Showing posts with label culinary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culinary. Show all posts

Friday, January 24, 2014

♥ Heartwarming Holiday ♥

Beautiful hydrangea that I accidentally spotted during holiday

Tasty warm-served serabi in Jalan Lawu, Cilacap

Having a very goood times sharing stand with the girls of @kamicinta during Sunday Market vol.4 Tokyo Rising :) I looked like a watermelon, eh? :p

I couldn't see my own feet, thanks to this bomby womby 

Family retreat in this place. I never really into mountains, but this one is an exception

The view of the tea garden was amazing. Too bad it was raining all day long..wondering it will be way more amazing in the sunny day

The first The Darling photoshoot using my brand new artificial grass carpet haha! So much fun!!

So, did you have a heartwarming holiday as well? I'd love to hear!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

The First From Forever

Can't believe that our marriage turns out one year old today.. Can't believe that I have been married this amazing guy for a year.. It still feels like yesterday we stare, held each other hand, feeling grateful for being officially halal and now we both mesmerized for the fact that we have been sharing the bitter sweet of life for 365 days together . I hope (and I guess we will do it well!), that it is really the first anniversary which lead to forever. Aamiin :)


#throwback 22.12.2012. Beautiful party in a more beautiful day with the most beautiful feeling 

We didn't make any particular party to celebrate our first anniversary. Actually I have work in that day (selling clothes in bazaar) but we plan to have lunch/dinner in our nostalgic restaurant that have just got the halal certificate from MUI.  I couldn't wait to taste their Chicken Cordon Bleu again haha!

Smiling all day long..despite my can't-be-hidden-anymore-pregnancy, we still look like a young lovebirds, eh? :p

Finally, HALAL! :D

It was a humble celebration but I was very happy that day :) I never ask too much for this kind of thing; the only-us time was more than enough 

Thank you Allah for Your grace over our life... Thank you honey for the amazing year, looking forward to spent the rest of my life with you  I love you and happy anniversary!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Delight




I always enjoy capturing my food before sweep it off. But I rarely take a photo of my daily cooking since I almost can't get natural lighting for creating lovely photograph in my current home. Or, I only cook proper meal for dinner. So in a rare occasion like having breakfast out, I try as much as possible to picture my food with the morning sunshine that I love the most. Mmmm..yummy.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Dream versus Reality

Few months before I get married, I dreamed a lot about my life after I get married. In that time I and my hubby-to-be made some agreement about which and what in our future living. One of what consist there was I will become a housewife, a full housewife, at least for few months in the early months after we move out.
Raised by a working mom and had spent doing part-time work during my school year, become a full-time housewife never really freaked me out. Frankly, I was beyond excited. Maybe I am a bit tired and bored with my busy life, and become a housewife, a full one, was, I think, such a retreat. I imagined we live in a small house; I will wear that flowy dress, humming a love song while cooking or baking... I made an afternoon snacks compliment by warm tea every day... I, in our little garden, watering flowers while waiting for the soon-back-home hubby. That almost like fairytale dreams stick in my head and made me literally can’t wait to live just the two of us.

But, gosh, sometimes reality wasn't be as sweet as candy.

Yes, we got that small house but after weeks living in it, I miss the spacious one which I can place my abundant petty little things wherever I want. Forget that flowy dress, it give me a hard time while doing the laundry. Afternoon snacks? Who will eat it since hubby have just arrived at home above 6 PM? And that picture of me watering flowers...c’mon, we had no garden. Talk about the risk of living in a packed housing in the city.

I once read a relationship article that you should always look dress up, clean and fragrant everytime your spouse back home. I can’t be more agree than that. But what happened here was I couldn’t avoid times when hubby back home and I haven’t take a bath yet, my hair was such a mess and I wear yesterday cloth. The reality sometimes won’t be as sweet as in our dreams, and the theory is not as easy to be implemented. And become a full time housewife was not a joke, moreover if you managed to keep working from home. Okay, so just said I am working from home mom instead a full housewife.

You know when we get married, my hubby gave me a sewing machine as one of our mahar*. I love crafting and I was looking forward to have plenty of time to sew in my studio, with my brand new machine. We have been married for almost six months, but that sewing machine still packed in its box, never been used even took out from its box. Now it is a real joke, eh?

Well, I am nowhere near complaining since the one that have to be complained is my self haha... I tend to make this post as a ironic joke. Bitter comedy? Well, not that bitter I guess.

Banana pancake with caramel sauce. The only afternoon snack I have been made so far. Hope it won't be the last (duh!)

