Recipe: Fresh Fig Toasts with Lemony Goat Cheese & Raw Honey

It's that time again...fig season!  I have a fig tree in my backyard and grew up with one in my backyard as well.  Both of them were planted by a previous homeowner.  Some family members see the fig tree as a nuisance - if you don't harvest the ripe fruits daily, they will rot, smell a bit strong, and attract lots of insects.  My fiancee went as far as to attempt to have it cut down.  But the arborist we hired refused to chop it...too fine a specimen!  And with that, I'm determined to eat and give away as many figs as possible.  

This fig toast includes the essential fig pairings: goat cheese and honey.  But I tried to mix it up a bit by infusing the goat cheese with lemon juice and adding a brush of lavender olive oil, leftover from a spring fruit salad.  A series of small toasts can be served as an appetizer for sharing, or a single slice of artisanal bread can be served for breakfast with the same toppings.

Fresh Fig Toasts with Lemony Goat Cheese & Raw Honey

• 10-12 fresh figs
• 3-4 slices of a fresh baguette or bread of your choice
• A L'Olivier Lavender Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 8 oz goat cheese
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Bee Raw Florida Orange Blossom Honey

1. Toast your bread slices.  Brush with lavender olive oil.
2. Slice fresh figs from top to bottom yielding 3-4 slices per fig and set aside.
3. Mix goat cheese and lemon juice.  (I softened my goat cheese in the microwave for about 25 seconds to make it easier to mix and spread.)
4. Spread goat cheese mixture onto each toast.  
5. Layer with fresh fig slices.  
6. Finish with a drizzle of raw honey.

Roundup: Cooled Down Summer Foods

This week we featured original recipes for ice cream and popsicles.... noticing a trend yet?  It's HOT out there and we'll take any excuse to cool down.  Here are our favorite recipes from around the web for beating the heat!  Click the pics to get the recipes!  Follow our 'Summer Food Fun' Pinterest board for even more ideas!  >

Recipe: Grapefruit Shrub and Rosé Popsicles

The dog days of summer are quickly approaching and what better way to cool off than with a traditional treat - the popsicle.  We took this opportunity to try out some delicious cocktail mixers and make a mildly booze-infused version of this frozen summer treat.  Chilled Rosé is a great way to cool off in the summer heat and we thought the color and flavor combination of Liber Grapefruit Shrub would be a worthy pairing.  We also used the Liber Gum Syrup, as any good popsicle needs a bit of sweetening. Treat the proportions with care... too much booze and your pops won't freeze, but just the right amount and you'll be catching a cool refreshing buzz!

GRAPEFRUIT SHRUB & ROSE POPSICLES

• 1/2 cup Rosé wine
• 1/2 cup Liber & Co Texas Grapefruit Shrub
• 1/4 cup Liber & Co Gum Syrup 
• 1/2 cup frozen mango

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Pour into popsicle mold and freezer overnight. 

Recipe: Tea infused Ice Cream with Chia Cherries

Ice cream on a hot summer’s day brings out the smiles and sticky-chinned child in everyone. This spring, I have seen the trend of making ice cream at home take off, especially recipes that don’t require an ice cream maker- a non churn recipe.  I like the idea of making my own ice cream, you control the quality of ingredients and flavors. My two go-to flavors with ice cream are mint chocolate chip and anything with peanut butter.  

For my first pass at making ice cream at home I thought I would make a more sophisticated flavor ice cream, one that is popular in Japan and is harder to find in the Northeast - tea based ice cream.  

The Cherry Marzipan Green Tea from Tea Forte, gives the ice cream a overall flavor of Green Tea with the slightest hint of cherry. The Unbound Hazelnut and Chia Cherries really makes this ice cream quite sophisticated! The cherries add a spicy flavor and a refreshing bit between the cream texture of the ice cream.  

For your next tea time, try a cup of ice cream instead!

Tea infused Ice Cream with Chia Cherries

• 16oz Heavy Cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 2 tbsp Cherry Marzipan Tea
• Unbound Hazelnut & Chai Spiced Cherries

1. Add heavy cream to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.  
2. Once the heavy cream is simmering add the 2 tbsp of tea, letting it simmer for 2 more minutes, turn off heat and let tea steep for 15 more minutes.  
3. Strain with a fine mesh strainer (I didn't strain my until the heavy cream was cold, it adds a stronger tea flavor).
4. Put tea infused heavy cream into the refrigerator until very cold.  Once the cream is very cold, whip to soft peaks. 
5. Add ¼ can of condensed milk and fold into the whipped cream, until incorporated. Repeat until can of Evaporated milk is empty.  Pour some mixture into a metal pan, and layer your flavors, repeating this process until cream mixture is finished.
6. I added cherries but you could add shortbread bites, blueberries, toasted almonds, really anything you like.  

Freeze and enjoy with in 3 days! 

Recipe: Dukkah & Goat Cheese Platter

What's better than a bottle of wine and noshing on cheese and accompaniments with friends? This cheese platter has a little something extra... Gary & Kit's dukkah covered goat cheese balls. We paired these with complimentary flavors for a unique take on the everyday cheese platter. The next time you're charged with bringing the cheese board to a gathering, think of dukkah covered cheese for a more exotic (yet simple to prepare) option.  As another serving suggestion, you could use the dukkah covered goat cheese on a salad of mixed greens with vinaigrette and dried cranberries.   

Dukkah & Goat Cheese Platter

• 8 oz. Goat Cheese
• Gary & Kit's Classic Hazelnut Dukkah and/or Toasted Sesame & Pistachio Dukkah
• Smoked Paprika Almonds with Sea Salt
• Greek Olives
• Water Crackers
• Fresh Red Grapes
• Fresh Green Apple slices

1. Divide the goat cheese into 6 equal sized portions.  Roll each portion into a ball with your hands.  (I found that having wet hands helps forms the balls and helps the dukkah stick better.)
2. Sprinkle the dukkah on a plate and roll each ball in dukkah until coated.
3. Arrange the cheese, crackers, nuts, olives, and fruit on your platter and serve!