Lemon Fig Bar

Our bi-monthly delivery of organic fruits and veggies recently contained a pint of fresh figs. While I enjoy Fig Newtons, they aren't something I buy. I stood there looking at the fresh figs wondering if I'd ever had a fig in any way other than those stick-to-the-roof-of-your mouth cookies (which then require lots of water to remove the sticky dough from your mouth). I came up with nothing.

At this point I turned to my two shelves of cookbooks which have never let me down in the past. Much to my shock, out of all of those books I found one which listed figs in the table of contents: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day (one of their books from the famed New York restuarant where everything is healthy and homemade). Turning to the referenced page I discovered a recipe for Lemon Date Bars. In the small foot note at the bottom it mentioned that figs could be substituted for the dates. Since I hate dates, substituting them for figs would be the only way I'd try a Lemon Date Bar (and then discovering if I even remotely liked the figs)!

While the recipe may have intended the figs to be dried like the dates, it seemed to work fine. The bars were a nice chewy consistency with a crunchy crumb topping. The bars required very few ingredients and all were basic pantry items already on hand. The bars even seemed like they would be much healthier than the average cookie. The only disappoint was the lemon was so subtle I had no idea it was there! Since another pint of fresh figs just arrived a few days ago (why didn't we think to block figs on our delivery list???) and due to the lack of options I'm discovering for them, I may be making these bars again. This time I'll be substituting some of the water for additional lemon juice and might just throw in lemon zest as well.

If you too discover a pint of fresh figs on your doorstep, here's what to do. In a saucepan, combine 2 c. chopped figs (or dates if you dare), juice of 1 lemon, and 1/2 c. water. Cook covered on how heat for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. In a bowl, cream together 1/2 c. room temp butter, and 3/4 c. packed brown sugar. Stir in 1 3/4 c. flour, 1 t. salt, and 1/2 t. baking soda. Add the oats and mix well. Press 2/3 of the dough into an oiled 9" baking pan. Pour the fig mixture over the dough and spread evenly. Crumble the remaining dough on top and bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan. That's it.

Fresh Herb Dip

If you're in need of a quick but yummy appetizer, here's the answer. This Fresh Herb Dip is really quite simple and yet it's a crowd pleaser. The combination of fresh dill, parsley, and scallions with the cream cheese and sour cream are the perfect summer delight (although I enjoy this dip year-round). The dip has a real freshness to it and isn't overly heavy. Paired with cucumber wedges and red bell pepper it is a truly satisfying appetizer without being too filling, so you'll still be able to enjoy the main course.

Steak & Onions with Sour Cream Sauce & Mashed Potatoes

Cooler fall weather is the perfect time for a slow cooked dinner. It can be challenging to pull together a hearty weeknight meal, so I recently put the ingredients together the night before and when I walked in the door from work the following evening, I was greeted by the wonderful aroma of a effortlessly prepared dinner. "The Slow Cooking Book: The Best Little Cookbook for Slow-Cooked Meals" by Fog City Press is my go-to for great slow-cooked meals. As instructed, I cut 2 lbs. of steak into 4" cubes, coated them with 1/4 c. flour (shaked in a ziplock works the best), then browned them in two batches using 1 T. butter and 1 T. oil per batch. After putting the beef into the slow cooker, I then sauteed until tender 2 sliced large yellow onions with 3 cloves chopped garlic. 1 c. beef stock, 2 t. Worcestershire sauce, and 1 t. soy sauce was then added to the onions to deglaze the pan. The onion mixture was added to the beef and I seasoned it with salt and fresh ground black pepper. After cooking on low for 8 hours, I then stirred in 3/4 c. sour cream and served it on mashed potatoes and garnished it with chopped fresh parsley. For such an easily prepared meal, this dinner was outstanding! As expected, the beef was super tender and the creamy smoothness of the sour cream sauce was favorable and well-suited for the mashed potatoes.