Vegetable Fritter (Bakwan Sayur)

It reminds me of my elementary school activity, when the teacher taught us to cook for the very first time. This food was one of what we made at that time. It was a lot of fun!

Ingredients:
- 2 carrots, peel off the skin, wash, cut into matches shape
- 150gr beans sprout, wash
- 200gr shrimp, peel off the skin and discard tail
- 3 green onion, chop thinly
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 4 cloves of small red onion
- 2 chili paddy/bird's eye chili
- 4 candle nuts
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 1Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- salt
- sugar
- wheat flour
- 2 eggs
- water
- oil for frying

In a blender, blend garlic, onion, chili, candle nuts, shrimp paste and shrimp (or you may just cut the shrimp into small pieces) until smooth. Put it in a big bowl, add some water, coriander, salt, sugar, pepper, and veggies (carrot, beans sprout and green onion) and flour. Mix it well. Taste it and adjust with salt, pepper and sugar. Add eggs and mix it well again until the consistency is good for dough.
Mount the dough using two spoons and deep fry it until brownish.

Note: you may add some other vegetable, such as: shredded cabbage, corn, etc.

Luffa and Vermicelli Soup (Sayur Oyong)

I rarely can find Luffa in Montreal, but last Sunday when we went shopping at an Asian store, I found it. I bought and decided to make this soup.

Ingredients:
- 2 Luffa (Indonesian-Oyong/Gambas), peel off the hard skin, wash and cut into 1cm in thickness
- 3 carrot, peel off the skin, wash and cut into 1cm in thickness
- 200gr shrimp, peel off the skin and tail, cut into 3 each
- 300gr meatballs, cut into 3 each
- 2 eggs
- vermicelli noodle
- 6 cloves of garlic, peel, chop thinly
- 1 chicken broth cube
- salt
- pepper
- sugar
- water
- oil for saute

In a pan, saute chopped garlic until brownish. Add shrimp and continue to cook until it turn red. Add meatballs and cook until done. Add some water, continue to cook until boiling. Add chicken broth cube. Put in the carrot and then luffa and then vermicelli. At the end drop the eggs and stir it instantly. Adjust the taste with salt, sugar and pepper.

Apple and Avocado Puree

This is another baby food which Bianca loves to eat. On the picture , the apple was not shown. You may give it to your baby since they are 5-6mo old (depend on their readiness of eating solid foods).

Ingredients:
- 2 Red delicious apple, peel, wash, discard the core and cut into small chunk
- 2 medium sized-ripe avocado (not too soft)
- water or juice (pear or apple juice for baby)

Cook the cut apple in a small pot with a little bit of water or baby juice, until it is soft. Cut the avocado in the middle (see above picture). Scoop out the yellow part of the avocado and put it in a blender. Add the cooked apple and juice too. Blend until smooth. Serve it directly or keep it in small containers and place it in the fridge or freezer for long-term use.

Garlic Bread

Recently I am addicted to garlic bread. so the other day I tried to make it myself and it turned out to be very crunchy and yummy. I likeeeeeeeyyyyy....

Ingredients:
- Italian or Belgian plain bread
- "garlic plus" seasoning
- butter or margarine

Cut the bread into 2cm thickness. Spread with butter or margarine on one side. Sprinkle some "garlic plus" seasoning on top of the butter spread. Put it in the oven at 250F for app. 5min. Check occasionally until it is brownish. Take it out and serve while warm and crunchy.

Apple and Sweet Potato Puree

I have fed my baby with solid food since she was 4mo old. In Canada it is suggested that solid food is given when baby is 6mo old, considering at this age they are able to sit upright so that they would not be choking. However, I saw the sign of "ready-for-solid" in Bianca when she was 4mo old. So I started giving her very liquid cereal mixed with formula. When she was 5mo old, I started giving her various solid meal, mostly home-made. She eats almost every thing I give her, fruits, vegetables, meat, grains. This is one of her favorites.

