When you mention figs, many people hesitate to answer. There’s this pause, a long trying-to-find-the-most-non-offensive-thing-to-say pause. And then, there’s an “Eh … ”

Except most often, when you press those same hesitant people, they admit that their exposure to figs has been limited to a certain cookie and other baked goods. They haven’t experienced a delicate fresh fig, and they don’t know what a fig really tastes like.

So, I want to ask you all: Do you like figs? Have you had fresh ones?

Honestly, I fell into the hesitant category of people until a few years ago when I tasted fresh figs at an event held at Tom Colicchio’s Craftbar. A black mission fig was served with a piece of Olive Oil Cake and Rosemary Ice Cream … and though I was skeptical at first bite, I quickly discovered that I loved figs.

What are figs? Figs, pictured above, are a teardrop-shaped fruit with a smooth, edible skin, sweet flesh and tiny seeds in the middle. They can be eaten raw or used in fig recipes like fig jam, fig tarts and fig bars. I’ve also had figs on kabobs with Halloumi cheese – delish.

Figs are also rather good for you. According to the California Fig Advisory Board, figs are high in dietary fiber and have a good amount of calcium, iron and potassium too. They’re a total eat-without-guilt food.

The California Fig Advisory Board recently sent me a generous package of California Fresh Black Mission (top), Sierra (middle), and Brown Turkey (bottom) figs to experiment with in my kitchen.. Since this was the first time I used figs in my home cooking, I decided to ease in with a really simple fig recipe that I’ve been eying in a cookbook for years. This recipe with figs comes from Curtis Stone’s Cooking with Curtis.

Although the cookbook suggest this as an appetizer, it also makes a really easy lunch. It was the perfect re-introduction to figs. The salty prosciutto, sweet figs and sweet-tart balsamic with the crunchy grissini have all the right contrasting flavors and textures. It was amazing … and perfect for a quiet lunch while the kids were at school.

Prosciutto with Figs and Balsamic Vinegar
serves 1
Adapted very slightly from Curtis Stone’s Cooking with Curtis cookbook

4 thin slices prosciutto
1-2 figs, quartered
balsamic glaze
grissini (breadsticks)

Drape the prosciutto on a small luncheon plate. Place the quartered figs on and around the plate. Drizzle with balsamic glaze. Serve with grissini.

Note: Balsamic glaze is a reduced balsamic vinegar that becomes syrupy. It can be purchased in some specialty food stores. Or you can make it at home by reducing balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan set over medium heat.

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Disclosure: The California Fig Advisory Board provided me with figs for cooking and experimenting with. However, I wasn’t required to write about them and all opinions expressed are my own. I was not otherwise compensated for this post.

For a long, long time I have avoided any recipes that fall into the fruit salad or fruit cup or fruit cocktail genre. As much as I love these delightful sweet salads, I just didn’t see the point in offering recipes for them. The reason was simple: fruit salad is ridiculously easy and adaptable, and I felt like I would be insulting you to write about one. I mean, really, fruit salad in any rendition can hardly be a recipe, right?

Wrong. So wrong.

I guess I was thinking about fruit salad (fruit cocktail, fruit cup … whichever you prefer) as just cut up fruit tossed together — and sometimes it is. But it doesn’t have to be just that. It can be something more in depth, pulled together with a sauce or syrup to lend a slight similarity to different fruits. And when you are talking about fruit cup or fruit salad or fruit cocktail in those terms, a recipe is totally in order.

I’d like to introduce you to Summer Fruit Cocktail with Lime-Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup.

Don’t let the title mislead you. This fruit cocktail is neither too tart or sweet. The Lime-Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup instead lends a subtle sweet-tart to the dish, and brings the fruity flavors together. It’s like the ribbon holding a stack of love letters, binding it without becoming the contents. And despite the long name, it takes a relatively short time to toss together.

I suggest chilling it for 30 minutes to an hour before serving … but if you are pressed for time, you could eat it right away instead. It’s all up to you.

I like to eat this for breakfast with a barely buttered thin bagel (Thomas’ Everything Bagel Thins are so good. No, they didn’t pay me to say that. I discovered them at Costco and bought them all on my own) and a glass of milk. Just in case you were wondering.

Tell me about your favorite fruit cup, cocktail or salad!

