Smell of Spices in My Kitchen

I like the smell of spices in my kitchen. It does make me feel homey even though I am not in my hometown and live far away from my parents. For your information, I hail from Padang. Padang culture is matrilineal, with property and land passing down from mother to daughter, while religious and political affairs are the province of men (although some women also play important roles in these areas). So, it is common for a married daughter in  my culture live with or not far from their family's. Since my husband already had a job in Jakarta, we can not do that.

There are a lot of spices in my kitchen. Usually, I stock fresh ones in the refrigerator and  the powder ones in the bottles. Spiciness is a characteristic of Padang food, and the most commonly used herbs and spices are chili, turmeric, ginger and galangal. So, you can imagine the smell of my kitchen after cooking. Delicious! 

Rendang is a dish which is considered to be a characteristic of Padang culture, and is a must menu for festive time. It takes about 4-5 hours to cook rendang. Other characteristic dishes include Asam Padeh, Soto Padang, Sate Padang, Dendeng Balado (Beef with Chili Sauce). Always full of spices.

You know, Padang food is popular among Indonesians and restaurants are present throughout Indonesia. Nasi Padang restaurants, named after the capital of West Sumatra, are known for placing a variety of Padang dishes on a customer's table along with rice and billing only for what is taken. Nasi Kapau is another restaurant variant which specializes in dishes using offal and the use of tamarind to add a sourness to the spicy flavor. You can go anywhere in Indonesia and still can find Nasi Padang restaurants. Trust me. This ain't a joke.

- AGJ -

Kimchi

I have read to an article on Health Magazine that stated Kimchi as one of the “healthiest food” in this world, in fact it is one of  the big five. 

Kimchi is loaded with vitamins A, B, and C, but its biggest benefit may be in its “healthy bacteria” called lactobacilli, found in fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt. This good bacteria helps with digestion, plus it seems to help stop and even prevent yeast infections, according to a recent study. And more good news: Some studies show fermented cabbage has compounds that may prevent the growth of cancer. More reasons why I really want to eat it.

 

Anyway, I also like the philosophy behind making Kimchi. It is a tradition to take a whole family members  hand in hand in making Kimchi. A family value that are  going to disappeared in this individual world now a days.

As a start, maybe I should just pick it up in the refrigerated section of Korean grocery store ( I think I have seen one around Blok M when we passed by). So, if I want to make it by myself ( I have saved the Kimchi recipe), I already have a standard of taste. From google search,  I have known that Sunja is one popular brand. 

By the way, my husband and I have no problems with food. As long as they are "halal" to eat, why do not we give a try? We like to have different culinary experiences.We also want our family have broad taste of food. Picky eater is absolutely not a choice.

So, we will have kimchi this weekend. Want to join us?

- AGJ -

Quick and Easy Recipe: Rice Porridge with Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients for
Rice Porridge:

• 200 gram long-grain white rice
• 2 liter  water
• 2 mixed eggs
• 50 gram chopped bean curd
• 75 gram grated cheddar cheese
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce 
• 4 tablespoon chopped green (spring) onion
• 2 tablespoon chopped celery

Topping:

• 25 gram grated cheddar cheese
• 4 teaspoon fried onion

Teriyaki sauce: 

• 4 tablespoon margarine
• 4 tablespoon onion
• 200 gram chopped meat
• 2 tablespoon chili sauce
• 2 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon tomato sauce

How to make it:

1. Porridge: rinse the rice with cold water until the rinse water runs clear. Drain. Put the rice in a large saucepan with water.
2. Mix eggs, bean curd, cheddar cheese, salt, white pepper and sugar, stir them well.
3. Add teriyaki sauce, celery and green (spring) onion, stirring occasionally, until the rice is soft and is the consistency of porridge. Keep it warm.
4. Teriyaki sauce: mix chopped meat, chili sauce, teriyaki sauce, sugar and tomato sauce in the fried pan, cook and stir them well.
5. To serve: ladle the hot porridge into warmed soup bowls. To eat, put teriyaki sauce and sprinkle the cheddar cheese and fried onion over the top. Serve hot. 

Serve 4

Chocolate Strawberries

Most of my female friends I have known love strawberries. Their shape is so cute, taste so juicy and their red color are invited us to eat them soon. Not many men I have known like to eat strawberries. Lots of them think that they are fruit for female.

