ou're so sweet, Little Corner of Mine. I feel like getting a huge warmed hug from you in these cold days. Yeahh, Winnipeg has been snowing, but these past two days are worse. Yesterday was -17C, with the windchill -28C, it was snowing all day. This morning I woke up it was -23C without windchill. Thank you so much. HUGSSSSS.

"Do you know the relationship between your 2 eyes? They blink together, move together, cry together, see things together and sleep together. Even though they never see each other, friendship should be just like that! Life is like Hell without FRIENDS. Its �World Best Friend Week�. Send this to your best friends to let them know you appreciate them.

Your Love is Ur Heart,
Your heart is Ur Spouse,
Your spouse is Ur Future,
Your future is Ur Destiny,
Your destiny is Ur Ambition,
Your ambition is Ur Aspiration,
Your aspiration is Ur Motivation,
Your motivation is Ur Belief,
Your belief is Ur Peace,
Your peace is Ur Target,
Your target is Heaven,
Heaven is no fun without FRIENDS.

I would love to pass this on one of my best friends through multiply, Sefa. I'm really sorry we didn't communicate as much as before since I have been busy with my work.

Also to other fellow blogging friends who inspired me in cooking as well as photography:

The Adventure of My Cooking Diary

Gifts from The Kitchen

Homemades

Food Lover's Journey

Rasa Malaysia

Dapur Gue

Thank You. Hugs and Kisses from the Peg.

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After reading the 2nd Onion day invitation on IMBB, I sent an email to Zorra regarding on that event. Thanks to Zorra for hosting this event. With my consideration of being an Indonesian, tempeh or tempe has a cake form, made from soybean by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process. It is originated from Indonesia and invented by the Javanese. It's also popular in other parts of Indonesia as well as other parts of Southeast Asia, introduced by migrated Javanese. Known as a staple source of protein in Java island of Indonesia.

Diced Tempe

I joined this event with Tempe Bawang Bumbu Kecap (literally tempeh and onion with sweet soy sauce. This recipe is adapted from ayam bumbu kecap's recipe, literally in English, Chicken with Sweet Soy Sauce.

Indonesians (especially the Javanese) love to use kecap manis. This is a different soy sauce, it's sweet (because it's added in palm sugar), thicker and also has a different flavor with regular soy sauce. Mostly in abroad, people use ABC's brand, for this recipe I used Bango�s brand which is not all Asian stores have it and to be honest I only use ABC�s brand if I can't find Bango or Cap Sate's brand.

Ingredients:
225 g tempe, cut 1 cm diced, marinate for 30 minutes, deep fry until lightly browned
1 medium (200 g) onion, wedged
2 Indonesian bay (salam) leaves
2 cm galangal
2 green chillies, angle cut
2 tbsp Indonesian sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
200 ml water

Grind into a paste
3 cloves garlic
5 shallots
ground white pepper as desired
salt as desired

Marinade
garlic powder
ground corriander seed
water

Directions:
1. Heat up oil in a skillet at medium-high. Stir fry a spiced paste, wedged onion until fragrant. Add salam leaves and galangal until wilted.
2. Add tempe and green chillies, stir evenly. Add kecap manis, oyster sauce, white pepper, and salt, stir.
3. Add water and cook until the water evaporates and the spices is absorbed. Remove from the heat. Serve with warmed rice.

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Modified recipe from Sedap Sekejap, Brownies Kentang, by substituting dark chocolate cooking for unsweetened chocolate, omitting cocoa powder and adding palm sugar to get South-East Asian flavor.

Shaped a pan of brownie by cutting with a biscuit cutter. This idea was got from Mocha Brownies by Trish Magwood on Party Dish

Potato Brownies is my entry for MFM 9, with a theme potato, hosted by Nana.

Ingredients:
100 g unsweetened chocolate
175 g unsalted butter
100 g palm sugar
200 g white sugar*
1 tsp vanilla powder
4 large eggs
75 g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
100 g roughly grated/chopped potato
100 g cashew nuts, toasted and chopped

* If you use a kind of sugar that a bit brown or in Canada it's called for raw sugar, you can reduce the amount of sugar, raw sugar is sweeter than white sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 Celsius). Line a 13 x 9-inch (3.5L) baking pan with parchment, or grease and flour.

2. In a heatproof bowl over simmering water, melt chocolate, palm sugar, and butter together. Remove from heat, add sugar and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Stir in eggs, one at a time until incorporated. Add in flour and baking powder, stir. Fold in potato and a half portion of cashew nuts

3. Spread in prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining cashew nuts over. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set. A few crumbs should stick to tester when inserted. Remove to rack and let cool.

