Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Too Many Cookbooks


I possess a ridiculous number of cookbooks.  Take a look at the pictures and you'll see what I mean.  I've been collecting them for years and I have quite an assortment.  They are stashed everywhere - in my kitchen, in the hallway to the garage (well, at least they're not in the garage) and in my office upstairs.  And this is what's left after I got rid of at least half of them when we moved a few years ago!

Guess one of these days I should do a post about my favorite cookbooks.  Hey, and blog about my favorite recipe from each one.  That could be fun!  For now, though, you have to hear about my mad search for a pretzel recipe.

Yup, soft pretzels.  Here's why.  We did one of our marathon walks yesterday (having not done one in six weeks for obvious reasons) and it was tough.  It always is when we haven't done it for awhile.  We started around noon and by 3pm we were pretty much toast, just about the time we passed a grungy pub. We were still about an hour's walk from home.

Can you say "pretzels and beer?"  They turned out to be big, soft, homemade pretzels, warm from the oven and loaded with salt.  Pig heaven!

So that started my quest for the perfect pretzel recipe.  Out of ALL those cookbooks, I came up with only four.  The internet is loaded with them, but not my selection of cookbooks.  Leads me to wonder why we even need cookbooks anymore .... except I love reading them and you just don't get the same rush from reading recipes online or on your iPhone Kindle app.

These were the only four with pretzel recipes.
Guess there's just no getting away from Martha!

After perusing the recipes (in addition to some on the internet), I came up with what I think is the perfect pretzel recipe.  It was good.  So good, in fact, that Henry ate one for dessert tonight!

LIZ'S PRETZELS

2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
2 packages yeast
5 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 oz. butter, melted and cooled
10 cups water
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 egg yolks plus 2 tablespoons water, blended in small bowl
Coarse salt

Combine the 2 cups of warm water and sugars in bowl of electric mixer.  Blend briefly, then add yeast.  Let sit for 5 minutes until mixture is foamy.  Add flour, salt and butter and mix again to just blend.  Let sit for 10 minutes then turn mixer on low speed and mix for 10 minutes.  Remove to a bowl that has been well-greased with butter or oil and let rise for 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Before and after rising

Remove from bowl and punch down.  Divide into 16 pieces.  Roll each piece into an 18-inch log and form into a pretzel shape.  Place on 3 greased (or Silpat-lined) baking sheets.  Let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 450-degrees.

In a large, shallow saucepan, bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a boil.  Drop pretzels in (I did 4 at a time) and cook for 30 seconds.  Turn over and cook for 30 seconds more.  Remove to a greased baking rack to cool slightly and drain.

Transfer pretzels to 3 well-greased baking sheets.   Brush with egg yolk/water mixture.  Sprinkle VERY liberally with salt.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until deeply golden and well-browned.  Remove to cooling racks.
Yield:  16 very large pretzels
Eat as soon as they are cool enough so as not to burn your tongue.  Revel in the salt overload!  Oh, and eat these the same day you make them.

A word about salt.  Conventional wisdom says to use pretzel salt.  Not having any in my cupboard, I used coarse French sea salt.  Worked just fine!

Yeah, that lonely leftover bite is killing me - I need to finish it!







Titipan-Nya

Sering kali aku berkata, ketika orang memuji milikku, bahwa sesungguhnya ini hanya titipan, bahwa mobilku hanya titipan Nya, bahwa rumahku hanya titipan Nya, bahwa hartaku hanya titipan Nya, bahwa putraku hanya titipan Nya.

Tetapi, mengapa aku tak pernah bertanya, mengapa Dia menitipkan padaku? Untuk apa Dia menitipkan ini pada ku? Dan kalau bukan milikku, apa yang harus kulakukan untuk milik Nya ini? Adakah aku memiliki hak atas sesuatu yang bukan milikku?

Mengapa hatiku justru terasa berat, ketika titipan itu diminta kembali oleh-Nya ?

Ketika diminta kembali, kusebut itu sebagai musibah, kusebut itu sebagai ujian, kusebut itu sebagai petaka, kusebut dengan panggilan apa saja untuk melukiskan bahwa itu adalah derita.

