My parents used to have fig trees in their backyard. Though my dad currently designs software and my mom is a registered nurse, their backgrounds were originally in agricultural science. They have an enviable garden which grows everything from peppers to eggplants to squash to amaranth. Unfortunately the said fig trees were not as successful as some of the other plants. They were actually more like saplings which my dad was trying to grow into full-fledge trees; they didn't make it through the hot Texas summers and frequent droughts. Even in the few seasons they did produce fruit, my parents rarely got the opportunity to eat the figs they had worked so hard for as the birds would inevitably get to them first.
Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
You know when people ask you what camp you sit in: cake or frosting? Growing up, I had always considered myself a cake girl. I had always been the girl who scraped 90% of the frosting off cakes before eating. Turns out it was because I had only ever eaten grocery store cakes where the frosting was overly sweet, made with powdered sugar, butter, way too much food coloring...and nothing else.
Now that I'm older and know what good frosting tastes like, my answer would be "neither." I sit in neither camp. Because one without the other is incomplete. One without the other is nothing by itself.
Glazed Carrots
Photographing these carrots almost sent me off the deep end. I re-shot them three times, and by extension I have eaten these guys three times in the past week. They are absolutely gorgeous raw, unpeeled, and with their greens. Unfortunately, taking them through the cooking process yields something quite the opposite of a swan or a butterfly. They get hella uglier as time goes on. Although on the flipside, they become more delicious with some butter, sugar, bourbon, and heat.
Braised Chicken with Currants & Gooseberries
A few weeks ago The New York Times ran a recipe in the dining section giving rhubarb the credit it has long been due as a vegetable to be used in savory recipes rather than drowning it in sugar for use in pies, tarts, and ice creams. I imagine that if rhubarb could speak, it would tell us how freaking tired it is of being paired with strawberries. Now, with a newfound purpose, its tartness lends itself to a dish much like a squeeze of lemon juice, creating a bright contrast to something that would otherwise taste much flatter with its omission.