Happy Holidays

As we all look up to the new year
with new hopes, aspirations and promises
Hope it brings you happiness and fulfill all your wishes !
Wish you a happy and fulfilling 2011

Udang Balado / Shrimp Balado

Indonesian foods are very rich with spices and herbs. For example is Udang Balado or Shrimp Balado, its strong taste of chilies can increase your appetite. The word "balado" itself is mostly found in Padang specialities which refer to spicy dishes.This dish is just perfect to eat with steamed white rice. It’s really appetizing and the shrimps are simply delicious.

As my son become a big (maybe I can say, huge) fans of shrimp, my mom always make Shrimp Balado just for him. He likes spicy foods, and that comes from my blood. :) Without further ado, here's my version of Shrimp Balado.

Shrimp Balado / Udang Balado

Ingredients :

500 gr shrimp, peeled with tails intact
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
salt

Seasoning:

7 chilies
6 red onions
3 cloves garlic
1 small tomato (if you use a big one, just use a half of it)
salt and sugar to taste

How to :

1. Rub the lime juice and salt onto the prawns. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. To make the Seasoning, pulse all the ingredients in a mortar or blender several times to chop finely, but do not turn into a paste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or skillet with medium heat. Stir-fry the seasoning until fragrant and cooked, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the shrimps and mix until well blended, taking care not to overcook the shrimps. Remove and serve immediately.

*You could remove the tomato, if you like this dish dry.

Enjoy...

Happy Birthday, Ayah....

"Being 35 years old recently, nothing change, except you become wiser and more confident with who you are these days. Happy birthday to you"

This brownie was made few days after my hubby's birthday. On his birthday, we went to one of shopping mall, and having dinner there. We had enjoyed our time by sitting at the downtown walk watching TV.

So, about the recipe itself, I just found it in Anne Vijaya's blog. And hey...it really works for me. I love the way chocolate melt inside it. I already made it twice, and they go just perfect !! Unfortunately, my hubby doesn't like sweet and chocolate. For the good news, I made that brownie and also I was the one who ate that brownie :D
Bloomin’ Brilliant Brownies
Source : Jamie Oliver
250 g unsalted butter
200 g dark Fairtrade chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
80 g cocoa powder, sifted
65 g plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
360 g caster sugar (I use 320 g caster sugar)
4 large free-range or organic eggs
How to :
Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.
Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle.
Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

Happy birthday, Ayah. We wishing you a happy and prosperous birthday and a sweet night of birthday dreams.

Enjoy.....

You can read behind the scene story here.

Tamarillo Juice / Jus terong Belanda

Setiap pagi berangkat kantor, saya selalu lewat pasar Palmerah. Di tempat saya biasa menunggu angkot, ada penjual buah-buahan buat jus. Dari mulai jambu biji, strawberi, buah naga, alpukat, mangga (aneka macam mangga !!), jeruk, melon, dan terong Belanda.

Sebenarnya terong Belanda ini biasa saya nikmati dalam bentuk sirup warna ungu, yang dijual di supermarket. Tapi kali itu saya penasaran ingin merasakan rasa aslinya dan bagaimana cara mengolahnya. Setelah browsing-browsing cari resep, akhirnya saya mendapatkan resepnya.

Dan...seperti biasa, saya tidak punya takaran khusus untuk resep ini. Bahan-bahannya hanya terong belanda, gula pasir, es batu, sedikit air matang, dan terakhir susu kental manis. Caranya juga mudah, masukan terong Belanda (yang dibelah dua, buang bijinya, keruk dagingnya), es batu, air, dan gula pasir ke dalam blender. Semakin banyak buahnya berarti semakin terasa rasa buahnya kan ? :D Setelah lembut, masukan ke dalam gelas, tambahkan susu putih di atasnya.

Rasanya agak-agak asam manis, tapi yang jelas sih...beda dengan rasa sirupnya.
Mudah sekali kan....

