10 fig recipes you have to try

No 1. 3 simple tartine recipes with figs 

Tis' the season for fig everything, fig cakes, fig crepes, figs on toast.. we're seeing figs everywhere and it's kind of hard not to get sucked in to the fig hype.. so let's make the most of this fig abundance and get our fig on. Here are 10 fig recipes (actually more than 10!) we've been drooling over! 

No 2. Buttered buckwheat crepes with honey thyme and fresh figs

No 3. Salted honey and fig cheesecake
  

No 4. Fig and walnut cake

No 5. Fig and balsamic ice cream 

No 6. Homemade creme fraiche for a cheese and fig cup 

No 7. Fresh fig and stilton flatbreads 

No 8. Fig and almond butter smoothie recipe 

No 9. Sugar and butter free yoghurt pancakes (ooh yes, a treat you won't feel too guilty about!)

No 10. Squid ink pasta with stilton blue and fresh figs (an unexpected combination)

Oh my, all these are getting us mighty hungry..

Table for 1: Eenmaal

Have you ever had a meal in a restaurant alone? It's something that has been touched on pop culture, namely the scene from Friends where Rachel eats alone and the cute doctor thinks she's a freak.. why is that though? The stigma of eating alone is crushed by Eenmaal - the first one-person pop-up restaurant in the world, a great place for a meal and for temporary disconnect. 

Having a meal is a very common practise for people to meet up and chat and get to know each other over, but having a meal alone every once in awhile can make for great me-time and also allow you enjoy the food thoroughly instead of getting lost in conversation. The experience would probably start out feeling kind of odd but I think when you see all the other individuals around you having a great time and that no one is staring at you and wondering why you are alone, you'll feel right at home.

Image credits: Eenmaal

.. Eenmaal

We've met our Matcha

High on our list of places to visit is Japan. With all the amazing designs and just the culture you see online, the allure of Japan is undeniable. We already love Japanese food so we need no convincing to hop on the next plane out of Singapore and head over. Fortunately for us, we have contributors and friends who are generous enough to share bits of their journey with us! Recently, Adinda from Wolves Table headed to Japan and here is a little slice of her trip.

-

It's been two weeks since I came back from a 3 week trip to Japan. And Japan still has its powers over me. During my stay in Japan I ate and drank a lot of matcha and other tea related snacks, drinks and meals. I've always been a huge tea fan but my trip to Japan really thought me a lot about different kinds and flavors of tea and I experienced my first Japanese matcha tea ceremony. 

During my stay, I bought myself a chasen (a handmade bamboo whisk) and a lot's of pretty matcha-chawan's (Japanese tea bowls). Because: one can never have enough tea bowls, or anything Japanese and ceramic related (duh).

More Matcha this way..

Making matcha is really easy and I enjoy drinking it so much. It's really healthy for you too: it's high in antioxidants, it relaxes your body and mind and it boosts memory and concentration. So if you, like me, can't wait to make your own bowl of matcha tea, here's how to do it:

Step 1: Firstly, collect your matcha accessories: the bamboo whisk, a tea bowl, a tea cup, a measuring handle, a tea strainer and of course, the matcha powder.

Step 2: To brew 1 cup or matcha tea, scoop 2 grams or 1 1/2 teaspoons of matcha powder into your tea strainer.

Step 3: Sift the matcha powder into a tea bowl, make sure there are no clumps so your tea will be smooth.

Step 4: Pour about 2 ounces of boiling water into an empty teacup to let the water cool down and let it sit for 1 minute.

Step 5: Now pour the hot water into the tea bowl with the matcha powder.

Step 6: Use your chasen to whisk the tea and the water together: relax your wrist, then whisk in a gentle circular motion for thin, smooth tea, and in a brisk "M" or "W"-shaped motion for foamy tea. Whisk for about 10–15 seconds until the tea is bright green.

Step 7: Carefully pour your matcha into a teacup.

Step 8: Make sure to drink it right after you've prepared it—the powder will settle at the bottom after a while.

For more gorgeous shots from Adinda's trip to Japan, here's her post about her time in Nara. Thank you for sharing this quick recipe with us. We're craving some matcha too!

.. Wolves Table

Afterhours Taipei

Welcoming our newest contributor Adinda of Wolves Table.. we are lucky to have her as our Taipei correspondent, sharing with us all the hidden gems and bringing us around her neighbourhood. Thank you Adinda for the beautiful first post and we look forward to many more.. of course in the mean time, her instagram is the place to go for more eye candy!

Taipei is the Queen (King?) of hidden cafes and tiny back alleys filled with 'secret' restaurants. If you stay here for a couple of days and only go where the crowds are going, you'll probably miss all the gems. Heck, if you don't speak Mandarin you'll probably never find it unless you accidentally bumped into one just by randomly passing by.

I know this because I've lived in Taipei for almost two years already and i'm still discovering new places to go, eat or hang. Places that are located in streets where I passed by a million times, but apparently never took that one left or right turn to find that one place. Kinda frustrating. But it also makes a wander through the city super adventurous.

Today i'd like to take you to this place called Afterhours. It's a popular place among people in the neighborhood. It's a cafe that offers a selection of tea, coffee, desserts, bagels, soups but also some Japanese interior goods. The left side of the cafe is dedicated to Japanese plates, pots and some cutlery. The right side is where you can find the seating area, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese magazines for reading and where you can eat, drink, do some work or just relax.

