fruit, mellowed and softened in Cognac, it is just as beautiful as the chocolate one!  Happy Christmas, dears!!!

Ingredients (serve 6 to 8):

half a dozen large Medjool dates

half a dozen prunes

1/2 cup dried apricot

1/3 cup sultanas

1/3 cup dried cranberries

2 satsumas

1/3 cup good quality Brandy or Cognac (like Hennessy)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened + more for greasing

½ cup demerara sugar

1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled

3 large eggs

2/3 cup plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon Mixed Spice

1 cup Brioche Crumbs

1/4 cup almond meal

1/3 cup flaked almonds

1/4 cup very good Fig Jam (I used Fig and Almond Jam we brought back from our trip to Menton)

1 clean two pence or one pence coin

1/3 cup good quality Brandy or Cognac (like Hennessy)

The day before, pit and dice Medjool dates and plums. Dice dried apricots.

In a medium bowl, combine dice dates, plums and apricots with sultanas and dried cranberries. Grate in the zest of both satsumas, and thoroughly squeeze in their juice. Add the Cognac. Stir to mix well. Cover with cling film, and leave to soak, at room temperature, overnight.

The next day, cream butter and demerara sugar with a wooden spoon in a large bowl, until light, pale yellow and fluffy. Grate in fresh ginger, and stir until perfectly blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and Mixed Spice. Gradually stir flour mixture into egg mixture; fold in gently until well-mixed. 

Add Brioche Crumbs, almond meal, flaked almonds, Fig Jam and soaked fruits with their soaking liquid to the batter, and stir well. Drop the two pee in the pudding, make a wish, give a good stir, and give it to stir to anyone who’s at home, so they can make their wish too (from the oldest to the youngest!)

Generously butter a 2-quart pudding basin. Cut a small disc of baking paper and press into the base of the basin. Butter generously as well.

Spoon pudding batter into the prepared basin and press it down with the back of your wooden spoon. Cover the pudding with a layer of baking paper and foil, both pleated in the middle and tie securely with string. Trim off excess paper and foil with scissors.

Put a metal jam lid upside down at the bottom of a large pot to act as a trivet. Place a long double strip of of foil, letting it hang on both edges of the pot, to help you lift the pudding once it is cooked.

Lower the pudding in the pot, sit it on the band of foil, on the jam lid. Pour boiling water in the pot until it comes halfway up the pudding basin. Cover with a lid and bring back to a boil over medium-high heat. Once water is boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 7 hours, regularly checking and adding boiling water so it is always halfway up the basin.

When cooked through, lift the pudding out of the pot. It should be a deep brown colour. Let cool a little, 15 to 20 minutes and turn pudding out onto serving plate. If you’re making it in advance, months ahead of Christmas, let cool completely and wrap tightly in cling film. Then place in a large metal tin (like a biscuit tin), and store in a cool, dark, draft-free place until Christmas.

On Christmas Day (or Eve, depending when you have it!) unwrap pudding and place in a buttered pudding basin, securing again with baking paper, foil and a string. Steam for about an hour.

Just before serving, quickly warm Brandy or Cognac, in a small saucepan, about 1 minute over low heat. Ignite carefully with a long match, and pour gently over the pudding, to flambé. 

When flames die out, serve warm Fruity Christmas Pudding with Brandy Ice Cream.

[cjbolan]

My appropriately-themed snack while watching Percy Jackson & the Olympians. MAJOR Hansel & Gretel vibes with Episode 3.

[interiorchef]

[morethansalad]

Ba Bao Fan / Eight Treasure Rice Cake (Vegan)

[youreorangeyoumoron]

I should have wine more often

[therecipelibrary]

Tomato Figs

-American Housewife Cook Book 1880

[kanalfanal]

dried figs