notebook cookbooks

I personally think this gift pack from Singapore is brilliant! A pack of recipes of best menus most popular found in Singapore. The whole bundle is fun! One book holds one recipe. The first page gives you a brief description of the dish, followed by the ingredients needed, how to cook, and then the illustration of how the dish should look like. The rest of the pages are blank for you to use to take notes. I just love the whole idea! Two thumbs up for The Ministry of Information, Communications and The Arts who produced this notebook and FARM who designed it.

Last, this looks like this is my last post in the year 2011. Have a great new years eve. BIGLOVE!

a day at dufan

Dunia Fantasi amusement park at Ancol is still as fun as the last time I visited (approx 6 years ago) :) Last Tuesday was a nice sunny day and we thought it would be nice to take Fabian here and see what rides he could enjoy. Not much though, having his height be below 100 cm, whereas most rides have restrictions that the minimal height is 100cm. Not to worry, he still got a chance to ride the Gajah Mlbedug (Elephant Ride), Komidi Putar (Carrousel), Perahu Air (Water Boat), Istana Boneka (Doll Palace), and Rumah Miring (Crooked House). The husband tried some extreme water rides, but I myself have either grown to dislike a few (or maybe most) rides or am just plain 'chicken'. Overall it was a great day. We enjoyed the fun and heat!  

kimono coasters

When my husband asked what I wanted from Japan, nothing specific came up in mind so I just asked for something unique and cheap. I didn't want him spending a lot on something I might not like, right? So when he came back and pulled these out, I couldn't be more happier... Yeah, I'm so easy to please :D I was wowed by the beautiful prints on each of every coaster and the shape couldn't be more Japanese, a Kimono! So it says on the box, the coasters are made from Washi (Japanese Paper) which is handmade of vegetable fiber. It is very strong and age resistant, full of softness and warmth. Nevertheless, I'm not going to use them as coasters. They're too sweet. I think I'm going to frame them in a deep all-white colored frame. I'm not going to risk them getting ruined by coffee spills or tea stains. Also, the other box of coasters my husband intended to give to a relative just might not reach the address. Naughty me. Oh well, I'll trade them for some Japanese Marshmallows. How's that? ;) 

Oh, it's Christmas and holidays! Have a joyful time today with your loved ones. 

christmas lights

I love lights. They send an instant magical vibe, even through pictures. These pics are part of the Christmas scene my husband shot on his brief trip to Tokyo this December. Lucky geezer :p I hope your Christmas will be just as bright as the lights. Have a merry one and happy holidays!

spring rolls #CPP1

To be honest, I've made spring rolls several times already,  also for my Icip-icip article at CosmoGIRL! once, but never got them looking just right. This time I did *big grin*:) I found out that you have to put in quite an amount of filling to make sure your spring roll stays a solid round tube shape. Before, mine always turned out a flat rectangle shape - not fun. Now, because of the camera being unavailable, I made use of what I captured with my phone camera, played around with it on photoshop and made my own spring-roll-set-image. A clap or two for the effort, please? :) Here's my most preferable recipe after former attempts:
My filling: 
- 2 big handfuls of beansprouts
- quarter of a cabbage, thinly sliced
- 2 large carrots, thinly cut into matchsticks
- 4 onion leaves, chopped
- 1/4 kg Minced beef
- oyster sauce 
- 12 spring roll/ lumpia sheets (available in the frozen section in supermarkets)
How I make: Put in two table spoons of oil in to a pan and stir the minced beef until cooked. Add in all the veggies until soft. Season with oyster sauce and mix well together. Taste. You can add salt and pepper to meet your taste, but usually oyster sauce does it right. Transfer mix in a bowl to cool. Prepare the wrappers and one egg white. When cool, add a table spoon and a bit more of filling to the wrapper and slowly roll into a tube while tucking the sides in and securing with egg whites. While wrapping, prepare oil in a pan to deep fry so the rolls can be immediately fried once done. Easy and tastes even more delish with this specific chili sauce, Sambal Bangkok. Happy munching!

spicy tofu #CPP1

I shall say this dish is great in many ways. It's healthy, simple, tasty and cheap :) I'm glad I found and mastered this recipe. Here's the video along with the recipe. I cut my tofu bigger than the ones in the video as I used the softer kind of tofu rather than the really firm kind. That way, the soft tofu would not easily break in to pieces. Both I'm sure taste as yum. At least now I can assure you that my tofu dish will not be the ordinary fried version. Many must agree with me that sesame oil and seeds makes it extra lovely.
Note: The image is not mine. My camera was snatched away by my husband to accompany him on a duty abroad. Won't be back in two weeks *sigh. The pics I attempted to take with my phone camera were awful - no bright sun light as well today. I hope I get better (phone camera) pics with the next two dishes. 