Summer Fruit Cocktail with Lime-Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup
serves 2

1 kiwi, skinned and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
1 cup raspberries, rinsed
1 medium pear (I use a D’Anjou), washed and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
2 tsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp organic sugar (regular granulated sugar is ok too)
1/2 vanilla bean

Combine the kiwi, strawberries, raspberries and pear in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the lime juice, sugar and vanilla beans over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and pour over the fruit. Toss well to combine.

Cover and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.

You never know when inspiration may strike. Today, it happened when I was checking up on a few blogs. Healthy Eating for Ordinary People had an amazing looking Whole Grain Fruit Crisp that reminded me of my Brown Butter Apple Crumble from this fall. Suddenly it was like a little bell went off in my head … how perfect would that be for dessert tonight? And so, this Apple Berry Crumble was born.

I worked from my apple crumble recipe to create this one, combining apples with frozen raspberries and blueberries . The result is a sweet-tart filling with a superb oatmeal crumble on top. The raspberries bake away into a syrup that engulfs the blueberries and apples. Delicious. Everyone loved it.

Perhaps the best part though was Paige helping to make it. She loves helping out in the kitchen, and doing whatever she can, so when she saw me slicing apples for this, she was quick to pull up a stool and lend a hand. It reminds me of Will at this age.

So, what’s inspired you lately?

Apple Berry Crumble
serves 4

2 apples, cored, quartered and sliced
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
2 tbsp turbinado sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup uncooked oats (not instant)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup salted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Toss until well-combined.

Add the apples to a glass pie dish. Spread out into an even layer.

In a small bowl, stir together the oats, flour and brown sugar. Set aside.

Heat the butter in a small pan until melted. Remove from heat and stir into the oats mixture until well combined.

Sprinkle the oats mixture over the apples.

Slide the pie
dish into the oven and cook for 45 minutes, until golden on top and bubbling at the sides. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

It always starts with an idea … and this time, I wanted to do something simple and easy, bursting with fall flavors. And it had to have a crumble topping. That was a must. I looked through cookbooks, but ended up just winging my way through it. I am so happy with the results — a Brown Butter Apple Crumble.

Paige is taking after her brother, jumping at the chance to help in the kitchen whenever she can. From scrambling eggs to mixing anything, she is game. I think she loves seeing the food go from raw ingredients to fabulous dishes. When Paige came rushing into the kitchen tonight, a chair dragging behind her, she oohed at the sight of sliced apples. Soon, she grabbed the mixing spoon and was forcibly helping to make this simple, delicious dessert.

We poured the apples into the baking dish, a deep, oval one. Then we mixed up the topping and sprinkled it on. No sooner did we stop, then Paige ran off to play (actually saying so as she ran). It made me smile. While the crumble cooked, the sweet, warm scent of apples filled our home. The scent was amazing.

But the taste – oh the taste. That’s the part that set it apart from just another pleasant whiff wafting from the kitchen. The sweet, tender apples flood the plate, dotted with the rich bits of the brown butter crumble topping. Getting a bit of apple and crumble topping at the same time was enough to make you swoon … heck, I think Will did.

Delish.

Brown Butter Apple Crumble
serves 4
Click here for my printable recipe on Tablespoon.com

4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch salt
1/2 cup uncooked oats (not instant)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup salted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Toss until well-combined.

Add the apples to a deep oval baking dish. Spread out into an even layer.

In a small bowl, stir together the oats, flour and brown sugar. Set aside.

Heat the butter in a small pan until melted. Continue swirling over a medium flame until the butter turns a golden brown color. Remove from heat and stir into the oats mixture until well combined.

Sprinkle the oats mixture over the apples.

Slide the baking dish into the oven and cook for 45 minutes, until golden on top and bubbling at the sides. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

This is not your grandmother’s apple (or pear!) sauce. This sassy, sweet concoction is enhanced with ginger and nutmeg — an unlikely combination that totally works.

The creating of this recipe was totally by necessity. I just couldn’t let the fruit in my fridge down …

See, when I opened my refrigerator this morning, I was greeted with some sad produce (has that ever happened to you?). Try as I might, I have fallen far behind on my cooking. We eat veggies nightly, but not as many as I usually cook. We have cabbage begging to be used, corn to feed a crowd and lots of apples.

And then there were these three sad-looking pears. I adore pears, but seldom grab one to snack on. And these three formerly lovely pears were covered in brown spots. If my husband saw them, he would send them straight to the compost pile. But why? Why can’t they be salvaged?

