New Year's Eve

It's 19F (about -7C) this early morning...and went up to 27F (-2C) by this afternoon..brrrr..freezing but ot's very sunny and dry, here in Western Washington,..well the last day of 2010. Thank you God, you gave many blessings to our family,..and counting in 2011. We usually doing 'staycation' on New Year's Eve, simply because the temperature is getting lower and lower and most important, my hubby got only 31st, 1st and 2nd off days because this time January 2nd, 2011 it's Sunday. We got invitation (just last night) to celebrate NY's Eve in my brother in-law with his Phillippino wife. I don't mind eventhough I planned to cook something special just for the tree of us. We're excited and happy for their new house that they bought just December last year.

The Spirit of Christmas

Christmas is always my favorite time of year. I loved it, still do. My late mom was active in Church, together with other mommies they helped Church decorate the altar, arranged flowers, even they made special holiday meal for pastors in the parish. I usually help my mom in the kitchen and with my siblings decorate our Christmas Tree, made cookies, cakes. My parents always made Christmas so special, cooking wonderful food, my dad helped cleaning the house. There's not necessary gifts under the tree, but we're lucky, me and my siblings always have new outfit for us to go to the mass.
I've been celebrating Christmas in America for 5 years and Christmas 2008 was very special because it was our daughter's 1st Christmas. She had no clue about 'Santa Claus' and even right now, but following her milestone, she's kinda expert 'opening gift' now, probably since her 2nd birthday, last September. The colorful gift wrap really spark her eyes.
With my little girl and my dear husband, we do get in the spirit of Christmas, I wrapped the gifts but this time I didn't put under the tree until close to the day, I made cookies with our sweetie pie, put some ornaments in the tree, and my hubby was the one who build the artificial Christmas Tree, Grace's daddy played piano for some Christmas songs and the most important was we plan ahead when is the best time to go to Christmas Mass.

Zuppa Toscana

My husband and I sometimes spend our 'quality' time at 'Olive Garden' Restaurant in Tacoma, one of their menu that I like and now become our family favorite is 'Zuppa Toscana'..I bet it means 'Tuscany Soup'..sort of like that...it's perfect during this Fall and Winter Season.

Makes : 6-8 servings
Ingredients :
1 lb ground Italian Sausage
1 1/2 crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbs bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream (you can substitute with regular milk)
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
1/4 of a bunch of kale

Spaghetti With Szechuan Sauce

I cook this dish many times, we love the taste of 'peanut' in it!..If you 'brave' enough with the hot sauce it will be superb..!
Prep 10 minutes

Cook about 25 minutes
Makes 6 main-dish serving

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti or linguine
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 bunches green onions, cut into 1/2 inc pieces
1 pound ground chicken- or turkey
2 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bag (12 to 16 oz) shredded broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, cabbage blend
1 can (14 to 14 1/2 oz) chicken broth (1 3/4 cups)
1/3 cup stir- fry sauce
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
Hot pepper sauce (optional)

Exercise For Mommy

After having my little girl, I went back down to my previous weight with no problem. I was lucky because it came off pretty fast, but I still had to workout to not be jiggly and fit in my 'before pregnant jeans'. I have to admit, I was a little bit worry, how if my jeans go up one size or even two sizes. I ate alot during breasfeeding period, I nursed Grace, my sweetie pie for 16 months, but Grace is a 'strong little girl' for one session of breastfeeding, she did it for at least 45 minutes, leaving me hungry again right away.

I've been thin my whole life, actually I was happy when I was pregnant with Grace, I looked fantastic, I gained about 26 pounds (12 kgs) and that's normal as total gain weight recommended for a woman of average weight is between 24 to 35 pounds, I might gain until 34 pounds if Grace was born full term.
I'm not a mommywood (celebrity moms from Hollywood) who must have flat tummy during red-carpet time, (helooo..! those lucky ladies have personal trainer..!) but I think it's important to look good for yourself, for your self-confindence and more important for your healthiness.