Chocolate-covered Oreo cookies with colorful sprinkle

Oreo rocks....!!! Hahaha ..... keep Oreo sandwich biscuits in your house and you could make some simple recipes from it. Oreo smoothies, Oreo cheesy cream and also chocolate-covered Oreo. Magic, how I can managed 3 boys in the same room and make this recipe together. Oreo is my savior.

I had posted this recipe few months ago, it's still the same recipe with the old one. The difference is only by sprinkling the colorful sprinkle on top of these cookies. The kids were so happy with the sprinkle, though the sprinkle has no specific taste at all.

I didn't scaling or weighting in this recipe. As I mentioned before in one of my post, that I wasn't born to cook. Me and baking are almost like enemies :D. Maybe because I hate scaling and weighting ingredients, and (hate to admit it) sometimes I don't read the step by step carefully. So, it happens a lot I ended up with failure :D. Now, food photography is become my biggest passion. Don't get it wrong when I take pictures of bought food.

What you need for this recipe are (of course) Oreo cookies, dark chocolate, white chocolate and sprinkle. Easy, right ?

How to :
1. In a stainless steel bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water, put in the dark cooking chocolate and white chocolate. Stir until melted, remove from heat.
2. Using two forks, dip Oreos (a couple at a time, depending on the size of your bowl) in the melted chocolate and coat both sides. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. (Decorate top of cookie with colorful sprinkles or crushed candy canes, if you like)
3. Let set in refrigerate for about 45 minutes to an hour.


Enjoy.....

How to spoil yourself on a rainy day ?

Rain rain go away, come again some other day

Flood and Jakarta are almost inseparable. No offense, please. After heavy rain for hours, and as we all know (for those who lives in Jakarta), puddle and flood everywhere, caused a very tragic traffic jam right after. So many people got stucked on the street for hours.

For the next day, I decided to stay at home, alone, baked Molten Chocolate Pudding and spoiled myself by making a cup of hot chocolate. Again, it was raining that day, heavy rain.

Hot Chocolate Drink

Ingredients :
- a cup of UHT milk
- cocoa powder
- sugar

How to :
Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan, slowly stir. Heat and stir over moderately low heat until mixture boils, then boil slowly, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Then pour it into a cup.

For the Molten Chocolate Pudding, I adapted the recipe from Leite's Culinaria . Can you imagine, how chocolatey my day was ? There I was in front of my PC, editing some photos, uploaded some of them, took a deep sip of hot chocolate, put a spoonful of molten chocolate pudding into my mouth. Heaven, right ?

So, tell me how you spoil yourself on a rainy day ?

Celery Soup

Soup I usually eat is a kind of Indonesian soup, with carrot, potato and cabbage. But this time I made celery soup. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I actually liked this recipe for celery soup.

The recipe is very easy and simple and does not take long and available for vegans too. You can replace the chicken stock (which I used in this recipe) with vegetable stock. Actually, I found this from the recipe book for vegan. :) So, yes .... for all vegans, you could try this recipe by replacing the chicken stock.

Ingredients :
- 250 gr stalks of celery, cleaned and chopped
- 1 large onion, diced small
- 250 gr mushrooms, trimmed and chopped fine
- 2 large carrots, cleaned and chopped
- 1 liter of chicken stock
- salt, pepper, nutmeg powder and sugar to taste

How to :
1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add onion and sweat for about 10 minutes.
2. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper, nutmeg powder, sugar carrots and mushroom into the pan. Bring to a boil.
3. Adjust heat to maintain a slow simmer and put the celery into the pan.
4. Let cook for a while, until celery are soft.
5. Serve it.


Enjoy....

