WW: Lebaran Day Feast

Eid Mubarak!

Here's a little photo album of the food that we prepared and enjoyed during the celebration of Eid al Fitr in Wellington. 

Get yourselves ready!

Can you tell me what we have on the dining table? 

Lot's of familiar things I believe!

I bet you cook many special food as well for Eid celebration. Which one is your favorite and who do you cook it with? 

Ramadhan cooking with the Frakarsas

Ramadhan cooking with the Frakarsas

Assalamualaikum warrahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

I hope your Ramadhan goes well and this blessed month will give us ample time to reflect and revisit our journey in this life, so that we can be a better person.

Ramadhan has always successfully brought my family together. I manage to go home early, prepare the meals with my hubby and my kids, and as much as we can, we always pray together in jamaah. The sense of togetherness and family spirit really brings us together and that what makes Ramadhan special.

Ramadhan cooking with the Frakarsas

Salah satu kegiatan favorit yang kerap saya lakukan bersama anak - anak dan juga suami adalah berkreasi di dapur. 

Entah kenapa, saat Ramadhan, kami sering sekali berkumpul di pojok ini sambil memikirkan apa yang akan disiapkan dan dimasak. Mungkin karena saat Ramadhan jam kerja kantor juga lebih pendek sehingga bisa pulang lebih awal atau karena menahan lapar, jadi berbagai kreatifitas dan keinginan memasak pun muncul. Entahlah. Yang pasti, kami berempat menikmatinya dan saat di dapur ini pun kami banyak bertukar cerita, sharing berbagai hal termasuk hal - hal penting dalam Islam dan dalam berpuasa, maupun bercanda sambil menunggu waktu berbuka. 

Saat berada di Indonesia, kita seringkali dimanjakan dengan berbagai kemudahan, termasuk jajan takjil atau makanan berbuka. Bahkan sampai makanan utama pun banyak yang menjualnya dan rasanya enak serta harganya juga bervariasi. Tapi saat di luar negeri, seperti di New Zealand, kami seringkali membuat sendiri makanan yang ingin kita makan, terutama makanan Indonesia. Memang ada yang menjualnya atau membuka PO, tapi biasanya harganya lumayan banget dan juga tidak selalu ada. So, pilihannya adalah masak sendiri deh.

Nadine was preparing for kaastengels

Biasanya kami masak setelah selesai sholat Ashar berjamaah. Atau kalau di waktu weekend, selesai dzuhur bersama, kalau ada masakan atau kue yang akan dibuat, kami pun mulai memasaknya bersama. Tidak jarang kami recook atau memasak ulang beberapa resep keluarga yang banyak diwariskan dari mama saya ataupun almarhumah mama Rudi, my hubby.  There are times when we called our family back home just to have a chat or ask about the recipes. It was fun indeed!

Karenanya, saya jarang berbuka di luar rumah selama di Wellington. Selain sulit memastikan makanan yang kita beli dan santap 100% halal, berbagai restoran di Wellington tidak memiliki tempat sholat. Bahkan di mall sekalipun, yang hanya ada satu di antero kota Wellington (nanti saya cerita lebih banyak lagi ya :)), tidak ada mushola atau tempat untuk sholat. Well, tidak heran sih karena memang Wellington dan New Zealand pada umumnya memang negara sekuler. Pilihan berbuka di rumah, atau bersama komunitas muslim adalah yang paling tepat memang.

Here are some of the food that The Frakarsas managed to cook during this Ramadhan. Can you guess what they are?

Pastel for Ifthar

Besides the food for our sahoor and ifthar, we had cooked some cookies for Lebaran or Eid al Fitr as well. We usually cook kaastengels or the cheese cookies, nastar or the pineapple jam cookies, and putri salju or cookies with icing sugar.

our favorite kaastengel..

don't you just love the chilies!

And psst, my hubby is a great cook as well. He got so excited in creating his late mom's recipes that we all miss from home. Sometimes he checks the Cookpad and YouTube as well to get some inspirations. I love working with him in the kitchen. He can be super meticulous (and noisy) but the results are usually superb as well. Thanks, love!

can you guess what he was making?

Udi really loves meat.. so he's very good at preparing them

So, that's a little story from our family in this Ramadhan. We are truly enjoying our family time in the kitchen. But of course we didn't spend the entire time in the kitchen as Ramadhan is the perfect month to enhance our observance, worship and prayers to the Almighty. 

Do you love cooking as well? Any particular dishes you and your family love to make during Ramadhan? Share the stories with us at the comment ya.

See you on the next post!

