Last week, I awoke to a story on NPR about canning featuring a blogger new to me, Mrs. Wheelbarrow. It was a great piece, full of enthusiasm about the serendipity of the farmers' market and the simple joy of preserving fresh fruits and vegetables for another day. I've already made pickles this summer, but Mrs. Wheelbarrow inspired me to want to do more. I was particularly intrigued by her simple, but beguiling recipe for fig confiture. As luck would have it, I found some beautiful figs on sale at Whole Foods this week, and so I made a batch.
The figs are soaked in boiling water to soften, quartered, and married with some thinly sliced lemon, honey, and a bunch of thyme. The resulting loose jam is divine with a good cheese. A lovely gift for your favorite lover of food.
I had so much fun with the confiture, that I followed up with a variation on Mrs. Wheelbarrow's cardamom peach pie filling. The peaches, which have been particularly fragrant this year, are just ending here in the midwest. I did not have any clear gel on hand, so my peaches loosely swimming in syrup, but I figure I can thicken them when I use them, or not depending on the recipe. Wonderful stuff! Thanks for the inspiration, Mrs. Wheelbarrow!
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