Chat Box

Friday, April 24, 2009

My 1st FOODLOVERS Group Gathering

Aahhhh.... it was so nice finally I can held a gathering with my FOODLOVERS' friends :)
I have had this group for about 2 months now. It is a group made in Facebook community. And some of my friends suggested me that we should have a gathering so we can know each other well. So, I finally planned it, but it was unfortunate that there were only 3 members came to the gathering :(

Well I can't blame anybody, because it was simply my mistake :p I should've made the gathering for dinner, not for lunch. Many people still working at that time.... duh Pauli...! :p WELL.... people say "Experience is the best teacher", right? :D Next time it will surely be dinner!


Well, anyway, the place was great. It was one of my favorite place for dish. Raacha Suki is located inside one of Bandung's mall, Cihampelas Walk. The main dishes are all about Thailand. It is called suki because how we eat the dish is similar with how we serve japanese suki. We fry and boil the food ourselves, right in front us. It's always fun! :D The difference between Raacha Suki to Japanese suki that we have here in Bandung, is the sauce. I LOVE Raacha Suki's sauce. MMmm.... i think it is made from chili sauce, with garlic, salty soy sauce, and sesame oil. Yummyyy!!

Readmore »»

My 1st Cooking Course

Finally after dreaming for years, I eventually had the chance to do a cooking course.... yayy!! ^.^ My first cooking course was on Tuesday, April 14, 2009..... and it was about Cup Cakes. Wow it was fun! It was like a dream come true :D I have to give my biggest thanks to God who had willing to give me the chance to fulfill my dream, and next is to my boyfriend's mom, the biggest sponsor hehe. She was nicely encouraging me to join this course :)

The place where I had the course was Ny. Liem cakes & bakery. The place has had the best reputation all over Indonesia for their cakes and bakeries and also cooking courses. So, it has never been surprising to meet people from all over Indonesia at every courses.

The teacher, Ms. A Chen, gave us 7 different recipes for cup cakes. They are, Soft Cup Cake, Avocado Cup Cake, Brownies Cup Cake, Muffin Cup Cake, Peach Steam Cup Cake, Red Velvet Cup Cake, and Strawberry Cup Cake. She was so nice, she gave extra course for the Icing Plastic. :D

It was amazing watching her cook.... she has that talented hands, very fast and trained. I wish someday I can have that kind of hands hehe. And she made it looked so easy making all those 7 cup cakes in only 2 hours! I learned many techniques in making more efficient cakes, fast and delicious for sure. :)

Unfortunately, because the time was short, she didn't give us the chance to practice at that moment. I really wanted to learn more about the Icing, and how glad I was when she told us that there will be another course specialized for Icing Plastics decorations! :D



The decorations that her workers made that day were really cute! I wouldn't bear to eat them if they give them to me haha. I can't wait until I can make them with my own hands :D


Readmore »»

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Chocolate Molten Pie (Part I)

I was craving for another Chocolate Molten Cake that I made the other day. But thinking about another kind of Chocolate Molten... I thought of doing some improvisation.
One of my favorite dessert is PIE. And my mum made the best pie I've ever had. Well... note this, I have tried some other pies out there and I have never had any better one than my mum's :p Hhmm... you could say maybe because of the 'love' ingredients inside? Hehe big probably.

So the concept was... I want to make a pie with chocolate melt inside. It's a bit like Chocolate Molten Cake, but the cake is not cake instead of pie. And to make it simple, I will just give a simple chocolate filling made from bitter sweet chocolate compound (easy melting).



The pie didn't turn out very nice... :( since I wasn't thinking about the steps very well. And maybe the way I add the chocolate filling was not proper. So the chocolate was kind of blended with the pie hahaha. But I made it perfect with the taste. Mmm... I will just have to do something about the chocholate filling and the appearance.

Readmore »»

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Sauted Mustard Greens (Cah Sawi Hijau)

Another favorite dish, the Sauted Mustard Greens :D
>Why do I like it? Because it is healthy, very easy to make, and delish!


Why do I say healthy? Because mustard greens are low in calories and contain a large amount of antioxidants. They provide an excellent source of vitamins B6, C, and E, folic acid, calcium, carotenes, manganese, copper, and fiber. They also offer a very good source of phosphorus,
vitamins B1 and B2, magnesium, protein, potassium, and iro
n.
mpounds including vitamins C and E, carotenes, and a high content of glucosinolates. Mustard greens are also beneficial especially for women who are going through menopause. They have the ability to protect against breast cancer and heart disease. Their high content of nutrients (such as calcium, folic acid, and magnesium) is also supportive of bone health. Got this information from Every Nutrient :)

