Fig Jam!

Hey everybody! Sorry for the long absence. I could give you a million reasons why I haven’t been on here but truly it’s just sheer laziness that’s keeping me away.

I hope everyone had a good summer and is sliding into a restful autumn. East Tennessee has been lovely this year - cooler temperatures and I’m looking forward to amazing colors with all the rain we had this summer.

We have moved Marshall into college and Barry’s 

Alison Krauss and Union Station tour is coming to an end very shortly so my life of sitting around eating bonbons is coming to an end. 😂 I need to get with it! 

In August we moved Marshall into his dorm at Coastal Carolina University and he is absolutely thriving. He loves his classes, roommates and the community he’s found at college and I am so very happy for him! I can’t imagine how you mamas do it when your kid isn’t happy. So many of my friends have stories of tears and regrets and I can’t imagine that pain. . . . I’m thrilled Marshall is finding his people and his life, really. What a blessing from God.

This summer Barry has been on the road as well, so my life has really been different. No homeschooling anymore, no cooperative school anymore and for the last month I’ve been alone just rattling around this house. It will be good to have Barry back for a week before he heads out with The Wood Box Heroes. If they’re coming to a city near you please go and say “hey!” They’d love to see you.

And so since Barry’s coming home and since it’s fall and since the figs are in season I am busy making fig jam. It’s my favorite jam to make, even though it’s the jam I make in the smallest quantities. I love it because it has such a great punch of flavor - it’s not as sweet as strawberry or blackberry jam - and it has so many great uses. 

Fig jam is absolutely stunning on a charcuterie board, served over baked Brie, on a baguette smeared with whipped cream cheese, used in a layered cake or simply on toast. And it’s simple to make. Here’s how I do mine:

Simple fig jam

One pound figs, washed, dried and quartered

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (I buy this one from amazon 

https://amzn.to/4nubTNb)

1/4 cup water

In a heavy saucepan on medium heat, add all the ingredients and cook, stirring often to prevent burning. Once the ingredients are mixed well turn the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. At that point you know you have jam and can remove the pan from heat. Once cooled place in small jam jars and store in the refrigerator (up to a month) or freezer (up to 4 months).

That’s it! You don’t need to add pectin to this jam - the figs thicken on their own. Just cook it down and enjoy the goodness of the simple yet stunning fig.

Thanks so much everybody!

Aliceson