Shipped to Michigan

Twice the fruit/half the sugar preserves are developing a cross-country following! Our friend Elizabeth Lopez had us ship six jars of our latest preserves to Dearborn, Michigan. Elizabeth and two of her children flew there this summer to join her husband David, who has been working in Detroit.
Her family loves our fruit-first preserves so much, that they did not want to be without them in Michigan.We shipped our Bing Cherry , Strawberry (David's favorite), and Apricot preserves, all of which are made from locally-grown fruit, and our Plum preserves, made from organic plums that we grow ourselves.

We also grow our own peaches and New Zealand nectarines organically, and even though our production was slim this year, we offer white peach preserves, Elberta peach preserves and a compound: Peach and New Zealand Nectarine preserves.

Elizabeth also wanted us to ship some of our Pickled Jalapenos, but we are all sold out. We'll have to get busy putting up those pickled peppers!

Some Fantastic Ideas of what to do with Fig Preserves

Some of my readers aren't quite sure what to do with fig preserves. Let me tell you: fig preserves are extremely on trend right now!

Romano's {Macaroni Grill} where my daughter Amber works as a server, features fig preserves with rustic bread, prosciutto, and fresh crumbled Parmesan cheese. Yum!

Here is an other idea that comes from The Pantry Project in Relish magazine. I have worked as a recipe tester for Relish, and I know that they have some very good ideas. And I'll tell you a secret that every amazing cook knows: Any recipe can be tweaked a little! Even ever so slightly -- substitute a bit of something else, or a teaspoon more of what is asked for--and it's your own! That's a (not so subtle) hint about my business: I substitute fresh organic fruit for the excessive amounts of sugar called for in most recipes for preserves.

But ... I digress. Here is the recipe for Pork with Fig Preserves:
Combine 1/2 cup Twice the Fruit/Half the Sugar Fig Preserves with 3 tablespoons soy sauce (or use a 1/4 cup-what the heck!), 2 crushed garlic cloves (um-I think I'll use five or six cloves), and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Roast 2 (1-pound) whole pork tenderloins 15 minutes at 375F. Brush with fig mixture during last 5 minutes of roasting. Serves 8.

Well, the Relish recipe says it serves 8. At my house that would be more like 6, with some leftovers. Also, in my KitchenAid convection oven, which cooks very hot, I'd cook it at 300-325F.

Don't forget fig preserves make a wonder filling for bar cookies. Or roll out your dough, spread on some fig preserves, seal and bake and you have your own Fig Newtons!