I’ve had a jar of fig paste in the cupboard for ages.  I think I bought it in San Francisco at Cost Plus, but it also could have been something picked up at Wegman’s.  I tend to unconsciously pick up jars of this-and-that.  And after our shopping trip today, I’m thinking the cabinets shall be falling off the wall at any moment.  Victor and I both went shopping together at Wegmans, today. I hadn’t been in a while since it’s now out of my way since I do Monday shopping for his mom, but I wanted to pick up a few things because lord knows, we didn’t have enough cans and jars on the shelves already!   I spent a lot less that I expected to, but more than I needed to.   I brought some things down to the basement knowing I wouldn’t be using them before fall…

“Hello.  My name is Tim.  I’m a food shopper.”

Okay…  It’s not really that bad…  Mostly.

We do have a no-regrets rule.  We buy it, we eat it.  And I will use those blocks of Guava Paste one of these days… Maybe a Guava-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Cilantro-Jalapeño Salsa or some such thing.  And the score of Asian and Indian pastes?!?  I’m getting there as soon as the weather changes.  Hot curries and spicy soups and stews are the things of winter.

The fig paste coming off the shelves was really to make room for the new jar of Onions in Balsamic and since I had it in my hand, it was time to use it.

I was originally thinking fig paste and goat cheese as a stuffing, but the final result was:

  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 link Italian sausage, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup fig paste
  • 1/4 cup diced fresh mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 tbsp parsley
  • salt and pepper

I sauteed the onion, added the sausage and cooked it through.  I put it into a bowl, let it cool a bit, added the fig paste, cheese, and walnuts and a bit of salt and pepper.

I pounded chicken breasts, stuffed them, rolled them up and put into a 365° oven for 30 minutes.

While they were cooking, I sauteed some mushrooms, added a splash of Marsala and let it cook down, added a cup of chicken stock, let it cook down a bit and thickened it with a bit of cornstarch.  Instant mushroom sauce.

Whole-grain rice on the side.

The cabinets are full.  Time to start doing some serious cooking!