Reasons For Dating

Reasons for Dating ...With My Hubby,..that's the long version of the title of this blog. Last Sunday I had a date with my hubby at Red Lobster, one of our favorite place to eat...(woow, Red Lobster should pay me for this advertisement)...
I've read alot about how important to have a date night with your spouse especially when you have kids, what I mean by 'night' is actually doesn't have to be in the night time. After we have a daughter mostly we had 'lunch' or late dinner for our date. FYI, we don't like to watch movie in the cinema, we prefer to watch DVD at home, so we never have a date watching movie. I like the idea that 'dating' is having nice meals together in the restaurant (doesn't have to be a fancy restaurant) and have meaningful conversations that don't revolve arround our two-year-old's potty training..(confession: my husband and I couldn't resist, we talked 'a little bit' about my precious daughter when we have a date..ha..ha!). I know that each marriage/family have its own 'culture of togetherness' ..maybe some couple don't need to have a DATE and prefer to do things as a family. To me it's about BALANCING, I have to admitt the sense of motherness was so strong when Grace, our daughter still newborn baby, I couldn't imagine leaving her with someone else while we're dining out. I'm a devoted mother, but I have to remind myself that I'm also a 'wife' and every couple needs time to reconnect as adults. In my opinion, 'date night' is essential, in keeping a relationship going, I mean Romantic relationship. I am fortunate that I have a nice mother in-law, she loves to baby sitt her grand-daughter so that we can go out for a date.

Thanksgiving Wonderland

The snow still on the ground but the temperature wasn't as freeze as before and no matter what the weather the tradition must go on. Thanksgiving is a big holiday in America, the holiday is from Thursday until Sunday.
My husband, Grace and I, picked Grace's grandma up and together we went to my brother in-law's house in Sammamish,WA, about one hour driving. Traffic was not as bad as we thought. Usually we have about 30's people gathering for Turkey feast, this time with several grand-kids absent, and one couple was in the other side of family, but still pretty crowd. We thank God for a warm Thanksgiving dinner although outside was snowy, and thanks for the wonderful family that we have.

Early Child Education-Silent First Words

Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas

The ability to communicate articulately in a variety of ways and languages to the widest possible audience is a great way to stay ahead and ensure a decent standard of living in our suffering economic state.  This is not limited to speaking different languages but also non-verbal communication: signing.

However, the shortage of qualified interpreters fluent in American Sign Language that has led to more career opportunities is dwindling– and if current trends continue, it's likely that skilled ASL interpreters will have little problem securing lucrative employment in a society where such a commodity is destined to be in short supply.

Special Bonds

The benefits of early childhood education in signing are endless.  In addition to giving kids a way to communicate, it also provides them with an opportunity to form a bond with their parent(s).  The hope is that eventually it will become know as one of the "firsts" that no parent wants to miss, such as the first time they walked or their first tooth.  Signing is likely to allow communication much earlier than verbally.

November Freeze

Rhodi in the backyard covered by snow

I've been living here in the Northwest for 5 years, but still feel amaze to see the snow falling down. It's early for winter wonderland, but it's been snowing since Sunday evening, it looks like Winter is kicking off, even in Fall.

It's 33 F (about 1C)when I took some of these pictures on Sunday, and Monday. All across Western Washington got snow and cold temperature. Maybe it's gonna be Thanksgiving wonderland on Thursday..ha..ha..!

 

Grace's playing with thin snow

thin snow at 8 AM

thicker at 10:30's

 

My Man, ..Happy Anniversary

My husband, when he was still my boy friend once asked me about my father who passed away long time ago. I told him that my father was such a good father, he was my 1st man in my life. My father had many meaningful qualities. I talked to my father alot, about anything...the funniest thing that I always remember is I had to explain to him why I put 'white face masks' on my face almost every Sunday afternoon when I was in highschool (ha..ha..because I want to have flawless skin like a princess). I even talked about the boy next door..(you know being 15 years old girl sometimes wasn't easy..!). For most of my life I loved him very much.
Why I'm writing about my father, well, today November 19th is our anniversary, my husband has to go on trip, this is the first time he's not at home on our anniversary, his schedule is pretty tight and I thought is better, rather than he has to go a day after Thanksgiving Day. We had a little celebration yesterday, no picture though, because we plan to have something more special on Sunday. We had 'Pecking Duck' for dinner, we ate the duck with a bowl of plum sauce, thanks to my crock pot, which working hard while I did something else and thanks to Stephanie O'dea, who has this recipe. The result was excellent, pretty duck and was worthy with 8 hours inside the crock pot, even my daughter enjoy it alot.
Now, back to my lovely husband who proposed me in Jimbaran, Bali...this blog isn't just praising a man who found me and brought me to America and became my husband. There's no perfect man or perfect husband, and we keep learning to each other, and we try to fall in love to each other again and again. I think that's the most important to make marriage work.