breakfast casserole #CPP1

My next attempt was seriously easy *show off* :p All you need to do is watch this video, then change the filling to your preference. I used sausages, sweet onions, and corn. I also sprinkled bread crumbs on the top just before put in oven. Here's the ingredients I used:
- 7 slices of bread, crust removed, cut into cubes
- 2 large sausages, thinly sliced
- 1 big onion, chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup of milk
- cheese, grated
- salt & pepper & a pinch of oregano
I didn't leave it to rest overnight since I had lack of patience and made it this morning just before breakfast. Me too wandering whether the herbs would absorb thoroughly enough or not? It did and tasted delish! Maybe next time a sweet casserole with raisins and fruits might work out just as yum!

xmas in new york

Christmas is always magical in New York. How do I know that? Not because I've ever been to NY (will always be on my where-to-go-before-i-die list), but because of all those dreamy christmas movies located there. Hahaha... the movie makers must be really happy that at least someone has been hypnotized by the atmosphere captured within the pretty decoration and mellow Christmas carols. My all-time favorite Christmas movies are probably Home Alone, Serendipity, and While You were Sleeping but I'd love to watch these old Christmas movies listed to be some of the best christmas films. On my list I have Four Christmases, Mixed Nuts,  The Perfect Holiday, I'll Be Home for Christmas. They are mostly family-romantic-comedy-rated films. I love the light stuff ;) What's on your christmas (movie) list? 
image from imdb.com

soto ayam #CPP1

I chose Soto Ayam to be my first recipe of my Cooking Project Part 1 (#CPP1) and I nailed it! I started cooking in the morning so we had this for lunch and dinner today. I followed this recipe and watched this video for a picture of how to get things started and so on. I did make a few substitutes to the recipe according to my preference. It wasn't as hard as I thought, but then maybe because I got a hand from my helper in grinding the spices. She grinds spices like a high-speed food processor :) Thanks so much, Mbak Mar! So, my kind of Soto Ayam consists of rice noodles, sliced cabbage, bean sprouts, a boiled egg, and chicken. To top the dish off, I cut in half and thinly sliced potatoes and deep fried them to go straight on top of the Soto when about to serve. It gives a crunch in every bite and potatoes goes best with Soto. Oh, don't forget the shrimp crackers! It just makes the dish even more complete. I'm glad I passed this recipe satisfyingly.  What a tasty 1st of December!

the cooking project part 1

Through these past days, I've been craving over food that have been hidden way back in my head. And if you're wondering, no, I'm not pregnant. I'm just going to blame this on my second round of the film Julie & Julia. I recall pulling out recipes I wanted to eat after watching the DVD. Then I thought, why not give myself a project. Plus, I need to learn to cook more various menus anyway. My dish-list consists of Asian dishes except for a breakfast casserole which looked so easy to make. So, my project target will be 5 dishes with a time span of 1 week starting from today. This includes taking a serious nice picture of each dish for proof. What's to cook (and can't wait to eat!): 
1. Lumpia sayur (vegetable spring rolls)
2. Asem-asem (sour vegetable and meat dish)
3. Soto ayam (a chicken turmeric soup)
4. Spicy tofu 
5. Breakfast casserole. 
The order of making shouldn't matter. Okay, here we go. Wish me luck!
Images: from around the web
photoshop by sheila

red bottoms, please!

I need red jeans... or red culottes... and pair it with those aviators... and try to pull that look. I never thought I would ever want to wear red for trousers, but now I suddenly do. They would make any simple t-shirt or blouse look fancier. Plus, they'd really brighten up these gloomy days of dark clouds and rain. 

strawberry choco dips

My strawberry dipped-into-chocolate-snack for the Icip-Icip article I made years back. This would make a lovely sweet-sour snack for this particular hour, don't you think? Right, with a glass of iced coffee, please! 

How to make: Melt a block of dark chocolate in a bowl on top of a boiling pan. Make sure no water drips in to the chocolate. Dip in your washed strawberries in to the chocolate and leave to rest on a plate. After all done, refrigerate all berries until the chocolate has hardened. 

Photo taken by: Yuniardi P.

thirty two

That number is how old I turn exactly today. I'm feeling so surprised by how time flies, gosh! Today, I didn't plan for anything fancy. I did plan to cook a lasagna and cupcake but that didn't turn out due my lil' boy catching a fever :( Still, I feel blessed so much by the birthday wishes sent through to me and the positive people who surround and care about me. Love! Thank you!