The recipe was made by my mum and dad. Oh what a nice cooperation! :D

Ingredients :
  • fresh clean Mustard Greens (Sawi Hijau/Cai Sim) which are cut about 3-4 cm long
  • 2 cloves of garlic, simply smashed them
  • 200 grams of chicken gizzards, cut them small
  • 1 tablespoon of starch flour
  • 1 teaspoon of salty soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of sweet soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoon of fish sauce
  • ground pepper, salt and sugar for taste
  • 1 cup of water
  • 5 tablespoon of cooking oil
How to make :
  1. Prepare the chicken gizzards in a small bowl. Add the starch flour, soy sauces, and pepper then mix them all together nicely. Leave to absorb for about 10 minutes.
  2. While you are waiting for the chicken gizzards, you can prepare the Mustard Greens. Wash and cut them and you have to let them dry before you cook them.
  3. Saute the garlic in the cooking oil until you can smell the garlic's special aroma. And then put in the mustard greens, along with the fish sauce and then saute them until the mustard greens are about to weak. And then add the water, mix them.
  4. Make a hole in the middle of the sauted mustard greens and put the chicken gizzards into that hole, and then close the pan and leave them to boil for just 5 minutes.
  5. Start mixing them alltogether, and add the sugar and salt for taste. You will find the water gets thicker.
  6. Turn off the fire and put the sauted mustard greens on the serving dish and ready to serve :)
Don't cook the mustard greens too long or you will lose too much of the vitamins and minerals in them.


Mmm... looking at their pictures makes me want to crave them again haha! :D

Readmore »»

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

GreeN BeAnS FoR MoRe HaiR??

Dear foodlovers,

I got to tell you I have this hair problem. My hair doesn't grow a lot. It always makes me unconfident every time I do my hair, because it always seem not suitable with my face... ugh.. My mom said it was because when I was baby, my parents didn't cut my hair bold because they think my curly hair looked so cute :p Whereas, here we still believe that if babies are cut bold once, then they will have thicker hair.

But I don't want to blame my parents for this, because I do agree I did look cute when I was baby haha :D But then, I have been trying to do this and that, go to the hair salon to have some treatments, and even drinking this and that in order to grow more hair. I am hopeless my friends.... until about a month ago, when my mom had her hairdo, the hair dresser told her about the magic of Green Beans. He has 2 customers that have this absolutely thick hair. You probably wouldn't believe if I say that from one hair follicle grows 3 hairs!! Apparently, his two customers did the same thing to their hair. They drink the water from boiling the Green Beans :o

He said that for 250 grams of Green Beans need 4 cups of water. Just boil the Green beans in the water, but only before the skin of the green beans started to break. Drink only 1 cup of the water everyday. I got to tell you it taste horrible! Bitter, tasteless, and I just realize that green beans have this horrible aroma :#
But you know, if this really works just like those two customers, I should tell the whole world about this haha! :D

Readmore »»

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

AnoTheR Tea Time : Pisang Goreng :D

For us here in Indonesia, one of our favorite snack meal is Pisang Goreng aahhhh... even to think about it makes me drewling :D Especially if the banana is one of those sweeeeet kind, with the crunchy crust and accompanied by a cup of hot sweet tea... oohhhh heaven! Hahaha


I got the recipe specially from my mom. From all my life, I have never taste any other Pisang Goreng better than my mom's yummm.... and lately she has modified the recipe. The crust is crunchier but soft inside, and she changed the type of the banana.

What you need :

  • 10 Plantain (raja bulu) Banana, thin cuts
  • 300 grams of medium flour
  • 100 grams of starch flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon of salt (but add it little by little as you taste it first, to avoid it being too salty)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder
  • 1 egg
  • 300 ml of water

How to Make :
  • To make the dough simply mix all the ingredients together except the banana, but add the water little by little as you mix the dough until they are well mixed.
  • Then add the cut bananas, mix them with the dough.
  • Prepare the cooking oil, we will make a deep frying, that is using a lot of cooking oil and let the dough drown in the cooking oil until it is well cooked. Let the cooking oil to heat.
  • Put the fire to medium, then take about 1 full table spoon of the dough and fry it along with other full table spoons of doughs. You should stir the doughs while frying, to let them cooked evenly until they have changed to yellow-brownish color.
  • Take out the cooked doughs and drain them. And they are ready to crave :D

Readmore »»

Saturday, March 21, 2009

NoOdLes ScHoTeL ala Licu

After making the Italian Pizza earlier this week, I still have some mozzarella cheese leftovers. Instead of making another pizza, which would be a little boring for the week :p I been thinking other dish that is easy and simple to make. What firstly came in my mind was Schotel :D


Basically, Schotel is made with maccaronies, milk and eggs. Well, with the addition of this and that such as onions, garlics and meat products. But because there aren't any maccaronies in the kitchen, so I was thinking of something else as a substitute. My dad bought 3 packs of dried noodles 2 days ago, so I thought I am going to use one of them :)

This modified Schotel actually uses the same way as to make Maccaronies Schotel. I even boil the noodles first, just like we need to boil the maccaronies.

About last month, I watched this television network, and saw this famous chef from Indonesia, William Wongso. He's very good, many people say. He has this calm style when cooking, makes you relax. I have been waiting forward of watching him on tv, and I was so lucky he was performing Cabbage Maccaroni Schotel. He was making the schotel with the addition of cabbages. But one thing really interesting is that I just knew that the schotel would have a more tempting aroma if you saute the maccaronies first along with the onions and garlic. So, I was also following William's instruction. And, he's right, the Noodles Schotel I made has such a tempting aroma. Plus, I also sprinkled some dried oregano on top of the mozzarelas.

