Feasting On Fresh Figs & A Sunset

Seventeen days of temperatures topping 100*.  Thank goodness for an air-conditioned home where we can find respite from the intolerable heat.  One of our favorite ways to spend the late afternoon or cocktail hour is lounging in our rockers on the back porch, with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, complete with grazing cattle, buzzing bees, flocks of cattle egret flying overhead, and brilliant orange sunsets.  Even with the scorching temperatures, we find ourselves drifting outside around  6 p.m., cold beverage in hand, to enjoy our little piece of heaven on earth.

Such was the case on Saturday evening.  We’d spent most of our day in a town named Sulphur Springs, killing time while Miss T attended a workshop.  We had the pleasure of stumbling upon a farmers market taking place in downtown Sulphur Springs as we explored the small town.  To our surprise there were two booths selling “local” honey, both sharing samples.  Of course, we don’t need any honey but we did stop and sample the goods.  Both tasty, but we deemed neither to be superior to my Orange Bee Honey.  Moving on, we gazed at peas, tomatoes, squash, watermelons, cantaloupes, and figs.  Figs!  I love figs, fresh picked and warm from the sun.  These were fresh picked and believe me they were warm, as the heat was up to around 98* by mid-morning.  I asked the young woman behind the table, wearing a faded apron, curly hair framing her face about the figs.  “Yes mam, fresh picked.  You choose the ones you want and she’ll bag them for you”, she replied as she pointed to her look-alike daughter standing to the side. I chose my bowl of figs, paid the little girl and received a smile, a big “thank you” and a brown bag full of fresh picked figs.  We headed back to the car, eager to turn on the air conditioning and continue exploring the town of Sulphur Springs.  All I really had on my mind was how I would prepare the figs to accompany our dinner later that night.

Knowing that figs go well with honey and that I would be grilling that evening, I decided to grill a few figs and finish them off with a drizzle of honey.  I planned on stuffing chicken breasts with goat cheese, basil and pecans for our evening meal and thought the figs would make a nice addition.  After we enjoyed the luminous setting sun we ventured indoors to feast on the chicken and figs.  No wonder figs have been referred to as “food of the gods”!  Grilling them caused them to caramelize and soften just a bit, resulting in melt in your mouth goodness.  The drizzle of honey heightened the lush flavor of the warm figs.  As we savored each bite the heat of the day faded, as had the sun, while we counted our blessings once again.

Enjoy!

Grilled Figs & Honey Prepare figs:  Wash and trim off stems.  Split in half-length wise with a sharp knife. Grill:  Gently place figs over a medium flame on the grill grate, being careful not to let them slip through the cracks.  Grill for about 10-12 minutes, flipping once. Finish:  Remove from grill and drizzle with some fresh, pure honey.  Allow the figs to sit and soak up the honey before serving.