Reason

Something that makes me never stop fighting for my future is only my dream. I dreaming high, then I action to actualizing it.



-Ketty Tressianah





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Chocolate Creme Brulee

Wah asyiknya ternyata kreasiku untuk lomba "Fun with Up Cocoa " yang diselenggarakan dalam acara HMFF NCC yang ke 6 dan bekerja sama dengan CNI membuahkan hasil yang sangat memuaskan.

Jadi teringat pertama kali terima email dari panitia HMFF, langsung memutuskan untuk ikut dalam acara tersebut dan tanpa berpikiran untuk ikut lombanya karena kerjaan dikantor cukup menyita waktu jadi langsung mikir tidak bakal punya waktu cukup untuk olah matematika resep hehehehehheehe........ (males.com). Waktu itu aku juga belum sempat daftar dan hanya daftar lewat Puspita - Komandan NCC Depok, dan setelah hampir 2 minggu baru diingatkan untuk mendaftar. Nah kebetulan pas waktu luang dan sempat membaca email milis ternyata ada email dari mbak Fatmah untuk mengajak member NCC ikut serta dalam acara ini akhirnya setelah talipun dengan beliau akhirnya aku daftar juga dan waktu itu masih bingung mau bikin apa dan akhirnya pilihanku jatuh ke Chocolate Creme Brulee, secara tantangan KBB bulan Januari adalah Creme Brulee nah kenapa tidak aku coba untuk berkreasi dengan Upcocoa untuk kudapan ini.

Kenapa ini yang aku pilih ? lagi lagi cari yang paling mudah cara pembuatan dan ternyata biaya tambahan yang diperkenankan juga tidak boleh lebih dari 30rb alhasil memutar otak kembali bagaimana caranya bisa membuat kudapan ini tapi dengan biaya yang sudah ditetapkan.
Setelah melakukan trial error sebanyak 3 kali akhirnya resep inilah yang aku pilih untuk diikutkan serta.

Chocolate Creme Brulee
By. Nilam Sari


Bahan :
250 ml Whipping cream
200 ml Susu cair
3 butir kuning telur
50 grm Gula pasir
3 sdt Up cocoa Powder
Sejumput garam

Topping :
1 sdm gula pasir/ gula palem

Cara pembuatan :
1. Panaskan oven dengan suhu cukup 150 derajat
2. Panaskan whipping cream, garam dan susu cair lalu sisihkan
3. Kocok kuning telur dan gula dan up cocoa hingga rata
4. Masukan adonan susu cair kedalam adonan telur sedikit demi sedikit dan aduk hingga rata
5. Tuangkan adonan dalam beberapa ramekin dan oven (au bain marie) hingga adonan menjadi set angkat dan dinginkan.

Penyelesaian :
Setelah creme brulee matang dan dingin taburkan gula pasir / gula palem lalu panggang hingga menjadi caramel - jika tidak ada oven api atas bisa menggunakan blowtorch.

Saran penyajian :
Creme brulee sangat enak disajikan dingin jadi sebaiknya dinginkan dalam chiller kurang lebih 3 jam sebelum dihidangkan.


Thanks to NCC semoga sukses terus dan hidup KBB yang telah mengajarkan banyak hal dalam dunia perbakingan dan membuat aku berani terus untuk berkreasi lebih banyak.

A taste of summer, in the middle of winter:)

Ive been trying to get outside all week to have a BBQ, but the weather just did not cooperate.   The reason I wanted to have a BBQ is a fellow food blogger Laurie ( http://foodslove.blogspot.com/ ) was having a little fun Summer Party to help break up the winter blues.    I wasn't able to cook something specifically for this , but i went back through a few of last summers dinners , and came up with a few you might like :))

Oh how I miss my farmers markets and fresh veggies :) 

A couple of 1/2 pound home burgers is my usual summer dinner .  

Chili Chicken, peppers and onion skewers 

A nice treat , proscuitto salami and melon .  

This was a little midnight snack , steak on a bun with onions.  I don't normally cut them in half ,  not entirely sure why I did here :)) 

Steak and corn make a lot of appearances in the summer months :)) 

Burgers are about twice weekly ,  I load all sorts of goodies inside them , peppers, onions, mushrooms & garlic are the most common. 

A picture of my spot by the river from Canada Day  :)  

If they would rather die, said Scrooge, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population

... after all, that would reduce their carbon footprint. (Frankly, this looks like a win-win for the AGW crowd.)

Our Monastery of Miscellaneous Musings has an excellent post about how biofuels, our food-based answer to Global Warming, has contributed to food riots around the world.

