Lunar New Year

It's another exciting celebration... New Year!

Yeah, we have some 'New Year' in one calendar year. Other than 'normal' New Year on 1st of January (Gregorian Calender / Anno Domini), this country also celebrates Imlek (Chinese New Year), Saka New Year (Hindhuism) and Hijriah (Islamic). Oh, one more, there is another New Year in Javanese Calendar.

Those days were marked as Public Holiday in our calendar (except the Javanese New Year).
We don't celebrate all of them personally, but for sure we always enjoy the public holiday.

I do love to see the colorful traditional celebrations and for the last couple of weeks I enjoyed seeing some parts of Jakarta turned to red! Chinese New Year Celebration become one of the festive celebration in our country since 2001, after our fourth president, the late Abdurrahman Wahid, sought religious and ethnics reconciliation. The Chinese language was no longer banned, and neither was celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Last week, two days before the big 'Chinese New Year' day, I managed to visit Glodok area, in the old part of Jakarta, which is home to many Chinese Indonesian residents as well as Jakarta’s most famous Chinatown area, Petak Sembilan. Located surrounding commercial area in North Jakarta, it's not hard to get to this place. I went by riding a 30minutes KRL (the city train) from our home in South Jakarta.

As I expected before, the red color adorned this area. From the flowers, merchandises, to the ornaments. Very beautiful.
The color, the smell, the food, the noise ...made me feel like I was entering a 'totally' different part of the world.

The Petak Sembilan Alley was my first part to explore.


Petak Sembilan Alley is welcoming Chinese New Year. I have visited Glodok area many times, but this was my very first time walking through this alley. It amazed me. All the chinese trinkets; from the clothes, flowers, souvenirs, to all kind of food (raw and cooked) were available on both sides of the alley. The lanterns were hang on strings connecting each side.
This place is a perfect destination in Jakarta if you want to experience the richness of Chinese culture. The alley was busy at that time, the visitors were excited welcoming the new year. It was a good fortune for most of the sellers.

Traditional Chinese bright red costumes for children, complete with the cap and fake long braids. Before more enjoying this crowded alley, I decided to stop by in the famous Dharma Bhakti Temple, the oldest "Buddhist" temple in one of the corners, dated back in 1650.
Even it was still 2 days to go to the New Year celebration, but here, lots of Indonesians of Chinese descent burned incense and prayed for good fortune in the coming year.
I couldn't tell too much story about this temple, since I don't have the capability to talk about it. Looked around the temple as a place of religious worship, watched the people praying, saw the colorful ornaments that rich of simbolism, and took some pictures were good enough for me.
Leaving the temple, I went back to the crowded alley.
Aha... so many things were gathered in the road. The sellers, the visitors, the vehicles and the colorful food (raw and cooked). Very crowded, very interesting, very unique! I like this place.

Ikan Bandeng a.k.a milkfish is one popular seafood that offered for the New Year celebration. This fish is served to symbolize abundance.Busy activities around the China Town kept going. More people came, more crowds at the road.
Candy Shop was the next one that caught my attention. Rows of candy buckets were sitting nicely in front of the shop. It's colorful, and... it's not like the candies that normally found in city supermarkets. Most of them came from China and Malaysia!

Candies with colorful and cute wrappers Exotic tropical fruits gave other hints for the festive season. Since 2 months ago, those fruits had been available in the markets. Some of them were local fruits but many were imported fruits. Actually, some days before I went to this China Town, I imagined that I would try lots of delicious food here. Unfortunately, since a night before and during the trip, I got stomach upset. So during this trip, I decided not to eat anything, only drank plenty of water. Not bad, at least only once I had to rush finding a toilet :D. *psst, I found out the new toilet in Dharma Bhakti Temple was very clean*. Anyway, I brought home some of the food.

Here, the pictures below probably can show how tempting the food that we found in the China Town.

