Fresh Figs!!!!

The lessons you learn in college are not all, shall we say, academically related.  That being said, when I was a student at UGA, my roommate and I had a house that happened to have fig trees in the backyard.  And one of the lessons I learned was that fresh figs are absolutely divine.

My cousin got married this weekend, and I didn't get to talk to my grandparents much at the wedding, but my Mema (that's Southern for grandmother if you are uninitiated) sent me some fresh figs from one of her trees.  None of my family aside from myself had ever had any, either, so it was with great joy yesterday that I introduced them.

Mema sent me a sackful of figs, which can turn bad rather quickly, so we could not extend the joy, they had to be used right away.  We ate a lot of them, sliced them and threw in our dinner salad (which we had with our gluten-free spaghetti-- yay!) and then I started cooking.

I've never made jam before, so I made a large jar of jam using a recipe I found on the internet (that I can no longer find to share) and then I made fig chutney.  I couldn't find a recipe that was what I wanted, so I just made up my own:

Fig Chutney

12-15 fresh figs, washed, stemmed, and chopped

3 tbsp fresh ginger

3 thai chili peppers

½ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup water

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp. Tabasco sauce

½ tsp nutmeg

Bring everything to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes, or until everything is nice and thick.  Stir regularly, to prevent sticking.  Pour everything into the food processor and and pulse three or four times until you have a chunky consistency.  Refrigerate before serving and use as a condiment.