Cappelletti with tomato and butter sauce

Last month i bought some cooking ingredients from sukamart.com. Firstly, i only want to buy wasabi in small tube. I can't find wasabi at supermarket here, so i search at internet and found this site. Oh gosh, so many things i want to buy here, cheaper, and free delivery cost for jabodetabek area, yihaaa...... And it's easy to predict, i was crazy anyway looking good stuff here, and bought  a lot of ingredients for my kitchen stock. I found this pasta, cappelletti, cute name huh? never seen this before. I cook this for my third days of Five Days Food Challenge. Wow, it's easy and great taste :-)

I used 500 gr Cappelletti, a big onion (chopped),  3 tomatoes (peeled and chopped), 3 slices smoked beef (chopped), tomato sauce, and butter. Don't forget to put pepper, basil, and oregano just a little and cheese (i used cheddar). Simple recipe but great. My kiddos love it so much 

Siomay Ayam Jamur Tiram

My second food pic on Five Days Food Challenge, Siomay Ayam Jamur Tiram or Chicken dumplings with mushroom. It's great and cheap anyway. The mushroom is cheaper than mackerel that i used  before. I just bought 6.000 rupiah for the mushroom and 17.000 rupiah for chicken breast. If i used mackerel, it cost 60.000 rupiah. Yeaayy..... but the taste not great as mackerel. Sometimes money can't lie, lol! If you are vegetarian, you just skip the chicken  but it still need eggs. I will post the recipe later :-D

Oncom Cumi Asin

A few days ago, my friend in Kyoto asked me to join Five Days Food Challenge on Facebook. This challenge order us to put  a food pic per day. Yeah.... i joined but failed, coz i can't through this until finish in five days. I got only 3 days coz of my bustle. Gosh .... there's too many paper i should read.
By the way, my first day i made oncom cumi asin or tofu lees with salted squid. I don't know how to say oncom in english. It's a lees or some waste when you made tofu and it was fermented until full with fungus. My kiddos don't like oncom coz the fungus. It's disgusting, they said, hahaha...... For me, oncom is my mood booster. My fave food all the time in first tier is oncom. There;s no stiff recipe  to make this. You only need onion, garlic, chili or sambal, salt and sugar and a little bit broth powder. I added sweet basil to make good flavor on it. Don't forget to boil the squid first to make it soft and reducing the salt.

Jantung Ayam Bumbu Kemiri

I eat chicken offal rarely. But, it doesn't mean me and family do not like it. Maybe, it because i have no idea how to cook it. For one day, Abang tukang sayur brought chicken hearts and i was challenged to cook it. And as usual for something new, i  spent too much time looking for the recipe and my laziness attacked me suddenly. Those offal finally spent much much time in freezer, yeaaah... freezing for a week until my mood came. Lol!

The recipe is simple but not easy anyway just like many Indonesian recipes. I used 1 pound chicken offal ( mixed between chicken hearts and ampela - i don't know name of ampela in English, sorry!), boiled until cooked with  1 tbsp of coriander powder.  For the spices, blend 10 cloves onion, 4 garlic, 8 nutmeg, 4 red chili, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp tamarind water. Do not forget to use kaffir lime leaves and sliced red chili when you saute it with little bit oil. I put sweet soy sauce slightly, salt, and sugar. The result was great coz this food runs out without any grumble from the kiddos. My husband wouldn't dare to issue any complaint about my food, so i guess this is okay according to his taste. For me? Ugh.. I suggest not too much eat offal for your health coz if you try this, you can't stop eat this and will add rice in you plate. Lol!

Bubur Tinotuan

Tinotuan porridge  or we called Bubur tinotuan is one of traditional culinary from Manado, Sulawesi Utara. First time i knew this food was from my mother. Her father came from Gorontalo, near to Manado, so this porridge is familiar to us. My mom usually put many vegetables such as kale or kangkung, carrot, corn, pumpkin and tempe into this porridge. We ate this with anchovy sambal, what a great taste. 

