Wednesday, September 26, 2007

TASTE IMPROVED!

Couple of friends having a same interest as I am. What is it? Culinary!
Yesterday, one of them popped up in my office. Brought me several photographs he took. What about.........guess! Food!
So we had a discussion about food.

Actually there are 4 of us. But only him and myself who are living in a same town, the two others are staying thousand miles away. But in several occasion we can get together.

I should admit, the three 'musketeers' are very expert in making ordinary meals becoming extra-ordinary meals (read: in a positive way!). HOW? They are the experts in telling stories, their gesture while do the story telling also improve the quality of the story they tell!

Let's review. One day, they went up to the high part of Bali and had dinner in my favorite restaurant. I must say the quality of the food served is just fine, but the atmosphere of the place and the way the owner running the business is a big deal for me. Cozy place, nice weather, what else? That time it was only me that left in town. I could not join them due to a bunch of tasks that I had to do still.

The next day, the three of them showed up in my office brought a video cam and asked me to transfer the content to my laptop. I was laughing in tears seeing they act like a culinary traveler!

The one who is a photographer, explained the vegetables soup he had.
"Please see the freshhhhnesssssss of this vegetables! Hmmmm..............., the smell of the broth..........., hmmmmmmmm!" Something like that! Believe me! Seeing them talking about food made you mouth watery!

They know many places to get best food! They even know perfectly what time they should be on a Balinese style suckling pig stall just to get the best part out of a whole suckling pig!

Ask them the culinary program on Discovery Travel and Living! They can tell you fluently whose who, what, how, when in each program!

And................... last but not least! Their favorite celebrity chef! Guess who!
NIGELLA LAWSON! Why her?? Why not Jaime Oliver or Anthony Bourdain or Ferran Adria - the Bio Chef like myself??

BECAUSE..........................................

THEY ARE ALL MALE!


That is all for today, Folks!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

TRUE STORY - STOP.................Don't Drink It! (LOL)

This is a true story! I could not stop laughing that day.
I don't know who should be blamed on that case.

It was a bit gloomy late afternoon in Jogjakarta.
I went out with two other friends visiting a gudeg (traditional jogjanese food) stall.

I ordered a glass of hot tea. My other friend ordered his favorite softdrink, while the other one ordered Cendol (kind of pearl in bubble tea, but instead made of tapioca flour it is made of rice flour combined with dissolved palm sugar in coconut milk). While for the dishes it is already standard. Gudeg is consisted of rice, chicken cooked in thick coconut milk, eggs and young jackfruit which cooked for hours.

Having a chit-chat while waiting for our order, a waiter came bringing my hot tea and my other friend's softdrink. The waiter also brought 3 'glass' of water (I put 'glass' in bracket, as it was not looked like glass but it was not looked like bowl either).

In Indonesia, it is very common for people eating using their fingers instead of using spoon and fork. But using left hand for eating is a big NO! Left hand is preserved for 'dirty assignment' (GRIN). Restaurant that specialized in selling Indonesian food usually gave water that put in a slightly large bowl for their guests to wash their hands before start eating (See next picture). I knew the water served by the waiter at the Gudeg Stall was for that purpose too.

Somehow, I guess it was because the form of the water container which was not usual that made my friend thought it was an extra water to drink). He hold and took a close look to the glass and slurrrrrp..... drank the water. I was in the middle of sipping my hot tea, but my eyes immediately opened very wide try to stop him from drinking it. My other friend only starred at him without saying a thing.

I was about to squirt the hot tea, then we laughed out loud! My friend who drank the water for washing hand starred at us without knowing for what reason I and the other friend laughed wildly.

Then, we explained to him.............., and continued our laughs.

"I don't know if you are going to drink that water, I thought you are just looking at the container!" I said.

"Yes......, I thought so too!" my other friend said.

We were laughing on and on, my poor friend could say nothing but embraced.

So..........., next time please be careful!

Monday, September 17, 2007

I LOVE COFFEE

I always drinking one or two cups of coffee daily (that is the limit that I made recently, otherwise I can have it uncontrollable). I can't resist smelling coffee which has just brewed. Seeing "Living Coffee" hosted by Paul Basset a world champion barista (http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/shows/show.asp?id=130) has dragged my imagination of being a barista myself (LOL!).
















I became a coffee lover since my high school time. Preparing myself for year end exam made me a coffee addicted.

In Bali yet I found two places where I like the consistency of taste of the coffee they served, one is Kopi Bali House and the other is Bali Budha (in Ubud and also at Canggu). Last Saturday I went to Kopi Bali House with my love ones for an early dinner. I ordered ice cappuccino and it is perfect! The taste is always the same. They maintain their standard very well.

The only thing that I don't like (and also in other places if they use it!) they use wooden stirrer. Somehow, I never like wooden food wares. I just feel it is not hygienic using wood for food wares.

Now, I'm going to 'brew' my instant coffee........., I like TORABIKA Cappucinno! Have a nice coffee times folks!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Food Supply for School Time

I had a chit-chat with a friend yesterday evening. She dropped at my home to pick up her son, the eldest of 6 brothers! I never have a thought of having more than 2 kids now days and maybe for other career women they will think the same too.