Wassalamualaikum warrahmatullahi wabarakatuh

WW: Cooking time during the Quarantine

What is your favorite pastime during the quarantine?

Besides finishing my assignments (not really my favorite, obviously) and helping the kids with their Zoom meetings, home works and more assignments (frankly, it's a bit burdensome indeed), I do spend so much time in the kitchen.

Well, it's my favorite spot at home after my purple-infused bedroom.

Another simple cooking video at my YouTube channel :)

I have been back to my old 'backyard' which has been quite abandoned since I was pretty much occupied with works and traveling.

Super happy to create various dishes that my family and I love, although some of them are pretty simple.

My brownies cooked with rice cooker :)

I do miss my big oven in NYC though. I don't have one here in Jakarta as it costs us a lot. So I'm trying to work with what I have, cooking at the stove, microwave and rice cooker. I even made brownies in rice cooker and it worked fine! You can watch it in my YouTube channel here.

Let's cook!

During this blessed month of Ramadhan, I also cook simple yet delicious munchies for our Ifthar, breaking time. My kids have been fully observing the fasting month as well and they have been eating a lot lately. That becomes sort of a motivation for me to cook all those delicious food. Well, at least for us LOL.

Here are some photo and videos I took form my cooking session during this pandemic. Some recipes will be shared on separate posts.

Most of the time I was helped by my kiddos, Bo et Obi.
They both love to eat so they are quite adventurous and helpful in the kitchen as well.

the famous premixed brownies

Can you guess what it is? Sambal terasi :)

Our favorite chicken noodle!

Freshly squeezed oranges

preparation for our mini omelette..

 Some cooking processes have been shared in my Instagram Stories as well. 
Check out @insav and @hiddentreasure081 at the Instagram, 

Stay safe, happy and healthy during the pandemic!

Join on on (almost) Wordless Wednesday (click here to join)  and have fun linking up

Cumi Tumis Cabe - Spicy Sautéed Squid

It's cooking time...
Kita masak yuk!

It's been quite sometimes since I share some of our easy-to-make favorite dishes.
Just coming back from our spring break road trip, I just realized that I didn't have much on the fridge.
 
But I got dried squid, onion, garlic and jalapeño, plus some chili and a bit of asparagus.
Looks like I could use some of those.
And one of the easiest recipes that comes to mind is spicy sautéed squid or cumi tumis cabe ijo.

Berhubung baru selesai liburan hampir selama 2 minggu, kulkas pun isinya minimalis banget karena belum belanja.
Kali ini, saya punya cumi kering, bawang, cabe dan sedikit asparagus.
Daripada susah, mari kita buat cumi tumis cabe ijo. 
Sudah pernah coba?

cepat jadinya dan gampaaang :)

Setelah hampir dua minggu kami menikmati Spring break dengan anak-anak minggu lalu, saya jadi kangen masak.
Banget!
Buat saya, masak itu obat penghilang stress dan capek.
Bukan hanya sekedar pemuas perut lapar.
Pusing dengan laporan yang menggunung, negosiasi yang tough dan tidak selesai-selesai atau tumpukan dokumen yang menggapai-gapai minta dibaca dan diselesaikan, saya selingi dengan masak supaya pikiran bisa lebih fresh. 
Bahkan pulang dari trip ke 2 negara dan 7 kota yang notabene buat badan 'remuk redam' karena berjam-jam nyetir dan 'ngukur jalan' alias eksplorasi kota yang kami datangi, tidak menghalangi saya untuk bebongkaran kulkas dan masak!

Dan seringkali, I cook with a 'dumping style', alias masak pakai bahan apa aja yang ada di kulkas hehehe.
  
Ini asli cara masak paling gampang dan murah meriah, paling tidak buat saya.

So, are you ready to cook spicy sautéed squid or cumi tumis cabe ijo?

Here are the ingredients.


Dried squid, 1 pound. If you have fresh squid, you can definitely cook it the same way.
 Onion or shallots, thinly sliced. 
 Garlic, 2 cloves or more as desired, thinly sliced.
 Jalapeño and/or chili, as desired, chopped.
Asparagus, cut as desired.
Cooking oil, 1 spoonful.
Salt and sugar, as desired.

Here's how to cook:

Prepare a pan and put one spoonful of oil, then cook onion and garlic for around 2 minutes or until golden and fragrant. 

Then put the squid, cook  for a while and add a bit of water (approximately 3 spoonful) to make it softer 
Add salt and sweet soy sauce. 
Mix it well and cook until the squid is tender.
Finally add the asparagus, cook it for two extra minutes until it's tender.
And that's it! 
As easy as one, two, three and this Cumi Tumis Cabe Ijo or  Spicy Sautéed Squid is best to eat together with steam rice :).