Since i got married, i never cooked this. My husband choose chicken porridge rather than tinotuan. He likes vegetables little than me and prefer meat or another protein source. Man typical i think. Until one day, my neighbor's assistant namely "Uwak" gave us a bowl warm tinotuan in a cold rainy weather. Gosh, my family loved and vied with each other to get a spoonful of it. We felt hunger and wanted some more. Only shame that makes me unwilling to ask again, thanks God i still have, lol!

In the morning, i brave my self to ask Uwak for the recipe. There's no doubt for her kindness, she taught me to cook it. It wasn't hard at all. If you had some chicken broth you can use it but if have not, you can use some chicken powder. I cook almost 400 gr of rice with 2 liter of chicken broth or more in low heat. Put two bay leaves and one lemongrass. Give a pinch of salt and taste it according to yours. Ten minutes before cook perfectly, put pieces of vegetables (cube) you want. Me are sweet basil leaves, corn, carrot,  and squash. You can serve it warm with sambal terasi and fried anchovy.

My kids love this porridge a lot and seem never failed their appetite for it.  Once a month i serve tinotuan as a breakfast or dinner. Sometimes Icha brought this as a bento to school. Both Icha and Jaja like vegetables as much as me. They eat any of them except pare, too bitter said them even i squeeze it with salt to reduce it. Okay, so far i proud with that. It wasn't hard to feed them since they was a baby. Some expert said you should introduce puree vegetables or fruits  rather than carbohydrate to your 6 months baby. The taste would adhere to their tongue till they grow up. I believe this. First food i gave to my kids especially Jaja are puree carrot, banana, apple, pumpkin, avocado, and many else. Trust me it works, my kids always eat vegetables and fruits everyday,  without any trouble or any drama queen scene.

Another Junk Food: Burger Patty

In every time we go to junk food restaurant, burger was always in Jaja's request.  He combined burger with french fries and lemon tea as a favorite menu. It was hard to change because it also happened to his father aka my husband. Sometimes they change the drink into soda and at the night, their stomachs bloated. Icha, my daughter not like her brother. She refers eat grilled chicken with slices cucumber or lettuce. She kind of me but the difference is she like white rice a lot. Every time she eats, she finished  the rice first, then the vegetables and meat or fish for the last. It is not about save the best for last. Observing how she eats, remind me the technique of combining food diet. It will reduce some fatties in your body because you are eating the right way according to how the digestive system works. I tried once after Icha's born and it works. I lost 10 pounds in 7 months but it rose again after i lost control of my diet, yeah..yo yo mode on. I hardly knew my self, never refuse good food, ever, lol!
So, because  of my love and my affection to Jaja and his dad, i made this patties for them. I used 1 pound minced beef and mixed it with three eggs, 5-7 tbsp coarse bread crumb, pepper, salt, sugar, chopped onion (big one), and 4 cloves of garlic.  I fried them with low heat and a little butter and keep it perfectly fried. I got 25 patties and  put into Tupperware and keep it in refrigerator to make it last. It was easy prepare, healthy, and always make your family warm, not only your kitchen.

Junk Food

Yes, i'm a lecturer in political science. I teach politics in some countries and mostly with conflict inside. Ethnic conflict, religion conflict, racial conflict, and more. Learn them makes me moderate and pragmatism because in my thought the truth is relative, so is religion. I am a moslem and of course i do believe my God, Allah and Prophet, Mohammed, but above all, i do respect with others.

Related with this, a few days ago, my son, Jaja told me that he didn't want to eat pitsa, kefsi, and mekdi (pseudonym refers to junk food restaurants).  Surprise, well.. well... well, beyond a doubt, never expect Jaja would say just like that since junk food already become his food master.  And of course i asked the reason why. He told me that he wouldn't spend his money again for Israel or United States who support Israel. What happened with Israel? My curiosity was  in highly degree. Jaja said that a thousand people in Gaza was killed by Israel and as a moslem i should support Gaza. Ouch..... his explanations punch my heart and my mind, where did he knew about Israel, Gaza, US, or products of them? Yep...yep...he learnt from anywhere. One thing i like so much from Jaja's explanation was that he did it because solidarity as a moslem and as a human, not about the truth of the religion.