Colorful Bakpao (Chinese Bun) - Kue Keranjang a.k.a Nian Gao
Not only for eating during the celebration, both of them were used for offering.


Bakso Goreng (fried meat / fish balls) - Otak-otak


Bektim (pork & pork organs stew) - Rujak Gloria


Teripang a.k.a Sea Cucumbers - Chinese Food Kiosk During the New Year day a.k.a Imlek as it is usually referred to in Indonesian, we had a good trip bringing our children to one Chinese temple in Bogor (yup, I have plenty of pictures again!). We didn't attend any special Imlek celebration. I tried to cook something connecting with 'chinese culinary' for my family, something that I'm sure they will like it. As we like dim sum, so I decided to prepare Chicken Shumai/Siew Mai/Siomai. The mouthwatering open-faced Chinese dumpling that is popular dim sum fare. Wishing You A Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year!
Gong Xi Fa Cai 2562! Siomai Ayam / Chicken Siew Mai
source : Primarasa, DimSum.
Bahan / Ingredients :
15 lembar kulit siomai/kulit pangsit bergaris tengah 8-10 cm / 15 wonton wrappers, diameter: 8-10cm
1 buah wortel, serut untuk taburan / 1 carrot, grated for topping

Isi / Filling:
150 gr daging ayam cincang / 150 gr minced chicken
150 gr udang kupas, cincang / 150 gr shrimp, peeled, chopped
50 gr rebung cincang / 50 gr chopped bamboo shoots
50 gr jamur hioko cincang / 50 gr chopped hioko mashroom
50 gr waterchestnut cincang / 50 gr chopped waterchestnut
2 siung bawang putih, cincang / 2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 batang daun bawang, cincang / 2 spring onions, chopped
2 sdm tepung kanji / 2 tbsp tapioka flour
1 putih telur / 1 white egg

Saus Bumbu / Seasoning Sauce
1 sdm kecap asin / 1 tbsp soy sauce
1 sdm minyak wijen / 1 tbsp sesame oil
1 sdt gula pasir / 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 sdt garam / 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 sdt merica bubuk / 1/4 tsp pepper
1 sdm angciu / 1 tbs angciu (Chinese wine)Resep dalam Bahasa Indonesia;
1. Campur semua bahan saus bumbu dalam mangkuk, aduk rata.
2. Taruh bahan isi dalam mangkuk yang lebih besar, campur saus bumbu, aduk sampai rata benar. Kemudian simpan dalam lemari es selama 1 jam. Pada waktu akan dikerjakan bagi adonan isi menjadi 15 bagian.
3. Ambil selembar kulit siomai/pangsit, taruh 1 bagian adonan isi di tengahnya. Tarik pinggirnya dengan menggunakan kelima jari, kemudian tekan bagian atasnya dengan jari yang dibasahi air terlebih dahulu.
4. Taburi pemukaannya dengan sedikit wortel parut. Lakukan hal yang sama hingga adonan habis.
5. Didihkan air dalam dandang, taruh siomai dalam loyang dengan jarak +/-2 cm satu dengan lainnya. Kukus siomai di atas api besar selama 10-15 menit sampai matang, angkat.
The Recipes in English;
1. Mix all seasoning sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir well.
2. Place the filling ingredients in a larger bowl, combine the sauce ingredients, stir until blended completely. Then store in a refrigerator for 1 hour. Divide the filling dough into 15 parts.
3. Take a piece of wonton skin, place 1 portion dough filling in the middle. Pull the edges by using the five fingers, then press the top with your fingers soaked in water first.
4. Sprinkle the top surface with a little grated carrot. Do the same thing until the dough runs out. 5. Boil water in a steamer, put the siomai + / -2 cm of one another. Steam the siomai over high heat for 10-15 minutes until cooked, remove from heat.
Have a nice weekend!

