Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Do You Give A Fig?

Today's Wonder of the World is...the Fig! And the Fig Tree!

Flickr photo by sonicwalker
Oh, you beautiful fig. There is just something...sensual about you. (Can I say that? I shall!)
I love to look at you in all your swollen loveliness.
Stay just like that, would you please?
I want to remember you just as you are, not sliced open with all your sweet juicy guts hanging out.

Flickr photo by yoshiko314
Yummy, yes, but not so appetizing to the eyes. You remind me of road kill. Or of something an alien started to dissect and eat and then got bored.

No, Fig, I will imagine you whole, naked, just plucked off the tree.
Or maybe stuffed with goat cheese and pecans, wrapped in bacon, and broiled in my oven.
(Sorry pigs, but everything is better wrapped in bacon.)
My, my, it's getting hot in here.

You out there in Blogland, are you similarly taken with the fig?
Have you tried them minus the newton?

Flickr photo by Logan Reil
Although they're not bad like that either! Even one at a time!

I've been thinking about figs because Farmer Ramsey, the love of my life, planted a little fig tree a couple of years ago against the side of our house.

It's grown since then!

Fig trees are AMAZING!
Have you ever seen an old one, its roots bulging out of the ground, snaking and looping around?

Flickr photo by Matt (mistergoleta)

Don't stand too close to a strangler fig. It just might overtake you!

Flickr photo by kozyndan
In a flash, figs would start popping out of your armpits and behind your ears and in other embarrassing places.
Not really. But I like thinking about that anyway.

Fig leaves are nice and big, and would be great for covering things.

Like my reading glasses there. And Adam and Eve's privates.

Here's a close-up of some figs approaching puberty.


And here's a close up of a nut-case chemistry student, post puberty, I think. Maybe not.
(No offense, nut-case, but I think you've eaten too many fig newtons!)

Flickr photo by ajamer
Sorry, but I can't help but put on my Chemistry teacher hat for just a sec. Class, can anyone tell me what the fig newtons symbolize in his diagram? Extra points if you know what molecule he's made!

And now, over in our biology corner, here's a freaky fig fact for you:
The fruit of the fig is not really a fruit at all! More accurately, it's a flower--in fact there are many flowers in one fig! Remember the fig guts? Those tiny pink fleshy things are individual flowers!

Go fig-ure!

Flickr photo by dadadreams.
Thanks, Michelle! Your collages are so much fun!

Have a wonder-full Tuesday, everyone!
Feel like dancing? Stop by here to do the Big Fig Newton!
Love, Becky

23 comments:

a Tonggu Momma said...

Rebecca ~ I've been trying to lose weight and you go and post pictures of FIG NEWTONS?!?!!? Oh well, I still love you anyway.

David Ebright said...

You're flirting with a PG13 rating today. Very funny - Love Fig Newtons wrapped in bacon but not as much as Oreos dipped in ketchup....... rivals 'hot dog roast' for pure flavor.

Suzie said...

I think figs are pretty creepy too. They freak me out espcially fresh ones

Anonymous said...

Becky,
My hubby loves figs. In fact he really wants a fig tree, but for now he just goes and asks people we know if he can pick their fig trees so his wife can make fig preserves, but for right now his diet does not allow fig preserves:(
So, I continue to give preserves away at Christmas to those who cannot do without them, like my sis and my father-in-law. I like eating fig preserves on a big, fluffy, and warm bisquit. I cannot eat figs just by themselves though. The look of its insides and the texture alone gives me the creeps. I only like it when mixed with all that sugar to make preserves. Tammy Whitley

Weeksie50 said...

Eww, I am not a fig fan..

I seen your name on another post and I always like to say Hi to fellow Rebecca's.. I go by Becky though..

Hi

La Belette Rouge said...

Fresh figs are my absolute favorite fruit. I love them!

Unknown said...

Not a figgy person but loved your post anyway. However, I love Fig Newtons and have found the fat-free ones. Yea!!

Anonymous said...

Okay, so what's the deal with figgy pudding in the Christmas carol? I was so hoping you'd get to that!

LW said...

Ode to the fig….

That fig tree with all the roots popping out of the ground is amazing
Love my fig Newtons…but never had a Fresh fig.
Will put this on my list for must have, see and try….

