Cheese Crackers

My kids are crazy about salty snacks.
Goldfish and Cheeze'it are staples in our pantry.
Last night we made the cheese crackers from scratch.
Timothy was a big helper.
And it was easier than kaastengel ( Indonesian version of cheese crackers )

Tim suggested the ballpoint tip to make the holes because we don't have skewers

Super Easy Baking : Flaugnarde and Cilantro Chicken Meatballs

The easier the better, easy does it...
I am a sucker for easy, simple things
That includes baking and cooking

peaches and blueberries

The flaugnarde or clafoutis ( if you use cherries ) are very easy.
I found the recipe here
http://mochachocolatarita.blogspot.com/2013/07/sweet-summer-how-to-make-cherry.html

ready to devour

The cilantro chicken meatballs were introduced by my friend
Ingredients:
1 lbs ground chicken
1 egg white
1 handful of cilantro chopped ( stem included )
2 tbs of corn starch
seasoning : salt and pepper, garlic and onion powder as needed
Mixed everything well, shape into balls ( 1 drop of teaspoon ) , bake in 425 degree oven until cooked.
Heated in a grill ( like kebab ) untill brown.., can be sautee with veggies

need more caramelization

Because He Was a Hotty

Because he was a hotty, smarty, and lovey,
an older married woman desired him
because he wanted to stay pure
he was thrown to jail

Because he was a goodie
he did not wallow in self pity or plan revenge
because he was faithful
he was productive at home , in prison, or in the palace

Because he knew that God was ( and is and is to come ) good
He could say to the people who had hurt him
" You meant evil against me but God meant it for good "

His name was Joseph
He is my HERO today

Tofu Time

Two nights ago, I made two dishes out of a boxed tofu.
Tofu omellette and stir fry tofu in white sauce ( capcay tofu )

For Tofu Omellete.. I use 1/3 of a boxed firm tofu, mashed
                               3 raw shrimps thinly sliced
                               1 green onion, thinly sliced
                                seasoning : garlic powder, onion powder,
                                salt and white pepper, fish sauce
                                4 eggs beaten

Mix everything.. heat 3 tbsp of canola oil in a non-stick pan. Cook the omellette until done...

For stir fry tofu, 2/3 of a boxed firm tofu, cut into cubes
                         4 raw shrimps , sliced
                         1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
                         2 tsp of chopped garlic
                         4 tbsp of mixed frozen veggies
                         2 tsp of corn starch dilute with 4 tbsp of water

Sautee the onion until translucent, put the garlic ... sautee untill the garlic smell good, put the shrimps, when shrimps changed into pink color, add the frozen veggies.. cook for about two minutes.. add the corn starch .. when it starts bubbling, put the seasoning, taste and correct the seasoning... put more water if the mix become too pasty... put the tofu cubes...stir a little bit.. do not over-stir... cook untill bubbling.
Eat with warm rice

Family Size Lemper

Lemper or sticky rice with chicken filling is a common savory snack in Indonesia.

There, they are made in individual bites, wrapped in banana leaves.

I used the glass baking pan to make the family size.

First layer is sticky rice, second is chicken filling

Last layer is another sticky rice

The keffir lime leaves are garnish, eating them are not recomended

Nice to eat this lemper with a cup of Rose Wood Tea

PS : I am starting to collect the Wade figurines of Rose Wood Tea. 

Brazilian Cheese Bread

I changed my mind about making Mac and Cheese Quiche.
I remembered my friend emailed me
Pão de Queijo ( don't know how to say it ) recipe.
It's very simple.
Today the kiddos and I tried it.

Dani spilled the canola oil. Thank God for paper towel.
I forgot to set the timer.
I also did not use the fresh cheese, but the powdered Parmesan cheese.
The bread was too salty and rather deformed ( over-baked )
But still edible. Sophie likes it. Definitely bake it again.

This is the link for the recipe
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_brazilian_cheese_bread/

Thanks to Glenny for the recipe

Cooking with Kiddos

This week we have mid winter break.
I asked the kids to cook to keep us sane .
Mostly the simple recipes...
Daniel and Tim can use the regular knives, but Sophie still uses butter knife.

I use a lot of paper towels. Spilling and chaos are part of the process. 
Daniel can use the stove but Tim and Sophie still need me if they are near the stove.

The menus
First day : Strawberry flavored jelly
Second day : Banana muffins, guava flavored jelly, Vegan chocolate cake
Third day : Bread pudding with banana and cranberry, bread pudding with banana and choc chips
Fourth day : ( still planning ) Mac and Cheese quiche ( Makaroni Skotel )

We are in the third day now, so far so good. I almost run out of sugar, though

ES CAMPUR

This was one of my favorite street food.
Shaved ice with many toppings.
Grass jelly, avocado, ripe jack fruit, tapioca pearl.
Plenty of  cocopandan syrup with a little bit condensed milk on top.