Laksa Cibinong

Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup from the Peranakan culture, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements found in Malaysia and Singapore, and to a lesser extent Indonesia.
Source : Wikipedia.
We used to live in Malaysia for 3.5 years. So, I know 100% that laksa is indeed a popular dish in Malaysia. Not doubt! Other than that, I found out during the 'international day' in my children's previous school, the Singapore booth always sell Singaporean Laksa.
Yes, laksa is famous and popular in both countries, and it's popular in some part of our country, as well. During the Jakarta Fair, I did try Laksa Betawi (~Jakarta). Another popular Indonesian Laksa is called Laksa Pengantin from Bogor (West Java).

A couple of months ago, I read that there is famous laksa dish from a town called Cibinong. Cibinong is the capital of Bogor Residence in West Java. It's located between Jakarta and city of Bogor. To be honest, I never tried the original Laksa Cibinong, but I found the recipe of the dishes from one of my recipe books and decided to prove that it's delicious. For me, after trying some variants of Indonesian Laksa, I think they are similar each other (ahaa... I know, I don't have a sensitive tongue to recognize the differences!). Indonesian laksa is kind of thick yellowish coconut milk based soup, that is produced by mixture of some spices and salt, and it is served with bean sprout, vermicelli, shrimps, eggs, and Indonesian basil leaves. Sometime they are also served with coooked shredded chicken and glutinous rice cake (ketupat). Sound yummy, right!
There is no special requirement to cook this dish. Just remember, while cooking 'soup' using coconut milk, don't forget to stir occassionally to prevent the coconut milk from curdling.If you are not familiar with one of the ingredients; "temu mangga", ahaaa... let me tell you, that's the one which makes this dish fresh and it has unique flavour as well as giving soft yellow color to the dish. If you're in Jakarta, it's not hard to find this kind of fresh spice. The shape looks like somewhere between ginger and tumeric. Cut a little bit, ... you'll smell a young mango aroma. That's why they're called it temu mangga.Laksa Cibinong
Source : Primarasa, Hidangan Berkuah Terlezat
Bahan / Ingredients
75 gr bihun kering / 75 gr dried vermicelli
2 butir telur rebus / 2 boiled eggs
100 gr taoge / 100 gr bean sprouts
2 sdm minyak goreng / 2 tbsp oil
2 batang serai, memarkan / 2 lemon grass, crushed
6 lembar daun jeruk / 6 lime leaves
750 ml santan, dari 1/4 butir kelapa / 750 ml coconut milk from 1/4 coconut
100 gr udang ukuran sedang, kupas, belah punggungnya / 100 gr medium-size shrimp, peel, shallow slice its back longitudinally
1 sdt garam / 1 tsp salt
1/2 sdt merica bubuk / 1/2 tsp ground (white) pepper
1/2 sdt gula pasir / 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1 sdm bawang goreng / 1 tbsp fried onions
2 tangkai daun kemangi / 2 stalks Indonesian basil leaves

Bumbu Halus / Spices (ground)
8 butir bawang merah / 8 shallots
3 siung bawang putih / 3 cloves garlic
2 butir kemiri / 2 candlenuts, roasted
1 sdt ketumbar sangrai / 1 tsp coriander, roasted
1/4 sdt jintan sangrai / 1/4 tsp cumin, roasted
1 cm kencur / 1 cm kaempferia galanga
2 cm kunyit bakar / 2 cm tumeric
3-4 cm temu mangga / 3-4 cm temu mangga

