fall figs

Figs. I grew up thinking a fig was something jamlike that came in a Newton, not realizing that it started out looking more like a mutant eggplant. I guess the man in the giant fig costume was a hint, but as a kid, I never gave it any thought. We ate a lot of fruit growing up, but not a single fig. But I do remember watching the Fig Newton commercials. I would be sitting in our living room with the avocado green wall to wall carved carpeting, gold upholstered sofa, and marble coffee table with the splayed legs. I can hear the Fig Newton jingle in my head and see the Big Fig Newton doing the Big Fig Newton dance. Oh, come on, you know you remember it, too. "Ooey gooey rich and chewy inside, golden flaky light and cakey outside, wrap the inside in the outside, is it good? Darn tootin'! Doing the Big Fig Newton -- here's the tricky part -- the Big Fig Newton -- one more time -- the Big Fig New-toooooon!" (Pose!)

When we first moved into this house in August, my friend Nancy came over and said, "You have a fig tree! Look at all these figs!" I had no idea. The fruit was still quite green and looked more like buds than fruit, and I was so glad she told me so I could eventually pick the figs when they were ready. I waited. And waited. And waited. Then I stopped checking, and, of course, that's when they ripened and were ready to pick.

My cousin Tina noticed before I did, and came in from our backyard with a small harvest of figs yesterday. They were so pretty! Who knew? I went out again today and picked a few more that looked ready, giving ever so slightly to my squeeze, green barely visible on the deep purple body. I had to ask Tina how to eat a fig. She just bit into it. Okay, that was pretty self-explanatory. I've since decided I prefer to slice it in half and scoop out the sweet fleshy insides with a spoon. Yum.

I'm sure that these first fall figs will be an enduring memory for me, our first figs at our new house -- which reminded me of my childhood memories in my first house, watching a man dressed like a fig dance around on television -- bringing me to my present and future, building new memories in our new home.