Louise

Rosemary said...

Hi Rebecca,
When I was little we had a fig tree. There is nothing like them right off of the tree.
Love your photos!!
Have a great day,
Rosemary

Adrienne said...

I love figs and fig trees, but the fig beetles that fly around them kind of terrify me.

Anonymous said...

Hi Becky,
Why is it we don't eat figs raw - we love sweet, juicy fruit. Is it because we like to process things more? Certainly they don't taste better after processing and aging, or do they?
Randy

Dadadreams said...

I like Fig Newtons but I adore a fig straight from the tree. Yummy!

the Amateur Book Blogger said...

What a wonderful post!

My parents have a fig tree that is about 5 yards in both width & height, and about 3 deep - no joke! It was given to them as a small, dried up branch sticking out of a pot about fifteen years ago. My brother saved it from the rubbish bin, and planted it in a quiet corner. Now, it rules!

Fresh figs with prosciutto ham and a little oil 'n' balsamico vinegar are my fave to-die-for starter (appetizer).

And here in Bavaria I can recommend a really rich fig 'schnapps' at about 40% proof. A fruity digestif.

I just love the word too. "fig". it sounds so, rounded, and, well, "figgy".

Barb said...

Hi Becky,

While I like fig trees, I couldn't eat a fig if my life depended on it.

It goes back to being pregnant with my first son. Long story short- yuck!

hugs to you and farmer Ramsey,
Barb

lotusgirl said...

Bleh! I can't eat those things. I can gag down a fig newton, but not the real fruit. My mother loves them though. She makes a strawberry fig preserve that is delectable. It's the only way I'll eat them.

The trees are cool looking though. Whoa!

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey y'all. Wow...you either love figs or hate them!
Tonggu momma, sorry about that! But aren't they low in fat? Or is that just wishful thinking? Maybe I thought they were healthy because of the figs!

Jaxpop, I know! What's gotten into me? Maybe it's the figs!
Oreos in ketchup? Sorry, but I cry for wasting an Oreo like that!

Suzie, sorry to creep you out. Be brave and try one!

Hey Tammy! We ought to get our dear husbands together! They could make preserves to their hearts' delight! It took me a while to be brave enough to try them straight off the tree, but they're good!

Hey Becky! Nice to meet you!

la belette! Glad to know you're another fig lover!

Hey Sherry. How are the fat free ones? Very different?

Green Girl, good question! Is it like plum pudding? That's a family Christmas favorite...and out of this world!

Louise, try it. You'll like it!

Hey Rosemary and Adrienne!
Adrienne, you're right. Fig beetles are scary huge. Although you know I've never seen them actually on the fig tree itself!

Randy, I don't know. Maybe it's the texture. It is different. But the taste...yum!

Dadadreams, I love that collage. If I'm not careful I'll eat way too many fig newtons and turn into a fighead myself!

A.Book Blogger, it is amazing to see how fast they grow. You're right--just a couple of years ago it was a stick, and now look at it!
And now I want a fig with prosciutto!

Barb, I can identify. I still have trouble eating at cafeterias thanks to Sam's pregnancy. I won't go into the gory details.

Lotusloq, strawberries go great with figs. And with rhubarb, but that's another post.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

I just read that long comment and am exhausted from all those exclamation points. I just can't help it. Figs bring out the enthusiasm in me. (!)

K. Marie Criddle said...

Rebecca, I love you as dearly as a blog lurker could. You make me find new and glorious things everyday! Figs...beautiful!

Rebecca Ramsey said...

K. Marie, you are a sweetheart.

And people, I know by the deluge of chemistry responses that you're dying to know...it's sucrose! And the fig newtons are covalent bonds.
Now you can sleep tonight.

Unknown said...

I was so happy to discover figs-minus the newtons- as you said! LOL! Boy, did I fall for figs once I realized how delicious they were in their own delicious wholesomeness (minus the newtons, ick).

Awake In Rochester said...

The root on that tree is awesome. I never ate a fig, but I've had fig newtons.

Cindy said...

I do like figs, but Fig Newtons even better. What about dates? As in the fruit...not the other kind. LOL.

c