Tasty Bytes

Mochi’s favorite snack these days. As soon as she hits the back door her figdar is on. She methodically sweeps the yard – first by the garage they back behind the tool shed. She gets her fill of fallen figs and sometimes brings one in the house to save for later. Two Falls ago we noticed her tooth was purple. Being the over protective Mom I panicked and thought she had damaged her tooth. I insisted on taking her to the vet. The doc did a thorough exam and found nothing. Short of taking an x-ray she was at a loss so we took her home and kept an eye on the tooth. Lo and behold, after a week or so the tooth returned to it’s normal white. Sheepishly, I had to admit to P that I over reacted to Mochi’s fig stained tooth – an expensive lesson.

P and are making our annual trips with 12 foot ladder in tow to M and T’s yard to pick pounds and pounds of black mission figs. This year we’ve been enjoying them fresh in addition to gingery fig chutney (to accompany my Dosa addiction, where btw I ended up purchasing a griddle…shhh, don’t tell P) and a batch of fig gelato based on this recipe. Tomorrow’s bounty will probably get dried in our 8 tray food dehydrator and vacuum packed to enjoy through out the year.

So the gelato? After making an adjustment to make it non dairy…I liked it. Though if I make it again I will cut back a bit on the sugar. Here is the recipe that I ended up using (based on an LA Times recipe):

1/2 pound figs, stemmed and cut into quarters
1/4 cup sugar, organic raw
1 tablespoons raw honey (I love Marshall’s)
1 tablespoon orange liqueur like Grand Marnier or Cointreau
1 3/4 cups cashew nut milk (see recipe below)
Pinch salt

Put figs and sugar in a small pot and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Cook until figs are soft, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Chill in the refrigerator or in an ice bath, then freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Cashew Nut Milk

1/2 c raw organic cashews soaked overnight
2 cups filtered water

Blend until very smooth. Strain if desired. I generally don’t strain my nut milks since the blender that I use makes everything so smooth.

Here is the ice cream maker that I used. It doesn’t make the best ice cream in the world but it’s a pretty cool little toy which I picked it up for $10. For delicious ice cream in the SF Bay Area run over to 4th Street or College Ave.