Pelengkap
Sambal cabai rebus / Chilli
Air jeruk nipis / Lime juice Cara memasak:
1. Seduh bihun dengan air panas hingga lunak, tiriskan. Kupas telur, belah dua atau empat memanjang. Buang akar taoge, sisihkan.
2. Panaskan minyak goreng dalam wajan, tumis bumbu halus hingga harum, masukkan serai dan daun jeruk, aduk. Masukkan santan, masak hingga mendidih, timba-timba supaya santan tidak pecah.
3. Masukkan udang, tambahkan garam, merica, dan gula, aduk. Kecilkan apinya, masak hingga cukup matang, angkat.
4. Siapkan mangkuk saji, taruh bihun, taoge, dan telur ke dalam mangkuk. Siram kuah panas, taburi bawang goreng dan daun kemangi. Sajikan panas dengan sambal cabai rebus dan air jeruk nipis.
Cooking Method :
1. Blanch the dried vermicelli with hot water until tender, drain. Peel the eggs, cut lengthwise into two or four. Discard the roots of bean sprouts and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet, saute ground spices until fragrant, put lemon grass and lime leaves, stir. Add the coconut milk. Heat it to the boil and stir occassionally to prevent the coconut milk from curdling.
3. Add the shrimp, salt, pepper, and sugar, stir. Reduce the heat and cook well, remove from the heat.
4. Prepare the serving bowls, place the vermicelli, bean sprouts, and eggs into a bowl. Pour hot gravy to cover these and sprinkle with fried shallots and basil leaves. Serve with boiled chili sauce and lime juice.

Have a good Thursday night!

Cheers to a New Year!

We're passing the middle of January 2011. Ooh, time goes by very fast.
In fact, I'm still enjoying the raining that cleansing the city and the wind that supplying fresh air into the city.
Beautiful.

Last month, we were very busy and ... very happy at the same time. We enjoyed the wonderful season with our big family. I remember, when we used to live far from our family, many-many years we celebrated Christmas just two then three then four of us, without our relatives around. It was fine at that time, we managed to find our own way to enjoy the season. But now, I can feel again the joyful of being around among our big family during the Christmas season.
Precious.

This week, after all our activities are back to normal routine, I can think clearly that ...yeah, we've already passed 2010. Looking back my blogging and food photography journey during 2010, I realize that I was not productive. Not at all!
Little bit dissapointing.
On the other hand, I'm glad that last year I had chances to learn lots of new things; exploring something that I have never imagined. I feel so lucky being a member of SLF community. With the other members, we discussed many things about food photography. From the technical photography to the food styling. I learned more about lighting, colour, texture to the camera angles.
All those pictures above are some of my entry during 2010 SLF challenges. Even though the group is no longer active, but I have to say that this owesome group has given me enlightenment to capture the food stylictically appealling. Being with such talented people kept me on my toes and pushed me to do better each time.Half year on 2009, after moved from India on June, we were very busy exploring our city, Jakarta. We visited some museums, markets, malls, parks and also the seaport.
And last year, I had opportunities to travel to some places in Indonesia (actually, most of the time I joined my husband's bussiness trips). It opened my eyes bigger to the beauty of my beloved country, and gave me opportunity to explore more about travel photography. Oh yeah, I love it!
Yogyakarta, May 2010
Onething that very interesting is that I need two different approaches for food photography and travel photography. In food shoots, everything is stylized and curated, whereas in travel photography we use snap-as-we-go approach. It let us capture the images that we consider beautiful and 'freeze' them as they are. Oh, I love both of them.
I love travelling, I love styling the food and I love photography more and more.*I did prewedding and wedding photography last month, and ... I like it as well. Ooow! and I always enjoy to take family pictures.

Bali, November 2010

Kota Gede, May 2010 So, last year I had a great time while visiting Yogyakarta on May, Bali on November, many-many times visiting Bandung and Bogor.
Yogyakarta and Bali, both have rich cultural traditions and beautiful panoramas.
During my visit in Yogya, I had a chance to capture the Waisak Celebration in Borobudur Temple (the biggest Buddhist Temple in the world) and also visited the 'old' town Kota Gede.
Bali, ...yeah I remember my promise! *promise again*

Bandung and Bogor are not too far from Jakarta. From our home, it took 2 hours journey to Bandung and 1/2 hour to Bogor *by car*. Most of the time, we visited both places for culinary journey. They are famous for their inovative street food. We brought our children, and introduced them with many traditional food and let them familiar with the street vendor and traditional market.It's very enjoyable to visit all of those places, just need a good planning and always prepare high capacity flash card when you go travelling.