Another thing about Noodles Schotel is that it tastes like a mixture between east and west haha.
Anyway, for the Noodles Schotel ala Licu here's the recipe.... :)

Ingredients :
1 pack of dried noodles
500 ml of milk
2 eggs
3 sausages (or you can use smoked beef)
1 small carrots (cut in really really small dices)
3 cloves of garlics (chopped)
1/2 of large onions (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
mozzarella and cheddar cheese (both grated, the amount is up to you :))
dried oregano for sprinkles
1 tablespoon of margarine for sauteing

How to make:

  1. Boil the noodles for about 10 minutes or until it is a bit soft. Whilst, you can chop the onions and garlics and also make preparations for the other ingredients. Cut the carrots into small dices, don't forget to peel it first :p. And then cut the sausages sideways, you can cut it think or thick. If the sausages are not enough to cover the surface, add more sausages. Tips : don't overboil the noodles, or it will be too soft, and when it is sauted it will break easily.
  2. After the noodles are done, drain it completely. Prepare the margarine for sauteing. Saute the garlic first until you can smell the flavor, and then the onions until they change color. When the onions and garlic are ready, put in the noodles along with the carrots. Saute them for a little while. If they form a crust on the pan, it's ok don't be panic, then it's time to stop sauteing.
  3. Take half of the sauted noodles and put evenly on the baking plate. And then followed by the grated cheddar cheese, spread evenly. And then the cut sausages, also spread evenly. And last, spread the rest of the noodles evenly on the top.
  4. Mix the milk with the eggs in a bowl. Add salt and pepper. Pour it on the plate evenly (you should start from the sides first, then continued pouring to the middle part).
  5. Lastly, spread more cheddar cheese on top evenly (just a little bit) and topped with the mozzarelas (better lots of it). Sprinkle some dried oregano for the flavor.
  6. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes at 150C
The reason why I didn't saute the garlic together with the onions is that I want to make the schotel smells a lot tempting. Garlic always takes a big role at most dishes to give the nice flavor and tempting aroma.



And so, my foodlovers friends, I had Noodles Schotel for my breakfast. Add the perfectness with the splash of tomato sauce.... Mmmm I love tomato sauce yummmm... :D

Readmore »»

Friday, March 20, 2009

Javanese Chicken Curry (Opor Ayam)

Yesterday my mom made one my favorite dish.. it's Opor Ayam. Or in english you can say Javanese Chicken Curry.


In the old days, it's really quite a hard job on processing the spices to make the curry, seeing that there are quite a lot of spices needed. But nowadays, people choose to be more practical and effective. So the Indonesian people invented the Javanese Chicken Curry spices packed in a plastic taadaaa! :D

Earlier I thought that to use those instant packages are just simply mix them in boil water along with chicken and the dish will come out delish. But nope. You still have to add a little bit of this and that. But afterall, it's still a lot more easier than to grind and mix and pulverize the spices yourself.

To make the Javanese Chicken Curry you need

  • 1 pack of instant Javanese Chicken Curry (you can get it at any supermarket, or if you are located outside Indonesia, you can get it at any Asian Supermarket)
  • 1 chicken, cut into small pieces
  • 6 eggs (boiled until they are well cooked and then peeled)
  • 2 large potatoes (peeled and cut into small dices)
  • 2/3 teaspoon of tamarind (asem)
  • 1 tablespoon of grated brown sugar (gula merah)
  • 1 straw of lemongrass/citronella (daun serai)
  • 2 sheets of Salam leaves (daun salam)
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 3 teaspoons of salt
  • 200 ml of coconut milk (santan kelapa)
The steps to make Javanese Chicken Curry are :
  1. Saute the instant Javanese Chicken Curry in about 3-4 tablespoons of cooking oil until you can smell the aroma.
  2. Add the chicken cuts and also the tamarind, saute until the chicken cuts are half cooked.
  3. Add the water, wait until it's boiling and then put in the potato dices along with all the other spices, except the eggs and coconut milk.
  4. After another boiling, lower the fire, and add the coconut milk. Stir the curry until the coconut milk is well blended. Remember : do not close the pot when you're boiling the curry or the coconut milk will break apart.
  5. Lastly put in the eggs, boil one more time and the curry is ready to serve :)

To add more of the Indonesian taste, sprinkle some fried onions on top of the curry when you're about to eat it :)

Readmore »»

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

F00D R1ddLeS (3)

What fruit always travels in groups of two?

Readmore »»

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Healthy Juice (1) : LimE for Ch0LeSTeRoL

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons of Lime water
  • 3 slices of lime
  • 1 bottle of soda
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • a little bit of salt (if you like)
  • ice blocks

How to Make:

  1. Mix the lime, honey, ice blocks and salt with a juicer.
  2. When you are about to drink it, add the soda.
  3. Serve it with putting 3 slices of lime inside the juice.