November Storm



The Cedar tree tumbled on a car
in Covington, WA

This was the third power outages I've experienced since I live in America. The thing that I like is the way the government handled this, especially the DOT (Department of Transportation). 'Service' is always excellent in here in terms of cleaning up the branches, tumbling trees which knocked down the power lines, and the technician who work 24 hours to make the power back on. I can't imagine if this was happening in Indonesia, the Java-Bali main power electricity always slow, and when you live in Java, Indonesia and you see the sky's scary dark and cloudy and ...then the light spark making incredible view, well you have to be aware, because even before the rain's coming down, the power electricity will out right away, and we never know when the power will be back, sometimes in just short time, but many times, we had to wait hours and hours...before we could say...hurraaaay!'''like what I did when I was kid with my siblings!.
Okay, Monday night, November 15th, the wind was getting stronger and stronger and you could hear the scary sound. I saw from the window, it's really crazy, nobody outside, we're lucky that Grace, our daughter went to bed on time, and I turned on her slumber machine, and I choosed the 'rain' theme, hoping that she wouldn't hear  the sound of the wind. I read magazine and my husband still infront of the computer and that was really the sound of the biggest windstorm I've ever heard in here. I kept thinking the big and tall of pine tree outside in our backyard, please please don't fall down into the Grace's window..! And tadaaaa!..at precisely 9 o'clock the power out. No heater in Grace's room for 8 hours, she woke up at about 1:30's and when she notice that the milk I gave to her wasn't warm, because I couldn't use the microwave, she said 'no,..no, not so much..!'...(yes, it's funny when she refuses something, she'll say that!)...but she quickly back to sleep, thanks God.
Finally after on and off sleeping, (well, like most moms out there, I thought about our stuff in the freezer) the power back on close to 5 o'clock, it's so good, I always think about how deep human being right now depend on the electricity.
I saw the morning news, turned out about 200,000 power outages in Western Washington, and about 30,000 were in Pierce County where we live, we're so lucky that we had black out only for 8 hours, because other places still without power!.
The second round of windstorm happend again on Wednesday, this time more in the day time, but not as scary as on Monday.

...almost Thanksgiving Day in America

It's third week of November now, and today, Monday the 15th, it's 50F in the morning (about 10C). This is not bad (except plus strong winds later on in the afternoon, when I'm writing this) comparing when we went to the Zoo on Saturday, the 13th, it's was freezing, probably arround 40's,..Whereever you go whether to supermarket, mall, salon, zoo...you'll see harvest and thanksgiving decorations. They're pretty and the browns tone are just perfect as the weather getting colder and colder.

Unlike Thanksgiving in Canada which occur on the second Monday of October (since 1957). In America (United States) Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, which this year will be on November 25th.
Thanksgiving was a holiday to express thankfulness and gratitude and appreciation to God, family and friends for which have been blessed of material possesion and relationships. Traditionally, it has been a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest.

About Merapi...



got this picture from VOA

It's not fair to write only Mount Merapi,(a volcano located in Central Java, Indonesia), the eruption that caused many people died, while there are many victims in Mentawai Island too because of the earthquake and tsunami, but I'm sure there already many people outside there wrote about Mentawai Island.
Merapi (and mount Merbabu which just next to each other) will always be a spectacular view in my mind. I saw this volcano, almost every morning, years and years. When I go to the daily mass in 'Santo Petrus' (St. Peter Church) in Solo, and back then when I go to school every morning I always see this mysterious volcano. I felt great everytime walking to the church and see this 'Merapi and Merbabu'..sometimes they look so clear and so close.
The other day my husband asked me, if there was big eruption when I was still living in Java Island, I said 'Yes..!', but not as big as this time. As you may know from the news, the Merapi Volcano became active on October 26th, and according to the news the explotion on November 5th was the most scary, it could be heard from the downtown of Yogyakarta (Yogya and Solo is only about two hours apart driving, but Yogya is closer to this volcano).

