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)