Hi Sal, those figs did not ripen . This plant overall is somewhat of slow grower for me and wants to grow like a bush but i wont let it. It has only the two side branches as i kept the others pruned off and left figs on to get an idea of what they looked like somewhat i was curious.Hopefully this season i get to taste a few figs. One of the branches will be air layered for a member that asked last season and if that person reads this please email me. The other has to stay for now. This is my second favorite plant to look at and shape . Only a few plants now i can let grow decent size because of limited storage space this one will be one of the bigger ones if the figs taste good to me. One day its my hope to be live in a climate where most my plants will be inground and not so darn constrained in a pot. Best Health Martin

When I was a kid, I would go to Virginia with my mom for the months of July and August each year. We lived in NJ at that time. I was an infant the first time I went for a visit and went each year after that. My grandparents had two large fig trees in their back yard and they were against a high board fence where it formed the right back corner of the yard. They were large, brown figs. No special care was given them and they grew just fine over the years. When I was tiny, my grandmother would sit at the small table under the one window in the kitchen and peel the figs and put them into a bowl. As fast as she would be peeling them, I would be reaching up over the edge of the table and taking the peeled figs and eating them. I was never scolded for that--Such a sweet, patient grandma, she was. They laughed at the number of figs such a tiny girl could eat. We would go out and pluck them right from the trees when I was a little older. We would split open the fig skins and eat the pulp off the insides of them and toss the skins away. They were so good and sweet. One person recently said she thinks they may have been Brown Turkey figs because they were evidently cold-hardy, growing with no real care in Newport News, VA, which is on the DelMarVa Peninsula. I now live in Lafayette, LA and have two trees that I think are Celestes, but not sure. One tree came from a friend who went to the property where she lived as a child. They had a big fig tree there where several funny stories of hers came from. The house is gone now, but the big tree is still on the vacant lot. Several years ago, she went to visit the tree and dug up several suckers and took them home. She gave me one and I've named it, Legacy. It's a tough little tree. The other, I got when I went to a craft show here. I was buying some fig preserves and saw a little fig tree in a pot and asked if the man was selling fig trees because my first tree had to be dug up when we built a workshop out back and I missed it so much. He said he wasn't selling trees, that he had brought that one to Lafayette to give to someone, but the person never showed up and I could have it. When I asked him how much it was, he said to just take it. That would keep him from having to cart it back to North Louisiana with them. I've named that one, Lagniappe, which means, "The gift," or, "A little something extra." (Has anyone else ever named their fig trees?) Whenever my figs ripen, I go out back and pick some and when I'm savoring them, I think back to the wonderful times in VA, with my mom's family. Sometimes, I just go out and like to smell the leaves--They have such a special scent to them--Takes me right back to my visits in VA, as well.

i don't enjoy making a potato salad but i certainly enjoy eating it! however, if you want something different and good, i do have a couple of T & T recipes posted by forum friends: Bruschetta Orzo Salad cindy ny 1 cup orzo pasta 2 tomatoes, chopped 1/2 cup chopped red onion 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil opt: kalamata olives, feta, tuna 3 T Balsamic vinegar 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 T olive oil Freshly ground pepper, to taste Cook pasta according to package directions for about 8 minutes, or until just tender; drain. Combine dressing ingredients. Place hot pasta in large bowl and toss with a little dressing; cool about 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add remaining ingredients and dressing to bowl and toss to mix well. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature. White Bean Dip with Pita Chips -- Lori 1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons 1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves Salt Freshly ground black pepper 6 pitas 1 teaspoon dried oregano Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl. (Note: The dip will turn green in a relatively short time due to the fresh parsley.) Cut each pita in half and then into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining oil over the pitas. Toss and spread out the wedges evenly. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color. Serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside the bean puree. Spinach Brownies sheshebop 1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed 16 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded **I used 8 oz and that was plenty. 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking powder 1 cup flour 2 eggs, beaten 4 T. butter, melted 1 cup milk I also added 1/8 tsp nutmeg Preheat oven to 350. Spray 8 x 12 baking pan with cooking spray. Drain spinach in colander and squeeze out excess moisture. Combine cheese, spinach, and onion in large bowl. Mix. Stir salt and baking powder into flour and mix with the spinach. Mix eggs, butter, milk and stir into other ingredients. Pour into pan. Bake for 30 minutes Pizza Rustica (4 whole pies!) From Sue (Cookingrvc) 4 lb Whole-milk ricotta 1 C Grated Romano cheese 8 Large eggs 2 lb Whole-milk mozzarella -- cubed 1 Italian pinwheel sausage - plain -- cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces -- (Can use regular sausage - remove casing, cook in fry pan) 1 lb Genoa salami or Supresata -- sliced 1/4" thick, diced. 8 Hard-boiled eggs -- diced 8 Pie crust - deep dish -- 4 will be used for upper crust 1 Egg wash (1 Egg - beaten w/2 T. water) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thaw pie shells for 15-30 minutes. In a large mixing bowl (I use a Kitchen Aide mixer) add ricotta and grated cheese - mix well Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add mozzarella, pinwheel sausage, and salami - mix well. Fold in hard-boiled eggs. Divide filling among 4 pie shells. Cut the crimped edges off the remaining shells and invert over each filled pie shell. Be sure to cover all of filling. Cut 8 slits in each top crust. Brush crust with egg wash. Place in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 325 and cook for 45 minutes more. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate. NOTES : The pie will taste salty straight from the oven. Flavors need time to mellow. Tastes best when cooled and refrigerated for 24 hours.

I wish adellabedella! He's a cardiologist and even if he wasn't, she's a health conscience eater. They send food to work for the lab to consume :( It'd break my heart to make something for them, knowing they'd just give it away. Ok, they'd pProbably give it away. Someone tried to give my son a gift card and they wanted me to sign up for a monthly fee based thing along with my SSN. Nope! Heck no! Talk about a waste! I wish I knew how to get one without all that buisness with it. I might get them my trusted bottle of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. Can't go wrong with that, with pears and cheese. She's a gardener, he's not. They travel, but they're GPS-ers and flight users (I love to thumb through atlas, like I do encyclopedias). These are all great gifts, though. You see why I am stuck! But we can use these ideas for other small gift ideas. Y'all tried! I know. I appreciate it! La bien! Ha! That's another work one. But I love getting those Christmas socks. Really, my favorite.