So I set to work, peeling, chopping and mixing. I added a little apple, a touch of honey, some lime … and then the spices. Ground ginger and nutmeg. Finish it off with a bit of water, and we were set to see how this experiment works. Fortunately, it was delicious, and paired nicely with homemade hash browns.

What are you cooking today?

Spiced Pear Apple Sauce
yields about 2 cups

3 ripe pears, peeled and roughly chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup water
a scant pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook until apples are all softened, about 15 minutes.

Mush with a potato masher to desired consistency. Cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Let cool slightly before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

At a family party this weekend, my cousin made a beautiful salad of heirloom tomatoes, red onions, herbs, nectarines and a light vinaigrette from a local farm. It was brilliant. The sweetness of the nectarines are a lovely contrast to the onions and tomatoes. And the vinaigrette really brought it all together. It was absolutely amazing.

This salad is inspired by hers. I’ve switched up the herbs a bit and left out the red onions, though they would be a welcome addition. I’ve added a cucumber for crunch as well. And instead of the local vinaigrette, I made my own lime-walnut one. It light and complimentary for the flavors in the salad.

Paige and I made this salad this morning. The herbs came straight from our garden, picked minutes before we used them. Then, she feasted on it for lunch, asking for seconds. I daresay she loved this Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad.

Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad
serves 4

2 medium heirloom tomatoes (or one large one)
2 nectarines, pitted
1 cucumber, peeled
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp walnut oil (use olive oil as a substitution)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced

Dice the tomatoes, nectarines and cucumber into like-sized pieces. I prefer mine to be roughly 1/2 inch, but larger is good too.

In a large bowl, stir together the tomatoes, nectarines, cucumbers, basil, parsley and mint. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the walnut oil, lime juice, salt, pepper and garlic.

Pour the vinaigrette mixture over the tomato mixture and stir well.

Serve immediately, or chill until ready to serve.

If you are what you eat, then my four-year-old Will is a moist pancake with berries. To say he loves pancakes is like saying that the sun is lukewarm. Will’s devotion to pancakes is unreal. If we let him, Will would have a big stack of pancakes every single morning. But, that wouldn’t be good for him to have every day (and the rest of us aren’t quite as fanatical about pancakes as he is) so we don’t.

That said, we do eat a lot of pancakes. I swear, Shawn and I can practically whip up batches in our sleep.

But while pancakes aren’t that bad for you, they have some room for improvement. Do they really need the oil? Nah. The good old applesauce in place of oil trick works great — and delivers moist cakes. Do they need refined sugar? Nope. Agave nectar, a natural sweetener made from the same plant used to make tequila, works fine and supposedly is a little better for you. You could also trade the egg for egg substitute, but I prefer real cage-free eggs.

The result is a moist, light, fluffy pancake with a nice contrast of ever-so-slight sweetness from the agave and tartness from the raspberries. I like mine topped with a drizzle of Grade B maple syrup from a local farm, but a sprinkle of powdered sugar could be delicious too.

How do you like your pancakes? Share!

Lightened Up Raspberry Applesauce Pancakes
serves 4

1 large egg
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup milk (I recommend using nonfat)
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup frozen raspberries

Add the egg to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until it’s foamy. Add all the other ingredients, except the raspberries, and mix until just combined. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, add the raspberries and beat once more.

Use an ice cream scoop to drop batter onto a hot griddle. Cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping once.

Serve hot with fresh maple syrup.

Flaky. Sweet. A little tart. Oh, so good.

Somehow, I imagine that to most people apple turnovers are a dessert – a tasty, homey, delicious dessert. But me? I like quiche for breakfast and easily give in to requests for breakfast for dinner. So, these turnovers weren’t dessert. They weren’t a special afternoon snack. They were … breakfast on Saturday.

Hey, sometimes, you just have to have fun with food. These were definitely fun. The kids loved the crispy, puffed edges and grabbed forks to devour the soft apple interior. It took every ounce of self-control not to let the kids (and perhaps me too) devour the last turnover.

Making these was a cinch using my trusty food processor. After peeling and coring my apples, I used the grating plate in my food processor to shred the apples into perfect little strips. It took all of maybe 30 seconds … easy, easy, easy. As a busy mom, I totally value time savers like that. Really. But, if you are without a food processor, don’t worry — you can still make these. Just use a box grater instead and manually shred the apples. It won’t be that bad. However if you have a food processor tucked away, then dig it out and use it for this. It makes it so simple.