Add caption

Sebelum makan, biasanya saya selalu foto-foto dulu :).
Bukan hanya tukang masaknya yang narsis, makanannya pun perlu eksis kan.

 Selamat makan!

Tempe Goreng Tepung - Indonesian Fried Tempe

Tempe goreng tepung memang ngg ada matinya!
At least in my house.

Time to share another favorite menu of the house: tempe goreng tepung or fried tempe fritters, as I freely translate it.
Have you tried one?

Beberapa kali saya share di blog kalau tempe adalah salah satu makanan favorit sekaligus harta karun buat kami yang tinggal jauh dari tanah air. 
Tempe bukan hanya sekedar lauk khas Indonesia yang enak dan bikin ketagihan. Ada setangkup rindu dan rasa haru setiap melihat tempe. Mengolahnya menjadi makanan kesukaan keluarga melayangkan ingatan saya pada keluarga besar di Indonesia yang kerap berkumpul dan berbagi suka duka dengan ditemani sepiring tempe goreng. Di situ ada identitas bangsa yang kaya akan budaya kuliner dan sumber daya alamnya yang luar biasa. Ah, mau makan tempe aja jadi sentimentil hehehe! 
Itulah spesialnya tempe untuk saya dan keluarga.

want some?

I have shared several time in my blog that tempe is one of our favorite food and heavily treasured mostly by Indonesians living abroad.

Tempe is not just a typical or traditional delicious Indonesian food that you continue craving for more. There is a piece of 'home' and longing for the homey ambience as we eat  tempe with our loved ones. So now, allow me to share another favorite easy-peasy recipe for tempe.

Ready for tempe goreng tepung or Indonesian fried tempe?

Here we go...

Ingredients:

Tempe or tempeh - you can find it in oriental or Indonesian shop and also Trader Joe's which have its own home-brand tempeh.
Flour - 200 gr
Maizena - 1 spoonful
Turmeric - 1 pinch, if desired
Coriander - hoarsely ground, 1 tea spoonful
Garlic - 4 pieces, crushed. The best is the fresh one, otherwise you can also use garlic powder.
Shallot - 2 pieces, thinly sliced
Kemiri or candlenut - 2 - 3 pieces
Salt - as desired
Sugar - as desired
Spring onion - thinly sliced
Vegetable oil for frying

How to cook:

First, we prepared the spices. You can ground all the spices or just simply use the dry powder. Ground garlic, candlenuts and coriander together. In a mixing bowl, put the flour, maizena, ground spices, salt and sugar then mix them all well by adding water until the dough is well mixed and thick. Add the thinly sliced shallot and spring onion to the dough once it's mixed well.

Cut tempe as desired. For us, the thinner the better because then it get crispy when we fry it. Just to make sure that it's not too thin so that tempe stays intact when fried.

In a frying pan, heat enough vegetable oil for frying. Dip tempe to the dough and fry it until it's beautifully golden. And....that's it!
Your tempe goreng tepung is ready. You can eat it just like that with a little kick from fresh green chili or jalapeños :). Or pair it with a bowl of steamed rice and eat it while it's hot.

Bon appetit!

My fave!

Indonesian Yellow Rice - Nasi kuning

Nasi kuning, anyone?

Hello, Everyone!

What a joyful month!

December is super special for ma petite famille. 
Remember when I said I have three birthdays and 1 anniversary this month? 
Yuuup...
Four precious moments to celebrate with my loved ones and I surely don't wanna miss the opportunity to make those special times 'special'. 
Including by preparing some special dishes :).  

I decided to republish this post, one of my favorite recipes for special times including holiday season like now,  as I would love to make sure everyone tries Nasi Kuning.

Di bulan Desember yang ceria, keluarga kecil kami memang dilimpahi banyak kebahagiaan dan nikmat yang harus senantiasa disyukuri. Walaupun tidak heboh dengan perayaan, tapi saya selalu mencoba menyiapkan makanan spesial untuk hari yang istimewa. Kali ini, saya coba membuat nasi kuning :).

In Indonesia, we have a tradition of preparing nasi tumpeng or cone-shaped rice made of Nasi Uduk or Nasi Kuning. Usually, it is garnished with so many additional yummy plates of fried chicken, potato fritters, fried eggs, fried noodles, beef floss, or even sambel goreng tempe, which recipe I have shared here before. But of course, it doesn't have to be that complete.

We recently have a welcoming dinner at the Mission for the UN Secretary-General Designate, H.E. Mr. Antonio Gutterres, with Nasi Kuning komplit as the main course.

