Cukes take over while awaiting beloved figs
All kinds of good things have been happening in my little garden. There’s more basil than I can use, so I’ll have a freezer full of pesto to keep the taste of summer when we hit the cold days. The cucumbers are the gift that won’t stop giving, the peppers are coming in, mint is going crazy (I love the stuff and use it so many ways), and my tomatoes are doing their best. There’s plenty of time before I call it quits with them, and I have faith.
It’s the tiniest space, a 4-by-4 raised bed and a few pots for extra tomatoes. I planted late and thought I’d get more things in other pots, but the cucumbers have taken over the farm. Those — we don’t know what variety they are, because they were loose seeds — are crazy twisty and climbing plants. The fruit is small, like a Kirby, and the vines are positively covered in tiny vegetables and even more blooms. I’ll have hundreds, I bet. (My mother is growing the bigger cukes, and she’s in full harvest. She’s leaving them wherever she can unload them, so call me if you find them at your door and I’ll have a word with her.)
It’s fun to watch them grow, and I’m going to have a great time making pickles and all that. But I have my eyes on the prize: With the tiniest bit of luck, I’ll be eating my favorite fruit in the world by the time you’re reading this. Oh, yes, this is the time of year when this column changes its name to Biggs on Figs.
I’m writing this column early so I can take a short trip, but the word from my mother is that the figs will be ready for their first big harvest by the time I return Saturday. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it, and I plan to remedy my catfish consumption by living on fresh figs for as long as they are in my hands. If you have a tree, I hope you’re watching closely: The time is nigh. Make me happy and take a photo of your daily harvest; email it to me and I’ll post some of them online. And as always, please share any fig recipes that are different from mine, which is “Rinse. Eat. Repeat.”
COMING UP
Just because it’s hot doesn’t mean we’re slowing down. Here’s what’s on tap:
Make your reservations right away for a gin dinner tonight, at Hog & Hominy, 707 W. Brookhaven Circle. Lewis Johnstone, the global ambassador for Hayman’s gin, will lead a tasting at 5:30 p.m., followed by a family-style dinner at 6:30 p.m. Call 901-2077396 for reservations; the cost is $45.
Amerigo, 1239 Ridgeway Road, hosts a fourcourse French wine dinner at 6 p.m. today; the
cost is $50, and reservations are required. Call 901-761-4000.
The Pink Palace hosts Science of Wine on Aug. 19, featuring food from restaurants such as Erling Jensen’s, Restaurant Iris, Tsunami, Cafe Society, Ecco, The Beauty Shop and others, plus wine, Champagne and sake from West Tennessee Crown Distributing. The event is 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and is limited to folks 21 and older. You get to make your own wine charm and attend three lectures about wine making, plus, of course, sample. Tickets are $50 for members and $55 for nonmembers; call 901-636-2362, or go to brownpapertickets.com to reserve your spot.
Head out to Alchemy from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday to watch contestants compete in the Iron Shaker contest sponsored by Joe’s Wines & Liquor. If you’d still like to put your own creation in the running, use ingredients available at Joe’s or homemade, and submit a photo and step-by-step instructions (use ounces) to joeswine@gmail.com, or tag them in a photo you post on Facebook or Instagram.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Arugula, blue cheese, walnuts and figs? Are you kidding me? I just got this book in the mail today, and the first recipe it fell open to was for a salad with those ingredients and other good stuff. This forthcoming fig diet looks better all the time.