Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Autumn Fruit Splurge

This year, the fig tree has grown large enough to be supplying me with a bounty that is finally pushing me to try different things with them, rather than simply plucking them off the tree and eating them while standing in the yard.  They are full of so many good things.  Fiber, potassium, vitamin K, calcium and iron, for starters. 
Earlier this year, I found a recipe for Vanilla Fig Bars and waited patiently.  I made it the other night and it was very good (I added a touch of honey from my friend Zan's bees).  The only thing is, I can never just leave a recipe alone.  Eating one of those bars, I kept thinking how good that chock-full of health cookie base of almonds, coconut and figs would be used as a crust for a tart of some sort.
And so today, in order to step away from some of the less than savory bits of news coming across the computer, it became a reality.  No eggs, dairy, or grains used.  No baking.  Just perfection.

The recipe for the fruit topping was just a conglomeration of what happens to be on my counter at the moment:
1 cup of fresh ripe elderberries
1 cup sweet ripe figs
1 large juicy peach
about a tablespoon of grated ginger
3 tablespoons of rich, dark honey
1/4 cup sugar
These were all set to simmer until it became a luscious, bubbling, fragrant mass - about 15 minutes .

In the meantime, I put together the crust.  Using fresh figs with the coconut and almond makes the whole thing turn out looking just a little bit more like ham salad than I'd like, but that fades a bit as it sets up.  It holds together exceptionally well.



At the very last minute, I added about 1/4 cup of coconut flour to the fruit mixture, just to help it thicken.  It was taken off the heat for 10 minutes, and then spread over the crust.  It is wonderful!  Absolutely delicious, and while it is nowhere near low-calorie, it is full of things that are good for us.

I suspect my daughter will top it off with a dollop of yogurt with a smidge of honey.

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