Cooking Setan

Seitan stir fry with garlic, tauco ( fermented soybean paste ) and baby spinach

Oops.. I forgot an " i " . Setan means satan or devil in Indonesian...
The one that I cooked was Seitan, a vegetable protein made from gluten and soy.
The texture is rather chewy . The taste is rather plain with a hint of sourness.
I think heavy sauce like balado or rendang or peanut sauce will be good with this protein.
Although it's very low fat and zero cholesterol,
the sodium content is rather high, as well as the price.
It costs $ 4.19 for 8 oz ( I bought it while it was on sale  for 2. 09)
while ground chicken costs $ 3. 49 for 16 oz .

I found Seitan on the Kroeger 's health food aisle
while grocery shopping with  my friend, Lucyana.
" Hey Lus, what do you think about this ? "
I showed her the Seitan.
She looked at it
" What ? Setan ? No thanks, " said Lucyana

My picky eaters were not interested in this stir fry at all.
They just wanted to drink the cocopandan syrup

Lego Yoda Alarm Clock

During school days,  I wake up the boys around 7.30.
Usually I holler , " Wake up..wake up ! "
If they don't wake up ( which happens lots of times ), I turn up the volume ( of my voice ).
Still not waking up, I will take off their blanket,
put my cold hand on their neck or
( my last effort will be ) wet towel on their face.

But on the weekends.. they will wake up early...
They turn on the TV, computer , and DS ( they  multitask sometime )
They raid the pantry for sweets and snacks
They let my husband and I sleep though
Clever !

One night Timothy said to me
" Mama, could you said good morning instead of  wake up wake up ?"
I was a little surprised to hear that.
" Ok I'll try , Tim "

About two weeks after Tim's request,
I found this cute alarm clock at Homegoods.
I bought it .
Let the Lego Yoda wake them up in the morning...

The Overcoming Life

I found this little book in the used books store at the library. It costs only 25 cents.
It's written by Dwight L. Moody , a famous evangelist during the turn of the century.
I was a little hesitant to buy this book because there is a print " Moody Classics " on the cover.
When I think of classics , sometimes ( and a lot of times ) I think of something serious and boring.
I bought it anyway , since it was very cheap.

After I read it, I considered it a real treasure...It's simple, straightforward , easy to understand.
If it's a meal, it's a delicious, simple, hearty, and healthy meal..that left you satisfied and energized . It's not a fancy schmancy  amuse bouche ..or a yummy high calorie dessert.


And... this is a giveaway for you...
If you want it, just leave a comment in this blog ( not in my facebook ..not in my email ), say you want it.
I'll give it to you...

Botanical Garden

During the cold winter months, the conservatory at botanical garden is a piece of paradise for me....

Braised Noodle with Chicken Mushroom Topping

I never bored eating noodle.
Back home I ate braised noodle at least once a week.
Mostly bought the noodle from a restaurant or noodle hawker.

Here, I make my own braised noodle. I use any kind of noodles.
Angel hair pasta, instant ramen like maruchan, soba, egg noodle.. etc.

I used Korean Instant noodle on this one without the seasoning.
I made the topping 2 days ago.

Valentine Cards

This year Valentines...

HAPPY VALENTINES FOR ALL OF YOU !

Daniel's origami heart rings

Tim's paper wrapped fruit candies, handwritten and stapled

Sophie's cards with lollipops
cards cut and written by mom
folded and taped by Sophie

An Attempt....

to empty the refrigerator before grocery shopping...

Fried noodle, chicken mushroom in sweet soy sauce,
chicken broth, stir fry green papaya,
boiled chicken to be fried later