The Fig

ABC Wednesday
The letter is F and F is for Fig

A recipe for enjoying this most ancient of fruits. - a gift of pleasure and necessity to humans and wildlife alike;

a main role player in the story of Adam and Eve (with what would they have covered themselves if the fig leaf had not been available? Rhubarb?  I think not.) and in my memory a wonderful delicacy at Christmas time.

The purple, green and white hues,

Tender, succulent.

Cato advocated the conquest of Carthage

to make them the property of Rome.

Sliced on plate, balsamic vinegar

drizzled across their mauve interiors

wrapped in prosciutto di Parma,

as a babe in its blanket,

diced and spread within the salads of the garden

on a platter with goat cheese, thin crackers,

dried,

with sweet spices, ginger, cinnamon and cloves,

the sharpness of lemon and orange,

figs and ricotta crostini,

grilled with some tenderness

sprinkled with olive oil,

vanilla pistachio fig tart,

all of this, yet I prefer to sit beneath the tree

my white handkerchief unwrapped

my harvest nestled in my lap

my mind at ease

the fig -

thankful that God did not deign this tree

the forbidden one.

Ray Brown

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