Ketika aku berdoa, kuminta titipan yang cocok dengan hawa nafsuku, aku ingin lebih banyak harta, ingin lebih banyak mobil, lebih banyak rumah, lebih banyak popularitas, dan kutolak sakit, kutolak kemiskinan, Seolah ... semua "derita" adalah hukuman bagiku. Seolah ... keadilan dan kasih Nya harus berjalan seperti matematika: aku rajin beribadah, maka selayaknyalah derita menjauh dariku, dan Nikmat dunia kerap menghampiriku.

Kuperlakukan Dia seolah mitra dagang, dan bukan Kekasih. Kuminta Dia membalas "perlakuan baikku", dan menolak keputusanNya yang tak sesuai keinginanku..

Gusti, padahal tiap hari kuucapkan, hidup dan matiku hanyalah untuk beribadah... "ketika langit dan bumi bersatu, bencana dan keberuntungan sama saja"

(WS Rendra)

Perkembangan Bayi bulan 9-10

Melanjutkan perkembangan bayi bulan 7-8...

Bagaimana aku tumbuh:
  • Aku bisa merangkak dan berkeliling sembari memegang sesuatu di salah satu tanganku.
  • Aku juga bisa merangkak ke atas tangga. Namun aku belum bisa merangkak turun.
  • Aku bisa duduk sendiri sebentar bila engkau memegangi tanganku.
  • Aku mengulurkan tanganku masuk ke dalam lubang dan tempat2 lainnya yang menyenangkan.
  • Aku mengambil benda2 kecil dengan jari dan jempolku, dan benda2 besar dengan kedua tanganku.
  • Aku mendorong tubuhku berdiri dengan berpegangan pada perabot, tapi aku mungkin kesulitan untuk turun kembali.
Bagaimana aku bicara:
  • Aku mengerti beberapa kata, namaku, dan kalimat2 sederhana.
  • Aku mengulang satu atau lebih suara berulang-ulang.
  • Aku mendengarkan orang2 berbicara dan mencoba meniru suaranya.
  • Aku mulai mengucapkan kata yang terdiri dari dua suku kata, seperti choo-choo, da-da, ma-ma.
Bagaimana aku merespon:
  • Aku suka memperhatikan orang2 menulis di kertas.
  • Aku suka beraksi di depan orang2, aku suka sekali ketika mereka bertepuk tangan!
  • Kadang2 aku menginginkan pujian atas prestasiku.
Bagaimana aku mengerti:
  • Aku mencoba untuk membayangkan sesuatu sendiri.
  • Aku tahu bahwa bila aku melihat benda2 dengan posisi terbalik atau dengan menutup salah satu mataku, maka benda2 itu akan terlihat berbeda.
  • Aku marah bila mainanku diambil.
  • Aku mengingat permainan, orang, atau mainan yang kumainkan atau kutemui kemarin.
  • Aku bisa tahu suasana hati orang hanya dengan melihat mereka.
Bagaimana perasaanku:
  • Aku sangat sensitif. bila aku melihat bayi lain menangis, aku juga akan menangis.
  • Aku mungkin akan takut pada banyak hal yang tidak menggangguku sebelumnya, seperti mandi. aku takut ketinggian.
  • Aku sangat tekun dan kadang2 keras kepala. semua itu bagian dari pertumbuhanku.
Bagaimana kau dapat membantuku belajar:
  • Bicaralah padaku. Dengarkan aku. dan lakukan itu secara bergiliran denganku.
  • Puji aku ketika aku melakukan hal2 yang baru. aku butuh dukunganmu.
  • Beri aku makanan yang mungil, sehingga aku bisa berlatih mengambil benda2 yang kecil.
source: Buku pintar perawatan bayi dan anak usia emas, Iskarisma Ratih S.Psi

Some of my classwork...

As you know, I'm doing a Coolhunting course, and last week our teacher told us that we should go around the city and catch some cool looks and places of Barcelona... so I'm showing you some of my pictures!!

