CNY, Jacket Potato with Steak, It's Holiday!

Happy New Year!

I always love Chinese New Year, not only because it's a day off from work, but I always feel that CNY is a new year celebration with edge. If you always have red, green and white for X'Mas, then CNY is always filled with bright red, gold, dragons and magpies.

This year, just a day before CNY, I join a contest at digiscrap designer Hat of Bunny FB, and luckily I won this beautiful kit that is just perfect to celebrate CNY. 

So went straight ahead to my laptop, and try it on. Tada!! my li'l baby waving her first ang pao!

And to make it complete, I decided to make a show in the kitchen today. I bought this simple easy recipe book from Periplus a week before. It's called "The Hungry Student Cookbook", by the title you could say it contains a variety of easy breezy cheap western recipes, made with the most common ingredients with most common kitchen tools. What caught my eye is the Jacket Potatoes recipes. I LOVE Jacket Potatoes!! I remember going to Wendy's just to eat their cheese & broccoli baked potato. Now with the book, I can try to made my own. Here's a copy of the recipe if you'd like to try it out:

Jacket Potato

Ingredients

1 big baking potato

How to

Since I don't have an oven, I use the microwave to bake the potato. First wash your potato well and dry thoroughly. Prick the potato with a sharp knife 5 to 6 times all over to prevent the potato explode inside the microwave. Place the potato in a microwaveable plate. Cook on high for about 4 minutes. Turn the potato over and cook it again on high for another 2 minutes. Stick a sharp knife to the potato to check if it's done cooking. When it's cooked enough the knife would easily slip through the potato. If it's not done, cook again on high for another 2 minutes. Serve immediately with the topping

For the topping

Ingredients

100g raw tenderloin (or any other steak meat you like)

Olive oil

1/2 Onion peeled and sliced

Salt & Pepper

Broccoli simmered for few seconds

How to

Cut the tenderloin into thin strips then season with salt & pepper. Drizzle the pan with olive oil and cook the onion with medium heat until it's translucent. Put in the tenderloin into the pan, and cook until the steak is as you like it. For me it took only about 3 - 4 minutes to have it cook through but not overcooked so you can still find it juicy.

Set up your plate

Cut open the jacket potato, topped it with the steak & onion. Arrange the broccoli around the potato.

Voila! Here's your jacket potato with steak!

MP-ASU - Never Too Early,,,

Menjadi emak2 baru tidaklah mudah pasti banyak panik dan khawatirnya. Anak ngangkat kepala takut lehernya kecetit *padahal emang udah waktunya ngangkat kepala*, anak bersin2 langsung khawatir flu *padahal reflek karena banyak orang belum mandi disekitarnya*.

Beruntunglah saya yang punya banyak sahabat yang sudah punya banyak anak duluan *see,, menikah/punya anak belakangan ternyata ada untungnya juga kan,, hehehe,,*, jadi saya pun punya banyak tempat untuk sharing ilmu serta konsultasi di saat darurat sebelum beneran konsultasi ke ahlinya.

Salah satu topik yang paling hot dibahas adalah MPASI (Makanan Pendamping ASI),,

Loh,, loh,, kok udah mikirin makan aja? my baby kan baru 2 bulan. Well, for me it is NEVER TOO EARLY,, to learn! Beruntungnya saya punya sahabat emak2 yang juga rajin sharing dan diskusi di forum publik, akhirnya saya pun diperkenalkan dengan HHBF dan BLW buat nambah ilmu ber MPASI *atau ber MPASU (makanan pendamping air susu) kalo di kasus saya mah*. Grup ini bukan hanya sekedar grup sharing resep, tapi juga memotivasi untuk selalu memberikan yang terbaik buat si kecil. Sampai akhirnya,, *jreng,,jreng,,* saya pun membeli banyak buku kitab untuk semakin mantap persiapan MPASU nya. (yup,, ini salah satu bahaya laten OL shopping saya selama cuti)

1. Homemade Healthy Baby Food

Finally setelah berdiri selama beberapa tahun penggagas2 HHBF meluncurkan satu buku. Buku yang baru terbit akhir bulan Mei ini langsung diserbu oleh member2 groupnya. Saya juga ikut2an beli, lebih karena penasaran apa itu HHBF.

