A great loss and Avocado pudding

Innalillahi wa innailaihi rojiun - Truly we belong to Allah and truly to Him shall we return.

March 12, 2013, at 2.40 AM, my dad passed away in peace. It's a great loss for us as a family and it hit me really bad. No sign, no last message and the worst is "I wasn't there to be with him in the last time of his life". Last time I called him was in the afternoon the day before he died, he said "I'm fine". He tried to make me calm and it worked. Nine days after he died and I still shed my tears whenever I think of him.

Three days before my dad died, my sister-in-law died from breast cancer. She had been struggling with cancer for more than three years. She was one of the nicest person I have ever met. I lost two important person in my life in 3 days. My prayers for Papa and Kak Ati (sister-in-law), may Allah bless your souls and give you all the best place in Jannah (heaven). Aamiin.

Nothing much to say this time. Yet, from old photos archive, here are the photos of Avocado pudding. It's quite simple and delicious. I got the original recipe from Roger Mooking from Everyday Exotic. Enjoy......

When scone gets swirled : Chocolate swirl scone loaf

Three weeks after my dad's Cardiac catheterization surgery, our lives are starting back to normal. My dad was hospitalized for eleven days and it took out our attention, mind, energy and time. The surgery went smooth, the doctor was competent and acted fast in critical moment. My dad had become unconscious the time he arrived at the hospital. The pulse from his heart was only 20 beats per minute which is mean below average normal pulse 80 - 100 beats per minute. We almost lost him, but Alhamdulillah, we still have him alive. 

I made this scone loaf right before new year. I think keeping food photos and use them later whenever I get busy or when I have no time to bake anything is very favorable. Just like these days, where I concentrate on my dad's recovery and not fully back to my baking and cooking time. I only open my archive and choose some photos of a recipe I had tried.

Adapted from Donna Hay's Chocolate swirl scone loaf, the scone was absolutely perfect. I fall in love on how easy and simple it is to make and my curiosity for its swirl :D The original scones were made with oats and had a large round shape and grilled-bake over an open fire. Nowadays, the scones can be found in various shapes from diamond, triangle to wedge or people cut the dough with cookie cutter into heart-shaped or crescent moon shaped.

Enjoy.....

The winners of DMBLGiT January 2013 Edition

From the moment I announced DMBLGiT January 2013, food and drink photographs were sent to my mail. I discovered many new blogs and new friends as well. I received 46 photos from foodie bloggers around the globe as you can check them on gallery. Thank you all for your participation !

Thanks to a team of judges (Yelena, Aisha, Kristin and Pamela) for your time and efforts. Another big thank you to Andrew Barrow for letting me host again and Shari for the badges. Keep participating on next edition which will be hosted by Liz and Jewels from Liz & Jewels. Or you could also take part in this event as the host by sending an e-mail to Andrew with "DMBLGiT Host" as subject.

Now, it's about time to reveal the winners of DMBLGiT January 2013 Edition. Here they are :

OVERALL WINNERS

First Place Winner

Kankana Saxena of Sunshine and Smile with
"Murgh Korma (Chicken in Nutty Sauce)"

 

Second Place Winner

Asri of Food and Story with "Chai Tea"

Third Place Winner

Karen Low of Citrus and Candy with "Mussels with blue cheese and white wine sauce"

 

CATEGORIES WINNERS

Edibility Winners

We have a tie in this category

Raquel Carmona of Los Tragaldabas with "Bread"

Yulyan Parwati of Cooking with Love with "Tiramisu"

Originality Winner

Vanessa Hernandez of Chokolat and Pimienta with "Sugar Cookies"

Aesthetics Winner

Monika Topolko of Bake Noir with "Chocolate Beet Cake"

Congratulation to all winners !

DMBLGiT January 2013 : Meet the judges

46 gorgeous photos have been submitted in the DMBLGiT January 2013 gallery. Now it's time to introduce a team of judges on the panel who kindly help me judging and scoring all photos. Here they are :

Yelena Strokin is a freelance food stylist and photographer. She has won DMBLGiT for several times. Check her blog Cooking Melangery where she keeps her beautifully styled photos and tested recipes from her kitchen.

Kristin Rosenau was an astroparticle physics student who discovered her new love in pastries and she decided to switch her career to pursue a life of butter and sugar since then. Find more of her works, stories and recipes on Pastry Affair.

Aisha Yusaf, doesn't have food blog but she has passion and love in food photography. An Indian woman lives in Switzerland with her husband and two kids. For her, "photography is an art, and in art, as in life, passion is everything. The rest is just detail". You can find her on Flickr and Aisha Yusaf Photography.

The owner of Unodedos, Pamela Rodriguez, has won lot of DMBLGiT badges. She likes crossword puzzles, but hates rainy day. Every day she tries to find some time to write, read and find inspiration everywhere.


While you patiently wait, we are judging and scoring photos. This job is a lot easier with the help of four incredible judges above, so I promise to announce the winners on February 1, 2013.

Kalimbu / Steamed cassava cake stuffed with banana

For the third time, I'm hosting the famous and the grandest food photography event, "Does My Blog Look Good in This ?". It's widely open to all foodie blogger to submit their best food/drink photos. If you haven't send your photo yet, you still have plenty of time before the closing date on January 20, 2013. Somehow, it's a good way to find new food bloggers out there with beautiful images.

Rain and windy days have made the temperature much cooler than usual. The wind was blowing through the trees in front yard and passed the breeze into the house. It was so hard not to pull back my blanket over my head and go back to sleep. I feel so grateful that I'm still able to enjoy this amazingly beautiful day shared with my loved ones.

Cassava root is rich in carbohydrates and it's also a good source of energy. In the country where I grew up, Indonesia, cassava is considered as the primary ingredient of snacks and desserts. Tapai or tape or peuyeum or fermented cassava is the result of cassava fermentation and it can be cooked in many variations of cooking process. Bake, grill or deep fry. In fact, fermented cassava can be mixed into beverages or desserts.

The first recipe I post early this year is a simple Indonesian traditional cake. Kalimbu is steamed cassava cake with banana wrapped inside the grated cassava then coated with shredded coconut from an ethnic group in South Sulawesi, Bugis. The using of cassava in Indonesian traditional cake is very common. If we dig a little deeper, we'll discover some similar cassava cakes in every regions in Indonesia. We have Mata Roda from Malang , Putri Noong from West Java, Songkolo Bandang from South Sulawesi or Putu Tegal.

In West Sumatra, we could find the authentic souvenir made from cassava, it called Keripik Balado or Keripik Sanjai or Cassava chips. Believe me, it's not just chips but more than that. It coated with  sticky spicy red sauce that will make you ask for more and more.

Enjoy....