Ingredients:
- 2 sweet potato, peel, wash and cut into small chunk
- 2 apple (Bianca likes red delicious apple), peel, discard the core, cut into small chunk
- water/juice (ex: pear or apple juice for baby)

In a small pot, put the cut sweet potato and apple. Add a little bit of water or juice. Cook until tender. Wait until it is warm and place it in a blender (pour all the water too). Blend it until smooth. Add some more water or juice if you find it difficult for the blades to rotate. Strain it with a strainer. Keep it in small containers. You may feed it directly to your baby, or mix it with baby cereal, or keep it in the fridge or freezer for long-term use.


I like to keep it in a small container, so that it is enough for one serving and would not allow microbial contamination. If you decided to freeze it, before giving it to your baby, defrost it by placing it in the fridge for a night, or you may use microwave (no more than 45seconds. Beware of the uneven heat distribution that may cause tongue/mouth burnt, always stir it evenly and longer before giving it to your baby).

Stir Fried Long Beans with Sweet Soy Sauce

Yesterday I made this meal to eat with fried steamed mackerel fish. Kinda missing home....

Ingredients:
- a bunch of long beans, wash and cut into 5cm in length
- bean sprout
- tofu, cut into small pieces, deep fry until half cooked
- 1 tomato, cut into 8
- 5 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 4 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 5 chili paddy's or bird's eye chili, chop thinly
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce (you may add more as you like)
- 4cm of galangal
- oil for saute
- water

In a pan, saute the garlic and onion until brownish. Add the chili and galangal and continue to saute for another 1 minute. Add long beans, cook until done. Add the three sauces and some water. Continue to cook until boiling. At last add the beans sprout, fried tofu and tomato.

Teriyaki Steak

Having a good compliment from my husband when I made Western food for him, makes me want to make another one. Moreover, I found good priced beef when I did grocery shopping the other day and I have some teriyaki sauce in the fridge.

Ingredients:
- good beef for steak (ex: sirloin, tenderloin, thinly cut round beef)
- teriyaki sauce and dip
- all ingredients to make mashed potato and veggies (see: Grilled Salmon with Lemon-Dill Sauce)

In a casserole bowl, place the beef and pour some teriyaki sauce. Make sure all the meat surface are covered with the sauce. Put it in the fridge and marinate it for at least 1hour (the longer it is the better, I normally keep it in fridge for a night).
Grill it or place it in an oven at 400F until done (depend on how well you like your meat to be done, if it's too well normally it would be hard and dry).
To serve, place it on a plate and pour some teriyaki dip. Add the mashed potato and veggies.

Continental Breakfast

Saturday morning, Christian made me a brunch meal. It was actually meant to be breakfast, only late time and big portion. So I was the queen of that day...

Ingredients:
- honey and garlic Italian sausages
- 33% less fat bacon
- egg+salt+pepper
- spice coated french fries
- fresh tomato
- sweet gherkin pickle
- chili sauce

Bake the french fries and sausages in an oven at 350F until brownish. Double check the inside of the sausage, make sure it is not raw inside although it is done outside. In an empty pan, fry the bacon (without oil, coz the oil from bacon will burst out). In a bowl, beat the egg and salt+pepper. Make scrambled egg with a little bit of oil from the bacon (discard some of it if it is too much, you don't want your egg will be too oily, right?).
To serve, in a big flat plate, arrange the fries, sausage, bacon and scrambled egg. Add fresh tomato, pickle and chili sauce.

....and I had a full stomach until 9pm. Thanks hubby!

Grilled Salmon with Lemon-Dill Sauce

I rarely cook western food, since Christian prefers Indonesian food over western one. But for his lunch today I made this grilled salmon. This time, mostly I used instant ingredients. He does not mind though. And he called from work, he said that the salmon is yummy, and he may like to have it again sometimes.

To make grilled salmon:
- 2 slices fresh horseshoe shaped skin-on salmon
- 1 lime
- ground black pepper
- salt

Marinade the salmon with lime, salt and pepper for 5minutes. Grill it until done but not too dry.

To make mashed potato:
- 1 package of instant mashed potato (I preferred roasted garlic or butter and herb flavor)
- 1.5 cup hot water
- 0.5 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp butter or margarine
- salt

Put the hot water, milk, butter/margarine and a pinch of salt in a big casserole bowl. Empty the package and add to the bowl. Stir it evenly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave one corner uncovered to release the heat and steam. Microwave it for 4-6minutes at high power. Take it out with care. Stir with a fork until smooth.

