Fig and Blackberry Crostata....am I a sugar addict?

I made this crostata a few weeks ago with the last of the good blackberries, and at a time when figs were at their peak. No, it's not a pizza. It is, indeed, a crostata.

Being one to believe that more is more, I may have misread (ignored) the instructions to leave at least a 5cm wide border all around the sides. As a result, there was not enough to cover enough of the fruits to sufficiently transform what is meant to be a freeform pie into the work of art called a crostata.

J had a birthday last Tuesday. No, I did not make him anything special. In self defense though, I did ask if he wanted me to make anything for his birthday. His answered no. And being someone who never takes things at face value, I began to wonder if his lack of enthusiasm for my food is directly related to the fact that I only ever make sweet foods. While I am more than happy to munch on sweets all day--- which I do on a frequent basis, forgoing main, proper meals in place of sugary goodness---J has a (much) lower threshold for sweet things. He likes a few mouthfuls here and there, but on an average day, I'd say that three servings of anything sweet is his limit of sugar intake in one sitting. Which works for me, because I end up polishing off the rest of the food. Life is good.


Or so I thought. I have been pondering about this lately: do all the people in your lives enjoy most of the things that you make? Because here's a BIG revelation: the people in mine surely don't. With the exception of my siblings, who are borderline carnivorous, most of my friends don't eat or even buy sweets, which I find completely unimaginable. One of my friends confessed at a recent lunch meeting that he could not even remember when he last bought a candy bar/cookie/anything sweet from the supermarket. The horror!!

After observing how most of the ladies at work took 2 days to finish a small bag of 6 shortbread biscuits that I made and gave to them, I can't help but wonder if the problem has always been mine. I take on average 5 minutes flat to polish off 6 shortbread squares for breakfast with my morning tea. And no, this is not the embarrassing scenario where I am the only one who do not realise how bad her cooking/baking really is, so get that thought outta your head!



What I want to know is what you, my readers, consider to be your sweetness threshold. Whether it is something like mine (I can polish off ten 2cmx4cm pistachio nougat bars in half a day---ohhohoh I'm a patissier's and a dentist's dream!!), or somewhere along the lines of my friend, who thinks that sugar is just another type of food he does not need. I look forward to reading your comments!!

This crostata recipe is adapted from Chef Catherine Adams' recipe which was featured in the Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine. Please click on this link to get to the recipe page. I took the liberty of substituting the raspberries with the blackberries; feel free to use any other fruits that are in season.