Happy Halloween et bon au revoir Octobre

Okay, we're done with October..!,..and we're lucky the trick or treat day was a nice day, no rain, and not as cold as last year that's for sure..! Everboday happy, I don't have to cook.., because it's Sunday, our pizza day, and we had fun with 'trick or treat-ers' at Grandma's house.
And for Grace, our daughter this was such an interesting, because last year and even a year before, she had no clue at all, what's Halloween ...why kids had to wear weird costumes,...and to maximize her 'Lady Bug' costume which we got it as a gift from one of our friends, we brought her to 'costume parade' at the apartment office on Friday, October 29th.  I jazzed up Miss Bug too look much 'bug' (ha..ha!), I put on black jegging (jeans legging), and black long sleeves top, brown socks (because she doesn't have black socks) and red shoes. First she refused to wear the Bug Costume, which looks like vest with hoodie, and finally she gave up, especially when she saw other kids dressed up with funny costumes too, and then one of the lady handed her a sack of candies...oooh..yea baby!...

Apple Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Welcome November, ooh, 1st day of November, we had rain all day..
If you try to watch your weight, you should try this apple pie...it doesn't need regular crust..but it's tasty..
Ini nich resep baru yang aku suka, my hubby juga suka..enak tapi nggak feeling guilty takut gemuk

1 Tbs ulsalted butter
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced to 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup light brown sugar
Salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
7 sheets graham crackers, broken into coarse pieces (about 1 1/3 cups)

Pre-heat oven for 350F. Grease a 9 inch-round pie pan with cooking spray. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apples, brown sugar and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring gently, until the apples are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the pie pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the egg, granulated sugar, baking powder and a pinch salt. Blend with electric mixer, beat on high speed until pale and foamy, about 5 minutes. Flod in Graham crackers. Spoon the mixture over the apples in the pan. Bake about 25 minutes. If you want you can dust with confectioners' sugar. (...again, the inspiration of Rachael Ray Mag)

My Birthday

I've never been big on fussing over my own celebration expecially these recent years, maybe because I have been so drained from sleep deprivation and exhaustion since I gave birth to my daughter 2 years ago, that I am more focused on try to find time on more sleep, sneaking into bathroom having manicure or pedicure or just soak my feet into bubble foot spa. This is not a 'complaining' ...I love my life at home and my role now. And the other reason is why in the world the bomb was exploded in Bali in 2002 right on my birthday...?..it's so sad..!..sometimes it make me sluggish when I remember that.
There's excitement when I was younger about my birthday, but never cared too much about it, probably because 'the tradition' which a bit different than in America where I live now.

Mini Strawberry Turnovers

I like this mini bite turnovers, and using my food proccessor made this job easier..
Dulu di Solo ada yg jualan semacam turnovers kayak gini  di daerah Laweyan, isinya selai nanas, dduuuh enak sekali..!

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tbs butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
6 Tbs cream cheese, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 Tbs ice water
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup strawberry preserve (or cherry or crabmeat-cream cheese or whatever your favorite filling)

-Using a food proccessor, pulse together flour and salt. Add the butter and cream cheese and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with the ice water and pulse until the dough forms a ball; flatten into a disk, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
-Preheat the oven to 400F, Flour the dough and roll it out 1/8 inch thick. Using a 4 inch round cookie cutter, cut out the disks, then reroll the scraps and repeat until you have 10 disks. Brush some egg arround each rim,spoon 2 teaspoons preserves into each center and fold the dough over to cover. Press the edges to seal and and crimp with a fork.
-Transfer the turnovers to a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush with the remaining egg and cut 2 small slits into the top of each turnover. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes; transfer to a rack to cool.
(got this recipe from Rachael Ray's Mag)

Our Pumpkin Patch

It's Tradition
..for English read below
Bulan Oktober di Amerika biasanya berhubungan dengan dimulainya musim gugur, musim panen, dan terutama menjelang perayaan Halloween pada 31 Oktober, banyak sekali panenan buah waluh (pumpkin), udah jadi tradisi disini terutama keluarga yang punya anak kecil, untuk pergi ke Pumpkin Patch, biasanya sich, ladang pumpkin yang bersamaan dengan ladang jagung, kemudian ada farmer market, yaitu hasil panenan para petani yang dijual murah. Adapun pumpkin pumpkin ini biasanya dibawa pulang ke rumah untuk di ukir membentuk wajah 'Jack O'Lantern', yang agak seram, dan dipajang di muka rumah, beserta hiasan hiasan 'horor' laennya, yang dulu dulunya bertujuan untuk mengusir roh jahat, kebudayaan ini berasal dari bangsa Celtic di Irlandia, sampai sekarang Halloween dirayakan di Amerika Serikat, Canada, Irlandia dan Inggris.