Instant Soup

I love instant noodles. I enjoy the MSG flavoring and waxy texture of that concoction.
It is my comfort food.These days I try to avoid instant noodle.
This soup is an alternative. It's quick and still taste MSG-y.
But it also has some fresh ingredients and fibers.
If you don't like SPAM, you can use hotdogs or turkey SPAM or non nitrate organic hotdogs instead.

Items needed :
1 can of SPAM cut into cubes
2 small potatoes , cut into cubes
2 pieces of scallion, cut into stripes
2 cups of frozen carrots and peas (any kind of frozen/ canned veggies)
garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and sugar for seasoning
1 cube of chicken bullion

Direction :
Put 5 cups of water in a big pan .
Put the potatoes cubes. Boil.
When the potatoes are half cooked, put the frozen veggies and SPAM cubes.
Keep boiling. Put some seasoning ( garlic and onion powder, salt , pepper , and sugar).
Taste and correct the seasoning until you got the right flavor.

Eat with warm rice and store bought chips . Enjoy !

1/2 Hour Cooking

This cold snowy winter made me think about food a lot :)

I remembered once I almost cried after I spent 2 hours cooking.
So long complicated greasy food . Welcome effortless cooking. 
These food were cooked in just 30 minutes ( Watch out Rachel Ray ! )
They were simple and healthy . I cooked the rice in the rice cooker

1. Stir fry baby spinach with shallot . Then sprinkled a little sesame seed
2. Sauteed salmon with garlic,onion, celery salt ( all powder ) in olive oil
3. Boiled brocolli ( did it while sauteeing the salmon )

And   TADA ! ( drumroll )

Serve with store bought veggie chips

Blueberry Muffins

Sophie asked me to bake some cupcakes.
I had two boxes of blueberry in the fridge.
I found this nice blueberry muffin recipe online
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Streusel-Topped-Blueberry-Muffins/Detail.aspx
 

I really loved  it. My family too, except the super picky Timmy.
Well.. too bad Tim..! You will surely find these muffins in the future,
because Mama loves them

Different Modes of Meals

light and clean breakfast

lazy and easy lunch

heavy and indulging dinner

FAILED COOKING

Fried Shrimp and chicken turned into shrimp and chicken boiled in cooking oil

 

 

 

 

Garlic Potatoes Soup...turned into very bitter soup because garlic was undercooked

Mango Mania

A dear friend from Dearborn gave me 5 big mangoes
Several days before, I also bought 2 huge mangoes from grocery
What should a girl do with 7 huge mangoes ?
I made mango pudding and mango popsicle

Basically I just made mango smoothie...
mix some mango chunks with sugar and skim milk..
put them in the blender..then blend everything well
put the mango smoothie in the popsicle mold or ice cubes tray ...Freeze
In the photo, I used the muffin mold .
 Later , there was a  metal taste or smell when I ate them.
Not gonna use them again.. Maybe a silicon mold will do better.

For Mango Puding.
I mixed 1 packet of Nutrijell (Halal gelatin product from Indonesia, made from seaweed )
and 1 packet of agar-agar mix with sugar ( about 1 1/2 cups )  ...
then added 4 cups of water and 1 1/2cup of skim milk...
put everything in a pan and boiled them together..stirred often..
( for Nutrijell and agar-agar the amount of sugar is about 2 cups ...
you can use less or more )
( the amount of combined liquid is about 7 or 8 cups .
 I considered mango smoothie a liquid ) 
Before it was boiled , I added 1  1/2 cup of mango smoothie..
stirred and stirred again

When boiling, I turned off the heat.. add lemon / lime juice ( from 1 lemon/ lime )...
 I pour them into the glass container/ pyrex/ plastic pudding mold...
Let them cool down into room temperature ..then put them into the fridge until cold

Enjoy !

Food Again

I did not plan this to be a food or cooking blog
To be honest I am not very fond of cooking
Cooking is my responsibility
Often I cook to avoid wasting some produce

Lemon bundt cake
I baked it because I almost threw some lemons
( 2 of them already being cut off to make the sambal )

Vanilla Chocolate Gelatin
I have these gelatin packages from Indonesia for almost 2 1/2 years
Gotta do something about them

At first I plan this blog to be more about my hobbies ...
I love reading , watching movies, musical, sightseeing
I love to write more about them
But often things that I plan did not come true...
( weak self determination )
In my life , a lot of things unfolding themselves... heheheheh...