Let me tell you a bit about the image I chose. It was pictures I took at my birthday surprise during a work trip to Germany, 4 years ago. The sponsors from Germany managed to find out it was my birthday and ordered cake and sparkles at a restaurant we stopped by before watching the Beethoven Orchestra in Bonn. As I was the birthday girl, I got to choose first between the variety of cake. I chose the spongecake with prune fillings. Oh, the taste and the view of the restaurant overlooking The Rhine River... It was a lovely lovely overseas surprise. I'm still smiling inside:)

popperca

                 

Popperca is a cool shop my sister and I found in Jogja. It sells cute creative stuff -from stuffed toys, hats, laptop holders, to tops and dresses- made from printed cotton fabric or left over material. I find this shop amusing! Located in the centre of Jogja, in a quiet neighborhood, this shop will make you want to stay longer. If you ever visit Jogja, you should stop by just to look around. But with everything cute and the reasonable prices there, you are bound to step out with something. The first picture is what I got: a shopping bag, two stuffed rabbits with attachable keyrings, and a small purse. Luv it! Popperca is located at Jl. Sagan III No.5 Jogja :)

eid this year

We spent this years Eid at my parents home in Jogja. I loved the feeling being home with family, taking Fabian to do the Eid Prayer, plus the menu for our Eid breakfast couldn't be more tempting :) Eid Mubarok!

 

Our lengendary menu of Ketupat and Opor with Semur Daging, Sayur Nangka made by Mum, plus Moussaka and Roti Cane made by myself. Even Toula (the cat) sat at the table waiting for her turn to dine. 

ceasar salad

This has been my breaking-fast menu for these several days, after a cup of tea. It's deliciously healthy, refreshing, and dead simple :) All you need is a bunch of fresh lettuce, washed, chopped, and patted dry. For the dressing, I used 2 tablespoons of mayo, half a teaspoon of mustard, 1 small garlic chopped finely, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix all together before mixed with the lettuce. Make your own croutons by cutting 2 slices of bread into cubes, then bake with butter in a nonstick pan until golden brown. Serve immediately.

the perfect boiled eggs

Due to the husbands request lately, I have a new routine - boiling eggs. And you know what, it's not as easy as I thought. I tried a few times and never got the exact firmness I wanted. Always to squishy and made me have to boil them again (read: time consuming and ruined the look).  So, when I stumbled upon a post I read here, it was just the answer I needed :D All you need now is a timer and let EggWatchers do all your counting. It's fantastic!

the car party

As planned, we threw Fabian's birthday Car Party two days ago. The one-and-a- half hour party was full of children and smiles, especially from the birthday boy. He was really happy surrounded by other little people :) I'm just happy that he had a good time dancing around, enjoying friends accompany, and that us parents didn't collapse before the party was over :D Here's the pictures of the party and also the party details. Enjoy!

Inspired by the Circus Party invites, I attached three flags on the invitation for the kids to swap with snacks and their goody bags.

I made car pencil toppers from felt to complete the goody bags. I followed a tutorial here but made it more simple by gluing them together rather than sewing ;) I also was inspired by the car toppers found here.

The goody packages were filled with basic stationary, writing books, and snacks.

Can you tell what these cones are supposed to represent? Yes, traffic cones! I cut out bright red paper and turned them into cones and deliberately secured them with masking tape for the white line effect. I knew I did a good job when Fabian woke up seeing them one morning and spontaneously said that they were like the ones in Toy Story... You know, the scene where the toys used them to cross the road? That made my day, alright! 

It was surprisingly hard to find checkered printed paper, so I printed a full A4 sheet in black and white checkered flags. Then, I photocopied them and cut them out into bunting flags to hang for decoration. With paper, everything is easier and also more cheap :)

These traffic signs where signs where the kids should "stop" to take a snack, sip, or goody bag :)

Unlike last years costume, this time I made it myself. Just the felt car application though. I cut out a car, windows, and wheels then stitched them on top of a t-shirt Fabian already had. After seeing the result, I think I'll cancel my thought of taking it off. At least for a while :) 

A lovely car cake made by my sister (again). The asphalt car track is made from crushed oreo biscuits. Brilliant! I added the checkered flags and traffic lights to make it more merrier. I loved it and so did everyone else since there was nothing left of the cake and it was only half way through the party!

The birthday boy!

More into the cake decoration than to blow out the candles, so us folks did it for him :)

I just had to ask the odong-odong to come again. I did ask if they had car shaped rides but, no, they don't. 

His line up of some of the presents by the end of the day. Hope the birthday boy and guests had a good time! :)