Super Quick Rendang Spaghetti

Last weekend's breakfasts: from Jowo to Londo

Saturday breakfast menu was quite varied, from Nasi Goreng with pete and sausage, Kering Tempe (Candied Tempe), Sayur Asem (Vegetable Sour Soup), Tomato and Green Chili Sambal, Potato Omelette, Javanese Omelette and Garlic Fried Tempe.

Saturday flew and Sunday came.. I was too dizzy to cook. Husband wanted to have Soto for breakfast, but Pak Slamet didn't open until 7.30. So I offered to make spaghetti, since it didn't involve elaborate preparation. However, we turned out to be too full to have another breakfast.

Sorry Pak Slamet, we'll come another day.. :p

posted from Bloggeroid

My Very First Handmade Wrist Corsage

posted from Bloggeroid

Gateau Chocolate

Nice but too dry.. Great with milk, though.. :)
I used 30% black rice flour, 70% wheat flour..

posted from Bloggeroid

Crème Caramel

This isn't the crème caramel made from egg custard and then cooked using bain marie technique. The pudding itself contains carrageenan and agar as gelling agent. So it's just like your usual instant milk pudding (with the addition of egg yolks and vanilla).

But the fun part was making the caramel. Heating sugar until it browned and reached the hard ball stage was quite..something! :D I almost never caramelised sugar since after that internship in candy factory (I was curious and tried to make my own candy at home).

The idea of crème caramel was the opposite of crème brûlée, which is egg custard with hard caramel layer on top. So in crème caramel, we pour the caramel into the base of the mold. It will set quickly into hard caramel. Then pour the hot milk mixture into the mould. It will look like this..


After the pudding has set, take it off the mould. The caramel will be soft and liquid as in the first picture. The taste? YUM!! I know instantly this is one of the things that I'll keep making.. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Purple Lasagna

Purple and orange made an interesting combination in this dish! :)

I made the pasta from wheat flour, egg, water and purple sweet potato flour (for the purple color of anthocyanin). The other stuffs were the usual bolognese sauce (though I did put a generous amount of shredded carrot) and bechamel (white) sauce. The toppings were breadcrumbs and shredded mozzarella cheese (crunchy AND gooey!)

Yum! Definitely better than K-m**l's! ;)

posted from Bloggeroid

Ratatouille ala Kerotia

Ratatouille is a traditional French dish. Made of vegetable, it is cheap and easy to make. Therefore, it is often called peasant food.

The ingredients of ratatouille are tomato, zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, carrot, onion, garlic, mixed herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. In my recipe, I add mushroom and tomato paste, and omit the bell pepper (due to unavailability at the moment).

First, slice the vegetables thinly. Then cook them separately (because each vegetable cooked at different length of time) until tender. Meanwhile, chop garlic and onion. Peel, de-seed, and chop the tomato as well. Saute the chopped garlic and onion with olive oil in a large pot. Add the tomato, and cook until you have a thick tomato sauce. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, mixed herbs, and the vegetables into the tomato sauce, mix thoroughly. Serve with rice, pasta, or bread. Et voila! Bon appetit!!

***
Ratatouille became so popular after an animated movie with the same name in 2007. In that movie, Remy, the rat-chef, made and popularized Confit byaldi, a version of ratatouille.

Confit byaldi basically uses the same ingredients as ratatouille. But instead of tossing all ingredients in one pot, the ingredients are arranged in layered fashion and then baked slowly, covered in parchment paper.

***
Anyway, I introduced this dish to my family years ago. And last year, when my Mom and Dad went for Umrah, they were served ratatouille on flight. Mom tasted the food and later wrote in her journal, "I had ratatouille for lunch on the plane. It tasted just like my daughter T used to make. I miss my kids. Ya Allah, please keep them safe while we're away."

*sobs* I love you, mom..

Kiss from Heaven

God will show you His love in the most surprising way.

When I was in college, I was so bored with school. Everything seemed to go wrong and I lost my motivation. Then on one fateful day, I went to my mother’s Daycare and Pre-school to get some documents from the teacher for my mother (she was one of the founders). Unintentionally, I went to the toddlers’ room to play with the kids. There was this really cute boy with big eyes and long hair (I thought he was a girl) who was crying out loud. I sat on the floor, and this crying boy immediately got up and came to me. Of all the adults in the room, he hugged me –a stranger! I sang him a lullaby, and he stopped crying! Waaah… I was astounded.

After that incident, I started to come to the school more often. I played with the kids, read them stories, and sang them children’s songs (I happen to know quite a number). After a while, one of the senior teachers asked me to be a regular. I said yes, and that was how I become a part time tutor since 2003 to 2006.