Di buku perdana ini HHBF menjelaskan secara singkat bagaimana memulai MPASI, makanan apa? kapan mulai? bagaimana memulai? seberapa sering makan? dan kegalauan-kegalauan lainnya saat bayi harus mulai diberikan makanan pendamping. Kemudian ditambah pula dengan tulisan2 inspiratif ibu2 yang ber-HHBF baik working mom ataupun bukan, suka memasak ataupun tidak, full ASIX atau menyerah dengan sufor. Dibumbui pula dengan sedikit resep yang aman untuk baby 6m - 12m yang sudah diuji coba oleh dapur ibu2 HHBF.

Kumpulan resepnya dikemas dengan sangat menarik

Setelah membaca buku ini, kesannya,, saya makin semangat untuk memberikan homemade healthy baby food ke anak saya nanti. Saya menyerah dengan sufor di minggu ke-3 dan tidak *terlalu* suka memasak! Tapi saya percaya pada waktunya nanti saya harus memberikan makanan terbaik buat anak saya. No instant food, karena anak saya bukan generasi instan!

2. Makanan Bayi Sehat Alami - Wied Harry Apriadji

Setelah ngubek2 grup HHBF, ternyata ada satu suhu dunia persilatan makanan sehat yang sering dijadikan acuan ibu2 di group tersebut, yaitu Pak Wied. Penasaran, saya pun mampir ke toko buku terdekat untuk mencari bukunya Pak Wied ini. Ternyata eh ternyata begitu sampe di bagian "parenting/bayi" bukunya Pak Wied ini buanyak buanget, mulai dari makanan bayi, makanan balita, makanan bekal pre-school, DIY bento, DIY cake, makanan sehat nusantara (saya jadi lieur dan ngileur). Setelah liat2 saya pilih dulu satu buku yang paling saya butuhkan saat ini.

Sampe rumah langsung saya buka, penjelasannya pun sangat detil. Do's and Dont's dalam memberi makan bayi usia 0 - 12 bulan. Di buku yang saya beli ini juga tersedia berbagai macam resep serta sampel jadwal menu. Enlightening buat ibu2 yang gak kreatif dan jarang masuk dapur macem saya ini, hohoho,,

3. Seri AyahBunda : Puree

Buku ini saya beli jauuuuuhhhh hari sebelum my baby lahir. Jadi ceritanya waktu saya lagi asik2nya mengandung my baby, saya suka banget melahap buku seri AyahBunda (karena menurut saya isinya komplit dan informatif sekali). Hehe,, saya sampe inget temen saya yang ngomong,, "mayanghwa,, udah lu mikirin ngeluarin tu baby aja dulu, kalo mikirin dia mau dikasih makan apa mah masih lama". Habis gimana dong,, saya gak sabar banget pengen ngajarin my baby pegang sendok, hohoho,,

Oke, sesuai dengan judulnya buku ini berisikan variasi makanan bayi dalam bentuk pure, bubur lembut, ataupun nasi tim (jadi agak gak cocok untuk penganut BLW ya, karena gak ada resep finger food). Buku ini juga menjelaskan dengan detil bagaimana menyimpan bahan2 makanan tersebut. Mana yang boleh dibekukan mana yang tidak boleh. Tidak boleh di sini bukan berarti makanan basi, tetapi lebih karena merubah tekstur atau penampakan makanan, jadi memang sebaiknya disajikan fresh.

Buku ini cocok banget buat working mom (yang harus nyetok makanan di freezer) dan ibu2 yang *sekali lagi* gak kreatif dan jarang masuk dapur, karena juga tersedia sampel jadwal menu untuk si dede bayi. Buku ini combine dengan bukunya Pak Wied, saya jamin langsung bisa memberikan makanan yang variatif buat si dede nanti.

4. 500 Baby & Toddler Foods
Buku ini juga saya beli jauuuuhhh hari sebelum my baby lahir. Pertama kali liat buku ini di Gunung Agung, udah mau beli, tapi akhirnya di taruh lagi mengingat kayanya masih lama buat masak2 bikin makanan bayi. Tapi apa daya, bukunya terbayang-bayang sampai rumah, akhirnya begitu mampir lagi ke mall disempetin lah ke Kinokuniya.
Isinya? Jangan tanya, variatif sekali banyak resep untuk finger food jadi sangat cocok untuk emak2 yang penganut Baby Led Weaning. Selain itu juga banyak resep kebule-bulean macemnya goulash, pie, baked fruits, omelette, pasta, risotto dan lain lain. Pokoknya kalau bosan dengan cita rasa nusantara bisa beralih ke buku ini untuk cari inspirasi. Oiya resep yang disediakan di sini sangat family friendly, jadi gak khusus untuk anak, hanya memodifikasi sedikit bisa langsung disantap oleh orang dewasa.