Readmore »»

Reducing Cholesterol

One might be said having a cholesterol problem if he/she has more than 200mg/dl of cholesterol level in blood.

The higher is the cholesterol in blood, the bigger the risk of getting blood vessel constriction (atherosclerosis) which can lead to heart disease even stroke.

Besides using a medical therapy, the controlling of cholesterol level can also be done by food control.
Avoid and limit the consumption of any cholesterollic food, such as : innards, brains, livers, fatty meats, butters, and cheese.
Eat more fruits and vegetables as fiber source. Fibers take a role on binding and removing the triglyceride and cholesterol from the digestion system, so that the cholesterol level in our blood can be controlled.

The fruits and vegetables that can be used as juice to reduce cholesterol level are : avocado, grape, apple, star fruit, juice tuber (bangkuang), guava, oranges, banana, water melon, spinach, beet, broccoli, beans, corns, soy bean, snow peas, cauliflower, cabbage, bitter melon, celery, and carrot.


Readmore »»

Monday, March 16, 2009

F00D R1ddLeS (2)

Which vegetable's name and first letter sound the same?

Readmore »»

F00D R1ddLeS (1)

Why did they let the turkey join the band?

Readmore »»

CRaVInG 4 ITALiAN PiZzA

Pizza... pizza... pizza...!! I love pizzas yummm... :)

I think most people like pizza. Bless are those people who invented pizza LOL. I had my first pizza when I was at about 6th grade. Pizza Hut was just came in to our city that time. So it was a bit booming. I loved the taste so much. Moreover, it's all about the "europian food" thing. And the price was quite affordable for a europian food. But since then and until the real Italian Pizza arrived in our land, I never knew the real sensation of eating the original Pizza. Was quite late for someone like me I admit, I tasted my first Italian pizza 2 years ago in Bali. It was so unique, and I love the smell of it. And the thin and crunchy bread just make it perfect. Since then I always want to have a chance to make one my self. And I just got that chance yesterday.


The problem for original Italian pizza here are the basic ingredients. They are not commonly sold here. I had to explore most of the supermarkets in my city to find oreganos and basils. I still haven't found the Semolina flour yet :( And the price for a small bottle of dried oregano was quite making me choked. But well, it's all for the experience :D


I was really amazed with those pizza chefs. They are really talented and well trained with the doughs. When I was trying to round the dough with my roller, I was a bit stressed. Because the dough must be very thin and round. Whereas, it was hard to make them round and thin without ripping the dough :#
So, you know what? I found a trick :p I put the un-round yet dough on the pizza pan, and leave the side part still a bit thick, so I can spread the dough with my fingers. LOL! Well at least they came out round enough :p




I used the recipe from the Chef Maestro, and it was really good actually. I just followed as it said, especially the pizza sauce, ohhh they came out really good!! :D I am glad there are leftover sauce that I can put in the fridge for more and more pizza :)

The pizza was done about 5 pm yesterday, and I made 2 medium pans of them. My dad just bought some new dvd movies, so me, mom and dad had our relaxing time watching those movies accompanied by the pizzas :) I am really happy that my parents said they are delicious. Actually they are my parents' first Italian pizza to taste, so they are quite happy about it :) Next time, I want to take them to this Italian Pizza resto cafe where me and my boyfriend used to go. I think it was not much different with the ones I made LOL. Oh please, it's ok to cheer my self sometimes right? Hehe. But yeah you should try the recipe, they are good and worth to try :)

Tommorow I am planning of making them again, since I will have this barbeque time with my friends. I can't wait until they taste my handmade pizza and listen to their oppinion hohoho :p

Readmore »»

Saturday, March 14, 2009

OpEn FoR COmMenTs

Wow! You know what... yesterday one of my best friend told me that he couldn't give any comments here. It kind of shocked me a little, and I am not quite understand about computer thing, so I spent the whole night trying to figure out why and how to manage it. But thank God, it is finally managed ="D So now my friends, my blog is open for comments again. Please feel free to comment anything, any critics would be great too haha. Afterall, we're living in a world full of studies.

Cheers!

Readmore »»

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Klepon (Indonesian Style Mochi)

Today I made Klepon =") If you are familiar with Mochi, then Klepon has slight differences with Mochi. The texture is the same because they are both made from rice flour, but the kind of rice flour that are used are the glutinous one. They are both have elastic texture, affected by the glutinous characteristic from the rice flour.

Klepons are usually filled with brown sugar, while Mochi usually filled with brown sugar with the addition of grind peanuts. And another difference is, Klepons are covered with grated coconut.



What makes me love Klepons is that when I put one Klepon into my mouth, there's this shocking sensation in the first bite. The melted brown sugar shoots out of the klepon! Wowww you know it makes me want more and more klepons in my mouth HaHa.


Basically, Klepons are made with Suji Leaves water to give the green color. But nowadays, I found that some Klepons are made with the addtition of yellow/purple cassave (usually called Japanese Cassava). Even some are filled with mince meat.
I've found the recipe for that special one, and been thinking of making them one day ="D Even more, I am dreaming of making my own kind of Chocolate Klepon haha. Unfortunately it was just a dream... but well maybe it will come true haaa.