***

And last night, during Tarawih prayer in the mosque while the Imam was preaching, a beautiful little girl came up to my sister, Chacha. The little girl held Chacha’s unfamiliar hands and kissed her! Ain’t that sweet?

Cha, I think it was a very good sign.. ;) Semangaaatt!!!

Bedrest Crafting

Ahem..
So here I am, been neglecting this blog for almost 1 whole year. Any excuses? Nope! I just didn’t feel like updating this blog, that’s all.. :p

So tomorrow, we will begin the fasting month. So for all muslims in the world, Happy Ramadhan!! ^^

There’s no baking session to greet this holy month. (Ironically, my last posting was about pre-Ramadhan baking session.. haha..) Not because I was too busy, nor too lazy. I have been sick since last Sunday. Typhoid fever, how sad is that? I’m better now, and hopefully strong enough to fast tomorrow.
I had to stay in bed for days, and it was BORING! My source of happiness and entertainment was the television (since I don’t have cable TV, I only watched Spongebob and Doong, the other programs just amplified my headache) and my cellphone (twitter and PapaBear’s text messages. Especially the text messages!! Unfortunately, PapaBear was in the middle of a very hectic agenda..hiks..). I was too sick to read or work on my notebook. So I tried to SEW.. :D

Background story..
A few months ago, me and PapaBear went out for dinner. Just several minutes riding away from home, I felt like a tug on my skirt (I was wearing this long, green skirt). Turned out, my skirt got stuck into the machine (wheel? chain? whatever..) of his motorbike. PapaBear stopped the motorbike immediately, and I disentangle my skirt from the machine. The skirt was intact, but there was black grease stain all over it. (No, I did not freak out! Nothing is irreparable! Summons SuperKoala!!)
I tried to remove the stain, but no matter how hard I scrub, the stain was still visible (although not so obvious). Here’s the pic:

So I bought this black lace from a craft shop (they only had 1 model). I started to cut according the pattern a few months ago, but due to various things, was unable to finish it. UNTIL NOW!! Hehe…
Look at my skirt now! I love it more than ever!!

Moral of the story: Always look for the silver lining in every dark clouds.. ^^
Oh, and one more thing: Sometimes, something bad happens just to make things even better for the future.. ^^

Happy Ramadhan!!! (oh, I already said this. Nevermind.. ;p )

Kerotia's Carrot Cupcake

It's carrot time!! ^^


This Sunday was exhausting yet refreshing. At the end of the day, I was very tired I fell asleep the second my head touched the pillow. With a big smile of satisfaction! :D

I had planned to go biking to the Tlogorejo market and UGM early in the morning. But then my mom wanted to come along. So I ditched the bike and took motorcycle instead. Just out of our block, my mom suddenly changed our destination. “Go to Beringharjo!”

Without much argument, I obeyed. We spent one-and-a-half hour there, had lunch on our way home, and visited Giant supermarket instead of Tlogorejo market. *not a very farmer-friendly decision, I know* :(

I started making the cake around 3 pm and finished around 9 pm. The process for making this carrot cake was not that long (approximately 1 hour of preparation, plus 3 hours for baking and decorating), but I had a few break for taking a shower, praying, and also making dinner for the 2 volunteers from US who is staying in our home. *I made Rendang Spaghetti, recipe will follow*

So here is the recipe of Kerotia’s Carrot Cupcakes..
(for 36 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
250 g flour, sifted
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp (or more) cinnamon powder
50 g tempeh flour for extra protein (optional)
4 eggs
300 g caster sugar
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil
2 big carrots, finely grated (approx. 250 g)
1 apple, grated and squeezed the juice out (I used half Fuji apple because I made mistake by not squeezing the juice out, hence the batter became thin.)

Mix all of the dry ingredients together (except sugar). In separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Add the dry ingredients into beaten eggs & sugar, mix thoroughly. Add the oil little by little while mixing. Add grated carrots and apple. Put the batter in the paper cup (placed in the cupcakes tin), about ¾ full. Bake in preheated oven, 180°C for approx. 25 minutes. (Or test it by inserting toothpick to the cake. When it comes out clean, the cake is done.) Cool the cupcakes in a wire rack before decorating.

For the decorations:
White chocolate, melted
Marzipan, tinted with orange food coloring
Nonpareils and flower-shaped sprinkles

I used the green-colored sprinkles as the carrots’ leaves. My mom wanted to help, but she kept using blue sprinkles instead of green.. =))

Happy Ramadhan everyone!!


PS: This cupcakes will make a great Ramadhan gift.. ;)

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"I would rather the man who presents something for my consideration subject me to a zephyr of truth and a gentle breeze of responsibility rather than blow me down with a curtain of hot wind." -Grover Cleveland

Mais, c’est la vie..

Great Friends, Great Pizza, Great Cooks..