Cheese omelet with tomato and spinach plus guava juice for busy morning. Sorry for under quality pic! I took it with my cellphone camera
In the other hand, I was hoping that I can post more of my cooking projects here. I have been cooking a lot (everyday, literally) and I practice a lot of new menus as well! I will try to manage my time better and right after my camera and computer fixed, I am sure will bring lots of delish pics around :)

I'll see you very soon! Speed up people!


*mahar (Indonesian language) is sort of gift that groom give to the bride in akad nikah (an Islamic wedding process which the groom made an agreement to take over the responsibility of the bride from her father). This mahar will be the bride's forever property unless she decide to give it to the other hand. Mahar mostly are valuable things such as gold, jewelry, et cetera.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Orange, Yellow and Red

My own version of homemade fine dining heheh..



I cook the salmon with a bit of margarine. I wonder it will be healthier if we use olive oil instead...
Whatever, I love salmon! And above all, I love fries! :D

Monday, September 17, 2012

My First Hit Gindara Steak

Assalamualaikum wr. wb.

Howdy, people? Start to get used myself to do blogging regularly again...Well, what we have today? Oh yes, I  still owe you my cooking Ramadhan post...

People, there's time when I went to nearest mall with my friend Icha and we found that Periplus was holding a sale. Woohooo... I can't. Barely. Breath. I always head over heels about book sale!!!

To be short, we both digging books and expected to found something like Pantone color book in 50% price off (like it will be happen hehe...). But guess what? Not the color book, but almost as best, we amazingly found Periplus Mini Cookbook edition in bargain price, only IDR 5000 to IDR 10.000!! There wouldn't be another chance like this, ha!

It may sounds like me or Icha were pro, but actually we were not more than two ladies that love plans. And one of our plans (or dreams) is mastered cooking skill so we can serve our future family well! Hahaha...
So the end of story was Icha bought two books and me, happily, bring home Homestyle Chinese Cooking, Hearty Country Cooking, Ice Cream & Desserts, Soup and Pudding & Pie. My newest treasure of impulse buying :D

History noted that in one of the Peaceful day of Ramadhan, I tried my luck to adapt one of the recipe. I like to buy something new to eat and gindara fish was spotted when I did monthly shopping groceries. I opened the pages of my newest heart and found something that would be perfect for my dear gindara in  Homestyle Chinese Cooking. Gewd!


The original recipe called Red Braised Fish Steak. It's recommended to use tuna, halibut, seabass or other firm-fleshed deep water fish. I wasn't sure gindara was on the circle, as I am not sure what gindara called in English... but I kept using it since it has almost exactly the same appearance like the one in the book heheh... And because I already bought it :p

The main spices were basic; salt and pepper. But you need more for the sauce; soy sauce, wine (I skipped it since I didn't eat/drink alcohol), sugar, sesame oil ( I didn't have it in my fridge so I used usual palm oil); vinegar (idem), and grated ginger. Oh and I add a bit of oyster sauce to give more Chinese flavor.

The cooking process was easy, as it only need less than 10 minutes. You need to heat skillet and rub its inside surface with fresh ginger (new tips, it helps prevent sticking!) and place the fillet in the pan after sprinkle its both sides with salt and pepper. The recipe said I should wait two minutes for both sides, but to be honest I didn't really count, just used my feeling; when the skin started crisp, it means enough.

Then you need to mix the sauce ingredients and pour over the fish. Gently shake the pan to blend and distribute the sauce evenly then braise without lid for 1 or two minutes. For the serving, you may use chopped spring onions or coriander as well. But since I didn't have those two too and I was craving for something hot, I pick my green chilies. No worries, it was still suit Chinese food, rite?

Best served with warm rice. Yum!
The best part about this dish was its fresh flavor which coming from the grated ginger that met the fresh fish. Ah, savory... :9
Oh and another tips, if you are not a big fan of sweets like me, don't add soy sauce too much. Oyster sauce will work out well and give more tempting result ;)

See you another chance!
xoxo


PS: Is it Monday today? Geez, I forget today is the day dedicated to post about dreams. Duh.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A Bit Hello!

Assalamualaikum wr wb.