Once Baked Once Fried Potato Fritters

I've bought a bag of red potatoes two weeks ago
What should I do with them ?
They can grow some sprouts in a few days
And the sprouts are poisonous
http://www.chow.com/food-news/54631/are-sprouted-potatoes-poisonous/

Our family is not very fond of potatoes actually
It's because I shopped with two friends who love potatoes
I bought them too
Spur of the moment sort of things...

Okay, I'll make potato fritter
My mom usually frying the potatoes..mashing ..mixing with seasoning , meat , and eggs
Shaping then deep frying

I look up the recipes in the internet.. and yes... also twice fried
I think maybe I can bake them instead of frying it ..
I slice the potatoes into big chunks.. give them a little bit of oil wash..
( or put some cooking spray .. too bad it's not available in my pantry at this moment )
Bake them in 400 F oven for 30 min..
Then turn up the temp for 425 , bake for another 10 mins to crisp the skin
Mash untill soft.. Put seasoning, sliced scallion and celery leaves.. also ground dried shrimp ( since I don't have canned corned beef or cooked ground beef ), and egg.....fold untill everything nicely combined
Shape into balls... then deep fry...

I eat them with rice cooked in coconut milk , keffir lime leaves, indian bay leaves and tumeric ...
Mmhmmm mhhhmmm yummy...
 

Deep Frying Day

I do not enjoy deep frying... it's hot, tedious, messy, greasy
It makes the house smelly
I still do it anyway
because the family loves deep fried food
Not everyday though..
about every two weeks

Today I made fried shrimp and salmon fritter

I bought frozen deveined peeled shrimp, defroze them, seasoned with a little bit of celery salt, season salt, oninon powder, salt, pepper. Coated them in egg mixture then flour (season with a little bit of salt )

For the salmon fritters, I used canned salmon, chopped celery, onion, flour , mashed cooked bean and egg...

Frying day was done...

BANANARAMA DING DONG

is a name of a kids hand soap .
It stuck on my mind.
I often speak it to my kids..
" You will bring bananarama ding dong for snack, "
I made Banana Chocolate Chip muffins
to use the uneaten overripe bananarama ding dong.
I took the recipe from Allrecipes.com by Anne Williamson

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup mashed bananas

Directions

1. Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips into a large bowl. Mix thoroughly, and make a well in the center.
2. Beat the egg in a small bowl until frothy. Mix in cooking oil, milk, and bananas. Pour mixture into the well. Stir only to moisten. Batter will be lumpy. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

30 Clove Garlic Soup

I got the recipe from Whole Living magazine ( that I snatched from the Country Inn Hotel )
I was really happy with the result. Rich, buttery but light...
I also felt the warming effect of the garlic on my throat .
A perfect soup for cold weather.

Plus , it's super easy to make.

30 clove garlic soup
serves 4
2 heads of garlic, halved crosswise
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cups chicken stock
8 oz yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oven to 375 degree. Drizzle garlic heads with oil.
    Wrap tightly in foil and roast until tender about 40 minutes.
    Let cool, then squeeze the garlic from papery skin and set aside

2. Bring stock, potatoes and roasted garlic to a boil ;
    reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender ,
    about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan

3. Let cool slightly, then puree in the blender until smooth.
    Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve with rustic bread

SHORTCUT Mini Steamed Bun ( aka Mini Bakpao )

( Thanks Tante Honi for the telling me the secret of your delicious bakpao and kueh ku )

Nothing made me happier than a shortcut in the cooking process.
These buns were made using the mini biscuit dough in the refrigerated section of grocery store.
My friend tried the regular size biscuit dough but she said they were not as tasty as the mini ones

For the filling, I could use any kind of filling. I tried the mini semi sweet chocolate morsels .
Once I put stir fry ground chicken with a little bit of sugar and green onion.
Since the biscuit dough is salty, better not using salt at all for the filling .
If you want to eat kueh ku , made the mung bean paste with sugar for the filling

Directions
1.Make the filling that you like
2.Boil the water in the steamer
3. Line the steam pan with parchment paper or foil
4. Take one biscuit dough... Pat it a little bit to make it kinda flat
     Put about 1 tsp of filling in the middle of the dough
    ( for chocolate filling, put about 10 mini morsels )
5. Pinch the edges closed together , so the filling tucked safely inside
6. Put the pinched part down ( not up..) in the pan
7. I usually put a paper towel or a clean cloth under the lid,
    so the water will not drip on the buns
8. Steam about 12 minutes

ENJOY !