Next, those beautiful apple shreds are tossed with cinnamon, brown sugar and just a bit of salt. Those bits of flavors complement the tart Granny Smith apples, giving a great sweet-tart depth.  Coincidentally, I stirred the apples and seasonings together with my favorite spatula, a sturdy silicone spatula that I bought at Williams-Sonoma four years ago.  It’s still as good as new … just goes to show how buying quality cooking pieces can be a great long-term investment in your kitchen (but that is a whole different blog post).

Next, the apple filling is divided evenly among the centers of the rolled out squares of puff pastry, which are then folded diagonally and pressed to seal. It sounds way more intense then it is, really. It comes together so fast.

Now, when I say rolled out puff pastry, I don’t just mean removed from the frozen package and unfolded. I mean actually roll it out with a rolling pin. The dough, which is warmed to room temperature, thins out easily with a few swipes of the rolling pin. Then it goes a long way. The dough will puff either way, but by rolling it out, you end up with a not-too-thick, not-too-thin dough that crisps and rises perfectly. Unrolled, it could puff too much and be too thick for little mouths to eat. Just sayin’.

Almost ready to bake now … The turnovers are transferred to a baking sheet and the edges are pressed with a fork. That gives them that pretty ribbed appearance. The tops are dusted with course sugar (optionally, you can use course sugar mixed with a little cinnamon). The ribbing acts as a great catch for the sugar too.  Then, the baking sheet is slid into the oven and a half-hour or so later out comes the wonderful, puffy, crispy turnovers.

Then, all that is left to do is to devour them.

Apple Turnovers
serves 4

1 sheet puff pastry, warmed to room temperature
2 Granny Smith apples
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the puff pastry into four quarters. Dust a cutting board with flour. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out each square of puff pastry until about doubled in size. Divide the apple mixture evenly among the four squares, spooning into the center. Fold the dough over diagonally and press the edges to seal. Transfer to the baking sheet. Using a fork, press the edges again to seal.

If desired, brush lightly with water and sprinkle with course sugar or a course sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Cook for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned.

Mmm, what’s better than a cool, refreshing and fruity dessert? One that costs next to nothing to make! Get the watermelon on sale and whip up a batch of this.

(This recipe is part of The $7 Dinner Challenge.)

Watermelon Granita
serves 8

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 lbs watermelon, cut into chunks
juice from 1 lime

Make simple syrup: Heat the sugar and water together on high heat until sugar dissolves into the water. Remove from heat and let cool.

Combine watermelon and lime in a blender and whirl until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender and blend the mixture smooth in a large bowl. Add the simple syrup and lime juice and blend again.

Pour the mixture into a 9 by 13 baking pan and freeze. Scrape with a fork every half an hour until all the liquid has frozen. This takes from 1-3 hours.

Spoon into glasses and serve.

To say I was apprehensive when I agreed to review 4C’s Totally Light 2Go Vitamin Stix would be a massive understatement. After all, they are sugar free, something that doesn’t normally strike my fancy. But it was the best pitch from a PR person that I have received in the lifetime of Sarah’s Cucina Bella. Seriously. The. Best.

(Let me just say right away that my fears were 100 percent unfounded. These are delicious.)

The day after they arrived, I tucked a few into my purse and headed off to work. In the afternoon, when my usual need for a sweet fix kicked in, I opened one of the strawberry/kiwi packets and poured it into my water.

I wasn’t assaulted with overwhelming sweetness. Instead, it was a pleasantly sweet, refreshing drink. I drank the whole thing and was completely satisfied.

Later, I went home and found my husband drinking a dragonfruit/acai Vitamin Stix. He compared it to a flavor of Vitamin Water that we love . . . except, it’s better because there are a fraction of the calories. Totally a good thing.

I wish I had a great story about the passionfuit/citrus, but I don’t. Like the other flavors though, it was just the right amount of sweetness and flavor. We really liked that one too.

Shawn and I agree that these mixes make fantastic, easy drinks. The little packets are easy to grab and go and combine easily with water with a little shake. And we’ve gotten creative with it. Check out A Nice Cuppa on Monday to find out what else we’ve made with Vitamin Stix. . .

Our only regret with these? 4C isn’t selling the  mixes in canisters, so we can’t whip up a whole pitcher. If we could, this could completely replace diet soda in my life . . . and regular soda in my husband’s. But it’s really saying something that my husband has already headed out and bought more Vitamin Stix.

On the go? Pick up some of these mini mixes and you won’t be sorry.