Fall In The Northwest

Fall is my favorite season in the Pacific Northwest, United States, where I live. I don't know why?, maybe because I was born in October or the breathtaking panoramas make me feel peace, or because October 22nd is my anniversary of my arrival in the United States, after one year long-distance engagement then my husband (my fiance at the moment..) picked me up at Sea-Tac airport, so my first impression of America was Fall Season.

Anyway, it's been crispy sunny days lately in Western Washington, even couple days ago it's 65 F (about 18 C), it made me and my daughter continue our outdoor playdate mostly at Vassault Park close to our place.

Having Fun in Seaside

Grace's cute toes covered by sands

We had the great chance of recently visiting Seaside, Oregon on September 19th until 22nd. It was the first time for Grace, our daughter to see and touch the Pacific Ocean and actually the main purpose of this trip was for our little gal to see the ocean. Eventhough we live near The Commencement Bay in Tacoma where the peninsula surrounded by the water from Pacific Ocean, but the beaches such as Owen Beach and Titlow Beach and the waterfront are not sandy beach and of course a 'bay' is different than 'big ocean'.
As usual like many road trips we had before since we have Grace, preparation is very important when you bring a toddler, her clothes, milk,juice,snack on the go, pilow neck, some animal stuffs, favorite lovey doll, diapers, potty chair...etc. I have to admitt, I'm such a terrible packer (I forgot to bring comb and brush when we went to Mexico),  I wrote 2 page note every details that I need to bring, even I made note what we wear since day one, that way, I can be a bit relax, just follow the note. Having Grace in our life really change me. I really try to be more organized, yet simple.

Passport Picture

When we went to Canada in September, 2009, we need passport for our daughter, so, her daddy took some picture of her. I thought I would prepare nice dress for her to put on, but when I took a break and had cat nap on lazy Sunday sometimes in May (Grace was 8 months old), her daddy put her in dining chair, with my white bath towel as a background and Grace wore her play dress (well, actually it's not dress but cute romper)...turned out it was cute picture of her in her very 1st passport, a little girl doesn't need, eyeshadow, lipstick or other beauty stuff when she need passport shot, a fun daddy who make her smile and laugh is enough..

Precious Time and Mommyhood

7/10/2009,the day when the 1st time
Grace was able to do 'clapping'

One day, I asked my friend who lives in Kentucky, she is a mom to 21 months old little boy:'Do you still exercise..?', she said that she wants to, but everytime she's getting prepare the workout mat on the floor to do 'pilates' then her son would bug her,..ha..ha!, it happend to me too. Time even more precious for her as she tried to devide it between her son, husband, household chores and working at night time.


Mother-daughter moment,
I talk about everything to my kid
in any occasion

 While I'm not working right now, but the time management still a challenging for me. I was aware about the ups and downs of 'mommyhood' way before I give birth to Grace, my daughter, but when the mommyhood finally arrived I was overwhelmed. There're so many things that I have to do!,...I really admire and respect to other moms who have two, three kids even more because for me having one kid is (already) hectic. As you guys know, am not living in Indonesia or other Asian Countries which the culture is totally different, in there we can rely even to a strange neighbor to watch our kids when nobody at home and when we need to take shower or do some errants which we need to do that by ourself without kids or babies arround. In America, the term of mom and housewife, meaning you have to do everything by yourself. Even so, I like to think of 'organized chaos' in a good way!.

Our Favorite Carrot Cake

I always try to make healthy snack for my family, and this is one of our favorite.
Cake wortel, yang semula aku ga begitu ngefans, sekarang lumayanlah, mungkin karena tambahan nanas kalengan dan sour cream yang bikin fresh!


Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup loosely packed shredded carrots (about 2 medium)
1/2 cup chopped fresh or canned pineaple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 F, and lightly grease a 6-cup nonstick bundt pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, 1/4 cup sour cream, the oil, egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the carrots, pineapple and walnuts. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes, and let cool.

PS: if your bundt pan is for 12-cup (like mine..!), double the ingredients and bake for 10-15 minutes more.
recipe of Silvana Nardone from Rachael Ray Mag.

