Yesterday morning I was rudely awoken by the sound of crows outside my bedroom window, great start to my Labor Day lie in. The crows were chomping down on the nice juicy figs hanging off the tree in my back yard. I decided that was it, if I wasn’t going to get my lie in, they weren’t going to get my figs and so begun and unplanned day of Fig chutney and preserve making. I toyed with the idea of making a nice fig and goat cheese tart, figs wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with Manchego cheese or even a lovely chocolate and fig pie, but I resisted. All of the above would haunt me in the refrigerator for the next week saying ‘eat me, eat me’ when I’m trying not to. With the chutneys and preserves I would have the satisfaction of using up all my lovely ripe figs but not consuming them all that day. I had a couple of dusty boxes of jam jars out in garage so all I needed were the lids and rims. After trying a few grocery stores I found them for a couple of dollars.

First up was the chutney, I used the slightly firmer figs and modified a number of recipes I found, to one that was to my liking and to the spices in my cupboard. I’ll have to wait a few weeks to really see how it tasted, next was the preserve, all the recipes I found had different ratios of fruit to sugar, I prefer preserves slightly tarter but you always need to have enough sugar to properly preserve the fruit for months to come. Almost all the recipes also called for thinly sliced lemon, so in it went along with some sugar and a small piece of cinnamon stick. The recipes are below so give them a try! Looking forward to my next batch of canning and preserving, my pantry should be filled in no time for those last minute ‘very thoughtful’ holiday gifts. To find out more figgy facts here

Fig Chutney
1 cup red wine vinegar
11/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 pound light brown sugar
1 onion, chopped
11/2 inch grated fresh ginger
½ tsp fennel seeds
1/4 lemon, zested
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 star anise
1 canned chipotle in adobo (remove before canning)
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 1/4 pounds firm, slightly under ripe fresh figs, rinsed, stems removed and halved

In a large saucepan combine the vinegar, sugar, onion, ginger, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, salt, chipotle and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until mixture is thickened and reduced by 2/3, forming a thick syrup. Add the figs and cook gently until the figs are very soft and beginning to fall apart and most of the liquid they’ve given off has evaporated, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the chutney into air tight containers and store in fridge or freezer for about 3 weeks, or you can store it in sterilized hot glass jars and then place in canner for 10 minutes.
Fig Preserve
4 Cups whole figs
2 Cups sugar
2 Lemons, thinly sliced with seeds removed
1 Cup water
1 pinch salt
½ cinnamon stick
Wash figs in water. Rinse well and drain.
In a large, heavy pot, add all the above ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer. Simmer for 40 minutes or until very thick and jam like. I like to test a spoon full of jam on a cold saucer and place it on the freezer. If after a couple of minutes the jam has set I know it is almost ready if it is still runny it needs further cooking. Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, seal with hot lids and bands, and process in boiling water bath or canner for 10 minutes.

Figs have the highest overall mineral content of all common fruits. A 40 gram (1/4 cup) serving provides 244 mg of potassium (7% of the DV), 53 mg of calcium (6% of the DV) and 1.2 mg of iron (6% of the DV).Of the approximately five grams of fiber per serving of California figs, four grams are insoluble and one gram is water-soluble.

So finally the day has come, www.inyourkitchen.com is live! An idea over dinner with a friend just over a year ago has materialized and inyourkitchen.com is launched.

There are over 100 videos of top chefs, wine makers and food purveyors filmed on location in their kitchens, vineyards, stores and warehouses.
So far we have filmed in San Diego and Napa Valley but we are already planning our next locations. If you have any ideas for our next shoot or know a really great chef or food fanatic that should be featured on the site just let me know. Don’t forget that you can become a member and share your own food videos with other members.

This month we have partnered with Parade magazine to bring you Parade In Your Kitchen. You will find all the recipes featured in Parade magazine’s ‘What America Eats’ issue on the Parade In Your Kitchen pages and videos to accompany each recipe. This month features some great guilt free desserts. I’ve tried them all, they tasted great and I have to say there were no feelings of guilt after!

We hope that www.inyourkitchen.com will be a fun, interactive and entertaining way to cook,

Enjoy!

Diane

Hi and welcome to the In Your Kitchen website!

“Eating well and having the opportunity to enjoy preparing the food we eat is something which we hope to bring to a wide audience with www.inyourkitchen.com.”

Come share our passion for food and eating through an hd video experience.

Diane Stopford

This week has been really crazy. I returned from last week’s shoot in LA and a quick weekend in Vancouver (great food) and went straight into planning our Parade Inyourkitchen.com shoot on Thursday. You may have noticed that Inyourkitchen.com features Parade Magazine and Parade.com’s ‘What America Eats’ Issues and produces the recipe videos to accompany them.
On Thursday we had Fran Carpentier , Senior Editor at Parade Magazine fly out us here in San Diego to film the outdoor grilling recipe videos for their May 18th issue.
Although it turned out to be a very long day we had great fun at the shoot. Fran was life and soul of the party and kept everyone entertained. We filmed in the beautiful backyard of Marsha and Howie Berkson the owners of Anthology Restaurant (if you love great food and music at a stunning location you should check it out). I also have to thank everyone at Macy’s Home for supplying us with everything that you would need for a summer outdoor grilling party. All table scapes from the shoot are available at macys.com. So after all that it’s now time for a week of editing and recipe writing. Look out for our new summer grilling videos next Sunday.

Did you know that April is Grilled Cheese month? No….me neither but it gives me the perfect excuse to indulge in one of my favorite comfort foods. Back home in Ireland we call them ‘toasted cheese sambos’ and usually make them in a sandwich toaster similar to this Cuisinart Brushed Chrome Sandwich Grill . Before the days of Gastro Pubs this is about all you would find to eat in an Irish pub with your pint. If you’re lucky you might even get a toasted ham and cheese. To make the sandwich, just butter the bread on both sides slap your cheese in between and put straight on the hot irons. We used to also add sweet fillings for dessert like pureed apple or jam but then you’re missing the cheese part!
If Ireland had the toasted cheese sambo then Italy has the panini, Mexico has the quesadilla, France has the croque monsieur and Cuba the cubano. I’m sure most countries have their own variation of it but here is a recipe for one of my takes on the classic grilled cheese, Grilled Oaxacan Cheese Sandwich with Green Chili Salsa . It’s adapted from a Rick Bayless appetizer recipe that I think makes for a great sandwich any time.