A coworker of mine has a fig tree. She asked me if I wanted to have a portion. I thought they might be a good source of inspiration. I wanted to make something completely new to me, but I’ve made my share of preserves so I started by turning the figs into preserves. A Google search of layer bars gave me an oatmeal strawberry bar recipe that was made out of strawberry preserves from which I could work with. I added more flour and oatmeal. Then I split the dough into two parts. The bottom I added a couple of eggs to to make it more cakey, and the top I made like a streusal. I also added sweetened condensed milk as an additional layer. On to the recipe…

Ingredients:

Bottom:

• 1 cup all purpose or cake flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Streusal top:

• 1/2 cup butter kept refrigerator cold and cubed (about 1 cm)
• 1 cup all purpose or cake flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Additional ingredients:

• 8 to 12 oz fruit preserves
• 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

Instructions:

1. Grease 9 x 13 inch pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In medium bowl combine one cup flour, one cup oatmeal, baking powder, and salt with whisk.
3. Set aside.
4. Using room temperature eggs and butter, begin by making the bottom.
5. With mixer beat butter until whipped.
6. Add sugar and beat for at least a minute.
7. Add eggs either pre beaten or one at a time until each is fully incorporated.
8. Add dry ingredients a little bit at a time until all of them are beaten in.
9. Pour cake mixture into pan and spread evenly over the bottom.
10. Spread preserves in a layer over cake batter.
11. In medium bowl using a pastry knife or in a food processor combine one cup flour, one cup oatmeal, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well.
12. Add cubed butter and either cut in or pulse depending on your method until mixture forms clumps.
13. Sprinkle half of streusal mixture over layers already in the 9 x 13 inch pan.
14. Pour sweetened condensed milk over first half of streusal mixture.
15. Sprinkle remaining streusal mixture over sweetened condensed milk.
16. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
17. Allow to cool completely. Portion and serve.

The hardest thing about soups in my opinion is the broth. For the solids of a soup it’s just about cooking them optimally, which might mean for me to never cook them with the soup. The broth is trickier in that not many things make a good broth without a lot of manipulation. I’ve found the immersion blender to be very helpful in creating broths, but here I just use a regular blender. Soups might have been even more common in times past. To me it seems very plausible that many of a hunter’s kill would not need a lot of attention or creativity to end up as a soup. Basically add some water and cook the kill over the hearth fire and stir occasionally. Add some of the vegetables from your garden to make it even better. Anyways on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• One large can tomato sauce
• One large can peeled tomatoes
• 2 medium cans great northern beans
• 2 medium cans diced tomatoes
• 10 cloves garlic
• 1 habanero
• 2 bags spinach
• 1 pound smoked sausage
• 2 cups water

Instructions:

1. Puree peeled tomatoes, garlic, habanero, and salt and pepper to taste in blender until smooth.
2. Pour pureed mixture, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, and water in large crockpot.
3. Mix and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours.
4. Slice smoked sausage in thin disks and fry. Set aside.
5. Unplug crockpot and add spinach.
6. Cook until wilted.
7. Add smoked sausage to pot and serve.