nih,, menunya internasional banget kannn,

Masih 4 bulan lagi menuju hari H. Sudah siap tempur? Saya rasa belum, masih separuh jalan. But I'm learning more and more each day. Kalau begitu untuk menyemangati diri sendiri, saya ucapkan Selamat Persiapan MP-ASU! Hosh!

Day 7 - The New Cadbury

Just got off from the company's convention today, and was presented with the new flavor for Cadbury.

There's no doubt for the Indonesian market, when you're talking about chocolate, they all go crazy for chocolate with nuts. So the scientists at Cadbury are hitting the kitchen, mixing and matching ingredients to get a new and unique flavor for Cadbury.

Voila! They came up with Cadbury Cashew and Cookies. Both the nuts and cookies will give you crunchy feeling while chomping the silky chocolate. Got a bar for tester, and had devoured it all for a midnight snack. :D

Kenangan Dalam Semangkuk Soto Kudus

Soto Kudus adalah salah satu alternatif hidangan kalau "mama lagi males masak" keluarga saya. Tepat setelah mie instan, ayam goreng tepung kolonel, dan roti2an baik yang berbicara maupun tidak. Bagaimana tidak, dekat dengan rumah saya ada satu cabang restoran soto kudus paling populer di Jakarta. Konon kabarnya cabang pertamanya berdiri di Blok-M. Nah sekarang cabangnya sudah tersebar di mana-mana, bak Alfamart dan Indomart yang di tiap pengkolan ada. Saking melekatnya Soto Kudus di hati saya, setiap menyantap Soto Kudus baik itu di Kudus, di Blok M, di Sana, dan di Sini,, saya tiba2 ingat kenangan2 jaman dulu.
Restoran soto kudus dekat rumah saya ini sudah jadi langganan sejak mungkin 20 tahun lalu. Saya ingat waktu jaman2nya saya masih piyik, restoran ini yang buka paling pagi, dan tutup paling malam. Maka tak heran kalau keluarga saya suka cari sarapan di sini. Bahkan jaman2nya kami masih suka mudik pakai mobil, berangkat subuh2 dari rumah. Sebelum perjalanan panjang, kami pasti mampir dulu ke soto kudus dekat rumah, untuk mengganjal perut.
Saya ingat pernah membawa teman2 kuliah saya untuk makan di restoran soto kudus deket rumah. Untuk saya ukuran satu porsi soto kudus campur itu pas di perut, tidak terlalu banyak tidak terlalu sedikit. Tapi mungkin buat teman2 saya yang lagi tumbuh2nya itu, satu porsi ini ternyata kurang, walhasil harga satu porsi soto kudus ini pun menjadi agak berat di kantong. Di tambah lagi, ada teman yang berniat menggoyang lidah dengan satu plastik kecil berisi lima keping emping. Tak disangka2 bertambah kaget dia ketika harus merogoh duit 10ribu rupiah untuk satu plastik kecil emping.

Paling pas memang tiap makan soto kudus ditemani dengan sate kerang, sate telur puyuh, tempe/tahu goreng/bacem, kalau mau lebih gurih lagi silahkan pakai paru, otak goreng, dan jerohan2 lainnya. Kalau mau kriuk2, bisa juga ditemani dengan kerupuk rambak atau mungkin kerupuk bawang. Semua tergantung selera,, :)

Soto Kudus Blok M - pict courtesy of kuraninja

Kerak Telor, Pasar Ikan, & Batavia Punch Story

I've been living in Jakarta ever since I was born, that means been here for almost a quarter century *not going to be 25 till July*. Therefore in order to celebrate my existence in this place called home, I'm determined to explore every inch of this city.