 

 
  
  
  
The City... 
1) Grand de Gracia; 2) Passeig de Gracia; 3) Las Ramblas; 4) Plaza Catalunya at 08:00 am; 
5) Les Corts in a rainy night.


 
  
  
  
And some looks (I've got more pictures, but I'll show you in othe entry!)

What do you think about it? I'm showing them in my class next week, but anyway I'm taking new pictures all this week (so, if you're at Barcelona and want me to take a picture of you, just tell me! Or if you think that I must visit any cool place, please, feel free to say!).

I'm really happy with my classmates and my teacher, he seems to be a very brilliant person! But the most important thing is that I'm doing what I want :)

Oh, and thanks for your sweet comments in my last two entries! I'll answer all of them, I promise; I've been a little bit busy, sorry!!

PS: The Chemical Brothers are coming to Barcelona for Sonar Festival... yaaaaaw!! With LCD Sound System and Air!!

Answers

jill said...

what do you four *most* enjoy doing.... together!

Dear Jill,

Thank you for your question!!! Let's see...what do we MOST enjoy doing together? Hmmm...DISHES!!!! Every night the four of us get to clean up the kitchen together...and we sing and dance and laugh our way through mounds of grime and grease until the room is sparkling clean. It glistens!!!

Other than that...we try to stay as far away from each other as possible (we're all sitting on one couch as I type, but experiencing some serious disconnect). If that won't work physically, we build emotional walls that keep us safe and happy!

JUST KIDDING!!!

Okay. Seriously now: we four love to...

Go to Alicia's for amazing food and a "girls' movie night".

Scheme about all the things that we could do - all over the world or just right here at home. We never DO those things but we love dreaming about them! We are DETERMINED to make one of those schemes become a reality...stay tuned for an upcoming blog post about our newest club.


Next question:
Anonymous said...

Each one of you:

What does the perfect day look like to you?

Since you wrote this anonymously, we are going to answer anonymously. Maybe you'll be able to guess who answered what!

Sister to the left of the one on the far right:
mochas. hugs. happy friends and family. chocolate. ice cream. sunshine. thunderstorm. the ocean. no breakfast dishes. shooting stars.

Sister to the far right:
7:00 AM - snuggled under my white comforter to read my Bible.
8:00 AM - breakfast of fried eggs and English muffins with asparagus
8:30 AM - load up my sailboat and head to the lake where I meet my best friend
12:00 PM - picnic on a sandy beach: lunch consists of chicken salad with grapes on a whole wheat croissant, smoked Gouda with vegetable sticks, sparkling grape juice and lindt truffles.
1:00 PM - hot air balloon ride
6:00 PM - dinner at the Melting Pot
7:00 PM - volleyball games with my favorite players
9:00 PM - head home
10:00 PM - go to bed
10:30 PM - a dark chocolate almond Dove bar

Sister to the right of the one on the far left:
Sunny. Peace inside. Good and tired at the end.

Sister to the far left:
The day AFTER we buy a new car.

Collectively, our perfect day consists of:
Solving world hunger. Creating world peace. Abolishing human trafficking. Giving everyone in the world clean water. Stopping child abuse. Ending abortion. Oh, and just being all around perfect.

Question #3

K.M. Weiland said...

How come you're all so awesome? :D

Sarah: "I eat organic foods. That really helps."
Anna: "I get eight hours of sleep every night. I am NOT awesome if I get under eight hours."
Tera: " :blank look:"
Sage: "Umm...didn't you know that it's been scientifically proven that only awesome people can SEE awesome people? Therefore...it's YOU that is awesome."

Moving right along (this is actually taking us HOURS!!!):

Aunt Red said...

Who's your favorite traveling buddy? HAHA

Of course YOU!!! Who can beat San Antonio Mondays? Or Taos Tuesdays? Or Boulder Blahdays?!?!?!

Aunt Red said...

What is each sister's favorite movie?

Anna: "Generally not Hallmark movies...though....umm.....I do like a lot of them."
Sarah: Bambi 2

Tera: Depends on my mood. Not very helpful, is it?