Breakfast : Fried rice with salted dried tiny silver anchovies

What is the easiest menu for breakfast ? My answer is fried rice. You can make fried rice with ingredients you have in the fridge. Corn, chicken, sausage, meat balls, egg, oyster sauce, chili, garlic, onion, and I am sure you can find them all in the fridge. All you need to do is mix them all, cook and serve it. Simple (or am I just lazy ?!). :)

Sunday morning, raining, I feel like I wasn't in the mood to go to the market. But my son and hubby has to eat something for breakfast. Luckily, I have a plastic of salted dried tiny silver anchovies. Uuhhh....it just perfect for fried rice.

In the place where I live, we can meet salted dried fish stall everywhere from traditional market to hyper mart. Warm rice, salted dried fish and shrimp paste sambal (sambal terasi), those foods really work to whet my appetite. *I'm mouth watering right now

Here's the recipe of my version of fried rice. I like to cook without a recipe, just follow my kitchen instinct.

Nasi goreng teri Medan/ Fried rice with salted dried tiny silver anchovies

Ingredients :
- 2 plates of cooked rice
- 4 large red chillies
- 5 onion, peeled
- 1 cloves garlic, peeled
- 4 tablespoons of salted dried tiny silver anchovies
- salt
- sugar, to taste
- 1 tablespoon chooped spring onion
- pepper

How to :
1. Fry salted dried tiny silver anchovies. Set aside.
2. Using pestle, mortal, food processor or blender, make a paste with red chillies, onion, garlic, salt, sugar and pepper.
3. With the same oil, saute the onion, garlic and chili paste until fragrant.
4. Add cooked rice and salted dried tiny silver anchovies, stir well.
5. Serve it.
Make 2 servings.


Enjoy.....

Eid Mubarak

Terkadang lidah salah mengucap

Terkadang hati salah menduga
Terkadang mata salah melihat
Terkadang telinga salah mendengar

Di hari yang fitri ini, sudi kiranya kau buka pintu maafmu untukku
Agar lapang jalanku, agar ringan langkahku

Selamat Hari Raya idul Fitri
Mohon maaf lahir dan bathin

Happy Anniversary...

"...Through the years, through all the good and bad

I know how much we had, I've always been so glad to be with you
Through the years It's better every day, you've kissed my tears away
As long as it's okay, I'll stay with you
Through the years..."
(by Kenny Rogers)

Yup, today is my 8th wedding anniversary. Nothing fancy, no party, no cake, no special dinner, only me and my son, Raihan. Honestly, my husband forgot that today is our anniversary. :) But that's okay, since we've been busy with our work at the office. And, also, we have never celebrate this day since our first anniversary. So why bother ? Having him always there for me to support, cuddle and give me hugs is enough.

Speaking of Ramadhan, of course it's still in the air. Day 22, 8 more days before the end of Ramadhan. But I still have one more recipe for Lubna Karim with her foodie event "Joy from fasting to feasting - III". (I hope she's okay with it :))

I found this recipe from Kraft recipe book. What could I make with ingredients that I already had on hand ? Easy to make mung bean pudding is a good choice and making cheddar cheese sauce is definitely new for me. With my "always ready to help assistant", a.k.a my son, I cooked this pudding in only 1 hour :)

Mung Bean Pudding with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

For Pudding
- 1 sachet of agar-agar powder
- 750 ml milk
- 250 ml water
- 200 gr granulated sugar
- 100 gr mung bean, rinsed and soaked
- 1/2 tea spoon of salt
- 1/2 tea spoon of vanilla essence

For Sauce :
- 100 gr cheddar cheese
- 250 ml milk
- 25 gr granulated sugar
- 1/8 tea spoon of vanilla essence
- 1 table spoon of corn starch

Directions :

1. Bring mung beans to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes, until the beans have cracked open a bit but are not mushy. Set aside and let it cool.
2. Using blender, blend well mung bean with water until smooth.
3. Pudding : boiled agar-agar powder, milk, water and granulated sugar. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and boiling. Put in the blended mung bean, salt and vanilla essence into the pan. Stir well again. Cook until the milk is just heated through, about 2 minutes.
4. Pour the pudding mixture into a pudding mold. Let it cool and refrigerated.
5. Sauce : boil milk, cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla essence in a pan over medium heat. Stir until smooth and well blended.
6. Dissolve corn starch with 2 tablespoons of boiled milk mixture. Stir until completely smooth and add gradually to the milk mixture. Keep stirring until well mixed. Remove from heat.
7. Serve pudding with the sauce.

In Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan pudding :
- 1 bks agar2 bubuk
- 750 ml susu cair tawar
- 250 ml air
- 200 gr gula pasir
- 100 gr kacang hijau, cuci bersih dan rendam
- 1/2 sdt garam
- 1/2 sdt esense vanilla

Bahan saus :
- 100 gr keju cheddar
- 250 ml susu cair tawar
- 25 gr gula pasir
- 1/8 sdt esense vanilla
- 1 sdm tepung maizena

Cara membuat :

1. Rebus kacang hijau sampai merekah dan matang. Angkat dan dinginkan
2. Setelah kacang hijau dingin, blender dengan menambahkan air sampai lembut.
3. Pudding : rebus agar-agar, susu, air dan gula pasir sampai mendidih. Masukan kacang hijau, gara, vanilla. Aduk rata. Masak sampai mendidih.
4. Tuang ke loyang. Dinginkan.
5. Saus : campur susu, keju, gula pasir dan vanilla. Masak sampai mendidih dan keju larut.
6. Larutkan tepung maizena dengan 2 sdm makan rebusan keju. Tuang ke dalam rebusan keju. Aduk rata. Masak sampai meletup2.
7. Sajikan pudding bersama sausnya. 

Hope you like it and enjoy...

Ice Blewah to break the fast

I like simple and I am a simple person too. So, what I like to eat as iftar is something fresh, sweet, cold and of course simple and easy to make. Young coconut with vanilla syrup and ice cube, is just perfect to quench you thirst after fasting. Or you may try ice blewah with vanilla syrup and ice cube too. Well, Ramadhan is always special for me.

Iftar refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadhan. Iftar is done right after Maghrib (sunset) time. Traditionally, a date is the first thing to be consumed when the fast is broken.

Here, in Jakarta, we can see there are so many blewah sold in traditional market during Ramadhan. Blewah is very popular in Indonesia. Blewah has the same species with Melon, it has similar aroma and taste as Cantaloupe.

The ongoing Ramadhan foodie event Joy From Fasting to Feasting 3 is hosted by Lubna Karim, and I would like to participate in this event. For this event I'd like to make Ice Blewah as iftar. I guarantee, you'll like it. The freshness and sweet smell of Blewah always remind me of Ramadhan.

The quick and easy prep to make Ice Blewah won't take your hands full with things as if you bake something. All you need is only blewah, knife, shredded tool, water, ice and sugar.

How to :
1. Cut blewah, seeded and shredded. Set aside.
2. Dissolve sugar in hot water. Mix well.
3. Put the shredded blewah in a bowl and mix with sugar syrup. Refrigerate.
4. Serve cold and add ice cube when desired.

Have a blessing Ramadhan to all of you !

Marhaban Yaa Ramadhan

Once again we welcome it, and once again it welcomes us. For all Moslem around the world, happy Ramadhan ! A very sacred month, 30 days of fasting from dawn to dusk, bettering ourselves in principle of faith. May our fast be accepted and blessed. Amiin.

Exploring my new lens is always giving me a new sensation of photography. I can get large aperture to f/1.8, also I can get perfect bokeh. :D So if you don't mind, I really want to show you some of my picture, I've taken with my new fixed lens.

This is mini pie, sweet and crunchy. And also, it perfect for your afternoon tea. No recipe this time, because I'm not the one who made that mini pie. :) But absolutely I can share nice pictures with you. Hope on my next post, I can post something about foods or drinks for break fasting on Ramadhan.

See you....