I said okay to him, if he wanted to. That was his principle that should have respect from me. U Ottama, Burmese Theravada Buddhist Monk had the same thing with his boycott to British products and so was Gandhi in India.  Beside that, i quietly happy with this because i never like junk food at all and good for his health too.  To satisfy his longing about those food, i cook fried chicken and corn cream soup. Enjoy it kiddo, the healthy junk food special made for you :-)

Tahu Campur

I still have 'lontong', a packages of tofu, wet noodle, sprouts, and beef shank in my refrigerator. I find a bottle of petis paste that i never use in my cook before. My husband love food from Jawa Timur and he bought that paste for me when he went to Surabaya, a few months ago. Lazy me, i forgot to use it while the fact my cook are Minangese and Chinese food, and i don't really need that, hehehe.....

Actually, i love Jawa Timuran food too such as rawon, tahu campur, tahu tek, and rujak cingur. The best rawon i ever taste is my mom home made. My kids truly admit that their grandma's cook is the best ever. Both of my kids even said that i should learn to cook correctly from grandma, coz my cook tasteless. Damn you kiddos, i will cut your candy money for two weeks :-D

Me and husband love to try street culinary  in Jakarta and Bekasi. There are several great place to taste Jawa Timuran food such as Kali Malang, near the gas station of Cipinang Indah and Kranji area, at Jalan Pemuda. Whenever we lost appetite, this place could bring it back.  But... since we moved out from Bekasi to Depok, me and husband never find same food stall or same street culinary here. Missed those food so much.

Back to laptop like Tukul said,  with those raw things in my refrigerator and petis paste, i decide to cook tahu campur. I substitute kikil with beef shank and some fatty coz my kiddos don't like kikil and not use lentho or cassava ball and lettuce too. The recipe come from Sajian Sedap and lazy me makes sambal petis mixed with the broth. The result is great, the broth more delicious and easier to serve, yeay......

Kupat Tahu ala Bandung

Abang tukang sayur in my place told me that he wants to go to Solo alias pulkam. Why so late i asked him and he said now the tickets already cheaper than last due days. O. yeah.... it was so crowded anyway, good choice.

So, i prepare many things before he leaves. Lazy housewife that's me, ain't go to market and prefer buy ready food, anything like bakso, empek-empek, soto, nasi Padang, and those food make my purse dried, healthy reason not in my priority :-D

I buy many raw vegetables, fruits, and the most important is 'lontong' with banana leaf. Fear and greedy make me buy lontong for 25 pieces and i realize that's too much after i'm ready to cook. Firstly, i wanna cook 'lontong sayur' coz i wanna feel like 'lebaran' again, made by me. In every 'lebaran' day i never cook main dish such as ketupat/lontong sayur, sambal goreng hati, rendang, or it's complement. As a daughter and a daughter-in-law, it's my obligation to visit my parents and my mother-in-law and taste 'lebaran' food they served. I just made some cookies like nastar, sagu keju, cheese stick, semprit, putri salju, and chocchips cookies for my big family, over than 50 jars. To release my intention making my own lontong sayur and feel lebaran again or whatever, i order it.

God knows me better. My fear and greed as much as my intention lost easily. In front of my stove, i change my mind. I put squashes and beans back to refrigerator, and suddenly i wanna eat Kupat Tahu ala Bandung. I don't know why coz i never eat and cook this food before. Searching the recipe from internet takes time so long rather than the cooking, and i trust my self to use this recipe. Yepp...yepp...yepp..... less than an hour, my husband and i eat Kupat Tahu ala Bandung. My kiddos don't want it this coz they already eat at school. They first day school after holiday is fun cooking theme, they cook fried fish which is the fish is from fishing they own at school pool, cook sauteed kale from school garden, and cook rice too, great school activities :-)

Tumis Kulit Melinjo

This is a cheap, easy to cook, and rising appetite food. For this recipe i use three packages 'kulit melinjo for @Rp.2000,-. Sometimes i mixed it with anchovy or 'teri medan' and i bet you didn't know you add two plates of rice then. There's no stiff recipe for this, you only have to use onion, garlic, green chili, oyster sauce, salt, and sugar. Just simple as you swallow it to your tummy.