.. Wolves Table
.. Afterhours

Lemon Meringue Tart

First off.. we want to wish our readers and customers a very happy Chinese New Year! We're always pro sugary delights, but around special occasions our sweet tooths start to act up abit more than the usual so we thought we'd share this Lemon meringue tart recipe that was featured in the latest Bloesem Gazette. It's not exactly a Chinese New Year treat, but who can pass up a great lemon meringue tart?

Dessert always does the trick, whether it’s to complement a hearty conversation or alleviate an awkward silence. What’s better than a zesty lemon meringue tart after a rich meal. After all, there’s always room for dessert don’t you agree? Whip up this all-time favourite to serve during friendly catch- ups!

Read on for the recipe..

Ingredients: 
For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 110g/4oz cold unsalted butter, cubed 2 tablespoons of sugar
1 egg yolk
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup ice water

For Lemon Curd:
1 1/4 cups sugar
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/8 cup finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 large eggs
3 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue) Pinch of salt
For Meringue:
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar Pinch of salt

Method:
Place flour, butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Using the pulse button, process the mixture until butter is in small bits. Using your hands, add egg yolk and cold water to mixture to form a firm dough. Wrap dough in cling film and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius and grease a 9-inch tart pan with removable sides.

Roll out dough to thickness of 0.7cm and surface large enough to fit tin. Trim off excess using a sharp knife and prick holes all over the bottom of tart shell with a fork. Line the tart shell with buttered aluminum foil (butter side down) and fill with baking beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil with baking beans and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile for the lemon curd, cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for 1 minute. On low speed, mix in eggs and yolks at intervals, and add in lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat until it reaches 80 degree Celsius, whisking constantly. Set aside to cool.

For meringue, whisk egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a electric mixer until they become frothy. Add in sugar, a spoonful at a time, and whisk for about 2 minutes till meringue is thick and glossy. Transfer the meringue into a piping bag.

Pour lemon curd into tart shell and pipe meringue on top of it. Bake for 8 minutes at 190 degree Celsius, until the meringue is lightly browned. Set aside to cool completely.

We hope you enjoy the recipe! Test it out and let us know what you think.. and if you enjoy food as much as we do.. we share much more of our food styling and recipe creating journey on our instagram feeds. We will also be bringing our Food styling and mobile photography bloesem class to Amsterdam this March, so do join us, we promise it's great fun!

 

Always clean and minimal.. Mei enjoys baking and cooking up treats that she shares on her instagram.

 

Zara isn't much of a chef, but she loves assembling her food in fun patterns!

Recipe and styling by Mei  & Photography by Zara.

.. Bloesem Gazette " The Conversation Issue"

.. #Instafood class in Amsterdam 

Oh the Sweet Life

This week we start with something very different! If you forgot to treat yourself to something sweet this weekend then here's a yummy dessert to jumpstart the week with. Doesn't it look scrumptious? It's definitely keeping us going while we tie up the last few loose ends to the online version of the Bloesem Gazette, so you can expect that tomorrow too! But for now we hope you guys are having a sweet Monday, Monday blues be gone..

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Words and desserts by Andrea Goh | Photography by Franz Navarrete | Art Direction by Hosanna Swee & Melody Tan

I can never pick a favorite season. I love the sun-drenched laziness of Summer that tailgates the peaceful picture perfect freshness of Spring. Don’t forget the magnificent enchanting amber hues of Fall before the crisp bitter coldness of Winter that everyone ironically loves because it brings about the promise and warmth of Christmas?

For the majority of us living on this little red dot, we often catch a flight out to escape into a different world, to experience the beauty of seasons. For some, we teleport our minds into a different season by tricking our senses through the visual treats and sweet sensations of desserts.

Fluffy whipped vanilla cream and slices of sugar soaked strawberries sandwiched between layers of light matcha chiffon reminds me of springtime splendor where love bugs come out to play and daisies go crazy in full bloom. It’s my favorite treat accompanied with a cup of fragrant white tea.

When the heat beckons and the blue summer skies emerge with generous puffs of cotton candy clouds, it is a signal for me to take out the ice cream maker and churn out fresh tubs of sorbets and ice cream. Nothing beats a refreshing scoop (or two, or three) of fresh berries smashed into a glorious blended mix. My homemade Raspberry Honey and Earl Grey sorbet is currently a hot favorite amongst my friends. 

Raspberry, Honey and Earl Grey Sorbet (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

3 cups frozen raspberries 1/2 cup honey

Earl Grey simple syrup: 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup fine sugar

2 bags of Earl Grey tea

1. To prepare the simple syrup, add the water, honey and sugar to a saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil. 2. Remove from heat and steep 2 bags of Earl Grey for 10 minutes.
3. Refrigerate the syrup until it is cold.
4. In a blender, combine frozen raspberries, honey and Earl Grey simple syrup and process until smooth. 5. Scoop blended raspberry mixture into an airtight container and freeze until firm.

6. Once sorbet is firm but easy to scoop, it is ready for serving.

If I had to absolutely pick just one season, it would be Fall. I call it the season of inspiration. It is the most colorful season of the year, the best-dressed and a period where many fall in love. Caramelized pears atop a warm moist vanilla cake is one of the best comfort dessert to enjoy during autumn.

I dream of hot chocolate, the marigold flames of a (non-existent) fireplace whenever December arrives. When the thunderstorms hit as it often does during year end, I close my eyes and imagine that it is snow flurries, not raindrops that descend onto the ground. I will hustle over to the stove and whip up this easy-to-bake, decadent hot baked chocolate that is guaranteed to win over any chocoholics. It is best advised to enjoy this in your PJs and in the arms of a loved one.  

.. The Boke Effect