What's The Fig Deal?

B and I have a beautiful fig tree in our yard. When we moved into our little house, the tree was cut back and pretty barren. We weren't even sure it was a fig tree until the figs started to come in. The tree now boasts large branches full of big ol' leaves and loads of figs. I think it's so pretty.

I would love to make use of at least a small portion of the abundance of figs that are ripe (and are not being eaten by birds or perhaps other sinister creatures which shall not be named). Problem is, I'm not all that familiar with figs, overall. For instance, I did not know, until I browsed through the California Figs website, that "although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself. The seeds are drupes, or the real fruit." Say what? Hey, I grew up in Hawaii- we don't really see much of those there. Avocado, papaya, guava, starfruit, mountain apple, lychee trees, yes - fig trees, not so much.

Fig Newtons, or more recently (and more yummy in my opinion) Fig Newmans are about the extent of my first hand fig appreciation. I have never cooked or baked with fresh figs. However, if it's not sweltering this weekend and I have time, I may experiment with a from-scratch version of this fig cookie classic. I am also open to recipe suggestions- if you know of a stellar fig-related recipe that I should try, let me know!

And is it just me, or does this close-up of a fig leaf vaguely remind anyone else of Carmelita:

Carmelita is coming along, BTW, slowly but surely. I'm so happy I decided to go back and re-knit. She continues to grow, and looks better than ever! I've also finished one Crusoe sock (yay!) and I hope to have its mate done in the next day or two, so I can snap some WIP pics over the weekend. I can't wait for you to see them!