Bath Time Story

I have been private blogging for a couple months now. So far 'writing' or I should say being infront of our computer is become and escape from my routine and I declared that writing is part of my 'me' time beside reading, or watching TV, which right now the portion is reducing because my daughter needs to watch kid's show..(OMG..!, so this actually not my 'me' time then!.), many times I don't get to watch 'Rachael Ray Show' or 'Martha Stewart', or 'Ellen' or 'Dr. Oz'...pour me!..well it's my mommyhood, my commitment for my daughter to not watching TV too much didn't work.
Although I stick with the schedule to teach her everything appropriate for preschooler before she watchs TV..(that will be other blog).

Chicken Rice ala Hainan-Nasi Ayam Hainan

I love this dish especially the fragrance of the garlic and ginger when I'm cooking it. Sometimes my family eat this without the sauce and still taste great!!

Ingredients; Bahan
4 chicken thighs, skinless, bone in; paha atas ayam, bertulang, tanpa kulit
1 tbs lemon juice; 1 sdm perasan lemon
4 green onions, thinly sliced; daun bawang, iris tipis
1 small onion, chopped; bawang bombay ukuran kecil, cacah
about 1 inch of ginger, sliced; 2 cm jahe, iris
2 1/2 cup water; sekitar 750 ml air
2 tsp salt; garam
1/2 tsp pepper; merica bubuk
3 tbs soy sauce; kecap asin

For the Rice: Bahan untuk nasi
2 tbs canola oil; minyak goreng
1/2 tsp sesame oil; minyak wijen
3 clove garlic, chopped; bawang putih, cacah
1 cup uncooked rice; 500 g beras
1 3/4 cup chicken broth from cooked chicken above; 500 ml kaldu ayam atau secukupnya
2 tbs soy sauce; kecap asin
1 tsp salt; garam
1/2 tsp pepper; merica bubuk

Sauce (optional)
1 tsp grated ginger; jahe parut
1 tsp grated garlic; bawang putih parut
4 tbs soy sauce; kecap asin

Spring Mix Salad and Simple Chicken Curry

I love this salad because so simple, and do you know that curry powder is known to avoid alsheimer disease..this will be one of the options for simple and healthy dinner. Good Luck!

Ingredients:
6 cups Spring Mix Salad
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 pound tomatoes cut into cubes
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
!/4 cup chopped fresh mint

4 chicken thighs boneless, skinless, pound a little bit.
Salt and pepper
1 tsp curry powder

In a large bowl, toss the spring mix with 1 1/2 tbs vinegar and 1 tbs oilive oil; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter.
In the same bowl, toss the tomatoes, mozzarella, onion, basil and mint with the remaining 1 1/2 tbs vinegar and 1 tbs olive oil, season with salt. Spoon onto spring mix
Meanwhile, season chicken with salt, pepper and curry, fry in hot olive oil until done.
(thanks to chef Rocco DiSpirito for the Salad), chef Rocco used the arugula instead of spring mix

Grace's Birthday

September is always busy for me or I should say beginning end of August. Several Summer parties in my husband's family which mostly take place outside town, started from end of July until sometimes in September. But the most importants are our daughter's birthday on September 1st and my husband's birthday on September 9th. Well, I will tell about the birthday of our precious little girl who just turned to 2 years old. After all, my little girl comes first above everything else, I have to admit because of the tradition in my husband's family, this is such a big deal for me to prepare neatly.
I'm from Indonesia and I want to have a bit of Indonesian meal for Grace, just so she can understand that she's half Indonesian.

Chicken Cilantro

Cilantro is corriander leave, which I'm not sure if I can find it in Indonesia market although we use the corriander alot for our Indonesian culinary. But this recipe reminds me of one of my favorite dish called 'Ayam Masak Hijau' or 'Green Chicken' which in Indonesia we cook the chicken with 'kemangi' or Indonesian Basil,...anyway, this is really simple dish with simple ingredients. Cilantro = daun ketumbar Ingredients: Bahan 1 small onion, about 1/4 cup, chopped (bawang bombai kecil, cacah) 1 clove garlic chopped (bawang putih, cacah) 2 tbs butter 2 tbs olive oil (atau minyak goreng biasa) 4 chicken thighs, boned, skinned cut into 1 inch pieces (ayam bagian paha atau dada, potong kotak) 1 tsp salt (garam) 1/4 tsp pepper (merica) 2 tbs cilantro  (daun ketumbar) Cook and stir onion and garlic in butter and oil in skillet until onion is tender. Panaskan butter, masak bawang bombai dan bawang putih hingga harum. Add chicken, salt and pepper. Tambahkan ayam, garam dan merica.  Cook and stir over medium high heat until done, about 5 minutes; stir in cilantro. Masak sampai matang sekitar 5 menit, masukkan daun ketumbar. Pour pan juices over chicken to serve. Serve with rice and lemon wedge if desired. Sajikan dengan nasi hangat dan tuang sedikit kuah-nya. (Source: Cooks.com)

