Sapphire's been upgraded

From a humble beginning , a resident in a fish bowl,
with some corals, fake plant and fish statue
http://www.tanaraga.blogspot.com/2013/01/our-new-family-member.html

Now he lives in a 5 gallons aquarium equipped with filter and heater
with some water plants, moss balls, wood block
he got new friends ; snails, ghost and cherry shrimps, cory fish
he also gets blood worm treat once a week

Life is sweeter for him now
Since my husband takes care of him

The Long and Cold Winter

snow filled deck

the pear trees in this winter

A really hard winter this year
Blame it on polar fortex

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/473323-polar-vortex-midwest-weather-back-below-zero/?photo=2
Schools cancelled, snow, black ice, shovel, snow blower, wind chills
When will this winter ends ?

I've been lazy ; skipping the gym,
watching the Netflix for hours
baking the goods that were not as good as I hope

I borrowed Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter
Finally, I feel luckier than those folks long ago
At least the heater is on, the groceries open,
the road is not blocked, the car is running, the gas is available

dear S, thanks for the shawl

So I don't want to complain ...
just be thankful of what are available to me
and use them ( hello again gym )

Gong Xi..Gong Xi

 

It's been a while since I wrote in this blog

I found it always hard to start again

Since the lunar new year came on Thursday January 30

I wanted to use it as a reason to blog again

So, dear readers, let me wish you

Happy Lunar New Year

TOT'S OLYMPIC

Sophie joined Tot's Olympic

balanced beautifully

not really into baseball

just so so on the golf

Her most favorite

the second favorite

fell one time while doing this

With Kiev

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

When I Am Tired of Meat

Last Saturday I made Indonesian style beef roulade
We bought fried chicken on Sunday
On Monday I cooked oven baked chicken legs
Since I did not have time to cook on Tuesday , we ordered Chinese food for lunch, kids ate at IKEA for dinner, Eddy baked some fish for the adults in the evening.
Today I am tired of meat...
So I cooked ....

braised tofu and mushroom in soy sauce, stir fried egg and cabbage, steamed sweet potatoes

 

 

 

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