When i was a child, my mom used to cook it.  And during her ages, mom reduced it slowly. 'Kulit melinjo' contains purin and it's not good for health coz it may causes hyperuricemia or high level of uric acid.

Actually until my age now, i never calculate any nutrient from the food i served to my family. I cook anything i want to. The standard is only white rice, lauk (such as red meat, white ones, seafood), vegetables, and tofu/tempeh. I introduced many kind of food to my family, even junk food made by my self like KFC style of fried chicken and hamburger. As long as they eat well and regular and have an adequate rest, God helps me keep my family stay health. Amen.

Gulai Cancang dan Rebung

I made this curry after find some fatty meats at freezer. Obviously those meat was rest from last Eid, hahaha....  It still good and look fresh from freezer, so i decide to make cancang curry with bamboo sprout.  I remembered when i moved from my mom house, she gave me some herbs and Minang spices such as curry powder and rendang spice. It has no brand labelled, coz my mom got it from her sister in law who works at Siteba market in Padang. She gave me some advice to make curry if we want the taste like Minang restaurant. That's not enough to put only curry powder to your curry but also give it a pinch of rendang spice. and a powder to cook some goat or sheep namely 'pemasak kambing haji majid no.1.' I don't know exactly the composition of rendang spice, but you can buy it at Minang stall on traditional market. Just tell the seller (Uni or Uda) that you want a rendang spice and pemasak kambing powder, they will give you that stuff. 

I should remain you that the secret recipe for Minang food is you should brave to use spices and know the technique to cook it. Different technique will produce different taste. And if you loose one material or less amount will produce different taste too. So, it's important to learn it from our predecessor like grandma or mom, listen to them, watch them while they were cooking to get same taste. My food taste not like my mom, she is better than me coz she knew the technique. I am a lazy person, i love to cook but don't want push my self into hard or difficult thing to do. I prefer blend the spices/herbs with blender or use powder rather than milled manually. I always ease amount of coconut milk coz of my fear. But, beyond it all, my husband and kids always love my cook :-)

Trip to Dieng, Jawa Tengah

Last week, i joined open trip to Dieng, Wonosobo, Central Java with Suka Jalan,which held by my high school's friends. Actually, i have been to Dieng before, two years ago maybe (forgot the time exactly) , with my big family. The panorama of Dieng at that moment was awesome, sunny day and the weather was not so cold.  We enjoyed so deeply especially about food culinary such as mie ongklok, carica sweetmeat, baked potato, and 'tambi' tea. We went to so many places like Telogo Warna, Museum, Arjuna Temple, Theater, and Sikidang Crater with so many pictures taken over there. Yeaah, beautiful memories :-)

I went to Dieng once more because Suka Jalan offered a destination to Prau Mountain, seeking for sunrise. Yeah, after climbing Papandayan and Bromo in last trip, i am so crazy with anything about mountain. It brought me to a different atmosphere. So calm, cool, and peace. Though climbing mountain is quite tiring, but when you get to the peak, the tiredness suddenly gone. And for all the great view you will get during the climbing, you will find there something satisfied your soul. Yeah, it's addictive. But, unfortunately the destination to Prau Mountain was being canceled coz of the rain. My friend told me that the path might be slippery and dangerous, and with so many participant, she can't take any risks coz of it. 

