I wanted to make something for dinner and bring the leftover to work for our lunch. I opened up the fridge and what did I find? I saw these ground turkey and shrimps. So I just quickly made up the recipe for these tasty meatballs. I also made some stir fry asparagus with shitake mushrooms for our meal.

Ingredients:

• Ground turkey/chicken
• Shrimps - chopped
• Garlic - grind
• Onion - grind
• Tapioca Starch
• Egg

Mix together the following:

• Fish sauce
• Sesame oil
• Salt
• Sugar
• Black pepper

Instructions:

1. Mixed turkey, chopped shrimps, garlic and onion.
2. Add the fish sauce, salt, sugar, black pepper mixture
3. Add egg, mix
4. Add tapioca starch, mix
5. Form into balls and fry a few minutes
6. Transfer to baking pan and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown
7. To be eaten with rice and sweet and sour sauce (I usually use Mae Ploy Sauce)

I craved for some cookies after stumbling on a recipe and had meant to bake them for the last couple of weeks. Finally I did and I was very happy with the results, the cookies were deliciously chewy, semi-sweet, melt in your mouth goodness :)

I added dried cranberry (1/3 cup) on my cookie dough, and the tartness from the cranberries add a balance on the chocolatey and nutty flavor..

The recipe is from Heidi Swanson from 101 cookbook

Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup(130 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Adjust the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 300F (150C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Make about 20 cookies.

We had this Wii tournament going on two weeks ago. A co-worker invited us; so after work, me and my husband, along with other co-workers went to his place. We ordered pizza from Skipolini and they were very good pizza. Each of us did the Wii fit and it turned out I was the oldest, my Wii age was 59 year-old...I was the most un-balanced and I guess I need to exercise more now.. :)

So the following week, we hosted the Wii tournament at our place. Instead of ordering food, I made this BBQ Beef Sandwich, since they're easy to make and can be prepared a day ahead. For our dinner, we had these sandwiches with chips, a meat pie and Vanilla ice cream with homemade organic strawberry jam.

We had a great time playing and everyone loves the food. It was a fun night. Everyone left after 11 pm (on a Wednesday night) :)

The recipe is from Elise from Simply Recipes

Braised BBQ Beef Sandwich

Ingredients

Sop buntut is our family's favorite food, they are good eaten with spicy chilli and lime juice. I like to add mine with a little bit of sweet soy sauce (kecap manis). The recipe below is of my grandma's.

To make the soup "a little bit" healthier, after the soup is ready and cooled down, I'd spoon out the solid fat on the top.

Sop Buntut (Oxtail Soup)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Kg Buntut, 2 Lbs Oxtail
• 1 bh Bw Bombay, large Onion
• 6 siung Bw putih, cloves garlic
• merica putih, white pepper
• pala, nutmeg
• 1 bh Bw prey, leek
• Seledri, Celery
• Garam, Salt
• Bawang merah goreng, fried shallot

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Iris bw bombay kotak2 kecil. Chopped onion in small squares
2. Iris tipis2 bw prey dan seledri. Thinly slice leek and celery
3. Ulek bw putih, merica dan pala. Grind garlic, pepper and nutmeg
4. Goreng bw bombay dan bw prey. Sautee onion until transluscent, then add leek
5. Bw putih, pala dan merica ulek dimasukkan. Add garlic, nutmeg, and pepper
6. Tambahkan air dan buntut. Add water then oxtail.
7. Masukkan seledri dan bw merah goreng setelah buntut matang. Add celery when the oxtail is cooked and topped with fried shallot.
8. Sop buntut siap dimakan dengan sambal dan jeruk nipis. The soup is ready to be eaten with chilli and lime juice, with warm rice.

• 7 thin slices smoked bacon, sliced, cook and crumbled
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 4 tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbs sour cream/plain yoghurt
• 3/4 cup diced gruyere cheese

1. In a bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. In another bowl, whisk the egg, melted butter, milk and sour cream
3. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir evenly
4. Fold in the bacon and cheese evenly, do not overmix
5. Spoon the batter into muffin cup
6. Bake until golden about 25 minutes

MAKES 9 MUFFINS 

Serving tips: These muffins also make great accompaniments to soups, salads and omeletes.

Made the scones for breakfast today, both my hubby and lil brother couldn't get enough of it....the scones are really good eaten with the orange marmalade jam... :) 

The recipe is from Ina Garten's "The barefoot contessa" I modified it by using cranberry instead of strawberry, and added chopped walnuts as well...enjoy...

   This Tuna steak is the perfect dinner food; it's quick, simple and yet it's healthy too. I marinated the tuna with lemon, garlic and black pepper for about 15 minutes. Then pan fried it with about 1 tbs of olive oil. For the side veggies, I stir fry the bellpepper and asparagus with chopped onion and topped them with crispy pancetta...  