Bogor - West Java, October 2010
Now let's start talking about food. Well, this time about drink.As I wrote before, we visited Bogor for culinary journey with our children. Now let me introduce you to Bir Kocok (they spell it 'Kotjok' - old version spelling). It was very famous from old generation and it's famous until now. They sell it at Jl. Suryakencana (around Gang Aut), Bogor. Bir Kocok means 'Shaking Beer', but not like 'normal' beer, this beer contain 0% alcohol! No, it's different with some of beer brands that claiming to be 'zero alcohol'. This beer is made from spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, etc) and shaked inside the metal container to produce the foam. The result; physically it looks like any other beer, but the flavor is totally spicy!If Bogor has Bir Kocok, then Jakarta has Bir Pletok. For me, the flavor it's not different, because they're made of almost same ingredients; spices, sugar and water. I tried to find out, why they call it bir pletok?? The answer, the word 'pletok' came from the sound that is generated while they shake the bir mixed with ice cubes inside the metal container... "pletak... pletok.." :D

Bir Pletok @ Jakarta Fair, July 2010
For now, Bir Pletok is not easy to be found, even in Jakarta. Only during Jakarta Fair (on July) or in some Jakarta's Festival, this traditional beverage can be found.Why not make it by ourselves? All the ingredients are everyday spices that normally we stock in the kitchen. Only one that probably not ready on our kitchen cupboard; the Secang Wood. It's not that hard to find it in some supermarkets, and it helps giving reddish colour to the drink.Now, let's refresh and warm ourselves with this healthy Bir Pletok...
let's coloring our year 2011, and let's explore the beauty of this world ... Cheers!!
Es Bir Pletok
source: Primarasa, Es Segar Ceria :)
Bahan / Ingredients
100 gr jahe / 100 gr ginger
3 lembar daun pandan / 3 pandan leaves
3 batang serai / 3 stalks lemon grass
5 lembar daun jeruk / 5 lime leaves
3 butir cengkeh / 3 gloves
3 cm kayu manis / 3 cm cinnamon bark
1/2 butir pala / 1/2 nutmeg
25 gr kayu secang / 25 gr secang wood
250 gr gula pasir / 250 gr granulated sugar
1.5 liter air / 1.5 liter water
es batu / ice cubes
Bahasa Indonesia:
1. Kupas jahe, iris tipis. Potong-potong daun pandan.
Memarkan batang serai. Buang tulang daun jeruk.
2. Taruh jahe, daun pandan, serai, daun jeruk, cengkeh, kayu manis, pala, kayu secang, gula pasir dan air dalam panci.
Jerang di atas api sedang hingga mendidih.
3. Tutup panci, kecilkan apinya, masak hingga aroma rempah-rempah keluar (+/- 25 menit). Angkat dari atas api, sisihkan hingga dingin.
4. Saring minuman dan buang ampasnya. Bagi minuman dalam gelas saji.
Tambahkan es batu, sajikan.
English :
1. Peel the ginger, slice it thinly. Cut the pandan leaves.
Crush the lemongrass. Discard lime leaves 'bone'.
2. Put the ginger, pandan leaves, lemongrass, lime leaves, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, secang wood, sugar and water into a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until boiling
3. Cover the pan, reduce the heat, and cook until the aroma of spices is released (+/- 25 minutes). Remove from the heat, set aside to cool.
4. Strain the drink and discard pulp. Serve it into several cups with ice cubes.

The magical Gingerbread Cupcake

First of all, I'm sorry that I can't keep my promise to post the story about my journey in Bali last November. I didn't imagine before, that month of December will pass very fast. The month that I have been really waiting for months, will end very soon... and I have no time and energy to post that story. Hopefully next month I'll have perfect time to upload the photos and the story.