From the recipe book I read, to make Klepon you need :
300 gr of glutinous rice flour
75 ml of Suji Leaves water
100 gr of brown sugar (grated)
grated coconut from 1/4 part of coconut fruit
1/4 tea spoon of salt

To make them is really easy. All you do is mix the rice flour with suji leaves water little by little until the dough is mouldable and not sticky. Make little round like balls from the dough and then fill them with brown sugar, and then round them again. Meanwhile, boil some water with 1 piece of pandan leaves. And then boil the round doughs until they are floating. Take them out and drain them. Soon after that, roll the klepons on the grated coconut. And they are ready to eat.




In this case, I wasn't quite following the recipe hehe. Because I didn't had much time, so I was thinking of taking a short cut. Instead of using the original glutinous rice flour and suji jeaves water, I bought the instant flour... taaddaa! The rice flour are already mixed with suji leaves and pandan leaves, and it also has vanilla flavor. I know its kind of fake. BUT, its fast and delicious haha. But, anyhow, if I had more time, I would prefer the basic recipe though. After I made the klepons, they did taste instant-like. So, actually I wont suggest you to follow me hehe. But though, at least I gave you the real recipe =") Just so you can try it at home.



Anyway, for your information, the instant way that I did was not fully instant though. Because it costed me a bit of confusion. I thought when I change the original glutinous rice flour with the instant one, I can use the same amount of water needed. But no, I had to add more and more. Maybe about three times from the recipe. See, that's why I don't suggest you do it instantly. And another thing, I also add a little bit of coconut milk. Coconut milk should make the klepon softer and has thicker Indonesian taste. And they did (Thank God). Next time in my spare time, I will surely try the Chocolate Klepon thing hehe.




Readmore »»

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Putu Ayu Gula Merah (Rice Powder Cake with Brown Sugar)

Whoaa such a late week haha. Sorry my friends, I'll try better to start an earlier week hehe.

So, I've planned to make various kinds of Indonesian cakes this week. But honestly, they will be my first attempt. And I will have to try harder to make the best first of them =")


The first cake of this week is Putu Ayu. This kind of cake is made from the mixture of wheat flour and rice powder. That's the special part. The rice powder is holding a role of making the cake a bit flexible but soft. And it will soon melt when it enters your mouth. Well, basically Putu Ayu is made with Pandan leaves and Suji leaves to give the green effect. But this time, I made it with brown sugar. I always love the smell of the brown sugar and the taste for sure. Oh, and what's that on the top? Those are coconut grates. Really a nice mixture. That's why I choose Putu Ayu as the first dish... or I can say dessert ^-^


For my first attempt I couldn't believe that they came out really nice.

I didn't have any problem at all in the process. I just followed the recipe I got from the Cooking Newspaper I bought about 2 months ago. Well, not all following though hehe, because when I read the recipe for the first time, I just felt I need to improvise. So I thought it might come out better with more egg yolk and more brown sugar. So, I was kind of neck, and believed in my instinct, and they did came out great ="D


Actually my desire to make these beautiful cakes are so great that I forgot to buy more putu ayu's cups. I only have a dozen of them and it won't be enough for making 1 recipe. So I pour the rest of the batter into my pudding cups. ="D My mom said they came pretty too. And I think I like them too. Not from the shape though, but by more of the batter instead of the coconut grates haha. Honestly I don't really like the taste of the coconut grates. But I got to admit lots of Indonesian people like coconut grates. They even use them for main course toppings. Well for that I like it too, but steamed.... let me think about it ="p


Well in this case, the batter with brown sugar cover up the taste of that grated coconut. And I am happy about it =")

Before you got bored of my chit chat, here I give you the recipe.

Ingredients:
150 gram of coconut grates
1/4 tea spoon of salt

3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1/4 tea spoon of salt
80 grams of brown sugar (grate them yourself, I used a peeler to do it)
30 grams of granulated sugar
1 tea spoon of emulsifier (SP/TBM)
100 gram of wheat flour (medium protein)
50 gram of rice powder
100 ml of coconut milk

How to make:
1. Lubricate the cups with oil (use a small brush to do this)
2. Mix the coconut grates with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. And then take about 1 1/2 tea spoon of them and put them on the cup, press them.
3. Stir the eggs, salt, brown sugar, sugar, and emulsifier until they form a thick and very expanded batter. How expand? About 4 to 5 times than the original.
4. Add the wheat flour and rice powder into the egg batter little by little in turns with coconut milk, while you stir them slowly. Remember to stir them one directional.
5. Pour them into the cups and steam for about 10 minutes, with medium fire.


I love them so much! Don't they look cute?


Wanna bite? Hehe I have ="p



Readmore »»

Friday, March 06, 2009

12 TIPS To MaKe A SuCcEsSFuLL CoTToN CaKe

Making Cotton Cake isn't that hard, all you need is a special preparations and follow these brief tips to get a maximal result =")

1. Don't stir the egg whites if the other preparations are undone. This is because the characteristic of the egg whites that are easily watery and collapse.