  I made the dish last weekend; bought the linguine from Trader Joe's, a slight modification from the original recipe which uses penne. 

  This is heavy stuff; it's rich and creamy as I added heavy cream and extra cheese on my version, but it's definitely worth every lb of fat =)  and it was definitely the perfect companion of the Carmenere wine that my lovely hubby brought for our Friday's dinner...

Linguine Carbonara

• 1 pack of linguine pasta
• 3 strips of bacon
• 1/4 cup of white wine
• Parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic clove
• Egg yolk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• black pepper

1. Cook linguine al dente
2. Mixed Egg Yolk with heavy cream, cheese and pepper
3. Cook bacon until crispy, set aside
4. Sautee chopped garlic on the hoil oil
5. Add white wine
6. Add cooked linguine, remove pan from heat
7. Add the egg and cheese mixture, toss until egg is cooked
8. Add Bacon

  The recipe is from the Everyday Italian show by Giada De Laurentiis. I love watching her show; her cooking style is quick, simple, and yet, it's always fresh.  

  The original recipe was a Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting. I modified the recipe by omitting the cream cheese frosting and adding the walnut instead. Enjoy..

Banana Muffin

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg

In different bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add in the banana. Add the dry ingredients above and stir until blended.

Add the batter on the prepared baking aluminum. Bake on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and insert tooth pick into the center to check it come with no crumbs attached, in about 25 minutes

    This drink is created by my mom-in-law, similar to the Phillipine's es hallo2 it's a perfect summer drink... 

• Green Jelly, cut into small squares
• Lychee, cut in small pieces
• Rambutan, cut in small pieces
• Shredded coconut
• Nata de coco
• Sweet condensed milk
• Bailey's liquer

1. Mix the condensed milk, water and bailey
2. Combine the jelly and fruits, only using the liquid from rambutan and lychee
3. Add the mixed liquid and fruits

   There's only one word to describe this steak...heavenly, my husband and my little brother even gave two-thumbs up..

   The recipe is very simple, just marinate the steak overnight using coke (yes, as in coke the coca cola), beer, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper. then panfried with butter...I used the extra liquid from the juice to stir fry the vegetable which makes them even tastier...and the leftover goes to our lunch box for the next day,,, =)

Perkedel Tahu (Fried Mashed Tofu)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 kotak tahu, block tofu
• 3 siung bw putih, cloves garlic
• 1 Telur, egg
• Garam, salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Tahu di hancurkan. Mashed tofu
2. Bw putih diulek. Grind garlic
3. Campur tahu, bw putih, telur dan garam. Mixed tofu, garlic, egg and salt
4. Buat bola2 kecil dan goreng. Make a small ball and fry

Excuses, excuses, excuses...I admit that I've been abandoning this blog for a while...thanks to all of you who keep checking in and sending messages =) I am still cooking, trying new recipes, taking lots of pictures and do blog walking... =)

Anyway, after searching for a new home, moving out and moving in, renovating and decorating, and going back to Indonesia for "mini vacation"...we have finally settled-in in our new home (which I LOVE btw....it's only 10 minutes away from work and a walking distance to an asian grocery store... =P )

So we invited our friends for "mangan2" (to eat together). I cooked nasi tumpeng lengkap (yellow rice shaped like a cone in a bed of banana leaves), which is a traditional food served to celebrate special occasion. I also made mie goreng (stir fry egg noodle), ayam & empal menado (fried chicken and fried meat), perkedel (potatoes cake), telur dadar (shredded omelette), sambel goreng tahu (stir fry tofu) and sambel terasi (shrimp paste chilli paste). Abon (shredded fried meat), dendeng (coriander beef jerky), timun (cucumber), krupuk udang & belinjo (shrimp crackers and padi oats crackers) are also served.

Nasi tumpeng and its side dishes symbolize good meanings in Javanese culture; Java is one of the many islands in Indonesia, where my husband and I come from.

Nasi Kuning - Yellow Fragrant Rice

Ingredients:

-Beras - Rice

-Ketan - Sweet Rice

-Santan - Coconut milk

-Sereh - Lemongrass

-Jahe - Ginger

-Laos - Galangal

-Jeruk Purut - Kaffir Lime Leaves

-Daun Salam - Bay Leaves

-Kunir - Tumeric

Instructions:

1. Masak semua bumbu dengan santan.

Combine all the ingredients above (except the rice and the sweet rice) and boiled with the coconut milk.

2. Masukkan beras dan ketan. Aduk terus sampai beras setengah matang.

Add the rice and the sweet rice. Constantly stir until the rice is half cooked.

3. Masukkan semuanya kedalam dandang dan kukus sampai matang.

Move everything on the steamer and steam until rice is cooked.