We began this month with some busy activities, preparing our relative's wedding at the first week of December and continued with the kids 'busy' school activities at the end of 2nd term. Preparing their assesments, lots of homeworks and their final presentations (oh, even my 2nd grader son is using Power Point for his presentation! ck..ck..ck...).

Then only 2 weeks before Christmas, we had a chance to decorate our christmas tree in the living room.
At the end, I'm so glad that everything is going to be okay, my heart fills with tons of JOY, and we're ready for welcoming Christmas!

Every December, we incorporate dozen of symbols of the season into our holiday festivities. It is a tradition that we find christmas tree, ginger bread house, nucracker, snowman, candy canes, wreath, holly, etc, during this season. But for us, who live in a tropical country, actually not all of them are known to us.

I grew up in small 'mining' town in South Sulawesi, called Soroako. There is no mall or big shopping center and no fancy restaurant in that town, but we have the beautiful Matano Lake (the deepest lake in Indonesia, the tenth deepest lake in the world). Christmas was my family most intensely celebrated holiday. On Christmas, My mother baked, cooked and we decorated our christmas tree. We always stayed at home, surounded by our family. We were busy in Church, preparing Christmas drama and practising Christmas Choir. That's the memorable 'simple' Christmas that I always remember.

Special thanks to my friend, Sisca Marunduh to let me use her 'old' pictures.When other children always imagine that Santa Claus always comes with his sleigh and reindeers, not for us. Every years we watched Santa came with different 'vehicle'. One Christmas he came with a helicopter. Other year he came in a truck (a very big mining truck), and another year he came by a boat from the lake. Don't you think that we had awesome childhood memories? Yeah, we're so lucky!!

Now, my family & I live in a big metropolitan city, where shopping centers have become one of the popular destinations for most of Jakartans. People are very excited to go shopping, hang out, and christmas become more commercialized :( Oh I miss those old sweet memories.Talking about food, again... every part of the world has their own tradition. Eggnog, mince pie, fruit cake, gingerbread, or even candycane are not popular things for us to enjoy during the Christmas. But not too different with the Idul Fitri celebration in Indonesia; some cookies like nastar, kaastengels, snow white cookies will be served in almost every family that celebrate Christmas. And again, this year my sister send us those cookies! She's so lovely, isn't she? Unfortunately, until this second, I'm not brave enough to open that jars (still sealed). The reason... I'm so sure, that I'll be the one who will eat most of them, and the result... my 'shape' will be not too good during this 'family gathering' season. *yeah... you can laugh loudly now!*Oh no... I'll open it to take some pictures of it :DOne thing that I really need to tell that not like other Christmas before, this year I only try one new recipe. It's the Gingerbread Cupcake from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Recipe Book.For me, this magical cupcake, give scent that says it's Christmas time!Since my children were small, almost every Chrismas I bake gingerbread cookies for them. This year, actually they keep asking me to bake the cookie. With classic reason 'busy', 'no time', 'tired'... I couldn't make it. But this cupcakes give us a 'happy ending'. Very easy to make, with delicious gingerbread flavor. Yeah... gingerbread has never lost its ability to charm and delight! Remember my [Christmas Edition] Ginger All the Way! posting, where I wrote that I failed making the gingerbread cupcake... aha..now, I made it! Successful.
For the companion, I prepared 'Chocolate-Bar Hot Chocolate'. The chocolate flavor is very deep, and delicious.*actually Martha Stewart decorate her cupcakes with buttercream and put the small gingerbread cookie on the top, but I chose to put 2 cashew on the top of the cupcake and dizzle with melted chocolate. Hhmmm, Yummy...Gingerbread Cupcakes
source: Martha Stewart Cupcakes. Makes 22 (I made 24)
Gingerbread is the most recognizable Christmas time flavor, the scent of its signature spices baking in the oven fill a home with holiday cheer. These cupcakes are made with the same mixture of spices-nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, and ginger as the gingerbread.
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1.5 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 3/4 cup palm sugar)
3 tbsp unsulfured molasses (I used honey :))
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flour and spices.
2. With an electrick mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the molasses, and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cook 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 3 months, in airtight containers.
Chocolate-Bar Hot Chocolate
source: The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook. Hot chocolate made from candy bars is a child's idea of heaven. It also saves time since the sugar is already added. Candy-cane stirrers give the chocolate a hint of peppermint flavor.
1 chocolate bar (8 ounces), finely chopped
1 quart milk
4 candy canes, for garnish