Food Photography Contest : Perfect Ice Tea

Do you want $700 in prizes. Wow...just go to Leite's Culinaria page and read carefully the rules how to join the Food Photography Contest.

I am sending this photo below of Perfect Ice Tea as an entry for the contest. The contest is still open until July 31, 2010. So, come on, what are you waiting for. Choose a recipe from Leite's Culinaria, start cooking and photographed the completed recipe.

Santai Sore

Saya sering bereksperimen di dapur sama sekali bukan karena saya ahli dalam memasak. Jadi terkadang kalau harus memasak sesuatu dengan takaran atau ditimbang, benar-benar membuat saya malas. Malas menimbang, mencuci peralatan, membuka buku resep dan lain sebagainya (jadi sebenernya yang ga males bagian apa ya ? :D)

Nah...suatu sore, saya menemukan sisa selai blueberry yang pernah saya beli untuk makan roti. Jadilah saat itu saya mencoba membuat Blueberry (jam) Smoothies. Kebetulan Raihan senang dengan campuran-campuran susu dengan buah, oreo, green tea, atau apa aja yang penting di-blend.

Sebelumnya saya membeli kue risoles dari tetangga dekat rumah, untuk iseng-iseng ngemil sore. Saya sedemikian menikmati untuk motret makanan daripada repot2 masaknya :p
Untuk resep Blueberry Smoothies ini sendiri, saya tidak memakai takaran. Saya hanya menyarankan jangan terlalu banyak memberikan gula agar tidak terlalu manis. Kalau kurang baru bisa ditambahkan.

Blueberry (jam) Smoothies

Bahan :
- selai blueberry
- susu UHT putih
- gula pasir
- es batu

Cara :
1. Campur semua bahan jadi satu di blender.
2. Tuang dalam gelas, hidangkan.

Hahahaha...gampang kan....ga pake timbang-timbang.
Have a nice try.

Pelasan Ikan Tongkol / Steamed Spicy Cob Fish wrapped in banana-leaves

Pelasan, also known as pepes in Bahasa Indonesia. Yup, it because those foods are wrapped with banana-leaf. The first time I knew and taste Pelasan Ikan Tongkol was from my mother-in-law, it's all because she is from Pasuruan, East Java.

After almost 8 years of marriage, I've been in Pasuruan once some years ago. The weather is so hot, but I love the food. Sadly, I didn't have much time to explore every single place in Pasuruan. But I had an opportunity to taste the famous dish "Kupang", I was curious with that food.

View days ago, my mother-in-law had sent me 5 pieces pelasan ikan tongkol. My assumpsion was my son doesn't like it because its spicy flavor. So when my son wanted the last piece of pelasan, he ate and he liked it. Bam.....he wanted more. I didn't know how to make pelasan tongkol before, and now it's the time. I want to try to make this dish on my own. As I mentioned before, I'm not really a good chef but I bet my son can count me on this thing.

Ingredients :

- cob fish / ikan tongkol cuwe
- chilies
- garlic
- salt
- sugar
- tamarind, soaked in warm water
- banana-leaves for wrapping

How to :
1. Cut cob fish/ ikan tongkol in 7 cm long, set aside.
2. Soak tamarind in warm water.
3. Blend chilies and garlic, add sugar and salt. Then add tamarind into the chili sauce.
4. Arrange the cob fish on the banana-leaves, add with chili sauce. Wrap them up and tie them with a string or pin with wood tooth picks

5. Heat the steamer and steamed all pepes for about 25 minutes. Cool them down.

My son really enjoy this dish especially with warm rice.

Setup Jambu Biji

Living in Indonesia, I never lack of fresh fruits. Mango, jackfruit, orange, apple, guava, tamarillo, strawberry, papaya, water melon and many more. So, in this post I'll write about my mom's original recipe "Setup Jambu Biji ".