Mie Goreng is a typical Asian food. While the recipe is very simple the taste is delectable. There are many variations you can try; with or without meat. I made the vegetarian version for few times, using shitake mushrooms, scrambled eggs and vegetables, and they turned out as delicious as the non-vegetarian version.

The keys to a tasty stir fry egg noodle are two things: don't overcook the noodle and crush the garlic (lots of them) using only the traditional mortar and pestle, instead of food processor. The tip is from my mom, from which the recipe comes from. 

Mie Goreng - Stir Fry Egg Noodle

Ingredients:

-Bawang Putih, ulek - Garlic, crushed

-Kecap Manis - Sweet soy sauce

-Mie kuning rebus sampai 3/4 matang - Egg noodle, boil until almost cooked

-Dada ayam, potong kecil2 - chicken breast, cut very small

  --or--

-Daging babi cincang - Pork meat, thinly sliced

-Bakwan, potong kecil2 - Meatball, cut in 4 pieces

-Udang - Shrimp

-Telur di orak arik - Scrambled eggs 

-Sawi - Choy Sum or any kind of vegetables

-Optional: Jamur - mushrooms

-Garam & merica - salt and pepper

-Bawang merah - Fried Shallot

Instructions:

1. Oseng2 bawang putih sampai harum. Masukkan ayam/babi, kemudian udang dan bakwan.

   Heat oil, add garlic. Sautee until fragrant. Add chicken/pork, shrimp and meatball.

2. Masukkan telur, mie dan sawi. Tambahkan kecap manis, garam, dan merica.

   Add scrambled eggs, noodle and choy sum. Add sweet soy sauce, salt and  pepper.

3. Tambahkan bawang merah goreng diatasnya.

   Add fried shallot on top.

Pastel tutup is one of the many popular Indonesian dishes with Dutch overtone. Some like it sweeter and soupy, others like it not as sweet with less liquid (that would be me =). No matter which style you choose, Pastel Tutup is a delicious comfort food that will always reminds you of home.

  Pastel Tutup – Chicken Pot Pie                         

Ingredients:

-Kentang – Potatoes

-Bawang Putih dipotong kecil2 - Garlic, minced

-Bawang bombay di potong kecil2 - Onion, minced

-Sosis sapi dipotong kotak2 di goreng  - Beef Sausage, cut small square and fry, set aside

-Udang potong kecil2 - Shrimp, cut small

-Dada Ayam potong kecil2 diberi kecap asin - Chicken breast, cut small square and marinate with soy sauce, set aside

-Maling/Daging Asap dipotong kecil2 digoreng - Spam or smoked ham, cut small and fry, set aside

-Jamur Kuping direbus - Ear Mushroom

-Wortel potong kecil2 - Carrot, cut small

-Seledri potong kecil2 - Celery, cut small

-Kacang Polong - Green peas

-Soun direbus – Clear & thin noodle, boil

-Susu kental manis - Sweet condensed milk

-Kaldu Ayam - Chicken stock paste

-Mentega - Butter

-Garam Merica - Salt, pepper

-Pala - Nutmeg

-Keju Parmesan – Parmesan Cheese

-Kuning telur mentah - Egg yolk

-Telur rebus dipotong2 tipis - Eggs, boiled and slice thinly

  Instructions:

1. Rebus kentang, setelah matang hancurkan dan campur dengan mentega dan pala

    Boil potatoes and mashed with butter, add grated nutmeg, set aside

2. Goreng bawang putih dan bawang bombay, tambahkan udang dan ayam

    Sautee minced garlic and onion, add shrimp and chicken

3. Tambahkan wortel dan jamur

   When the chicken is half cooked, add carrot and mushroom

4. Masukkan sosis, maling, seledri dan kaldu ayam

    After carrot is half cooked, add sausage, spam, celery and chicken stock

5. Setelah wortel matang, tambahkan soun an kacang polong

    After carrot is cooked, add noodle, kacang polong

6. Masukkan garam, merica, pala, susu dan keju

    Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, milk, cheese

7. Masukkan semuanya di mangkuk tahan panas

    Put the cooked ingredients above in casserole dish (or any oven proof dish)

8. Tambahkan irisan telur rebus diatasnya

    Put sliced boiled eggs on top of it

8. Campur kuning telur mentah di kentang

    Add egg yolk (only, without the white) into the mashed potatoes, to make it not     breaking out

9.   Taruh kentang di atas piring berisi campuran ayam dsb

      Add the mashed potatoes on top of the ingredients

10. Kuaskan kuning telur diatas kentang

      Brush the egg yolk on top of the mashed potatoes

11. Tambahkan keju parut diatas

      Add grated cheese on top of it

12. Dioven 375 derajat Farenheit sampai kekuningan

      Oven 375 degree F until the top is brownish/yellowish