Perhaps, you like to try something different this holiday season? It will definitely be perfect for your special day dinner as well.

So, are you ready to cook with me again?

some of the ingredients :)

Here are the ingredients:

Rice - 2 pounds 

Coconut milk - 3 cans or boxes 

Lemon grass - 4 pieces, cut and beaten

Dried bay leaves - 6 pieces or more, as desired  Turmeric powder - as needed
Garlic powder - as needed
Coriander powder - as needed
Chicken broth
Salt 

Bahan-bahannya standar dan mudah kaaan. 
Beras, santan, serai segar, daun salam, bubuk bawang putih, kunyit dan ketumbar (bumbu favorit saya nih :)), dan juga garam plus kaldu ayam. Nah, kaldu ayam ini modifikasi saya sendiri sih, supaya nasinya bisa lebih gurih walaupun tidak terlalu banyak santan. pas buat mereka yang mencoba mengurangi makanan berlemak tapi tetap menyukai makanan enak dan gurih #hmmsiapayaaa.

For garnish:

Eggs - beaten and fried
Green pepper - cut and shaped as desired
Tomatoes - cut and shaped as desired
Olives
Beef floss - you can easily buy the ready-to-eat package from Asian store
Fried onion - buy the packed on from Asian store, as well.

Untuk penghias nasi kuning kali ini, saya ambil yang praktis saja. Boleh kan :).
Ada telur dadar, abon, bawang goreng dan sayuran untuk hiasan. Prkatis hanyak telur daar saja yang perlu dimasak, yang lainnya beli hehehe :)

How to cook:

Clean the rice and put them in a big pan.  Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, turmeric, garlic and coriander powder as well as the salt, bay leaves and lemon grass. If the coconut milk and chicken broth appear to be inadequate, you can add water to make sure is not too dry. Mix it well, particularly the turmeric powder, and make sure it's evenly mixed and nicely turn the rice yellow. Slow cook it in low fire and occasionally stir it to avoid overcooking it. Once it's ready (all the liquid will be dried and the rice will be nicely damp and yellow), set it aside and prepare the steamer for the mixed rice. Steam it for approximately 20 minutes until the rice is well-cooked.

You can definitely use the rice cooker for this but I prefer preparing it separately like this for better result. 

Memasaknya gampang kan :). Tinggal memasukkan semua bahan yang dibutuhkan ke dalam panci besar, aduk hingga warna kuningnya merata  dan masak dengan api sedang. Saat santan dan air kaldu sudah hampir habis, lebih baik api dikecilkan, supaya bagian bawah tidak gosong. Jangan lupa sering-sering diaduk yaaa...supaya tidak gosong dan matangnya bisa merata. Selesai diaron (benar kan ya bahasanya diaron :)..kalau di keluarga kami, proses ini disebut mengaron. Hmmm..berarti kata dasarnya aron ya #abaikan :)), nasih ditanak dengan dandang terpisah yang sudah diisi air di bagian bawahnya. Masak hingga nasi tanak. Supaya tau sudah tanak atau belum, langsung dimakan saja :). Kalau ingin praktis memang bisa langsung menggunakan rice cooker. Tapi saya lebih suka dengan cara begini, supaya nasinya betul-betul tanak :).

For the garnish egg, beaten the eggs evenly and mix it with salt and garlic. Then fry it in a pan. In Indonesia we call it telur dadar. Usually, for nasi kuning or nasi uduk, we make the thin version of telur dadar, roll it and slice it thinly, like the one in my photo up there :).

Shape the rice in a plate and garnish it with eggs, beef floss, fried onion and veggies.
Feel free to create a lovely plate as desired.

Voilaaaa.. Your nasi kuning is ready now :). 

Bon appetite et happy holidaaay :)

Putri Salju - Snow White Cookies

Cooking time..
And with the holiday spirit, I was inspired to bake Putri Salju, or literally, Snow White cookies :)

Have you ever heard of that?

Back home in Indonesia, we do bake special cookies and cook special food for special ocassions, like Idul Fitri or Christmas. One of the most popular ones is Putri Salju.
Putri Salju is a translation of Snow White is bahasa Indonesia.
Basically it's cookies covered with powdered sugar, so it looks like snow.
Yummy and cute :)

Putri Salju..

Although we don't celebrate Christmas but we definitely respect those who do and we share the joy and the festivity during this wonderful time of the year.

So, to bring the taste of home, I bake Putri Salju and would love to share the recipe with you all here.

Here we go...