I was preparing my florentine cookies when she arrived, we had our conversation in my kitchen while the kids were happy barbecue-ing outside.

Then after talking and talking we entered mom's subject........, preparing food supply for the kids to be brought to school! I asked her what happened if each kid asked for different kind of food supply? I can't imagine, preparing 6 different food supplies in the early morning..........wow

But she said that her eldest son acted like the commander for his little brothers, and he is the one who decide what food will be prepared for the next morning!

Here I shared the recipe of the florentine cookies I made yesterday:
INGREDIENTS:
Based:
230gr unsalted butter
230gr sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
300gr All purpose flour
150gr Oatmeal

Topping:
150 g mixed peel
200 g dried apricot
100 g orange peel
200 g almond flakes
100 g unsalted butter
100 g Castor Sugar
120 ml honey

INSTRUCTION:
Beat the sugar + butter, put in the egg, almond extract and finally the flour & oatmeal. Mixed thoroughly.
Keep the mixture in the refrigerator until set.
Roll the mixture into 6 mm thickness.
Put in a pan which already based with baking paper.
Oven for +/- 5 minutes. Put aside.

Topping:
Cut all dried fruit into small pieces and mixed together.
Heat the sugar, honey and butter until butter dissolved put the dried fruit mixed in and stir smoothly.
Put the mixture on top of the base and oven at 180 degree of Celsius for 15 minutes.
While it still hot, cut into the shape you like and cool.


Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Hot Sweet and Sour Soup

I noticed since last year the weather is unpredictable. Scientists said it caused by the global warming. It is quiet cold lately in Bali. Temperature at the afternoon time in Denpasar showed about 29 deg of Celcius. At night we do not need air condition. The water is also very cold.

In November there will be a big international meeting related to the global warming issues held in Nusa Dua Convention Centre in Bali. Hope the meeting will run successfully and bring a solution to overcome the environment problems.


Since the weather was quiet cold last week, my love ones asked me to cook hot sweet and sour soup to warm themselves. So here it is I shared the recipe for you:


INGREDIENTS:

2Ltr Chicken Broth
Medium size Ginger - peel and crushed
1/2 Onion - slice thinly

200gr Shrimp – clean, peel and cut into cubes

150gr Beancurd - cut into matches shape

150gr Black Fungus (tree Ears) – Slice thinly
150gr Pork Luncheon – cut into matches shape
150gr Canned Bamboo Shoot – cut into matches shape
150gr Konyaku – cut into matches shape
100gr Streaky Bacon – slice thinly
50 – 75 ml Black Vinegar - to your taste
5tbs Vinegar
2tbs Chinese Cooking Wine
3tbs Soy Sauce
2 tbs Sesame Oil
2tbs Sugar
1 ½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 – 2 tbs Bottled Chilly Sauce (used the one that still contain chilly seeds)

INSTRUCTION:
Fry without adding cooking oil the streaky bacon, until crisp. Put aside.
Fry the onion with the oil produced from frying streaky bacon. Put aside.
Bring to boil the chicken broth + ginger

Put in the shrimp and wait until the shrimp turn red.

Put in the black fungus, bamboo shoot, konyaku, fried streaky bacon + onion, konyaku, beancurd, and pork luncheon.
Put in the seasoning.
Bring to boil once more.
Serve hot.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

The More You Know, The More You......................??

When I was on my high school second level, a senior English teacher taught us this proverb: the more you read the more you learn, the more you learn, the more you know, the more you know, the more you stupid become. But I would add another phrase to make it complete. Here it is: the more you know, the more you stupid become, the more you will feel uncomfortable, unhappy….., the more you will be too proud of yourself!

Correct me if I am wrong, when the 911 occurred, many people becoming paranoia, but for those who do not know that chaos, they won’t be afraid. Correct?

Saturday night, I went to Ubud with my love ones. We agreed to go to the place where we used to have dating many years ago. We visited a nice restaurant that located in the Tjampuhan riverbank, a very nice and romantic place.

The food is standard, nothing is special. I mean you can get that quality of foods anywhere and anyplace here in Bali. But the atmosphere of the restaurant you will only get it there.

They had many artworks displayed as the ornaments of the restaurant, giving an antique touch to the interior. The sound of water flowing in the river gave you a natural music. (They did not play any music!)

I ordered Lasagna, while my love ones having Beef Curry Mysore and Fish Burger. Surprisingly the waitress who serve the food, handed my Lasagna from across my location, just in front my love one’s nose ha..ha..ha….!

I looked at my love one, he kept his naughty smile, and there was no words exchanged between us, but our eyes said……., the waitress do not know the rule of how to serve! We were fine, but feel a bit uncomfortable (then, we were not fine LOL). And why? Because we know the rules!

See, I told you, if we do not know the rules of serving meals we won’t be disturbed of such incident, do we?

But that is not the point………., what I would like to raise from writing this is, all we feel in our lives is depended from what our reaction in responding the experience that we have. If we react negatively, it will be negative and vice versa………. Just that!