Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Figs from Mom's Garden


Fig Tart

I know I said "stay tuned for another post on 'English breakfast- Obachan's version'," but it may need some time to be ready. So before that, I'm posting about the dessert I made after coming back to my apartment with the figs I brought back from my parents' house. Mom's fig tree is in a very good shape this year and she didn't know what to do with all the figs she picked.

My younger sister made this fig jam when we were at our parents' house. She ended up with 7 or 8 small jars filled with the sweet fruit jam and I brought back two of them.

Oh, I almost forgot. I used this recipe (had to cut down the salt, though) for the crust, but to me it was a bit too flaky ... or crumbly?

* How can I make this kind of oil pie crust less crumbly? What should I add more? Or if you have a recipe for light, slightly crispy, flaky but NOT TOO CRUMBLY oil pie crust, please let me know! I want to find a good one before Halloween.


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16 comments:

Diary of Kay El said...

I so love figs! Wished I had a fig tree... Over here in Malaysia, I have to pay quite a princely sum. Tart looks gorgeous!

Maud said...

The figs look very good! We can't grow figs here in Finland, and the imported ones are usually not sooo fresh. It's a pity, since figs are so yummy!

Anonymous said...

What's your secret? I love fig tart, but mine never looks this yummy.

Anonymous said...

Those figs look so delicious. Sadly, the figs in my tree have all been eaten by insects, so they don't look too good...

Cheesywee said...

My grandmother used to have a fig tree and never really liked it fresh off the tree but the fig jam looks really good and the tart looks even more impressive

K and S said...

Your fig tart looks so good! Maybe I'll ask the guy down the street for some of the figs off his tree.

Patricia Scarpin said...

That is sinful!
I have never had fig jam, but I bet this tastes like heaven!

obachan said...

Diary of kay el
Figs are not very inexpensive around here, so I was so happy when mom (actually dad) planted a fig tree. Now I'm trying hard to convince mom to dry the figs that she doesn't know what to do with.

Maud
Mmmm... the climate is too cold for figs over there? I know how you feel. I feel the same way about some tropical fruits.

Tokyofoodcast
My secret? It's the photo retouch software that's doing a great job. Hahaha...

Sirpaul
I know. Insects and birds and small wild animals... There are so many enemies out there, right? Mom ordered my sister and I to cover the almost-ripe figs on the tree with paper(unwoven fabric?) bags to protect them from insects. Fortunately mom's fig tree is not very tall, but still it was some work...

Cheesywee
My mom does not seem to like figs fresh off the tree, either. I really wish she goes for dried figs because she already has plenty of jam and dad doesn't eat figs very much.

K & S
It sounds like worth trying? ;)

Patricia Scarpin
Yeah, and I think the jam can be used for making tasty sauces for meat or fish.

Anonymous said...

Hi Obachan, I never stopped reading your blog, but been a silent reader for a while. I love figs, but it isn't easy to find figs here.

obachan said...

Hi! So nice to hear from you. :)
It's interesting... For some reason, I thought figs must be
popular everywhere in Southeast Asian countries, but just recently I learned that it is not true.

anon~a~mouse said...

I have 2 fig trees in my backyard.But the figs do not ripen on time. The weather here ,and the soil quality (and i do fertilize like crazy) makes it so the figs just are not so yummy anymore.
My uncle planted them when he was alive mind you,and he died in 1989 so..
If i get any decent ones befoe the end i the year .I will try this out .

obachan said...

Mmmm... Sounds like pretty old fig trees. But they must be special trees for you with the memories of your uncle.
Hope you can get some good figs to try out a tart this summer. :)

child-prodigy said...

it could be the amounts of oil used for this recipe making it flaky and for the part it's oil and not butter. the fat ratio is totally different. When I was in school we never used any liquid and we used butter and eggs. maybe you could try adding one egg to see if it helps. when you make the crust for the tart and it feels dry and crumbly that's already a sign for a flaky crust and also the amount of time you spent either mixing it by a mixer or by hand. less mixing equals more flaky and crumbly more mixing equals less flaky and crumbly. hope that helps! =]

obachan said...

Hi. Thanks for the advice. So it's the fat. Yeah, adding egg may help.
Mmmmm....I'm wondering... if the fat is the key, then would it help to use heavy cream in place of the milk called for in this oil pie crust recipe??? Maybe I should give this idea a try, too...

child-prodigy said...

Yah, give cream a try. I've never tried adding cream to any crust recipe before so I'm not much help there. If you substitute the oil with butter you get the fat and milk solids in one item.

Rei said...

Wow! Your Dad has lemon & orange trees. Your Mom has a fig tree and a field of shiso (multiple varieties), kaki grows "wild" and you have blueberries on your balcony! Kochi has a long growing season I gather. How fortunate.
Remember, when you're out of fresh figs for your tart, the left over figs can go in your fruitcake! Italian fig cookies are very good, called cuccidati. Pan forte, an Italian fruitcake, very dense has figs in it and it is out of this world. Fresh figs filled and dipped in chocolate is heavenly. Can you tell I like figs. Yes, I'm drooling now.