Combine chocolate and milk in a medium sauce-pan. Place over medium heat; whisk frequently until chocolate has melted, about 5 minuts. Whisk mixture to combine well, then divide among 4 mugs. Serve garnished with candy canes.
I think it's about time to stop writing... I need to get ready to go to Church for Christmas Eve Service, continue with our big family dinner in my parent's house.I wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Have a Peaceful and Wonderful Season.

"Thank You"

I've just arrived home from the beautiful Bali Island this afternoon. It was an enjoyable great trip. Hundreds of pictures have been loaded into my compact flash card. I have no idea when I'll have time to edit and share them with you.
I feel so grateful that I have a chance to visit this wonderful place (again) and photograph their rich traditional culture and beautiful sceneries.Thanks very much to my Parents & my sister who took care of our children during my short vacation, it gave me a chance to spend intimate time with my husband and recharged my energy. *Special thanks to my darling husband to let me join his business trip :)) Now, I'm back.
I just want to say thank you to all readers for your support. Many many thanks to all of you who wrote comments in this blog. I'm sorry for my late reply. Happy Thanksgiving!

Warm Brownie Cups

There are two things that made me very happy this week.
First, I'm back to my regular swimming activity after more than two months absent.
Last Friday morning, I started with 1600m long breaststroke, 500m less than my normal distance. Not bad at all! The whole day, I felt so good about it.
Second, I'm back to my regular baking recipe trials.

Actually, I bake about 2-3 times a week regularly, but not trying a new recipe. Just baking muffins, or brownies or simple cake for my family using the recipes that I have tried before.
I remember back in 2006-2007, almost every week I tried at least one new baking recipe. I miss those days.

So ... here I tried another type of brownies! *again?* :)
Brownie is a treat that never disappointing. It is a wickedly tempting treat. Sometime, even it comes out from the oven without perfect result (not fail), but it never left more than 2 days.
I took the recipe from one of my 'very thick' recipe book that I own for more than 5 years; The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook. This recipe was published on Martha Stewart Living Magazine Okt/Nov 1992; it was 18 years ago! Luckily, I was not too late to find this recipe, at least no more than 20 years :o

What is so special of this type of brownies?
It's the texture. It has 'pudding' texture. It also is very soft (especially when we serve it warm) and gooey. We need to bake it in individual custard cups or ramekins.
Delicious, of course!
So, to produce this soft texture, one of the requirement is 'beating the eggs until foamy and light', not 'just mix' like regular brownies. The combination of the foamy beaten eggs, two type of chocolates and using 'au bain marie'/waterbath baking method, give this brownies lovely texture, resulting in its smooth and rich flavour.
My children really love this brownies, ... 2 days after I tried this recipe, I baked one more time.
Yup, one cup is never enough!
Warm Brownie CupsIngredients
Makes 5.
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions :
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place a baking pan half full of water in oven.
2. Bring a saucepan of water to barely simmering. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Place over water and stir until almost melted. Remove bowl from heat and let cool, stirring occasionally.
3. Sift together twice all the dry ingredients except sugar. Set aside.
4. Beat eggs and vanilla until foamy and light. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Stir in chocolate-butter mixture. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into five 8-ounce custard cups, filling each nearly to rim. Place in baking pan; water should come halfway up sides of cups.
5.Bake for 30 minutes or until brownies have risen to just above the rim and tops are cracked. They should be firm to the touch. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve dusted with confectioners' sugar.
note :
Oven temperature : 350 F ~ 180 C

