Fig and Apple Crisp

a seasonal dessert from my personal chef kitchen

I love figs. Their season is short as is their shelf life. They are best eaten or cooked on the day you buy them, if not on the day they are picked. They are a powerhouse of minerals and are very sweet. Some say that it was a fig and not an apple that was picked by Eve in the Bible story about the Garden of Eden.

I recently had a friend and business associate help me with some things who didn’t want payment. How rare and refreshing is that ? So, in return, I baked him and his family some fig and apple crisp. Oh, the house smelled delicious!

I was able to score some beautiful figs and apples at the farmers’ market this weekend and put together this riff on a recipe from www.ifood.tv.

Fig and Apple Crisp

12 fresh figs, quartered
2 apples, chopped into bite sized pieces ( I used MacIntosh)
3 T. organic sugar ( depending on sweetness of fruit and your taste, you might use less)
1/2 c. oatmeal ( not quick cooking or instant)
1/2c. whole wheat or spelt flour
1 tsp. 5 spice powder ( in researching, I just discovered that the 5 spices represent the five tastes – sweet, salty,sour, bitter, and pungent)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 c. coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 T. coconut oil or butter

I buttered a small baking dish ( approx. 6″x6″) and filled it with the fruit. Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl until everything is incorporated. Sprinkle over the fruit. Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

This post is part of GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister . Please head over there and check the other posts.

Baking

The change in the weather and the coming of the holidays brings out the baker in me. I love to bake! While I don’t completely understand it, I am intrigued by the science of how by putting certain ingredients together, they change into something else completely. It is more like magic than science. I love how the house smells when something yummy is just about to come out of the oven. The dark side of baking is in the potential for over indulgence, especially by one who needs to be very conscious about gluten and sugar. Oh yes, there are delightful gluten free and sugar free things to be made, and I do. My solution has become one of baking for others.

Today’s project is a repeat of baking for clients this week and is a gift for my go to Web, graphic arts, networking “guy”. Todd is responsible for the new web site and much much more in the history of For Life! personal chef services. He and his family were my first paying clients. Fortunately, we all survived!

Baking for others brings me the same joy and experience of the magic as baking for myself. I usually plan it so that I can have a piece, bite, one cookie, whatever it may be and then it is gone out of reach. I have the pictures I have taken, the smile on the face of the receiver, and the lingering aroma.

These Apple Almond Bars come from a wonderful food blog, via a personal chef colleague from Michigan. I love the internet for many reasons and seeing how recipes travel from blog to blog to person to person is pretty interesting. Who knows where it will pop up next?  As usual, I added my own touches, using whole wheat flour, agave nectar instead of white sugar, and I didn’t peel the apples. Too much work, plus we need the fiber. Oh, and I added some cinnamon. How will you make this your own ? Don’t like almonds ? Try walnuts. Add some ginger. Make it gluten free. Let me know how you like it.