After spending Labor Day weekend in sunny Boston with Tiff, dining well out of our means, I've come home to a much more frigid environment, where I need to stay in and cook more than I have been.  Since I've been gone for the last eight days, the fridge is empty, and I need to shop. 

The grocery store has an abundance of figs.  This triggers my somewhat recent memory of Liz's Fig-Cranberry Cobbler recipe.  Not only does it present a solution to this fig problem, but uses a spice I wish I could use much more often-- garam masala.  Like curry, no two garam masala's are the same, because they are not a single ingredient, but a complex and flavorful blend.

Unfortunately, I am not able to find frozen cranberries at the store, or the next one I search.  I settle for frozen [pitted] black cherries.  This can be justified for several reasons.  Firstly, fresh fruit is a waste to use in baked goods.  Secondly, the ingredients listed on the package included one thing, black cherries.  No sugar or syrup added, which makes me happy.

I follow the recipe for the most part-- too lazy to measure some parts of it.  The biscuit topping, flavored with the garam masala, is delicious.  I'd like to try the dish again with cranberries, so there is a tart component that will add to the flavor contrast of the dish, but the cherries work fine.  The citrus is also appreciated, and the bowl is perfect with a scoop of ice cream.  Thanks Liz!