After half day of adventure in Gamplong village, in the task of searching wedding favors for Widya, seemed that we still had a lot of energy. We had to channel our energy to keep our neighborhood safe and sound.. :)) So we made pizza.. Kneading the dough is vigorous activity! :p

Me and Widya persuaded Chacha to take part in our mission. Being hungry, what else she could do but to agree? ;)

Here's the recipe for our pizza..

Dough ingredients:
175 gr flour
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of hot water
olive oil or margarine (Just so the dough won't stick.)
1 tsp oregano (I love to add herbs into the dough as well. It enhances the aroma.)

Mix the dry ingredients altogether. Add water while kneading throughly. Add a little oil and proof the dough to rise.

Tomato concasse:
3 tomatoes, chopped or mashed
1 onion
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil or margarine

Chop onion, saute in olive oil/margarine. Add tomatoes and tomato ketchup, cook until thick. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.

Toppings:
chicken frank, sliced
mushroom, sliced and browned
green paprika, diced
cheese (We use Kraft Quick Melt, since we couldn't get mozzarella.)


Roll the dough into 1-2 cm thickness. Spread concasse on top of the dough. Arrange the toppings and cheese. (Not too thick, otherwise the dough won't cooked fully.) Bake in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes in 200'C.


Buon appetito!

Breaded Chicken a la Kerotia

Beautiful Borscht

If you love Creamy Corn Soup, you might love this..


Two days ago, I went home at 16.30, greeted by my sister who’s constantly complaining of hunger.. :p She was not feeling well, having a cold and flu, plus preparing her presentation for yesterday’s exam. I decided to make something warm and light for dinner, so my sis would not be falling asleep instead of studying. High intake of carbohydrates causes drowsiness. Therefore, eating pasta or nasi goreng before study time may not be a wise decision.

I remembered having some beetroot in the fridge. I love their intense purplish-red color. Do you know that beetroot is rich in betalain pigments? This is unlike other red vegetables, which contain anthocyanin pigments. Some of the betalains in beets are betanin, isobetanin, probetanin, and neobetanin. Betanin is used as food colouring in confectionery , frozen products, tomato soup, powdered beverages, and also meat products, e.g. bacon and sausages. Betanin acts as an antioxidant.

So I made Borscht, a deep red soup of Ukranian origin, made from beetroot as the main ingredient, and very popular in Eastern and Central Europe. I reckon, this may have something to do with the story of Dracula of Transylvania.. heheh.. It seems everyone want to be vampires these day, thanks to Edward Cullen.. :D

This is my own version of Borscht..
(recipe for two)
Ingredients:
1 beetroot
1 onion
1 potato (I add potato to thicken the soup and make it more satisfying)
400 ml chicken or beef stock (You can make this from scratch or simply use stock cube/powder, e.g. Maggi or Royco)
cream/milk
salt and pepper to taste

Dice potato, beetroot and onion. Put the diced ingredients into simmering stock and cook until tender. Strain the vegetables (keeping the liquid on the pot), process them in the blender, then return the vegetable puree into the liquid on the pot. Add cream/milk, and season with salt and pepper

Actually, it can be served once the vegetables become tender, with the veggies cube intact. But I prefer it to be creamy and smooth. The taste is savoury-sweet, with pretty pink colour.. ^^

Serve with garlic bread/toast.

Bon appetit!

And I Shall Blog Again..

Okay.. So how long has it been since my last post?

I watched Julie & Julia a few months ago. I love it!! I found the movie very inspiring, although I didn't immediately logged on to the internet and started blogging again. But I truly had this strong will to write, I swear. It’s just that I feel exhausted after work (and play, of course.. ;p).

The movie is about two life stories -of Julia Child and Julie Powell, intertwined into one by a book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia Child wrote the book with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. Julie Powell, inspired by Julia Child, wrote a blog about her own challenge to cook 536 recipes in the book in 365 days. And I, inspired by the movie, will try to write again.. ;)

Julie Powell and I had a lot in common. Julie Powell was a government employee. And I still am. I understand perfectly how cooking could be such a wonderful escape from our daily grind. (Julia Child also worked for the government, but she quitted, followed her husband to France, and infatuated with food and cooking there.) Obviously, Julia Child and Julie Powell put their passion in food. And my passion for food? I spent years studying food science, through all the joy and suffering.. Should you question that? :p Cooking is one sure way of showing my affection.. (no matter how the food tastes) ;)

But unlike Julie Powell who started her blog during her employment, I stopped blogging around the time I started working for the government. Suspending one post and another.. Suddenly it’s been one and a half year since the last posting.. Oh, the years indeed run like rabbits..

So here I am.. Attempting to write again. Wish me luck!