To make lemon-dill sauce:
- 1 package of lemon-dill sauce mix
- 0.5 cup cold water
- 0.5 cup milk
- 2 tsp butter

Put the mix powder in a microwavable bowl. Add cold water, milk and butter. Stir it evenly. Microwave it until boil (app. 3minutes) and stir it with a fork in every minute. Continue to heat it for another 1-2minutes. Stir before serving.

To make veggies:
- 1 cup mixed vegetables
- water
- butter

Boil the vegetables with water in a pot. Do not overcooked. Drain and add butter while it is still hot and serve.

Chicken Porridge (Bubur Ayam)

I remembered when I still worked in a university in Jakarta, Indonesia. I used to have this kind of chicken porridge for breakfast together with my colleagues before we started the day at work. Enough to keep our energy up until lunch time. Oh...how I missed those old days....

Ingredients:

To make porridge:
- 2,5 cups of rice, rinse and drain
- 2lt of chicken broth
- 10cm of ginger, peel off the skin, cut into 2 and crack it with pestle (Indonesian-keprek dengan ulekan)
- 6 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- salt
- sesame oil

To make chicken topping:
- 4 whole chicken leg, boil with water until tender, take out the chicken and put it aside, use the broth for making porridge. Shred the chicken meat, discard the bones.
- 200gr mushroom, wash and slice
- 3 green onion, wash and chop thinly
- 5 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 4cm of ginger, peel off the skin, cut into 2
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 4 Tbsp fish sauce
- 4 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 2 tsp ground pepper
- sesame oil
- water

Side dish:
- 3 boiled eggs, half cut
- crushed chili
- soy sauce (Indonesian-kecap asin)
- preserved cabbage (tongcai)
- fried onion
- freshly chopped green onion

In a pot, boil rice with the chicken broth at low heat. Stir occasionally and add ginger and salt. Continue to boil until the rice cooked. Add some more water if needed.
Fry the garlic with a little bit sesame oil until brownish. Pour the fried garlic together with the rest of the oil into porridge. Stir it.

In a pan, saute garlic and ginger with sesame oil until brownish. Add fish sauce and oyster sauce. Add the shredded chicken meat. Add some water (if the porridge is liquid enough, do not add water to the topping, however if the porridge is thick, water may be added to the topping). Add sweet soy sauce and pepper. Lastly add the mushroom and chopped green onion.

To serve, in a bowl put the porridge first and add the topping on top of it. Sprinkle fried onion, fresh green onion and preserved cabbage. Add half cut boiled egg (is not shown on the picture). You may add soy sauce and chili if you like.

Note: Sometimes I add fried soybeans and crackers (Indonesian-kerupuk) as side dish. This time I did not have any soybeans nor crackers.

Tamarind Soup (Sayur Asem)

It is another request from my good friend to publish this recipe. I like to modify it as what people normally made in Pati, Central Java. It is quite different than Sayur Asem Jakarta, especially because this one has meat in it and use shrimp paste (Indonesian-terasi) as one of essential spices.
The taste is a combination of spicy-salty-sweet and sour. Very rich!

Ingredients:
- 400gr beef and bones
- 3 corn on cob, cut into 4 each
- 2 chayote (Indonesian-labu siam), peel, wash, discard the seed, cut into small pieces
- 200 gr long beans (Indonesian-kacang panjang), but this time I used string beans (Indonesian-kacang buncis), wash and cut into 4cm in length
- chili paddy/bird's eye chili, as many as you like
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 5 cloves of small red onion
- 5 candle nuts
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 2 tsp tamarind paste
- 1/2 tomato
- salt
- sugar
- water

In a pot boil the beef and bones in water until tender. While boiling the meat, prepare the spices. In a blender put garlic, onion, candle nuts, chili, shrimp paste and tomato, grind until smooth. Put it aside. When the meat is tender enough, take it out and cut into small pieces. Put it back. Add corn, continue to boil until cooked. Add the chayote and string beans, cook for 3minutes until they are cooked (not overcooked). Add the smooth spices. Add salt and sugar and adjust the taste.

Note: serve with steam rice and fried dish, for examples: fried fish, potato fritter, vegetable fritter (Indonesian-bakwan sayur), fried tempeh-tofu, etc.