Figs, Eggplant, and Snow Peas

Exciting new produce coming in from the garden recently...

Here's the harvest from October 2.  In the middle, there are 2 kinds of eggplant, and directly above them, a brown turkey fig.  Just to the left of the fig are the first of the fall snow peas.

My brown turkey fig tree has
been in the ground for a little over 2 years.  Next to it is a Celeste fig tree that I planted the spring of 2012.  This spring, I thought they were both dead.  The brown turkey had produced 3 or 4 figs last year, but we'd had some hard freezes over the winter, and the branches were all dead.  However, sometime in late April, new branches started pushing out of the ground.  The brown turkey spread out close to the ground, pushing branches out in 4 directions. The Celeste went straight up.  It's now 7 or 8 feet tall.  Both of them have lots of figs on them, and they are now finally ripening.  We're getting about a fig a day.

The brown turkeys are on the right and left above.  They are my favorite when fully ripe...soft, lush, and with a deep sweetness that always makes me think of honey.  The Celeste is in the middle.  It has a lighter, more complicated flavor.

Here's my most recent harvest, from October 6...

So, from left to right we've got Chinese noodle beans, tomatoes, eggplant, snow peas, bell peppers, pole beans, figs, banana peppers, and a few Thai hot peppers.

I recently roasted eggplant directly on hot coals.  I roasted it for ten minutes, turning it 3 times. When I took it off, the skin was charred and flaked or peeled right off.  The flesh was soft and smoky.  I really liked it with a little vinagrette, but in all honesty the rest of the family did not.

The snow peas are a real treat.  I prefer them raw.  It's hard not to eat them as I pick them.