Tom Yum with Anchovies & Undur-Undur

I went to Depok beach yesterday with my neighbour friends for inauguration party of the new RAS squad. We bought heaps of seafood: clam, skipjack tuna & a kind of flat fish (flounder, I guess) in the fish market, and then brought them to a nearby restaurant to be processed. The clams were stir-fried in sweet and sour sauce, the flounders were baked, while the skipjack were deep-fried. The food was great! It was really worth the time and trouble to reach the beach (about 50 km from home).

Having tasted all that seafood delight, suddenly I had this urge to cook seafood too. I decided to make Tom Yum with this oval-shaped crustacean called undur-undur. The taste was like shrimp, but more crispy & savoury.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
2 lemon grass, bruised & tied
4 keffir lime leaves
1 inch ginger, crushed (I wanted to use galangal but ginger is all I have)
2-3 tbsp chilli paste
3 bird chillies (whole)
1 lime (you only need the juice)
1-2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
3-4 cups water
1-2 stock cubes
1/2 kg fresh anchovies (I recommend you deep-fry the anchovies first until they browned & firm. I made mistake by adding the fresh achovies while sauteing the onion. The taste were good, but they disintegrated into pieces, making the soup cloudy.)
2 large white tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes
1/4 kg fried undur-undur
100 g dried mushrooms, soaked in warm water
salt to season
cilantro & leek (sliced) to garnish

Saute the chopped onion until tender. Add ginger, anchovies, undur-undur, lime grass, keffir lime leaves, chillies & chilli paste. Add the water & stock cubes and bring to boil. Add tofu, lime juices, fish sauce, mushrooms & salt. Serve with cilantro & leek.


Can you see the orange pieces floating on the soup? That's the undur-undur.

You can substitute anchovies & undur-undur with any seafood. I know a restaurant which serve Tom Yum with chicken feet. ^o^

Every Ending is A New Beginning

Or is it 'a new beginning requires an ending'?

Anyway, this past 10 months has taught me many things I could never get from school alone. I'm going to miss everything, but it's good to know that they're within my reach.

Can't wait to start the new chapter in my life.. ^_^

Bedog Arts Festival

This morning, our maid told us about this festival held in the studio near her house. The studio is now very large. A few years ago, they bought the land & the spring by the river, previously owned by my maid's family. The price was not too high, but things like that always happened. You know lah, the case of low bargaining power.

Aniway, we (my sis & I) went there this evening. Today's programs were seminar about 'Art, Environment & Community', movies (children, environment & Opera Jawa), and also a dance called Mawar Dance. (mawar=rose)



Okay, call me blind of artistic value. But I did not understand what the dance was about. It started with two half-naked women making out, like lesbo couple. Then one woman left the stage. The remaining performer danced what looked like some random yoga moves (in my opinion). Hohoho.. The men watching that must had been very.. aroused. ;D It was nice though, despite no music & unknown story.

I did not see the Opera Jawa movie. Mainly because I have to get up early tomorrow and it was cold, for my shirt was pretty thin. Since the place was near my home, I didn't think to change or grab a jacket. To be honest, I was wearing my pyjamas.. ;p

Maybe I will visit the fest again for the closing ceremony.. I think with better publication, they could have attracted more people.

Harvest Time: Melon

Last week, when visiting one of the assisted farmer group in Lendah, Kulonprogo, I saw the field was full of balls of melons. Yumm.. Some of the melons were scattered on the road, half-eaten by the farmers, or maybe local people, thus making the air so fragrant with melon scent.
That's one thing I love about Kulonprogo: clean air, except on the main inter-city road. On the village, people often sun-dried their spices on the road. You could smell vanilla and cloves as you passed the road on your way to Samigaluh.

There were few people selling melons on the road. Later I found out, they were selling melons rejected by the distributor. Small part of the melons were spoiled, maybe because of insects or improper handling. Otherwise, they were perfect. Since I was dying to taste it, I bought one anyway, despite those little flaw. It was really cheap!! Only Rp 5000,- each. When I got home, I found that it was really sweet & nice. I wished I'd bought more.. ^o^

Menoreh Green Land

My TPHP friends,
I'm really sorry I didn't upload this brochure earlier. I hope this will provide enough information for our Makrab. If you found the map confusing, please see the self-made map I sent via email. And if you found that map even more confusing..just go ask the locals. Don't bother me to make another map.
I'll see you there on 16-17 August. ^_^
***
Menoreh Green Land is the fund-raising unit of PPSJ (Pusat Penyelamatan Satwa Jogja = Jogja Wildlife Rescue Center). So while having a vacation, we could actually help to save the animals. Isn't it great?


***
More about PPSJ-Menoreh Green Land:
PPSJ dan Menoreh Green Land
Bandung students learn from farmers in nature, cultural tour
PPSJ (the Centre of the Rescue of the Jogjakarta Fauna)