But why does my son, Attar, LOVE to eat them, on the other hand my daughter, Puan, HATE them? He is so crazy about strawberries. He likes fresh strawberries (once he ever had eaten 3 packs strawberries a day!), strawberry juice, strawberry-flavored ice creams, jars, yogurts and milkshakes; even his shampoo, soap, toothpaste smell STRAWBERRIES. My husband said it was because I "desired" wrong fruit for the wrong child when I expected Attar. Yep, when I expected Attar, he must bring McDonald strawberry sundae after working every day. I was upset if he did not bring it home. It is so funny if we remember those time.

Another fact that you should know is Puan likes chocolates so much, and Attar hates them. For your information, I didn't "desire" anything when I expected Puan. Thanks to God. In fact, it was hard for me to eat anything at the time since I keep throwing up. So now, Puan can eat food that contained chocolate ingredients by herself since her brother will not ask her to share it with him and so can Attar with his strawberries. Lucky us. We will not deal with brother and sister's fighting over a chocolate cake or a strawberry sundae since they have their own path.

You know, strawberries are for our body. They are excellent source of vitamin C. Maybe I should start to persuade Puan to dip strawberries in melted chocolate. I think that is the healthier way to enjoy chocolate. An idea to enjoy Monday afternoon in my yellow kitchen with my family.

- AGJ -

Quick and Easy Recipe: Mung Beans Pudding with Cheesy Sauce

Ingredients for 
Pudding:

• 1 pack seaweed gelatin
• 750 ml plain fresh milk
• 250 ml water
• 200 gram sugar
• 100 gram mung beans, boil and juice them
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sauce:

• 100 gram cheddar cheese
• 250 ml plain fresh milk
• 25 gram sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon corn flour

How to make it:

1. Pudding: boil seaweed gelatin, plain fresh milk, water and sugar. Add mung beans juice, salt and vanilla extract. Stir it well.
2. Pour it into pudding dish and let it cool. If it is cooler, put it into refrigerator.
3. Sauce: boil cheddar cheese, plain fresh milk, sugar and vanilla extract. Stirring constantly until it mixed well.
4. Take 2 tablespoon of cheese sauce and mix it with corn flour. Pour them again into the cheese sauce pan. Stir it well. Boil until it is bubbly.
5. Serve pudding with the sauce.

30 minutes to make
Serves 12

- AGJ -

Healthy Food from Breastfeeding Period

Mothers will always give the best healthy food on the early stage of their children. Raise your hand if you agree with me. Breastfeeding must be the answer. I have breastfeed my children each 15 months minimum. How about you, mothers?

I tried to eat healthy food in order to keep the quality of my breast milk. From my experience, one of fastest ways is to consume mung beans. They can make our body produce more breast milk with good quality.

I consumed 1/2 kg mung beans average per day. You can imagine how I felt. There were times that I had lack motivation to consume them, but when I remembered the children, I just swallow them no matter how disgusted I was.

So, in order to stay away from that situation, I started creating recipes with mung beans in my yellow kitchen. If I usually cook mung beans in porridge with coconut milk, I tried to juice it. It quick, easy and tastes good. Suitable for working mothers who are still breastfeeding their children but do not have much time to cook healthy food. 

Just boil 1/2 kg mung beans with 2 cm ginger until they are well-cooked, then juice them. Add  some fresh milk and sugar or some ice cubes if you like and you will get a fresh mung bean juice. You can make it in your spare time, stock in the refrigerator and drink it whenever you want to drink. Simple solution.

Anyway, I also created mung beans pudding recipe and sent it to cooking competition; KRAFT Chef Duo; without any serious purpose last year. Guess what, I was one of the 30 finalists. Thanks to "my disgusted period of mung beans" make me creating that recipe. I will post it soon. My gratitude for mothers who love to breastfeeding their children no matter how busy they are.

- AGJ -

Reasons Why I Love My Yellow Kicthen

One of ways to get man's love is from "His Stomach". That statement is belong to the elderly ,but I think a lot of women out there will agree with them. I like to cook since I was a teenager. Cooking is my passion, if I can say. I even have a dream that someday my children will say that their mother is the best cook in this entire world compared to their friend's mothers. They will miss my cook if they are far away from home.

Well, it is just coming true now a days. I am married now with my "Lovely Bee" (that is my husband's special love nickname), having two children: a boy (5 years old) and a girl (2 years old) and they always love to eat what I cook. My husband takes a lunch box to his office, saves lunch money for sure. If my children want to have snacks, I am the one will cook whatever they want to eat.

Junk food is not an option  for  my family. At least that is the best I can do to keep them healthy.

Those are reasons why I love my yellow kitchen. That is my little heaven where I can be a Cook Goddess for my family. Full of  my favorite color: Yellow. I will share my yummy recipes in this blog next time. Promise.

 - AGJ -