LEFTOVER USED

Leftover i - I bought fresh figs to have for lunch, planned initially to be eaten with some proscuitto, but couldn't find proscuitto I felt needed my money (there was proscuitto, but not proscuitto), so there were figs left over. After a nice little photoshoot, the left over halves were made into chocolate fig muffins, and they were seriously good. Gooey shots of fig seed paste against melted dark belgian chocolate in a light cake batter. Recipe at the end of the post. They were that good.

Leftover ii - I have been trying to use up fruit, vegetables and cupboard food more, particularly the fruit and vegetables, in readiness for our fortnightly order of organic produce to arrive on Wednesdays. I love it when the big box arrives, full of seasonal foods - the colours and the smells. Some weeks we're good at using everything up, and some weeks not, so I try and make an effort when I see there's abandoned stuff lurking. This week I made a large green curry, which was full of, well, large green vegetables and some left over roast chicken. I've loved eating it and it got better the second night, but I'm the only one in the house who enjoyed it. So there is now a large container in the freezer for my green curry craving nights.

Leftover iii - The Short Pullover used up 2 skeins, and a teeny smidge of a tiny bit of a third skein of Lamb Linen. [I'm sure if you knit it using the gauge in the pattern, you could really do the whole thing in 2 skeins]. When I did the Kit 70 last year, I had a few conversations with Kent about the whole piece and alterations and thoughts etc, and mused about doing it as a child's version. Kent's persistent enthusiasm for doing this, coupled with left over yarn, meant I sat while Pia slept and worked out a pattern based on hastily scribed measurements taken as we all got ready for school this morning. Cast on and knit, till there was not much time left over before the end of Pia's nap.

Chocolate Fig Muffins:
3/4 cup canola oil, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2tsp baking soda, 1/4 cup cocoa (I use a very good dark cocoa powder), 1/4 tsp salt, 3 figs with innards scraped into bowl, a liberal dose of dark belgain chocolate coarsley chopped/flaked/crumbled/taste tested (quality assurance, you know), 1 vanilla pod scraped, or 1 tsp of vanilla bean seeds in glucose syrup (something I highly recommend in any pantry).

Preheat oven to 160 C (fan forced). Grease and line muffin tins - we always do an assortment of mini muffins and large muffins. Mix all ingredients together but don't overmix. Spoon into tins and bake till a knife comes out clean (about 10 minutes for the mini muffins, and about 20 minutes for the larger ones depending on your oven). Cool on a rack. Makes 6 large muffins and 18 mini muffins

Comments

[Patricia]

I would say 85% of my food is organic, and has been now for some 10years. Good on you for choosing organic. No yucky chemicals!!
Gosh you are getting heaps of knitting done.
The recipe looks absolutlely luscious. Chocolate is my most favourite thing. Green & Blacks organic 70% dark chocolate is nice also.
Keep up your "quality-assurance tasting", an absolute must for chocolate, only the best for the family, I always say!! :)

I love vegetable curry also. It is good with a dollop of low-fat yoghurt on top.

[Susana]

your muffins read like a MUST-TRY, thanks for sharing your recipe!

[Kent]

Looking forward to seeing Pia's sweater :)

I know it's going to be fab!

-K

[Annie]

That recipe looks incredible. It's funny because I can't really eat fresh figs- the texture freaks me out- but in baked stuff, or dried or in salad dressings, I can't get enough of them. With chocolate? Yum!

[michelle]

Thanks for the recipe!

I've been looking at the figs on our tree (we just can't eat them all), and wondering what to do with them. I'll be giving this a go TODAY!

Hope you're feeling over your lurgy by now. :)

[rebecca]

I have also been making an effort to use up all our food - came across this site that is worth a browse : http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

[Carson]

Oh I hate waste..I really, really hate waste. The dogs do come in handy for using up those lingering bits o' veg in the crisper I must say: the ultimate Eco Garbage Disposal Units.
Had some beautiful figs with prosciutto and lovely chevre for brunch last weekend..talk about yum.
And it's strange you should post about muffins, on Sunday I had the most overwhelming urge to bake muffins this week, except I think mine will be a 70s flashback style: very wholemeal :)

[Tammy]

Wow, I'm envious. I adore figs and rarely get them fresh anymore. When I lived in NY I could grow them, but up in NH - it's just too cold, the tree never produced fruit.

[Lorie]

Figs are great. Love them. And they are pretty photogenic, aren't they?, like pears! Golly, aren't you knitting up a storm! Love the sweater.

[raina]

Figs are pretty great...next to impossible to find here in Calgary. They are in the stores once a year only, and only in the Italian markets (sigh).

[martha]

yum. too bad it's not fig season here...

[Shula]

I see the Belgian Chocolate thing is still running hot for you.

Which reminds me, I have a container of King Island Belgian Chocolate custard in the fridge.

Yippeee!

[Vera]

lovely blog !
prosciutto, please ! smoked ham, isn't it ? ;-)

[Rebecca]

I love figs and the recipe sounds heavenly. I rarely find good figs in the local shops and do have my own tree but so far my crop has peaked at 4 figs, I guess I was a little optimistic, the effects of global warming have not yet made a big difference to this blustery corner of North Wales. While I wait for the climate to improve I must make do with living vicariously through others!

[di]

I'll just have to live vicariously through you on the muffins (I'm still avoiding caffine due to breast feeding obligations and C's apparent sensitivity to it). I go through similar experiences on the leftover food front- using up things that NEED to be used, and then eating the leftovers myself. I hate throwing out food. Especially good organic food.

[Norma]

That photo has me drooling. In my part of the U.S. we have almost NO fresh figs in the shops. When they do get here, they are tasteless, bland, boring things. I'd kill for a lovely fresh fig like that.

[amisha]

those muffins sound a-ma-zing.
and good for you with the food delivery! we were doing that in florida and it was such a treat. i loved seeing how the veg changed from week to week... feeling so much more connected with the local growing cycles, noticing when things came in and went out of season. a big part for us was forcing us to try new veg too instead of always getting the same thing at the market. it didn't have fruit though... alas!
xox