Apa kabar teman-teman? Lama banget saya nggak posting di sini ya... to be honest, saya malah hampir gak nulis sama sekali beberapa waktu belakangan ini (kecuali kalau tanda tangan ijazah dianggap menulis... well, not). Alasan lama ga nulis masih sama yaitu saya ribet banget nyiapkan kawinan yang kurang 4 bulan lagi (!!!) dan alasan tambahan karena modem saya lagi mati jadi kalau mau akses internet harus ke warnet dulu (kayak sekarang ini...). Oh, I am feeling like it’s sooo yesterday yah... *gaya*. Alasan lainnya lagi karena ini bulan Ramadhan jadi saya bawaannya pgen fokus ibadah daripada niatnya ngeblog trus malah berakhir liat yahoo gossip... *benerinjilbab*

So…ngapain aja selama masa gak ngeblog ini?*kayak ada yang mau tau aja..hehe..*

1. Having great time wif besties. Jadi sebenarnya dalam rangka syukuran wisuda saya yang bakal dilangsungkan September ini, saya nraktir buka bersama beberapa temen dekat. Niatnya sih, nyenengin orang sekalian ibadah hehe… Kan katanya member makan orang yang berbuka pahalanya sama dengan berpuasa... nah lo, mayan banget kan... Etapi acaranya ini sendiri baru dilangsungkan habis terawih, jadi masih dapat pahala ngasi buka ke orang gak ya? *mikir* 
Eits, yang ngerasa temen dekat tapi belum ditraktir jangan sedih dulu ya... masih ada part two... makan pas resepsi saya aja yah... 

ketawanya lepas banget ya? iya soalnya scene sebelumnya saya kejedot gara-gara buru-buru pengen in action habis nyetting kamera... jadi ini ceritanya ekspresi ketawa/nahan ketawa habis liat saya kejedot hehehe...oya, saya yang pake jilbab peach itu lho..iya..yang paling cantik....*toyor*

Next, saya juga sempet datang ke acara buka puasa sekalian syukuran wisuda salah satu temen seangkatan saya. Asyik sih ngumpul gini, udah lama banget Despro 2007 gak ngumpul, dan ini mungkin jadi salah satu momen ngumpul terakhir berhubung udah banyaka yg lulus dan kerja di luar kota ihik ihik...*mrebes mili*

Bella si empunya acara pake gaya ala Syahrini motong tumpeng

pamer makanan... ckck pada suka pamer semua nih...
Habis ngumpul sama angkatan saya langsung capcus ke Long’s buat ngumpul bukber juga. Kali ini bukber angkatan SMA saya, 8Splendid dari SMAN 10 Melati Samarinda oyeeyyy!!!. Tapi karena cowok-cowok 8 Splendid udah pada mudik, alhasil ini cewek-cewek aja yang datang... lebih mirip pengajian ketimbang bukber kali ya? Hehe...

jangan tertipu dengan jilbabnya... piring yang licin menunjukkan sifat asli mereka...

2. Bobok. Karena di tengah-tengah Ramadhan saya kedatangan 'tamu' dan bawaannya jadi lemes dan males. Oya total saya bolong puasa 10 hari... *sedih*

3. Nyiapkan kawinann!!! Serius ini yang paling banyak menyita waktu. Tapi alhamdulillah banget... Allah is very kind. Semuanya dimudahkan :) jadi saya bisa bilang bahwa H-4 bulan venue, catering, dekorasi, hiburan, undangan, seragam, baju akad + resepsi, souvenir, semuanya udahh... udah di sini dengan catatan udah di-down-payment, udah ada bayangan dengan jelas/ dalam proses pembuatan dan tinggal finishing aja mendekati hari H. Jadi, saya bisa mudik dengan tenang dan menggemukkan badan (amin semoga bisa Ya Allah!!!).

Sedikit curcol, saya sebenernya pengen bkin blog khusus wedding preparation seperti yang dibuat banyak orang, salah satunya Mbak Tia. Cuma saya mikir, lah habis nikah terus blognya buat apa? Masa dibiarin aja sampai expired? Kalau mau diurusi juga gilee... ngurus satu blog aja masih lelet gini, boro-boro dua. Saya pengen bikin review soal vendor, cerita soal ribetnya nyiapin kawinan dengan detail karena jujur, saya ngerasa kebantu banget dengan mbak-mbak ‘alumni’ di luar sana yang punya blog membahas soal wedding juga. 

Sebagai orang yg nikah bukan di kampung halaman, jauh dari orang tua, cucu dan anak pertama (which is means, belom ada pengalaman mantu di keluarga) susah banget untuk tau harus mulai dari mana. Dengan adanya blog wedding itu, trus juga forum wedding yang sekarang banyak banget saya jadi kebantu banget buat nentukan oh habis gini saya harus gini. Oh vendor yang ini bagus, yang itu enggak, dsb... Singkatnya, bisa belajar dari pengalaman orang lain secara riil. 