4. Shape with a biscuit cutter.

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Still continuing my housewarming party's recipe. Now it's time for a recipe of Sambal Goreng Cirebon (Cirebonese Fried Sambal). It's not really like a chili paste, a term for sambal. This sambal goreng's recipe was adpated from Nining's recipe, in which original recipe uses beef as well as innards. As I mentioned on previous posts, my husband doesn't eat red meat, so I used tempeh, tofu and shrimp. Instead of fresh red chillies, I used dried new Mexico chilies to get brighter red color.

Please get right back, I still have another recipe of my housewarming party left on my next post.

Ingredients:
3 tofus, cut 1x1x2 cm and fried
200 g tempe, cut 1x1x2 cm and fried
150 peeled and tail intact shrimp
10 dried new Mexico chillies, discard the seed and soak in warm water, angle sliced
6 shallots, finely sliced
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 Indonesian bay (salam) leaves
3 cm galangal, bruised
1 lemongrass, bruised
150 ml water
35 g coconut cream powder
salt sugar as desired to season
oil for stir frying

Grind into a paste
5 dried new Mexico chillies
7 shallots
4 cloves garlic
3 candlenuts
1/2 cm ginger
1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Directions:
1. Stir fry slices of shallots until fragrant.
2. Add a ground paste, kaffir lime leaves, salam leaves, galangal and lemongrass; Stir occasionally until all spices are cooked.
3, Add fried tempe and tofu, shrimp, and dried chillies
4. Add coconut cream powder and water. Cook until coconut milk dissolved and thicken.

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After getting confused and posted few of my chosen pictures on my multiply. I finally took other pictures and decided black macaroni is my chosen for CLICK the photo event.

Camera: Canon Digital Rebel XTi with lens kit 18-55 mm
Setting: ISO 100, speed 1/2 s, f/5.6


I like the color's gradation of this picture.

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We've been moved since a month ago. On Saturday night (November 3rd 2007), we were hosting a housewarming party, some friends came over and also introduced the Indonesian food to Aaron, his brother and girlfriend. Don't ask me where the people's photos who were coming over to my party. They already asked me not to put their pictures on internet. As my respect, I don't put your pictures guys.

I was confused what I wanted to make. I would love to have the Eastern Javanese Pecel, but didn't feel to make side dishes like the Eastern Javanese do, such as ayam bumbu rujak, tahu tempe bumbu bali, tempe tahu bacem etc. I would love to combine the Eastern Javanese style, the province where my mom was from and the Northern Sumatran style, the province where my dad was from.

After asking some suggestions from mbak Emi of Warung Si-Mbok Emi and Sulis of To Love and To Be Loved, I finally decided what I was going to cook. Lis, I hadn't read your reply when I decided not to make cumi teutumeh, we had the same thought that cumi teutumeh is too soupy for pecel :D.

My Style of Nasi Campur (Mixed Rice) on Merah Putih

One dish meal is a common food for a housewarming party in Indonesia. I served warmed rice with Pecel (Eastern Javanese Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce), Cumi Panggang Pacak (Northeren Sumatran BBQ Squids), Sambal Goreng Cirebon (Cirebonese Fried Sambal), Bakmi Goreng Jawa (Javanese Fried Noodle) and last but not least kerupuk aci (tapioca flour crackers). The recipe of Pecel, Cumi Panggang Pacak, and Sambal Goreng Cirebon will be posted next time.

Ohh, I forgot to mention that I served Brownies Kukus Pandan Mocha (Steamed Pandan Mocha Brownies) for dessert which I didn't take the picture. The steamed brownies recipe was adapted from Sulis' Brownies Kukus Special Pandan Cokelat Keju (Sulis' Steamed Special Brownies with Pandan Chocolate Cheese).

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This avocado blended is just common beverage in Indonesia, you can find at beverage street hawkers/vendors that sell fruits blended. Every family or person has their own recipes, which my family used to add coffee instant and chocolate sweetened condensed milk or mocha syrup; we chose Marjan Bourdain's brand for the syrup. Sprinkled with chocolate sprinkle which the Indonesians are used to call meisis. Some people serve this with ice cream on top and it's called avocado float.

Since there is no chocolate sweetened condensed milk for purchased in Winnipeg, I just used the regular sweetened condensed milk.

Ingredients:
2 riped avocados
1/2 tsp instant coffee
4- 5 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
300 ml water
ice crushed as much as desired
mocha syrup
chocolate sprinkle


Directions:
Blend all ingredients, except chocolate sprinkle until smooth. In the serving glasses, add mocha syrup, transfer the avocado mixture and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkle over before serving.

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