2. Choose fresh eggs. If the eggs were put in the refrigerator, you should take them out and let them reach room temperature before you stir them.

3. Make sure the baking pans and tools that will be used are all dry and oil free.

4. When you melt the butter, don't let the water part separated from the oil. Which means don't let it boil. This might cause the cake get easily dry and sometimes there are parts that are not well done at the base.

5. Spread the baking pans with margarine evenly, and then cover them with the same size parchment paper. Remember, any excess of paper will make the cake wavy and bumpy.

6. If you want to make a marble design on the batter's surface, you can do it by taking lines with the help of a toothpick slowly.

7. It is best to bake the Cotton Cake using Au Bain Marie technique. That is a baking process where the baking pans filled with batter are put on top of another pan filled with hot water (on the middle rack). If you're using an oven with no temperature indication, just use a small fire to make the cake cooked evenly.

8. Heat the oven first for about 20 minutes, before it is used to bake.

9. In the baking process, don't open the oven's door too often, because it will cause the temperature drop so that the baking process might take too long. And then the cake will fall down.

10. Don't bake the Cotton Cake in piles, it will cause the cakes are not cooked perfectly because the temperature could not spread evenly.

11. If you're creative, you can make interesting shapes from the batter to make interesting shapes of Cotton Cakes.

12. If you want to give a more intense taste and aroma, you can add essence extract, such as : vanilla extract, mocha extract, or coffee powder.


Those factors above are quite holding an important role in making Cotton Cake. If everything are done accurately, precisely and carefully, it will surely give you good advantage.

Cheers!

Readmore »»

Thursday, March 05, 2009

BLueBeRRy CoTToN CaKe

Since its all about Cotton Cake this week, so I've made Blueberry Cotton Cake 2 days ago and just got the chance to share it with you.

Cotton Cake apparently is really simple to make, and it didn't take too much time as well. I got the recipe from a cooking newspaper I bought like from I don't remember when haha. But there must be some mistakes because when I tried it the first time, it didn't come up very nice. So I made a little bit of improvisation here and there and it came up just like in the picture =") I know... I have to learn more about deco and photo..
Well, what I did was mixing the eggs using a mixer with full speed instead of just using an eggbeater. But you shouldn't mix them too long or you'll make the cake fall down soon after you take them out from the oven. And then I also change the temperature of the oven from 160C to just 140C with the baking time from 40 minutes to 60 minutes. That has made the cake didn't look too well done and perfectly cooked to the inside.

So here is the recipe...




Ingredients:
100 gram of medium protein wheat flour
150 gram of butter
1 egg + 200 gram of egg yolk (a)
300 gram of egg whites (b)
150 gram of granulated sugar
1/4 tea spoon of cream of tar-tar
1/4 tea spoon of salt
20 gram (1 tablespoon) of blueberry jam
100 ml of milk

How to make:
1. Melt the butter (don't let it boil), then add the wheat flour, stir until they are well blended.

2. Heat the milk, just to make it a bit warm, and then while you heat the milk, stir (a) with a mixer on full speed until it looks pale. (It is better to weigh for the precise recipe. But if you don't want to, I've counted it was about 12 eggs you need to make 200 grams of egg yolks.)

3. Pour the milk into the stirred egg yolk, followed by the blueberry jam, and then stir them with a mixer on slow speed until they are well blended. And then mix them into the flour batter.

4. Stir the egg whites using a mixer on full speed along with the salt and cream of tar-tar until they are creamy and expanded. And then add the sugar little by little while still stirring it with a mixer until they form a thick consistency.

5. Mix in the flour batter little by little into the egg mixture while stirring them slowly using a spatula. (Note : stir it in the same direction!)

6. Pour the batter into the baking cups (only 3/4 part), bake them for about 60 minutes with the oven temperature of 140C.

7. Take the cakes out of the oven and leave them cool, then you can take them off the cups and give them whipped cream and blueberry jam toppings.


Try it out and give me your comments! =")


Readmore »»

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

ALL AbOuT CoTToN CaKe

Cotton Cake.... hhmmm..

I'd say... for those who love cakes, tasting out the soft texture of cotton cake might be another way of cake's attraction. Uniquely yes.

And so, is Cotton Cake easy to make?

Actually, Cotton Cake's traction is in the soft texture and the very smooth pores just like cotton. So when you enjoy it, it would soon melted when it touched your tongue.

Nowadays, this softy Cotton Cake has various creative shapes. They even look like cute cupcakes. That's why this cake can be a perfect sweet presented.




Eventhough Cotton Cakes are sold in so many places and you can get those cute seductive sweet melty cakes everywhere, there's nothing wrong if you can make them at home by your own creative self. Apparently, how to make them is not so hard. It's a one good news. I've tried it at home myself and it was easy. A smile for that.
I've figured out that all you need is a bit of carefulness, patience and remember "Don't be afraid to fail!". Because you might be amazed of yourself when you see the result. Another smile for that.