I usually eat this every Ramadhan for break fasting. Setup Jambu Biji with ice, cold, sweet, fresh and has lots of vitamin. Mmmmmm......I love this dessert and you also may try this at home. On my way back home, I bought some guava at Pasar Kebayoran and I didn't know what I want to make with it. Then when I saw herbs and spices seller, I saw cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cinnamon is one of the ingredient of Setup Jambu Biji.

So, here it is the recipe

Ingredients :
- sugar
- water
- cinnamon
- guava

How to :

1. Wash guava with clean water (of course), and then cut it out (the size is up to you !)

2. Boil water, sugar and cinnamon in a pan. If you like it sweet just add more sugar. You better taste it first before you put the guava into the pan.

3. After the water has boiled, then put the guava cutlets into the pan. Let them boiled for about 5 minutes then cool them down.

4. Better served cold.

Enjoy....

DMBLGIT goes 5

DMBLGIT (Does My Blog Look Good In This) is a monthly food photography event wherein people submit their best food photos and a team of judges picks out the best of them on the basis of edibility, originality and aesthetics. This year would be the 5th anniversary of DMBLGIT.

My first entry for DMBLGIT was in January 2010, then I am a new comer in this event. So much I can learn in this event, especially in food photography. For you can see, DMBLGIT was created by Andrew of Spittoon and also Nidhi is the host of DMBLGIT June Edition.

I really hope that everyone who read this could also help spread the words for the event and its 5th anniversary by simply mentioning about it in your next post. Help us and also help this photography event, so it can continue for the next months and years.

Personally, I don't want this event will be the last or an end of DMBLGIT. So come on, send your best photo that has appeared on your blog during May 2010 to the host (Nidhi).

Gluten-free Chocolate Brownies

Since chocolate brownies became one of my son's favorite cake, I had baked it couple of time. The only chocolate brownies I ever make is Nigel Slater's chocolate brownies. I really love the strong chocolate taste in the brownies and it was easy to make :D

While I was looking for another recipe of chocolate brownies, I found this Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies. Though it didn't seem so much different with Nigel Slater's Brownies, but I'm eager to try this. So, this is it.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients :

250 gr easimelt chocolate

175 gr unsalted butter

150 gr caster sugar

50 gr cocoa powder

salt

3 eggs

How to : (adapted from London Foodie in New York)

1. Heat the oven to180C. Line a 23cm square baking tin with parchment paper so that it comes up over the edge at two opposing sides.

2. Separate 50g of the chocolate and set aside. Place the remaining 175g in a glass or ceramic bowl and melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove and stir until all of the chocolate has melted. Set aside. Alternatively you can do this over a double boiler.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or by hand) beat the butter with all of the sugar with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.

4. Add the cocoa powder and salt and pulse again just to combine.

5. Add the eggs, a little at a time beating until incorporated over a medium-low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between each egg. Stop the mixer and pour in the melted chocolate. Put the mixer on low until the chocolate and butter mixture are just combined.

6/ Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the cocoa/salt mixture until barely combined. Gently fold in the remaining chopped chocolate. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly- leveling the top with the backside of a spoon or off-set palette knife.

7. Bake for 25 minutes, no more. At this point the brownies will be set only around the edges and they will be slightly pulling away from the sides of the tin. The middle will still liquidy (have faith!). Allow to completely cool before cutting (or spoon out if serving for dessert) and store in the fridge.

And my son wants it more and more.

Choco Banana Pastry for NCFPC event

Sorry it took me so long to write back again (hhuuuhhh...like there's someone waiting for my update). But I can tell you, if in this period I feel not in the mood to bake something. Call it a break.

At the beginning of this month, I read a notification in NCFPC's fan page on Facebook. They started the new Food Photography event. This time they challenge everyone to submit their best picture of breakfast with only 3 props allowed. One photo per person, which I think that sounds good. So everyone will think and re-think, choose and re-choose which photo they will submit to the event.

