By Wendy Finn of I Touch People
My mom loves figs. If I‘m at a Trader Joe’s I always pick up some Calmyrna figs for her. Back in the day I remember her loving fig newtons. I never really dug it, until I watched her gleefully planting a fig tree in her yard, not sure if it would make it through the cold Arkansas winters. But when winter comes, my mom goes outside with sheets and blankets and covers up her fig tree. When it was small this was okay. As it got larger it was kind of ridiculous, but not really, if you are serious about your figs.
My mom is serious about her figs, ridiculously serious about her figs.
- 6 fresh figs
- 2 to 4 tablespoons of honey (agave if you're going for vegan)
- one vanilla bean (or one teaspoon vanilla)
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- Whiz it up in your blender, move it to the jar you want to store it in (if you don't eat it all right when you make it), and let it sit for a few minutes while the chia seeds expand and give it texture.
- We eat this spread on Amie Sue's Raw Honey Oat Cinnamon Bread that I make regularly in our house.
I would never have given a fig about them, if she didn’t love them so much. It’s not something that I see around me on a day to day basis and they are not super visible in the grocery store. Now I’m addicted and I want my own fig tree. I’ll be the crazy lady on my street covering up my ginormous fig tree with sheets in the winter time.
As a fresh fruit they are amazing. As a dried fruit, with the natural sugar coating on the outside, they are even more amazing. They make a great raw jelly, and my absolute favorite thing to do with figs is turn them into raw food power bars. The texture with the seeds is addictive. And the recipes are sooo easy. You can’t help but incorporate them into daily life. Good mojo all around.
This post turns out to be a kind of tribute to Amie Sue, because this next recipe I have adapted over time to suit my kitchen needs, but I first got the recipe off her site Nouveau Raw. I think she is my favorite raw food chef on the web. Her web site is beautifully done, her recipes are innovative, do-able, and often have complex flavors. I have seen it done other places, but I love her use of cardamom in these power bars. Other aspects of this recipe I have changed, but I still love to use the cardamom. I especially love to smell my herb grinder after I have whizzed up the seed pods.
I am a full time nursing student, I own a small business with 8 employees, and I have a husband and four sons ranging in age from 19 to 9. I have a tendency to streamline recipes to make them faster and bigger. Functional is the name of the game. Also, I have to work with what is my kitchen. I don’t have time to run to the store. If I have it on the shelf and it seems like a safe bet, it’s going in. Especially with power bars. You just can’t go wrong.
Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 20 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health.