Generally, the requirements to make Cotton Cake are quite simple :
  • It only needs a couple of appropriate tools such as mixer, dough bowl, baking pan/baking cups, an oven, etc and a full concentration in the process.
  • Before you try to make it, pay a good attention to the recipe instruction completely.
  • Don't get easily fall apart because you're afraid of failing. Usually most failures happen because of incomplete information.

Preparing the ingredients

You should pay attention to the composition and the role of the main ingredients, such as :
  • Sugar
Sugar has a role in making the cake's frame. When sugar is stired with egg, it will form a very soft and smooth granules.
A good sugar has white color, tis not wet nor moisty and has soft granules. Sugar that has been stored for quite a time usually has a hard granules.

  • Egg whites
Egg whites consist of ovalbumin as protein that will get stiff when it is stired and hard when it is baked. In the baking process, it will coagulate and strengthen any soft dough.
To make Cotton Cake, you have to use fresh egg whites. Therefore, you should pay extra attention when you choose the egg. Choose eggs that have clean shell, no cracky part and the egg white consistency is still thick.

  • Egg yolk
To make a softer Cotton Cake, you can use more egg yolk than the recipe.

  • Cream of tar-tar
If you just heard of it, cream of tar-tar is made from some ingredients and floured.
You can either use it or not. But when cream of tar-tar is mixed with egg whites, it will make the egg whites have a more stiff, light consistency that will prevent it from collapsing.

  • Wheat flour
You shouldn't use too much wheat flour, in order to make the cake soft and flexible.


I will tell you how to make Cotton Cake on the other day this week. Cheers!


Readmore »»

Sunday, March 01, 2009

SeArCh BoX

Dear fellow bloggers,

In addition to my new site's layout, I added the search box, just incase you didn't get the recipe you're trying to find. Hopefully it gives you many help =")

Readmore »»

ChAnGinG ThE ApPeARanCe

Hello my dear fellow bloggers =")

It's been awhile since my last recipe and post, I know I have to catch up a lot. But thanks to my faithful friends and family for their comments, I am going to change my site's appearance to a better one. I've been working on it and hopefully it'll be more satisfying for all =")

Thank you so much for all the encouragements!

I am sooo waiting forward to the new look hehe

Readmore »»

Thursday, February 26, 2009

PoLL (1) ReSuLt

The result of the polling "When you're eating Spaghetti, what do you add more?" is:

Grated cheese 70%
Tomato sauce 20%
Garlic powder 20%
Chilli sauce 50%

As for me, when I'm eating Spaghetti, I always add more grated cheese and tomato sauce... mm yummmm ^-^

Thanks for polling! =)

Anymore polling ideas??

Readmore »»

Monday, February 23, 2009

Chicken Soup With Red Koji (Angkak)

I love Chicken Soup with angkak ="D
Especially when it's still hot. Having it in this cool weather is perfect!
What makes it special is not only the taste, but also the health benefits of this meal.

Actually angkak started in China a very long time ago, usually used as medicine.
In some countries angkak is known with different names, such as : beni-koji, hong qu, hung-chu, monascus, red koji, red leaven, red yeast rice, xue zhi kang, dan zhi tai. In China, zhi tai means angkak in a form of dry flour, and xue zhi means angkak that's been extracted with alcohol.
Angkak was first made in China under the Ming Dinasty. Since then, angkak was used as food and also medicine. It was said that angkak can be used as medinice for digestion and blood circulation.
Countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Hongkong are producing angkak to be used as natural food coloring. Based on toxicity test, the pygmen in angkak is safe enough to be used in food. It actually can reduce the use of nitrite to fix the red color in processed meats such as sausages and ham. It also can hamper the growth of patogen bacterials in food.

Some researches have prooved that angkak is beneficial in reducing the number of fat in our body and also reducing cholesterols in our blood.

The chinese people usually pour the angkak into a boiling water and drink it as medicine. But I don't find it comfortable haha. So, its best to cook it along with the food we like. The benefits won't be lessen. Along with the chicken it can be a very healthy diet meal. If you want to reduce your fat, its best not to eat any fried food. Eat boiled food or steamed food. Here, we will boil the chicken along with dried bean curd sheets ("kembang tahu").


So with the chicken, tofu and angkak, its a great mix of healthy diet food. High in protein, reducing your cholesterol and fat.

So this is how we make the Chicken Soup with Angkak

Ingredients:
1 medium size chicken (cut it in small pieces)
1 pack of dried bean curd sheets (soak them in warm water until they are soft, cut 10cm long each)
1/2 table spoon of angkak (smashed them with a spoon =p)
1/4 tea spoon of ground pepper
1/2 table spoon of salt
2 tea spoon of salty soy sauce
1 tea spoon of sugar
1 leek (cut into thin slices)
2,5 litre of water

How to make:
Boil the chicken until the meats are soft. Add the spices : smashed angkak, ground pepper, salt, sugar and salty soy sauce. Boil them a little bit more to let the spices penetrate inside the meat. Add in the dried bean curd sheets and leek. Cook for a little more while and it's done.