What happened to me ? I was busy to find the best concept for simple breakfast. Breakfast, morning, newspaper, bread, oat, cereal, fruit, milk, you name it ... I have lots of photo stocks of breakfast. But I didn't feel satisfied enough with all the photos. Sigh.....

Then....after bought some pastry in the cake shop, I arrange the set as simple as I can. 3 props only, got it !! This was my last try, and I satisfied with this one. Green, simple, suitable for breakfast.

My hard work pays off....

I love Dim Sum

Since I am a big fan of Chinese food, I love to eat dim sum such as shrimp dumpling and siu mai. There was a day when I was craving dim sum so badly, and my husband had to search the dim sum seller around the neighborhood. But he didn't find any.

Mostly, Chinese food use pork oil or pork, which is forbidden in Islam. Being a Muslim mandates that a Muslim eat halal food. So I have to choose very carefully the halal Chinese food, by seeing HALAL label on its packaging.

Last weekend was a busy busy busy, hot, and sucking my energy-weekend. Taking my son to the Robotic Competition 2010 in one of shopping mall the whole day on Saturday. Then I felt really exhausted on the next day. I woke up in the morning, gosh, I saw a basket full of unironed clothes. The basket was still in the same place since the last time I left it last weekend, but the pile of unironed clothes was much taller than before. What a pailful weekend !!

So to cheer up my day at the afternoon, I steamed shrimp siu mai, took some pictures and share it with you.

Enjoy...

Strawberry sorbet for the hot weather

I can't believe the weather in Jakarta is extremely hot and very unpredictable these days. Sunny in the morning and in the day time, then suddenly the nimbus coming from nowhere and then we have heavy rain. Global warming ? I don't know. Talking about global warming, I remember the "Earth Hour" campaign on 27 March 2010. My son was so exited about this event, and he was planning to turn off the light for an hour. And we made it to the sixty long minutes. :D

As usual, every weekend, I come home and do all the ironing, cleaning up the house, and make some delicious food for my family. Try out some new recipes I found on the internet. But sometime, I just want to lay down and enjoy my weekend by eating something at the restaurant. No cooking ! Haha ... tasting a different kind of delicious foods in a cozy place with all the ones you love feels like heaven.

(Ssshhhh....while I'm typing this blog entry, my husband is doing the laundry) Love you ayah !! :D

Okay now, what am I going to do with these strawberries ? I can't keep the strawberry juice for days in the fridge. Yeah, strawberry sorbet is a good choice and perfect for the hot weather. Let's make some.

Ingredients :
500 gr strawberry
130 gr granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
130 ml water

How to :
- Bring the sugar and water to a bowl in saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

- Wash the strawberries. Put the strawberries and lemon juice into a blender, process until strawberries are pureed. Set aside.

- When the sugar syrup has cooled completely add it to the strawberry puree. Stir well.

- Pour the mixture to a stainless steel pan, and keep in the fridge.

- Transfer the partially thawed sorbet to the blender, and process to break up the large ice crystals that have formed on the sorbet. (This step is what gives the sorbet its wonderful fluffy texture.) Place the sorbet back into the pan and refreeze for at least three hours, and up to several days.

This is my first sorbet and it's very easy to make. Cook everything at least once :D.
Enjoy...

Brownies oh Brownies

Who hates chocolate ? The answer is my husband. He said he's not a sweet tooth and he just love anything fried, such as pastel, bakwan goreng, risol, tahu goreng and many more. In the other hand, I love sweetness and absolutely I love chocolate brownies.

I've never made chocolate brownies before, but since I couldn't wipe off the image of chocolate melt brownies I saw on the internet, I put myself courageously to make one. After searching, googling and do a little research (if you don't mind), I found the famous chocolate brownies recipe. It's Nigel Slater Chocolate Brownies and of course with melted chocolate inside.

The inside part of this brownies is a bit runny, and yummy :D Everyone who loves chocolate and sweetness, will love this cake. So, here's the recipe. I just copy- paste from Sticky Steps.