Sage: One that has a happy ending. I HATE sad endings. I LOVE good acting. I HATE bad story writing. I LOVE good cinematography. I HATE bad music....like...practically anything from the 70's and 80's. So...I don't really have a favorite movie.

On to the next question...which is also the last!!!

Anonymous said...

Where is your absolute favorite place you've ever been to??

Sage: Oh wow...so many! But I love Iceland. Love it. Also...my trip to Canada. But Ireland was amazing. Scotland!!! Umm...Annapolis will always be a favorite. Idaho. Maine!!! Colorado. California. Montana. Ummm...Sarah is telling me I can only say one.
Sarah: Waldorf Cabin

Anna: Rocky Mountains or Huntington Beach

Tera: Iceland


Thank you to all who helped make this blog post.

Until next time...
arrivederci and buona sera

The Best Chips in the World: Food Tip of the Day - Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Possibly the Best Chips in the WorldThe chips pictured to the right have been cooked in a very special way. They have not been cooked once, nor twice, but thrice, in an attempt to have them classed as something approaching the best chips in the world. They are incredibly crispy on the outside, equally fluffy and light on the inside and served merely with a generous sprinkling of salt are delicious in the extreme.

These chips were prepared following my discovery of an article online by Heston Blumenthal - a prominent English chef - and the way in which he combines the two different methods I knew of preparing chips to even greater effect. The link below is to the site which tracks my very first attempt at making chips in this way and shows precisely how I got on.

I very much hope that you will be convinced enough to at least give this chip making method a go. I promise you, it works!

The Best Chips in the World?

Roast Pork Tenderloin with a Balsamic Fig Sauce

  
  
The most important factor in fine cooking is fine ingredients.  That doesn't necessarily mean expensive ingredients, but it does mean fresh ingredients.  Fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, that is where quality will shine through.  Chefs oftentimes construct their recipes by what is fresh at the market that morning.  That thought, what was fresh and calling out to me at the market, gave me the idea to prepare a fig sauce.  It's not something I had done before, and I would never just go eat a fig.  But as with a cherry or pomegranate sauce for duck, I thought a fig sauce might be nice with pork, so I grabbed the package of figs that appeared at the market one day and this is the result.  The fig sauce recipe below is an amalgam of sources I consulted from Bon Appetit to Joy of Cooking to Martha Stewart.  A balsamic fig sauce sounded fun, and each was built on the combination of figs, a wine to deglaze, balsamic vinegar, and stock support.  I served this with cooked polenta, good itself and even better with this fig sauce on top.  Serves 2.
    
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pork tenderloin
salt/pepper
1 shallot, diced
1/3 cup port
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
2/3 cup chicken stock
1 sprig rosemary
8 dried figs, quartered lengthwise
     
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  In a large fry pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper and brown all sides in the fry pan.  Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes or until an internal thermometer reads 150 degrees F.  
When the tenderloin is roasted, transfer to a plate and cover in foil to keep warm.  Return the fry pan to the stove top over low heat and soften the shallots for approximately 5 minutes.  Increase the heat to medium and add the port, scraping up any cooked bits to deglaze the pan.  Add the vinegar, sugar, stock, rosemary and figs and simmer for 5 minutes.  Spoon out 3 of the figs to a food processor and mince.  Return the minced figs to the sauce and allow to simmer a few minutes more.  Meanwhile, slice the tenderloin into 3/4" medallions and plate, spooning the fig sauce on top.  
      

jangan soal dia lagi

Gue bersyukur dengan semua anugerah Tuhan.
Gue beruntung dengan semua bakat.
Gue beruntung dengan semua kesempatan.
Dan gue selalu beruntung bisa survive lebih cepat soal cinta.
Kalau masih ngeributin soal tuh cowok, silahkan ribut dengan angin, gue enggak peduli.
Sorry ya dear, gue enggak segila lo sampai bertahun-tahun.
Good luck!
Gue males berurusan sama lo, kalau ngefans bilang aja ya. Hahaha.

we named it wonderful weekend

 Hello my fellas, how are you?
Hmmm..it's Tuesday rite? akan segera berganti rabu.
Gue masih membenci hari Rabu. uhmm.
Anyway, gue baru saja melewatkan weekend yang seru.
Jumat gue meeting di kaWanku dan menemukan banyak sekali artikelku di edisi yang akan
keluar di edisi yang terbit hari Rabu ini. Good!
Abis meeting, gue sama Ditha ke GI buat shopping.
Akhirnya gue beli leather jacket di Forever 21 dan gue
sama-sama beli kaos Topman sama Ditha.
 
