I have been very pleased with the recipes in the recent Moosewood cookbook, the 2009 Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health. I cannot recommend the publication enough to my epicurean friends.  A dear longtime friend of ours came for dinner earlier this week we prepared a feast for three. This recipe from Moosewood's Cooking for Health was served as a dessert, but can be made for an appetizer, brunch, or buffet. Fresh or dried figs are a nutrient rich fruit, high in calcium, and fiber. Bookmark this recipe the next time you're having a small party. You can easily prepare and stuff the figs in advance and bake them just before serving.

I prefer Calimyrna figs but in a bind I use Black Mission figs. Black mission figs are easier to find. The organic variety is available in the Nature's Marketplace at Giant food stores. In this recipe, the size of the black mission figs is a bonus, they lend themselves nicely to a bite size dessert or appetizer. 

The cookbook author didn't recommend a particular honey, but greek honey is strong and complements the flavors of the citrus zest. If you have it available, use it in place of the traditional clover honey. If greek honey is not available add anise seed as I did to the recipe.

Stuffed Dried Figs with Chèvre, Honey, Anise, and Pistachios
A variation from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health, 2009, page 315

20 dried figs
1 teaspoon grated orange or lemon zest
1- 4oz package of Chèvre or fresh goat cheese, soft, unflavored
1 1/2 tablespoon creamy honey or greek honey (divided)- I use an opaque, creamy raps flower variety from Germany
1 1/4 tsp whole anise seed (divided)
2 tablespoons pistachios, shelled

Prepare the figs. Remove the tough stem. Slice each fig from the top twice to make an x. Don't cut the entire way through the fig. Open the figs like a flower.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a small baking dish by lightly spraying it with olive oil or rubbing a very small amount into the bottom. If you want your figs soft, as I liked them, bake them at 325. If you want them crunchy on the outside, preheat the oven to 400 degrees as the Moosewood authors recommend.

Place the cheese in a small mixing bowl. Mix the lemon zest, half of the honey, half of the anise seed into the cheese and mix together. Place into the refrigerator to allow the cheese to become firm if it is too soft to stuff the figs.

Open each fig and place a generous teaspoon of cheese into the middle of each fig flower. Line the figs into the baking dish. Place the pistachios on top, and drizzle with the remaining honey. Sprinkle the remaining anise seed on top. I often rub the anise seed in my hands as I sprinkle to release a pleasant aroma. Place into the oven and bake for 15 mins, or until hot, soft, and aromatic. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Since coming back from Germany, Matt and I have gone through two packs of sunflower seed bread, an entire jar of creamy, white, clover honey, Jacob's Kaffee, and two containers of Quark as part of our daily breakfast to remind us of our stay in Germany.

In Berlin and Görlitz, we stayed with friends, and in other cities, we stayed in Hostels and Pensions.  No matter where we stayed each morning we enjoyed fresh dense rolls (called Brötchen), butter, jams, spreads, fruit, cheese, müsli, and different types of dried meats. The array of meats to place on top of the roll could include liverwurst, sausage, and dried ham. Occasionally Quark would be placed on the table as well. It is a cross between sour cream and creme fraiche, sometimes mixed with herbs or left plain.   

At the Beneke home, Thekla provided us with many different options for breakfast before she would go into work. Plums are in season, and she made Pflaumenmus (plum butter), a thick spread made with plums, cinnamon and sugar.  It is boiled down and cooked for a few hours in a very similar fashion as our Pennsylvania German Apple Butter. I heartily spread it on top of my Brötchen, and I even put it on top of my Müsli with fruit salad.

At the Kempgen home, they provided us with a large bread basket full of thin rye breads, and seed breads. There was a large selection of homemade and brand jellies, including strawberry, elderberry and raspberry jam.  Jacob's instant coffee was served along side with at least three kinds of fruit nectar and juice. I would take a thin piece of the sunflower seed bread and spread the thick white creamy Raps Klee Honig on top. It is common to take a half of roll, spread butter or quark on top and place a fruit spread or honey on top of the cream. The Raps Klee Honig, the canola clover honey from Canada was crystallized, white and had a sweet taste and slightly raw, rough texture. It was delicious. I packed a jar in my return baggage and opened it upon my arrival back in the states, now after two weeks it is almost gone.

Where to find:
I have been unable to find the exact same white honey that I enjoyed in Görlitz, but I have been able to find various raw crystallized honeys. The Brötchen rolls I'll have to try to make myself. The folks at Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day have a recipe that you can adjust to make a similar dense roll. The 1/4inch thin, dense, seed loafs that I enjoyed with honey on top can be found at the German Deli website or in the International Foods Section at Wegmans. Quark is made at the Vermont Farm and Cheese Company, I've been able to buy small containers at Wegmans. Due to dairy regulations Quark is unable to be imported from Germany to the United States. 

This morning I started my day with a thin piece of Seitenbacher's Farmer's Sourdough Bread with a spread of the creamy honey. When the honey runs out, I'll be back to my everyday whole wheat and flaxseed cereal with soymilk or porridge.