Gulai Daging Sapi

Saya selalu kagum dan berterimakasih kepada banyak penemu-penemu peralatan dapur yang pada akhirnya mempermudah proses masak-memasak. Pernahkan terpikir bagaimana dipermudahnya kita mengupas wortel atau kentang dengan adanya 'peeler' atau mudahnya kita menghancurkan bawang putih dengan bantuan 'garlic masher'? Cobalah perhatikan peralatan dapur yang kita miliki, dari yang sesederhana parutan berbagai ukuran hingga yang secanggih bread maker atau food processor. Betapa dimudahkannya kita beraktifitas di dapur dengan keberadaaan alat-alat tersebut.

Saya tidak mengenal seorangpun penemu alat-alat tersebut. Tapi tidak jarang, ketika saya menggunakan peralatan tersebut saya berpikir,'akan repotnya saya tanpa alat-alat ini'. Kagum dengan keberadaan alat-alat sederhana dengan fungsi yang hebat.
Salah satu alat yang sampai saat ini sangat saya kagumi adalah Cetakan Roti Jala (seperti foto di atas). Berbeda dengan cetakan roti jala 'edisi' terdahulu, yang mengharuskan kita menuang adonan pada cetakan yang telah diposisikan di atas wajan, cetakan model ini memungkinkan kita bekerja dengan lebih 'rapi' dan mengurangi ceceran adonan disekitar kompor. Sangat praktis dan fungsional.

Roti Jala sendiri cukup populer di Indonesia dan Malaysia. Hidangan bernuansa Melayu yang biasanya disajikan dengan Kari/Gulai.
Resep Roti Jala sudah pernah saya posting bersama resep Kari Ayam.
Kali ini, roti jala saya sajikan bersama Gulai Daging Sapi, yang resep aslinya adalah Gulai Kambing. Kalau pun ingin menggunakan daging kambing, tentu tidak salah. Pilihlah bagian daging tanpa lemak.
Gulai Daging Sapi
Sumber : Primarasa Hidangan Indonesia Terlezat
Bahan:
500 gr daging sapi
600 ml air
3 sdm minyak goreng
2 butir cengkeh
4 cm kayu manis
1 buah kapulaga
2 buah klabet (saya tidak pakai)
2 sdt bumbu kari bubuk
2 batang serei, memarkan
4 lembar daun jeruk purut
+/- 700 ml air
200 ml santan kental
4 buah terung bulat kecil, biarkan utuh (saya tidak pakai)
1-2 sdm air asam jawa
2 sdm bawang goreng

Bumbu Halus :
5 buah cabe merah
8 butir bawang merah
3 siung bawang putih
1 cm jahe
1 cm kunyit
1 cm lengkuas
2 sdt ketumbar
1 sdt merica
2 sdt garam
1. Potong daging menjadi 10-12 bagian, sisihkan.2. Panaskan minyak goreng dalam wajan, tumis bumbu halus, masukkan cengkeh, kayu manis, kapulaga, klabet dan bumbu kari, aduk. Masukkan serai dan daun jeruk, aduk hingga baunya harum.3. Masukkan potongan daging, aduk hingga daging berubah warna dan kaku. Tuangi air. Tutup wajan, masak hinggal daging empuk. Bila air mengering dan daging belum empuk, tambahkan air panas secukupnya.4. Masukkan santan dan terung, timba-timba santan hingga mendidih. Tambahkan air asam jawa, kecilkan apinya, masak terus hingga kuahnya berminyak, angkat.5. Pindahkan gulai ke dalam mangkuk saji, taburi bawang goreng, hidangkan.