Gettin' figgy with it

I spied, with my little eye, some ripe figs ready to pick.  Well, halleluyah, it's been YEARS since I planted this tree in the backyard.  The drought happened and she never really cared to produce.  Mother Nature gave her a nudge this spring in the form of torrential rain.  Turns out, fig trees love that.

I pulled all of the figs that were ready to go.  I estimate maybe a pounds worth?  This was the most exciting part of my day last Friday.  I'm not even kidding!

Then I re-covered her in the mesh Hubby draped over her.  This has kept the birds and nosy squirrels at bay.  I don't remember my mother having the same issue.  Our fig tree in Galveston was always loaded with figs.  And her fig jam is still my all-time favorite.  She uses Sure-Gel - but I didn't have any of that, so my jam is completely scratch made.

 I used a very simple recipe: Stem and partially peel one pound of figs.  Cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. (I also thinly sliced a lemon)

 Cover them with 1/2 c. sugar and let stand in a non-reactive pot for about twenty minutes.

 Add the juice of one lemon and 1/4 c. water and stir well. 

 Bring to a boil, then simmer over moderate heat for about 20 minutes.

 I let mine simmer a little longer so the jam would turn out thicker.  Maybe thirty minutes.  But I could have let it go even longer.  Next time I will leave out the lemon juice - it was lemony enough without it.

Pour into a large jam jar, let cool, then store in refrigerator.  I am so looking forward to jam on biscuits, toast, cream cheese with crackers...

{Can you believe July is almost half over?!}