  
 


Sabtunya gue pergi ke TMII.
Terakhir gue kesana udah itungan tahun yg lalu.
Gue kesana buat foto jms atau orang lebih kenal dengan buku tahunan.
Tema kelas gue adalah tahun 40an.
Dan tiba-tiba aja anak kelas gue yang tadinya cuek berubah jadi cantik dan ganteng.
Bedaaa banget.
Sibuk make up, pake heels, jauh darikata asal deh.

 
 


Daaaaan finally Sunday.
Very special sunday ever.
Acara syukuran filmku bersama ditha dan mia, "LOVE then LEAVE"
Di D'Hook cafe daerah radio dalam.
Semacam private party.
Senang banget acaranya seru dan ramai.
Apalagi pas senpai zeke nyanyi the beatles.
Waaaaaaw ♡ his voice so much!!!


Private party dimulai.
Taamu yang diundang datang dan mulai berbincang.
Ada dua tamu spesial.
Yang pertama, Senpai Zeke.
Dia sukses mengerjai gue.
Sebelumnya dia bilang di bbm dia ga datang, eh tau-tau udah nongol di belakang gue.



and then, Caesar, si MC kondang ibu kota, finally bisa hadir juga.
Acara ramai gegap gempita.
Karaokean, makan, games, serrrruuuuuu!!!

 
 


dua perempuan

“Kamu pikir kamu putuskan yang terbaik? Ingat, malu! Malu cah ayu!”
“Sampai kapan malu itu bisa membenarkan yang salah?”
“Terima nasib saja, siapa tahu nanti bojomu berubah.”
“Bu, ini Negara demokrasi. Jangan berpikiran sempit dan kolot begini. Ini sudah melenceng dari kata benar.”
PLAK!
“Dengan bercerai masalahmu selesai? Apa kata orang? Mau dikemanakan muka ibu ini? Mikir ndok!”
“Saya ini perempuan, ibu pun perempuan. Ibu tau? Saya ditampar, dihina, diintimidasi, dipukul dengan gesper. Apa itu belum bisa mengalahkan rasa malu ibu yang selangit?”
PLAK!
“jadi perempuan harus kalem, nurut sama suami, terima saja semuanya. Jangan sok Kartini!”
“Saya cerai pokoknya!”

Awang nasib

Jumat, 5 Februari 2010. Jumat yang sendu dengan hujan yang terus menari.
Malam. Gelap. Dan hampir saja menjadi kenangan.
Saat berbelok di ujung jalan itu, lalu dari sebuah rumah seseorang itu keluar..
Kupercepat langkahku, debar jantung seakan bom yang ingin meledak.
Mataku masih sanggup menangkap bayangan di aspal, pria itu masih dibelakangku.
Kecamuk jutaan dugaku.
Mati? Hilang harga diri? Gila? Anjing!
Masih terketuk irama gelisah dalam jantung.
Dag.
Dig.
Dug.
Dig.
Dug.
Dag.
Dan cahaya terang menyanjungku.
Ya, café di ujing jalan satunya. Dengan keramaian yang kontras dengan jalan yang baru saja aku lewati.
SHIT! BABI!
Dan untungnya aku selamat.

Quick post: Florence Welch x Viktor & Rolf

I think that you all know by now the brilliant spring collection of Viktor & Rolf, right?





So right, yesterday I discovered this amazing two pictures of Florence Welch (also know as my beloved Florence and the Machine) wearint the first piece. I mean, I've seen lots of famous with this dresses, but she's got some kind of magic that makes her look from another world...

 
 

Only more than 2 weeks for seeing her!! What should I wear in her concert? Any idea? I'll take the book from the Cd and some handmade posters for her... I'm so exited about this!