A neighbor of ours has a fig tree an insanely prolific fig tree, to which we have been going regularly and with permission to harvest the bounty. And a bounty there is; so much that we came and took about six or seven pounds yesterday morning and today when we went past their house with the dogs on morning walkies, the senior lady of the house called out to us, and said that we should come by and pick some figs. There is a point in fruit-tree production, when energetic picking of the ripe barely makes a dent. I learned this early on, when we had an orange tree at Hilltop House, an orange tree which produced and produced and produced so much that the ground underneath it was redolent with the smell of rotting oranges. One very hot and dry summer, my sister and I quixotically decided that we ought not to let all of this go to waste, so we went up one morning, picked several large brown paper shopping bags of those that were ripe (and that was barely a fraction of the fruit on the darned thing!) and worked until nearly midday, halving and squeezing the oranges … which gave us too many gallons of orange juice to fit into the freezer.
Recipes
Bring Me Figgy Pudding
… and figgy wine, whole preserved figs, dried figs and jam of figs … As you can deduce, we have a bounty of figs, at this very moment.
Fathers Day Dinner (Including Potato Salad Recipe)
I had to be out of the house today, and my wife sent me an email asking what I wanted for fathers day dinner. I generally prefer to cook everything myself, but that is not possible today, though I will cook the meat and brown some onions upon my return home. My requested meal, with instructions, is below the fold.
Note that these instructions contain my potato salad “recipe.” I use quotes because when I make this dish I do so completely by eyeball and I never measure anything. I do not know how close my family will be able to approach my ideal for this dish, though I am sure whatever they come up with will be fine. My senior daughter has assisted with the preparation in the past and may be able to get it done right. We shall see.
Jonathan previously asked me to share this “recipe” and since I had to write it down today, this is the fated moment to pass it along. No doubt everyone has their own absolutely and unassailably best way to make potato salad, and I say each home is its own castle in this regard, and should do things in the time-tested way, and I have no wish to impose my culinary values on anyone.
I do not suggest that mine is better, I just say that it is mine, and I am happy with it.
(Note that the eggs are a concession to my wife, who considers her late grandmother’s potato salad to have been the apex of perfection, and it had egg in it. The egg-or-no-egg controversy is one of the main fault lines in the world of potato salad, and my wife and I fall on opposite sides. But domestic peace is more important than standing on principle on this point.)
Ready for the Weekend
Not Prepping … Just Prepared
It would seem that once there is a TV reality show about something than you can assume that it’s gone mainstream enough that the denizens of the mainstream media world are interested. So it seems to have happened with ‘prepping’ that is, being prepared for the zombie apocalypse with a garage or a bunker full of shelf-stable and dried foods, a water purification system and a couple of cases of munitions. Meh … a lot of people went nutso over this just before New Years’ Day 2000, and there always has been a lunatic fringe … but then ensuring that you have a plentiful supply of food, drink and supplies on hand used to be pretty mainstream, actually. It was called ‘getting ready for winter’ in the 19th century, especially if you lived on a homestead half a day’s journey from the nearest general store. It certainly has been a requirement for LDS church members, as I discovered when I lived in Utah. It seemed pretty sensible for me, actually having an emergency stash of food.