Though it's a little disappointed to me, i still enjoyed the trip. My friend switch the destination from Prau Mountain to Sikunir Hill to seek a sunrise. It's only take a half hour to the hill's peak and the landscape's so amazing. The path wasn't so hard but near to the cliff. We climb to the Hill at 4.00 a.m while it was still dark, the path was little bit slippery, the weather was so cold and windy.  Some participants didn't continue to the hill's peak coz they were not accustomed to climb, too bad whereas at the top, there's a view of Sindoro Mountain, Telogo Cebong (Cebong Lake), and many else. I took some pictures at there but my dullness i can't maximize my new camera to get beautiful pictures, hehehe......   

In this trip, i deliberately not going to theater and Sikidang Crater. Better for me to sit at the stall in front of the theater, drink a hot tea with local snacks. Oohh gosh, it's so delicious and cheap. Just for sure, i ate a half portion of fried Dieng's potatoes, a half portion of fried mushroom, a piece of fried tempeh, and a cup of  hot 'tambi' tea and for all that i just paid Rp8000,00. What a price! At Sikidang crater, i prefer not going inside. I just can't stand with the smell of sulfur, too strong. So, me with camera took some pictures of the market, drink hot 'tambi' tea (again), and bought some gift to my family. I bought carica sweetmeat, a kilo of tree tomato or we called it with 'terong belanda', four kilos of small potatoes, some raw potato crackers, and 'tambi' tea powder of course :-)  Because of this gift, my backpack was overloaded and almost break my backbone, lol!

Dieng is one of the most trip destination you have to visit in Indonesia. It is a lovely place and you will find something new in there. I think i never get bored to go there. I promise to my friend that i will be back at dry season and climb the Prau Mountain. Wish me luck!

I'm back with Banana Poffertjes

Finally, i write this blog again after a long...long time absences. Actually last 2013, i had wonderful time for my self. I resign from administrative position in campus, my term was over at January 2013 exactly. I only had some lectures, write a book, and trip to many places. Me and family was moved to our new house at Depok, moving my kids to their new school. Yup, many things to do, not hard but not easy too. Coz, our house is near to our office, me and husband have a much time to waste , it's only 10 minutes to go there. No traffic jam, no wet coz of rain drops, no heat, yay! But, for all of my spare time, i forgot to write this blog :-D

Oh, i need to tell this. I bought DSLR Camera last month, Canon EOS 600D. It was at promo time at EC, Margo City. I got credit installment for 12 months. So, it was cheap for me, hahaha..... I need it for my travelling. At October 2013, i went to Papandayan Mountain and it was gorgeous, awesome. Some friends of mine use DSLR Camera to take pictures over there and i only use pocket camera. I was envy, so hard. I told to my hubby for this and he said that he would like to buy it for me. I refuse his offered. I wanna buy it myself, with my money but i was too stingy to open my purse. And then, when the promo came with rational price in my thought, i bought it, yay! Now, i learn again how to take some picture of my food  with this camera.  I think i have no style of art or art of style ( i don't know which one is right :-p) for foody pics. So, better for me to start again , with different style of writing, pictures, and language. Using English in this blog makes me familiar with this language. I need this for my proposal, having plan to continue my study abroad. Sorry for the grammar :-)

Yup, lets talk about food now and stop for the intermezzo :-D. Last week, Abang Sayur ( a man who usually sell some vegetable around) brought me some banana, Pisang Uli. Most of it for banana fried and some are left for the mix of cake. My first plan was made banana cake but i remembered that my oven not in good condition. The temperature control lost function, it always hot like 220 Celsius degree and charred almost always, sigh! So, i move for second plan, made some cookie which baked on the stove. I looked up my takoyaki maker and i had an idea to made poffertjes with banana flavor. 

I use recipe from this site, but i skip cheddar cheese and add pure banana from two bananas which almost rotten. I put a pinch of baking powder beside the yeast too. I think the dough is heavy coz of the banana and not enough for the yeast, so i put the baking powder, and the result was great, perfectly expand. I love the taste, banana flavor never dies. Here is the picture, just one pic, the last one coz it was too late to remember taking picture for this, hahaha...........