Cuma kalau saya prefer sharing ceritanya after party deh. Bukannya apa, karena sebelum hari H itu buanyak banget kemungkinan yang bisa terjadi. Yang bagus bisa jadi jelek dan sebaliknya atau misal tiba-tiba ganti vendor. Saya gak kepengen cerita berdasarkan emosi saya saat itu. Misal hari ini seneng banget dapet vendor A dengan harga murah kualitas bagus bla bla... Eh gataunya brapa hari kemudian bilang bete karena hasilnya ternyata gak sesuai yang dijanjikan. Emang sih kalau nulis saat itu juga bisa memunculkan ups and downs  yang justru di situ adalah sisi menariknya sebuah wedding blog. Nah tapi kan saya kepengennya tetep nulis di blog ini jadi gak bakal masalah kalau saya nulis review ntar setelah semuanya kelar... dan lagi I don't wanna be a party pooper. Biar surprise ntar! ;p

4. Belajar masak! Saya mendadak semangat banget belajar masak Ramadhan ini. Saya biasanya masak menjelang buka puasa dan malem sebelum tidur menyiapkan buat sahur paginya. nanti deh habis Lebaran saya bikin postingan sendiri soal what-to-cook ya :)

ini teaser salah satu dish yang saya masak selama Ramadhan ini hehe... coba tebak!

Well then, kira-kira begitulah agenda saya hiatus sampai mendekati akhir Ramadhan ini. Cerita panjangnya disambung habis Lebaran ya kalau modem saya udah nyala! Btw karena limit internet saya tinggal 15 menit lagi, so it's time to say good bye... Selamat menjalankan sisa hari Ramadhan, make sure to make the most of it! :)

xoxo

Wassalamualaikum wr wb

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Chilies Tunny

My cooking mood is back! Last few days I went to a market to restock my refrigerator when I spotted some tunny (s). I really into this kind of fish; easy to prepared and delicious as well. For me, the smaller its size, the better its taste :)


I usually just fry it over and eat it with warm rice and stir fry; kangkung mostly. But this time, I was thinking about something spicy and hot. So after the regular fried tunny was done, I made sort of sauce based on chilies, garlic and onions. The flavor of the sauce was coming by the mix of salt, a bit of sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and the base of course, oil and water. 
My mom often make this dish since my dad (and I) really like highly seasoned food. My brother who sometimes doesn't tolerate hot foods just need to eat the fish itself and set the chilies aside. Oh, suddenly I miss home, and my mum homemade dish :')


The fishes were crunchy and the sauce was..yummmm... :9 I can't say no when it comes to chilies and onions :D

I also made some fried tempe for the side dish. Left the tempe with a mix of garlic paste, sugar and salt for 30 minutes, it turned out a savory fried tempe. I was confident about it since my brother saying that tempe was delicious hehe... Coming from him, it was a real compliment :D (he is a straightforward and a bit fussy; he said in front of my face that my first try steak was tough and he didn't want to eat it even for keep my feeling --'')

warm tempe is one of my faves :)

See you soon, people! Oh, and happy fasting! I hope we can keep the great enthusiasm until the very end! It is a very joyful month after all :)


Saturday, June 16, 2012

Jogjes!


I really had good times in my last visit to Jogja. It was my first holiday with my girls after the last I had in Bandung almost 2 years ago. Pathetic? Well just say I need to do savings :p

The starting was not that good, since I have to wait from 8 PM until almost 12 AM to finally have a comfy seat in the bus. I just ate half of my dinner because of the wrong schedule (too early!) which make me catch a cold during the travel. When we finally reached Jogja, I still didn't feel good so after having breakfast I skip my agenda to visit Prambanan Temple and have a rest until noon :(

Missed it... (photo by @om_tegas)

In the afternoon, Icha and Widya, who had just spent lovely morning in Prambanan Temple came to get me and we went to Raminten in Jalan Kaliurang to have a nice dinner. We were accompanied by Tegas, a friend of Widya, who was really nice to give us a free ride, even became our photographers for the next few days hehehe...

Actually our main agenda was to attend Mbak Senja's wedding. But beside that we also visit Prambanan Temple (without me, of course), visiting the legendary Malioboro and Pasar Beringharjo for buying some souvenirs, and the one that make this journey more remarkable was visiting Museum Affandi. Superyayyy!! Oh and I also met my high school friends that time :D

Enjoy some of my favourite snapshots, fellas! :)


First breakfast in Jogja; Gudeg Yu Djum!
Durian! ♥
Lumpia beside Hotel Mutiara that I always buy everytime I go to Jogja. Yummeehh..
Performer in Jalan Malioboro
Quality time wif hi school friends
I looked a bit pale without eyeliner, eh? Plus, I have just woke up from afternoon nap hehe..
The clue of efficiency is using the same outfit more than once :p Hail to mix and match! :D
The outside appearance of Museum Affandi's gallery... We were prohibited to take any pictures inside the gallery
Affandi's bedroom
Last treat before going back to Surabaya ♥

Such a joyful journey! :D

*the photos courtesy are belongs to @om_tegas, me, Icha and Widya :)