So I've been here and there before, parts of it were featured in my "saving our heritage" stories. Anyway, decided to get in touch with the Betawi (Jakarta native) culture, and the best place to do it would be to visit a genuine Kampung Betawi (Betawi Village). One of it that has been well managed would be a Kampung Betawi located at the side of Setu Babakan (a reservoir). You can reached this village from the Moh Kafi 2 Street, Jagakarsa. And when you see this gate like the ones on the right picture, do not hesitate to head that way. You'll be passing a classic-modern betawi village. Most of the houses still retain the betawi architecture, although some mix and match it with the modern architecture. When you think you got a little bit lost inside the village, don't worry, the resident already know where you are heading. hehe.. You don't even have to ask for direction, just put on a confuse face, they'll automatically point the road to the Setu.
What you'll find here? Well, there are some water activities you can do, such as fishing, canoeing, or paddling the duck boat. They also have a mini plots where they have three to four betawi model homes. And you can take picture there. In it was also a mini stage, where they perform traditional arts such as kromong, tanjidor, lenong, and jaipong. Unfortunately they only do it on Sundays, that's what the caretaker informed us when we asked what show they'll have that day. But what I love most at Setu Babakan is sitting on the side of the lake and eat traditional foods. You name it, they got it. There's kerak telor *yes,, we just discovered the best kerak telor we ever taste, it's served fresh from the fire, but not too hot to eat, it's not too thick, burnt but not hard*, serabi, Bir pletok, dodol betawi, roti buaya, and many more.Then we played soap bubbles just like what we did way back when we were kids. The entrance fee to this site is really cheap. I only got to pay 3000 IDR, that is basically a ticket for bringing in a car *because the caretaker did not count how many people in the car*, and about 2500 IDR for parking.
Next stop was the Maritime Museum. Way back when before we were businessman, lawyers, and doctors, Indonesians were known as farmers and most of all sailors. There was a song I've known since kindergarten.

Nenek moyangku seorang pelaut Gemar mengarung luas samudera Menerjang ombak tiada takut Menempuh badai sudah biasa Angin bertiup layar terkembang Ombak berdebur di tepi pantai Pemuda berani bangkit bersama Ke laut kita berama-ramai

A song about our ancestors who were sailors. And which place would be better to get in touch with our inner sailorman rather than to visit a maritime museum located at Jl. Pasar Ikan, North Jakarta, Sunda Kelapa. A port that used to be the window of the world. With a 2000 IDR ticket, you can visit two places, the maritime museum and the Syah Bandar Tower. I like going to places like these, although I may not remember all the details about our maritime history, but it was fun to look at ancient buildings. If walls could talk, there would be more stories to tell.
So we closed the evening by visiting the recently happening ancient landmark in Jakarta, the Fatahillah Square. I remembered going here about 12 years ago *back then I was still in middle school, just got back from MYA, and my family thought it would be fun to visit the Fatahillah Museum*. And you know what, 12 years ago.. this place was STRANDED!! Nobody even cares to visit this place. Nowadays, thanks to this historical community, Fatahillah Square is more like an open public space. There were tons of small cook shops, cafes, and everything. You can find lots of vendors selling es potong/es lilin. There's a group of reog *you know like gypsian* that do a Kuda Lumping show every hour. If you'd like to explore the sceneries around this square you can always rent an onthel bike, complete with the nonik-and-sinyo** hat. And if you're tired, you can rest at the Batavia Cafe, it's a bit pricey but very cozy. I love how they design the interior, plus they have a good&friendly performers that sing old school songs *I mean real old school like from the 50s or 60s*


**this is how they used to call a boy or a girl, that comes from the indo-deutsch heredity.

My Latest Cravings

Actually this home-made bakery store has been there since forever, but this place is my family latest discovery. And maybe.. for awhile we'll be forgetting about the other bakery store on Djuanda Street, and start shopping here.

Presenting our newly discovered bakery store: *tada!!!*
Primarasa at Jl Kemuning, Bandung

Okay, what I like most about this store is, not only they have various kinds of sponge cakes *bolu2*, chips *potato, spinach, you name it they got it*, cheese sticks, dry garlic breads and other pastry snacks, but they also got puddings&cakes. Yes!! I love cakes!! When I see that refrigerated cake display, with various nicely decorated cakes inside, I can't help but to stare at it, and start picking the ones that look and sound delicious.
Next, it is a self help shop. The place is crowded but you don't have to nudge here and there just to get the sales girl's attention. When you get there, just get a basket, and put in everything you'd like to buy in it. When you think you've had enough just go to the cashier neatly organized with a queue barrier. Therefore you don't have to worry that someone might steal your queue.