..another family reunion

August 28th, Saturday, another family reunion from my mother in-law side, some couldn't come but still another fun day for Grace, She still not get used to with his uncles, need little bit time until she give them smile. The two girls, Tori and Rayna didn't show up too, so Grace was the only little girl...
The weather not as warm as we thought, so we didn't swim at the little pool in the backyard. We go home earlier because we need to prepare for our trip to Eastern Washington. Got home at 7PM enough time to prepare (mostly) Grace's stuff. ..:))

Family Picnic

Daddy's chating with Ashley,Grace hand up! we're with Heather, left and Gayle, right On Saturday, August 21st, we had Family Picnic, one of some Summer Parties in our family. This time, the Picnic was at 'Vaux Retreat Center at Baker View Park' , Mount Vernon, Washington. This is the family from my late father in-law. We actually not sit down on the grass with picnic blanket, but the Retreat Center has kinda cottage with all the tables and chairs, kitchen with 2 big refrigerators, microwave, etc. Every family brought their favorite meals, or in here, America, we call it 'Pot Luck' Party. I brought 'Paella', Spanish Rice with Shrimps. It's about 20 people showed up, and this time we missed all Grace's cousins, because two cousins were in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming and one cousin was in Virginia with his mom, visiting his mom's friend, so Grace was the only little kid and I was surprised because this time she really enjoy the party, smiling alot, clapping alot infront of those people who only once in a while she meets.

Terik Bola Daging - Meatballs with Coconut Sauce

Ingredients - Bahan
1 lb ground beef/chicken/turkey (sekitar 450 gram daging cacah)
1 inch galanga, slice ( 2 cm lengkuas,memarkan)
2 lime leaves (2 buah daun jeruk purut)
1 Indonesian Bay Leave (1 lembar daun salam)
1 cup Coconut Milk (sekitar 250 CC Santan)
1 tbs butter
2 tbs sweet soy sauce ( kecap manis)

Blend the Spices below - Bumbu yang dihaluskan
5 shallot, if big just use one - bawang merah
2 garlic - bawang putih
3 candle nuts - kemiri
1 tsp ground coriander - ketumbar bubuk
salt - garam
a little bit brown sugar (pake gula jawa, kalo tidak suka manis di skip aja!)

Mix the ground beef with the Spices, shape into balls
Campur daging cacah dengan bumbu yang sudah dihaluskan, bentuk bola
Heat the pot, melt the butter and add the raw meatballs, pour the sweet soy sauce until brown
Panaskan wajan/panci, lelehkan butter dan tambahkan bola daging tambahkan kecap manis hingga kecoklatan
Add the coconut milk, galanga, Indonesian bay leave, lime leaves
Tambahkan santan, lengkuas, daun salam dan daun jeruk purut.
Shimmer in middle-heat, give it a stir occasionally until the milk reduce and meatballs well done.
Masak dengan api sedang sambil sesekali di aduk sampe kuah mengental sesuai selera.

Happy B'day Indonesia..!

August 17th is Indonesia's Independence Day, the country where I come from. I tried to tell my 'Indo-American' daughter (almost 2 years old) about this. ...she stared at me and gave me her best grimache..ha..ha..!   Just like in America during 4th of July where people celebrated it with barbequing and having fun outdoor, in Indonesia many people celebrate days before the date, by having games for kids, adults and on the night of August 16th, we usually try to reminish what the heroes did to gain this Independence and then the festive continued by having dinner together sometimes outside with family or neigboors.   I made Indonesia yellow rice with some accessories along with it such as 'Kue Lumpur', the Indonesian Mini Mud Pie as desert, and on top of the yellow rice are crepes from beaten egg then I sliced them thinly formed like noodles, and Terik Meatballs' a kind of meatballs cooked with coconut milk, we also ate that with sliced cucumber and 'Kerupuk Udang'...Indonesian Shrimp Cracker. It's simple and it was fun, my hubby likes 'Kue Lumpur', he ate them not only as a desert but also appetizer...:)) Happy Birthday Indonesia, we love you so much!!..