Readmore »»

Thursday, February 19, 2009

ChEaP STeAk

Tonight my parents and I and also my nephew, Terrence, had dinner near the place where I give a private tutor. This restaurant makes a very cheap steak which you will be surprised. I should of brought a camera with me to take a picture of how the steaks look like. There are not many steaks variety, I could mention you, there are chicken mushroom, chicken blackpepper, tuna mushroom, shrimp mushroom, sirloin steak, and some few others that I don't remember. What makes these steaks are so cheap is that the meats are covered with flour and then fried. Sorry if you can't get the imagination... I should take pictures of them next time I eat there again. Well for an empty stomach, they really stuffed it with not going to make our wallet dry hehe ="p Oh about the price... they are in ranged between IDR 8,500 - IDR 14,500...!!!!

Surprised???? Haha. With American dollar, you can eat steak for about a dollar!

Tell me how much can you buy a plate of steak in your place?

Readmore »»

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

SnAcK TiMe

You know I used to like to have snacks. I had snacks when I was reading. I had snacks when I was watching tv. I had snacks when I was playing games. I had snacks when I was chatting and gossiping. I had snacks at the classroom, behind my lecturers back haha... I love it when I had the chance to have a snack. What kind of snacks? Any kinds of chips, my favorite! I could eat 2 packs of chips in 30 minutes. Thats because I ate 3-5 chips at a time. And it got me too much weight... I guess it happens to most of us. I tried to solve the problem by eating just 1 chip at a time, eating it slower than usual.... but I seemed to always want more amount in my mouth. Maybe because the chips are thin eventhough it makes them crunchier. I thought, "Maybe I need a thicker but crunchy snacks, with smaller size..." Why did I think like that? Because a smaller and thicker one would keep my mouth busy before I take the next piece.... hmm... isn't it a good idea? ="D

A couple of days ago, my sister bought this small packed of snack. It was just exactly like I wanted.. and needed. They are crunchy, small, and thick! I found out that they are Fried Maccaronies! I don't know if you ever eat one... but my sister said, "You just knew it know?! We have these for ages!" Well... hehehe... I just thought that maccaroni is only used for pasta, but fried?!

So, I tried to look up how to make ones. Apparantly it's easy! ="p

Fried Maccaronies

Ingredients:

500gr of maccaroni

2,5 litre of water

salt as desired

1 tablespoon of butter

cooking oil


How to make:
1. Boil the water, add salt and butter.
2. Boil the maccaroni for about 10 minutes.... or until the maccaronies are double in size.
3. Strain and drain the boiled maccaronies.
4. Dry the maccaronies under the sun for about 2-4 hours. If the sun is bright, 2 hours is ok. But if you want it more quick, you can use the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 120C... or until the shape and color looks like when the maccaronies before boiled.
5. After the drying, fry the maccaronies in cooking oil until they form brownish color.
6. After the frying, you can spead the maccaronies with cheese powder or chilli powder.

Yayyy.... now I have a safe and fun snacks ^_^

Readmore »»

Monday, February 16, 2009

HoW To MaKe WeLL PreSeRvEd FooD iN ThE ReFRiGeRaToR

Some people say, that to put the foods or ingredients in the refrigerator is just by opening the fridge and put them inside and all is done. But you know what...those foods might probably not put in the right way. So when you think I want to make my foods long lasting, just put them in the fridge, problems solved. But pay attention to these...

1.
Eggs
You should put the eggs in a special container for eggs, but with a position the pointed part faced down. Why? Because at the dull part of the egg there is a membranous cavity that is used by the embryo to breathe. If you put it right, then the eggs can last up to more than 2 weeks.

2. Cheese
Sometimes when you use cheese, there are leftovers. And if you want to put them in the fridge, better wrap them first with a plastic wrap, tightly. This will avoid the cheese gets hard by the cold air.

3. Vegetables and bananas
Before you put the vegetables in the vegetables container inside the fridge, you should wrap them first with a clean used-newspaper or just plain new paper, so that the vegetables wont get easily fade. You should do the same for bananas too. This is useful if you like to feed bananas to your lovable babies, because bananas are so easily rotten and you want to give your babies a nice fresh ones.

4. Cooked food

You may put the cooked food in the fridge, but avoid heating up the cooked food over and over, because a repeatedly heating may form carcinogen. You should be cautious, because carcinogen is one of the substance that can cause cancer. So.... just take the food sufficiently, to be heated right before you eat it.

5. Fish/Meat

Avoid freezing and unfreezing action repeatedly, because that can damage the fish/meat. To avoid this, you should wrap the fish/meat with a plastic one by one. So when you need two fishes/meat parts, just take two plastics of fish/meat so you don't have to unfreeze the whole fishes/meats.

I got this information an Indonesian forum =")
http://www.kawasaki-zx130.org/forum/index.php?topic=659.0

Readmore »»

Saturday, February 14, 2009

HaPpY VaLeNTinE's DaY!!




Here... I give YOU ...........


14 boxes of ChOChOLaTes ="D

Readmore »»

It's all about FOOD, RECIPES, and LIFE STYLE!!   © 2009. Template Recipes by Emporium Digital

TOP