Thursday, September 06, 2007

Fabulous Figs

Don't blink! It's fig season again!

I was thrilled to find some great looking fresh figs at Wholefoods yesterday, and bought some home.

This is the time of year for figs, around late summer and early fall. You and I have probably learned this before, but I was informed again that fig trees belong to family of ficus trees, and that the infamous banyan tree is also in that family. The flowers actually becomes the fruit in this tree, and the fig wasps help pollinate them. There are fig trees in Texas and Hawaii and wherever the temperature is warm and tropical. All these information came from an elderly kind lady who was a retired teacher. She was picking figs right next to me and provided me with all this data without me even asking. God bless teachers everywhere!

Back to the figs I bought. After rinsing them, the first one I ate was bursting with sweetness. I ate it skin and all, except for the stem, of course. Maybe because I've never tasted fresh figs til a few years ago, but I am crazy about them now. Especially when it's ripe and perfect. I started playing around with the rest of the figs from recipes I found in magazines like Williams Sonoma.

I made this with some marscapone cheese, honey, and mint leaves. It was divine, but I couldn't have more than one, even though I tried. The rich marscapone (italian cream cheese) with the italian honey (or your local honey) with the mint and the figs transport you to another dimension. When you put that awesome combination in your mouth, it's like your taste buds are singing amoire!
This one was for dinner with a loaf of crusty bread. It is made up of genoa salami, procuitto (like an italian smoked ham), cantalope with figs. This combo of flavors adds the aromatic flavors of the cantalope to the figs. I enjoyed the salami, figs, and cantalope mix better than the figs, cantalope and prociutto. But both were good. In case you were wondering, that sprig of mint was from my iced tea and placed there simply for decoration.
This was done tonight, and hit the spot for me. I love seared prociutto, and this is simply half a fig wrapped in prociutto and pan-seared. Very easy, and oh sooooo good. It's like summer and smokey bbq flavors mingling and teasing your senses. Had this with some heavily buttered, thick-sliced toasted country bread from Panera's, bread store chain that's in town. A glass of red would go nicely with it too, I'm sure. Kathryn and Suzanne, you're gonna love all three!

Can you tell I'm in the mood for figs?

Another reason that allevited my mood today was that my dear girlfriend C of Little Corner of Mine had graciously awarded me the Rocker Girl award. Does that means I have more bragging rights now? hehe! Although I don't feel I deserve it, I thank you for your friendship and encouragement, my comrade. As Sally Field had famously said before, YOU LIKE ME! YOU REALLY LIKE ME! **bow, curtsy, happy dance!**


A number of you have already had this award in the past, so I will exclude you guys. As with the rest of you, I had a hard time picking who to award. Um.... maybe I should keep this hot pink award for awhile...it's a nice color on me, don't you think? hahahaha!
OK, OK, I'll pass the award onwards. After much deliberation, I'd like to pass this special award to:

Tigerfish for your creative flair
Lee Ping for your spiritual inspiration
Peony for just being you
Daphne for your fun spirit
Cris for your support
Lily for your kindness

In my opinion, everyone (mothers, sistas, grandma, aunt, sis, girlfriends and yes, you guys too!) of you ROCK!

25 comments:

daphne said...

What a nice surprise!!!! YAY! Thanks thanks.. What fun!! So cool! woohoo! *beaming*

Speaking of figs, man, it's spring in WA now, and I can't wait for figs during summer. I didn't know u can pair it with marscapone cheese drizzled with honey. Nice touch!

Fig with prociutto looks amazing as well! Gosh, so many ideas! Can't wait for fig season here!

Big Boys Oven said...

OMG! such lovely fresh figs..... I would love to have them.....

eastcoastlife said...

Wow! Figs! And fresh ones! I haven't seen a fresh fig before, only dried ones. So envious of you, you not only ate fresh figs but get to pick them too!

Hey, got a photo of a fig tree or bush? I collect the photos of fruit trees or plants not seen in Singapore for showing to my students.

Peony said...

gee, thanks but er ..what/how do I do with it ah ? hahaha

I love to look at your food pics even tho, seldom make comments ...
your foto r all very lovely n well taken.

Cris said...

Woo hoo! Thanks! This is so sweet of you, my first award for this blog! You rock! As for the figs, we had a fig tree at home when I was little, I used to live on a farm, helped my mom a lot with the candies she made. xoxox

Little Corner of Mine said...

Gf, you deserved it! :)

And your figs are just like you said fabuloussss...

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Daphne,
Happily 'beaming' with you!
You've got to try these ways of eating figs when summer arrives over there, it's sooo good.

Hi Big Boys Oven,
LOL! You'll love these fresh figs!

Hi eastcoastlife,
They were in plastic containers, and I was only picking the packet with more red ones at the grocery store. hehe!

Hi Peony,
Hope you got my respond?
Thank you! Xie Xie! *blush*

Hi Cris,
Woo hoo! Enjoying the moment with you! Wow! A fig tree, fig candies, and fig jam? You're so lucky! :)

Hey C!
I'm gonna give you a big hug when I see you, my gf!!! Thanks! :)

Retno Prihadana said...

Figs!. I have never tried this kind of fruit. Could you please...give me a slice?

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Retna Prihadana,
Have you tried dried figs before? The fresh figs are delicious, and you can have more than a slice. You can have a whole fig! ;)

Anonymous said...

Strangely enough, I have not felt compelled to try fresh figs. Maybe I should. Yes, I think I should. :)

Rasa Malaysia said...

Your fig looks delicious and pretty, with the toothpicks. Great for party! :)

Aimée said...

I can't think of a better match than figs and mascarpone. Wow! Wish I could drop in for some of these figgy delights.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Judy,
I love fresh figs, and couldn't get enough of them when they are in season. hehe!

Hi Rasa,
LOL! Except for the one drizzled with honey, there's no toothpicks needed, just grab one and pop into your mouth! And we did have a party of a time enjoying it! ;)

Hi Aimee,
It was so good, you would definitely have enjoyed it too! :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the award! I don't know how to eat figs leh! Teach me. Can be eaten like fruits right?

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Tigerfish,
Was waiting for you to come by, and it's my pleasure!
Slice a fig in half, and eat the skin and all, or simply use you teeth to scrape off the inside of the fig and discarding the skin. Enjoy! :)

Lia said...

iam never had figs, but i'd like to try after seen ur those figs, really looks yummy :D

Wandering Chopsticks said...

Oooh, I love figs. Except they were $4 a lb at the farmers' market!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Lia,
Sweet ripen fresh figs taste like wonderful, but be careful not to eat too many! ;)

Hi Wondering Chopsticks,
Yes, it's spendy, but maybe that adds to their flavor and appeal. LOL!

Indonesia Eats said...

figs....

Can I have some?

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Andaliman,
Why yes, of course! :)

Cynthia said...

You're so lucky! I've never had figs before fresh or dried.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Cynthia,
Yes, but You have such beautiful guavas and tropical fruits over there to enjoy! :)

KellytheCulinarian said...

Congratulations on your award. My dad once brought us figs from Turkey -- they were absolutely delicious.

Cuisine Paradise said...

Hi there... i came across your blog from Peony's post and i must said u did a great job! It's so well infor :) And those figs recipes are so useful..thanks for sharing :)

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Kelly,
Thank you!
Oooo! The figs from Turkey must have been sooo good!

Hi Jackson,
Awww! So sad! Maybe one of these days Australia will export them to Malaysia? :)

Hi Ellena,
Thank you so much for visiting and your kind words. You are so sweet! :)