Ingredients :

300g brown caster sugar
250g softened butter
250g of the best chocolate you can get (darker is better and aim for ~70% cocoa solids)
3 large eggs plus the yolk of another egg
100g plain flour (Nigel uses 60g)
60g of good cocoa powder
1tspn baking powder

How to :

1) Preheat the oven to 180C
2) Line a large baking tin (23cm) with baking paper
3) Cream the sugar and butter with a mixer until white and fluffy

4) Melt 200g of the chocolate and chop the remaining 50g into small pieces or “gravel” put this aside.
5) Lightly beat the egg mixture and introduce to the creamed sugar/butter slowly with the beater running slowly until combined.
6) Pour in the molten chocolate and fold with a spoon. Add in the chopped chocolate bits.
7) Sift in the dry ingredients and fold in with spoon gently as to not knock any air out.

Come on everyone, don't you want to make one ?

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Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan :

300 gr gula kastor

250 gr mentega tawar

250 gr dark cooking chocolate

3 butir telur + 1 kuning telur

60 gr terigu

60 gr coklat bubuk

1 sdt baking powder

Cara :

1. Panaskan oven dengan suhu 180 C

2. Alasi loyang 23 cm dengan kertas minyak

3. Kocok dengan mixer, mentega dan gula kastor sampai putih dan halus

4. Lelehkan 200 gr dark cooking coklat dengan cara ditim, sisihkan 50 gr untuk dipotong-potong kecil.

5. Kocok telur dengan garpu, lalu masukan ke adonan mentega secara perlahan sambil terus di-mixer sampai rata

6. Masukan coklat yang sudah dilelehkan ke dalam adonan dan aduk dengan spatula. Tambahkan lagi dengan sisa cokalt yang sudah dipotong-potong.

7. Campurkan terigu, coklat bubuk dan baking powder ke dalam adonan.

8. Setelah rata, masukan ke dalam loyang dan siap dipanggang.

have a nice try, and enjoy.....

Chocolate covered Oreo

A very simple recipe, especially when you're not in the mood to bake a cake but you want to eat something sweet but simple and easy to make. I had a really good story to go along with this little recipe. A cup of left-over dark cooking chocolate, that I left behind for a day after my food photography project "When Strawberry met Chocolate". I didn't know what should I do with the chocolate. Then an idea popped out just like that "why don't you make chocolate covered biscuits".

So, here is the recipe of Chocolate covered Oreo Cookies

Ingredients :
- Oreo Cookies
- Dark cooking chocolate

How to :
1. In a stainless steel bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water, put in the dark cooking chocolate. Stir until melted, remove from heat.
2. Using two forks, dip Oreos (a couple at a time, depending on the size of your bowl) in the melted chocolate and coat both sides. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. (Decorate top of cookie with sprinkles or crushed candy canes, if you like)
3. Let set in refrigerate for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Easy, isn't it ? And your kids will love it if you make these cookies to joy them.
Have fun and enjoy....

NCC Food Photography Club : In Love With Food

When the time I read about this event on Facebook, I had an idea to make a simple breakfast in bed. From my album, I already have two photos of food with heart shaped, so I sent those photos.

But the newest concept on my head about breakfast in bed really annoyed me. So there was I, on the supermarket bought an artificial rose, bread, a square white plate and a white cup.

I prepared the sets at night, great concept, and I can't wait to meet morning to shoot and capture my idea. I bought the bread in one of bakery shop, with the name of it on the bread cup. I don't like the look of that bread cup. And I covered it with tissue paper and tied it up with golden ribbon. Voilaa .... nice looking.

For the drink I made hot chocolate, and poured it to the cup. Put an artificial red rose for the bright color. I gathered all the things on a wood tray belongs to my mom.

I use the natural light from the open window in the morning. Natural, dramatic and romantic. here are the pictures.


Enjoy....