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ByNancyLindahl Late summer is fig sea- son, and perfect, ripe, black Mission figs are available at Khaki Farms stall at the Farmers Market; fresh Brown Turkey figs at Al Vo- gel's. They seem the right thing for this time of year — all the hot summer days distilled into a jammy, sen- suous sweetness just as the summer ends. Flavor like this takes time to develop, as ob- served by Epictetus: "No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you de- sire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen." A ripe fig should look like it's about to burst its skin, and should give a lit- tle when squeezed. "It must be almost unctuously sweet, soft and wet", according to Israeli chef, Yotam Otto- lenghi. Figs don't ripen after they're picked, so choose perfectly ripe ones and use them right away, or refrig- erate for as short a time as possible. If you're thinking, "figs have already been in season this year," there are two fig seasons: the first small crop is known as the breba that occurs in May; the second harvest begins in August with more vol- ume, variety and flavor than the breba figs, and continues as long as No- vember, depending on the weather. Figs don't need a lot of fussing to be enjoyed — "To eat figs off the tree in the very early morning, when they have been barely touched by the sun, is one of the exquisite pleasures of the Mediterranean," says British food writer Eliza- beth David in "An Omelet and a Glass of Wine." However, there are some flavors that play off fig's sweetness and enhance the fig flavor: black pep- per, tangy greens like arugula, goat cheese, pro- sciutto, sea salt, balsamic vinegar, and blue cheese to name a few. Three ways I like to use fresh figs as an appetizer or on a cheese plate: Figcrostini Freshsmallfigssimply quartered are delicious paired with blue cheese or goat cheese on a cheese plate, or sliced and stacked on a crostini: Ingredients: Good crusty bread with a loose crumb like Tin Roof's Multi Grain, or Miller's Bake House Almond Raisin Fresh ripe figs A Tablespoon or two of half and half or whipping cream to lighten the goat cheese Room temperature goat cheese Good quality balsamic vinegar A few sprigs of mint Directions: Toast slices of bread under the broiler, for many crostini, or in a toaster, if you're mak- ing a couple of slices for lunch. While bread is toast- ing, combine room tempera- ture, so goat cheese with a little cream, and spread the mixture to the very edges of the toasted bread. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the goat cheese. Quarter the ripe figs, or slice crosswise if they are large, and stack the pieces on top of the goat cheese. Drizzle a tiny bit of balsamic over the fig slices and gar- nish with a few torn fresh mint leaves. Recipe idea from Melissa Clark. Figs on Brie Ingredients: Lightly roasted fresh figs spooned on top of sliced brie are a pretty way to enhance a cheese platter: 8figs — sliced 1wedge of Brie — cut them in thick slices 1/3 cup honey Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Place sliced figs in a baking dish and put them in the oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the figs get so . For easy cleanup, place sliced Brie on parchment paper then carefully place the warm figs on the cheese and drizzle with honey. The warm figs so ened the Brie just enough without melting it. Serve with whole wheat toasts, almonds, and red grapes. Stuffed figs with goat cheese and prosciutto A bit more elaborate, these stuffed figs can be served as an hors-d'oeuvre or on a bed of arugula as a salad. The cheese is warm, oozy, and tangy, the figs sweet and a little citrusy, the prosciutto crisp with a touch of salt. Eat with your fingers and Accompany with a crusty baguette. I skipped the honey, but use your own taste. Recipe by TasteFood, October 2009 Serve Serves 4as a first course Ingredients: 8figs, ripe but not too so ½ — 1cup so goat cheese, room temperature 4pieces prosciutto, sliced in half length-wise 8sprigs rosemary, 1inch pieces Extra-virgin olive oil 8teaspoons runny honey Salt Freshly ground black pepper Preheat oven to 350F. Directions: Cut the figs cross-wise from the top, halfway down the fruit. Gently separate the quarters to create an opening. Scoop 2-3teaspoons goat cheese into the opening, without overstuffing. Wrap each fig with pro- sciutto slice. Arrange figs on baking tray. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each fig with rosemary sprig. Bake in oven 25minutes. Remove and discard baked rosemary sprigs. Transfer figs to serving plat- ter or individual plates. Drizzle each fig with 1 teaspoon honey and garnish with fresh rosemary. Warm fig and blue cheese salad Or use figs in this won- derful salad that plays salty against sweet, warm against cool and soft against crisp: Serves 4 Ingredients: 6cups curly endive, esca- role, arugula or romaine, cut into 2-inch-long pieces 4thick slices bacon, cut into small cubes 2tablespoons olive oil 1shallot, minced 8ripe black Mission figs, halved 3tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1teaspoon Dijon mustard Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese Directions: Pile the endive or romaine into a large serving bowl. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan and pour off all but 1tablespoon bacon fat. Add the olive oil, followed by the shallots. Let cook for 1 minute, then move the shal- lots to one side of the pan. Lay the figs, cut side down in the other half of the pan. You want the figs to just warm through and lightly toast on the edges, about 2 minutes. Control the heat so the shallots don't brown. Remove the figs to a plate. Add the vinegar and sugar to the pan and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the mustard. Pour the shallot mixture over the greens. Add the bacon. Season with salt and pepper and toss until the greens are well coated and beginning to soften on the edges. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add the figs and sprinkle with blue cheese. Recipe by Amanda Hesser. If you love the flavor of figs, look for fig balsamic vinegar, fig cake, a dense compound of dried figs and almonds from Spain, fig and black olive tapenade, fig chutney, and fig jam by our local Mountain Fruit jam company. SWEET BASIL AND THE BEE Latesummerisfigseason PHOTO BY NANCY LINDAHL Brown Turkey figs stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with prosciutto, ready to go in the oven. PHOTO BY NANCY LINDAHL Black Mission figs. By Michelle Locke AssociatedPress NAPA The first pinot noir grapes of the season came in to Trefethen Family Vineyards as usual, glisten- ing purple mounds stacked in white bins. Well, almost as usual. This year, harvest workers donned safety vests and hard hats in deference to their proximity to a circa 1886 building left sagging at the knees by the magni- tude-6.0 earthquake that hit Aug. 24. But with the building propped up, the harvest went on, here and elsewhere in the Napa Val- ley. No one is minimizing the quake — dozens of people were injured, historic build- ings were damaged, riv- ers of wine were lost, and early estimates put the loss at $360 million — but the impact on the harvest it- self, and therefore the wine made from it, is expected to be relatively small. Part of that is timing. With harvest about to start, many wineries already had bottled their 2012 and 2013 wines, which meant they were securely boxed and shrink-wrapped. Some wineries did lose significant amounts of wine, but consumers aren't expected to notice an over- all drop in supply since this year's harvest follows two successive big crops and comes at the end of what has been a favorable growing season despite the state's deepening drought. Still, looking at winer- ies individually, there was some dramatic damage. At The Hess Collection, a winery renowned for its art collection as well as its wines, a brown sandstone path turned purple after gallons of 2013 cabernet sauvignon gushed out of two ruptured 10,000-gal- lon tanks. And a crack in the wall of an old stone building meant guest oper- ations had to be moved to other parts of the winery grounds, but none of that stopped harvest. "It is, in fact, wonderful to be distracted from the unexpected craziness of the earthquake to the expected and very much planned for craziness of harvest," said Hess spokesman Jim Cau- dill. Some wineries with damaged equipment were scrambling to find replace- ments via an online help fo- rum hosted by the Napa Val- ley Vintners, a 500-member trade association. The as- sociation donated $10 mil- lion to create a disaster re- lief fund for residents and businesses. Harvest is peak tour- ist season and most ho- tels and restaurants were open and events going on as scheduled, including the 20th annual Music Festival for Brain Health hosted by Staglin Family Vineyard Sept. 13-14 which features singer Jewel and is expected to draw more than 1,000. "We felt it in Rutherford for sure, but we were rela- tively lucky with only some minor equipment issues and a few broken bottles," said Shari Staglin. Now back to normal, they "really never considered postpon- ing or canceling. Our festi- val is one of the most sig- nificant gatherings of scien- tists and researchers in the world, plus it's a lot of fun, which is something we need right now." Of course, some damage can't be fixed, like the loss of "library wines," bottles from past vintages. At the Saintsbury winery on the southern end of the Napa Valley, more than 400 library wines shattered, bad news for the winery and for those who enjoy its prized pinot noirs and chardon- nays. Barrels fell, most of them empty, and the water tank ruptured, but harvest was delayed only a few days. "By dint of a lot of hard work and everybody pitch- ing in, we're ready to have all the happy excitement that the first grapes bring to anybody," said David W. Graves, Saintsbury co- founder. GRAPES Ea rt hq ua ke j ol ts , do es n' t st op 2 01 4 Na pa h ar ve st ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS In this photo taken Friday, cellar workers wear safety vests and hard hats while harvesting Pinot Noir grapes at Trefethen Family Vineyards in Napa. In this photo taken Friday, cellar workers sort Pinot Noir grapes on the first day of harvest at Saintsbury winery in Napa. 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