Ingredients

Flour 400 gram (or as needed..you can try with a half of the recipe and cut everything in half as well here)
Cheese 250 gram or more, grated.  My fave is usually Swiss Gruyere, Edam and/or Parmesan. It tastes bold and yummy, and smells wonderful. Some people like to mix nuts or almond in the dough, but I prefer cheese so everyone can eat it, including those who are allergic to nuts. But the choice, is of course, up to you :).
Egg yolks 4
Butter 350 gram 
Milk powder 200 gram 
Corn starch 100 gram, for extra taste of crunchy cookies.

For garnish:

Powdered sugar as needed

You will need baking trays, dough roller, cookie cutters and parchment paper.

How to cook: 

I have to say it's super easy!
Just like any standard cookies you usually bake.

First, mix the butter and egg yolks well using mixer. It usually takes 5-10 minutes in high and medium speed.
Add the grated cheese and mix them well.
Then knead the mixture with flour and cornstarch gradually, until everything is well mixed and become soft, well-blended dough. 
The best way of doing it is using our clean hands, so you can really feel it. 
That's what I love to do :). But of course you can always use the spatula or wooden spoon for ease.
Roll the dough and cut them using cookie cutter you like. 

Place them onto the greased baking trays.
Then preheat the oven to 420 degree F (or as you usually use) and bake until it's slightly brown and cooked. Usually, they are beautifully done for around 20 minutes.

Once everything is slightly warm, sprinkle the powdered sugar and make sure both sides are covered by the powdered sugar.

And..Putri Salju, Snow White cookies, is ready!

Easy, right :). Have fun trying it and happy holiday..

Lemper - Indonesian Sticky Rice with Savory Chicken

Always happy to go back to my cozy kitchen and cook some more Indonesian food.

Lately we have been going out more frequently. With warmer weather, being outdoorsy is one of the best choices for me and the kids. And picnic is usually a pack-and-parcel with that. Therefore I need to have a good stock of yummy, healthy snacks for our adventure outside.

lemper :)

And Lemper - or Indonesian Sticky Rice with savory chicken filling (such a long name because we have no exact translation for that) is one of the yummy Indonesian snacks that my kids love so much. And it's easy to prepare it as well :).
Perhaps, to those who haven't tried lemper before, it's like a rice ball.
With savory filling.
But not really a round ball, as the shape is more like an oval one :).

Originally, it's wrapped with fresh, green banana leaves.
How I miss that!
Because besides the great and fresh looking from the leaves, it gives you extra appealing aroma while the sticky rice and the savory chicken are steamed.

But, as I am low in fresh leaves department here in NYC, I, unfortunately, have to change it with aluminum foil.
Not as pretty as the original version, but it's not that bad either.
Here's how it looks..

Wondering how to make it?

Let's check on the ingredients first:

Sticky rice - 500 gr
Coconut milk - 1 can, a half for the sticky rice and a half for the chicken
Lemon grass - 2 pieces (1 for the sticky rice, one for the chicken) slightly crushed
Bay leaves
Minced chicken - 500 gr
Shalot - 1 piece, thinly sliced
Onion - a half, ground
Garlic - 3 cloves, crushed
Coriander - ground
Candlenut - ground
Salt and sugar as desired
Veggie oil - 1 tablespoon

Banana leaves or aluminum foil for wrapping

And now let's cook.

First, we get the sticky rice ready. After you clean the sticky rice or glutinous rice in a pan, put water, coconut oil, lemon grass, bay leaves and salt and mix it together. I usually use a traditional way of determining how much water I need, by using my finger. Yes, my finger. One part of the finger's phalanx (that's the name, right) on top of the rice, that's the height of water I use. It might not be scientifically proven but it works for me. I always manage to get a well amount and balances steamed rice, not to dry, not to runny. So feel free to try my centuries-old-techniques :). After we mix it all, bring it to boil, use low heat to dry the excess water then put the lid on for about 20 minutes. I prefer using my steamer to get a better result. 

start with the sticky rice

Once the sticky rice is ready, set it aside and let's prepare the filling.
Put the veggie oil on a non-sticky pan, saute shallot, garlic, onion, coriander, and candlenut until fragrant and put the minced chicken. Cook it well and add lemon grass, bay leaves as well coconut milk. Cook it with low heat until all is well mixed and tender.

excuse my old pan :)

Now, time to wrap it!
Take a spoonful of sticky rice, spread it on the aluminum foil and add a bit of the chicken filling. Put a half spoonful of the sticky rice to cover the chicken and shape it as you wish, but perhaps oval is the easiest one as we will then wrapped it with the aluminum foil. Steam it for 15 minutes until the rice is well cook and well blended with the chicken.

Hope you enjoy it and have fun this summer!