So while you're in town, and would like to visit this shop, don't forget to try my recommended bakery&cake, which are:

• Bolu Oreo. Trust me, you'll love this. It's not too sweet, and the white sponge cake is really soft plus spongy. With strawberry jam *I think* in the middle, and oreo crumbs on top, this one would be a good snack during tea time.
• Avocado Tiramisu. Just try it!! You know how sometimes tiramisu would make you queasy if served too much, well.. you don't have to worry about this tiramisu. What I loved most about their cakes are, it is served in the right amount, not too much and not too little. Also, they always add fruit in the cakes therefore the milky/fat in the cakes won't taste too strong (maghteh), so you could enjoy it better.
• Garlic bread. Once you pop you just can't stop. haha.. oh.. you can also add this to your cream soup *if you're making one..*

My Late Night Snack-DIY

After raiding my fridge for a late night snack, I found some dark chocolate Lindt thins that's been sitting there for a year *or more, I think*. We really don't have the appetite to finish it, since it's 85% cocoa therefore too bitter to snack. But combine it with some strawberries *even the low grade and misshape ones* will make a delicious late night snack.

So I decided to take some chocolates. Melt it in the microwave *might have overheat it a bit, because it turns out a bit lumpy, but still dipable-->just create a new vocab there, hehe..*. Then dip some strawberries into the chocolate melt. Put it in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. The late night snack is ready.
Well, the key to make the choc melt is taking out the chocolate from the microwave every few seconds (15-45), stir, and then heat it again. Do it over and over until it melts perfectly. Next project would be, trying to decorate this chocolate covered strawberries. I think this would be a nice gift for some special occasions for those special people.

Sushi Crazy @ Sakura Jakarta

I am not a big fan of going into the kitchen. For me all there is to cook is an instant noodle with egg and water *I'm good at popping things into the microwave and making instant sandwiches though*. Gods must be crazy when I decided to attend a cooking class. What can I say, making sushi tutorial is an offer I just couldn't turn down.

So I went to Sakura early morning yesterday (9.30AM on a weekend is early morning) and with the guidance of Chef Roy and Chef Kus of Sakura, brought home 4 packs of sushi. hahaha.. *right now my burps smells like sushi*.
So the class started with a demo on making Eby Tempura by chef Kus. Since one of the recipe we were going to learn was the eby tempura roll, so I had to be able to cook it first right. The demo was very thorough and I got lots of additional infos on making a perfect eby tempura. The chef also explained on how to make the tempura sauce. I always thought tempura sauce is only that salty kikkoman sauce, in fact it wasn't. My jaw just dropped when I heard that you gotta put this and that and cook this and that to make that sauce. For a kitchen pro, it might be easy, for a kitchen newbie like me?!?! blah..hahaha.. Then, the chef explained how to make the sushi rice, and gave another demo on the sushi recipes we were going to make. At the end of the demo, my stomach just went grrrrr.. Not only it was already lunch time, but the smell of fresh sushi just made me want to devour it at once.
So the Sakura's PR took us to one of the private room there to have lunch. Recharge the energy before doing hard works rolling some sushi . To tell you the truth, the food was great. We also had a chance to taste their tuna sashimi, which they claimed to be the best tuna you could ever get in Jakarta *other restaurant are just serving lower grade tunas*. Sakura also claimed to serve authentic sushi, this could be true since most of their visitors are Japanese expat, so they have to give taste-like-home foods, right. Hmm.. Thinking of asking my mom and dad to go there.
All materials for the sushi making class were provided by Sakura. All we got to do is be there, put things on the makisu, and roll. It was fun mixing those ingredients, being careful to roll, and playing math to get an evenly cut sushi. By the end of the day not only I got packs of sushi *like I've said before* but also five sushi recipes: the california roll, the tuna roll, the eby tempura roll, the crunchy roll, and the java roll. The java roll was a slightly different recipe, it used orek tempe as the filler.
So.. will I be the sushi maker??

Note: Sakura Sushi is located at RA. Kartini St. No. 9, Pondok Pinang Village, Kebayoran Lama District, South Jakarta City, 12310. Apparently they've been opening sushi class lots of times. They will open the class when a minimum of 6 students are going to take it. Want to try it?? Just gather your friends. oh..and you could also visit their FB group page and fan page.