Nearly all assessments of the 2008 food crisis assigned biofuels a meaningful role, but much of academia and the media ultimately agreed that the scale of the crisis resulted from a "perfect storm" of causes. Yet this "perfect storm" has re-formed not three years later. We should recognize the ways in which biofuels are driving it.

I wonder if taking huge swaths of California's farmland out of production to save a tiny fish* has anything to do with it.

* - Flipping the Dickensian analogy on its head, we have this:

``At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge,'' said the gentleman, taking up a pen, ``it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Delta Smelt, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.''

``Are there no aquariums?'' asked Scrooge.

``Plenty of aquariums,'' said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

``And the aquafarming establishments?'' demanded Scrooge. ``Are they still in operation?''

``They are. Still,'' returned the gentleman, `` I wish I could say they were not.''

``Biology departments and zoos are in full vigour, then?'' said Scrooge.

``Both very busy, sir.''

``Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,'' said Scrooge. ``I'm very glad to hear it.''

I ♥ E-mealz

So, I've gone and whined to John (more than once -- right, Honey?) how time-consuming and tedious menu planning and grocery shopping are for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm always really glad when it's done and my pantry's full, and my family knows what's for dinner. But it comes at a cost. And, that's IF I can find time to bite the bullet and do it! Oh, how I wish I could hire a personal chef...

Here were my criteria --

• Please come up with healthy meal ideas for my family.
• Quick, easy recipes. I'm busy.
• Oh, and we're a small family -- so not a lot of servings.
• AND -- I have picky eaters at my house, so no "foofy" food, please.
• Oh -- and I'm a Weight Watchers gal, so I need points figured out.
• Yeah...and I'm not doing the new points system they just came up with, so...could you please do the old point system?
• Oh, and I'll need a prepared shopping list, so I can just take it and go.
• Please organize that shopping list by section, k?
• Um, would it be too much to ask if you tally up the cost of the shopping list before I go, too? I'm a Dave Ramsey girl, too and budgets are big with me.
• Oh, one final thing. I really do like to cook, so you let me do that part and you do all the other tedious work.
• Oh yeah, one more final thing. I don't really want to pay you a big, honkin' salary for doing this.

Yeah, anyone looking at a list like that would say, "See ya, lady!"

But I did find someone that would do ALL of that for me. I was messing around on Dave Ramsey's site and saw link to E-mealz and clicked on it. I looked around and starting hearing angels singing in my head!  This is a group who believe in Dave Ramsey principles-- they believe in saving families money and time; truly helping them.

They have specific, prepared lists for anybody. They can be diet specific and use current grocery sales. (be still my heart!) Here are some examples they offer:

• Point-System Meal Plans
• Low-Carb Meal Plans
• Vegetarian Meal Plans
• Couples-Only Meal Plans
• Low Fat Meal Plans
• Gluten-Free Meal Plans

• Kroger Meal Plans
• Publix Meal Plans
• Wal-Mart Meal Plans
• ALDI Meal Plans
• RALPHS Meal Plans
• Any-Store Meal Plans

Healthy, family friendly recipes with sides already figured out. Cost of food tallied. Big family, small family and just couples, whatever -- it's figured out for you.  Love it!

John and I have been trying it out this week, and we're in love! The recipes have been great, the pantry's full and dinner's figured out for the week. Not a lot of money, time or effort on my part, and no guilt. I'm a good mom, feeding my family healthy, yummy foods.

The best part? I pay $1.25 a week for this. I put it as part of my grocery budget.

I GOT MY PERSONAL CHEF!!! He works for 1.25 a week! Bwahahaha!

Sorry if I sound like a commercial in this post. We really love this service; it's made our life easier, and I wanted to let you know about it.

I put an E-mealz button in the sidebar if you want to take a look at their website...tell me what you think!

P.S  If you decide to sign on, you can find coupon codes on line. :-)

PING!!!

Do you know, what are the worst things in our live? Those are; we can not understand our feelings, we can not understand what we want for sure, we can not kill our fears by ourselves. And when someday we realise, the moment have been passed, too late.



-ketty tressianah

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Chicken Rice with Pineapple (Nasi Kebuli Ayam dengan Nanas)

500g boneless chicken, diced into 1cm cubes
1/2 small pineapple, peeled and sliced and cut into small pieces and fried shallot to serve

2 tbsp butter or oil
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
2 cups long-grain rice, washed and drained

Seasoning :

13 French shallots, peeled and finely chopepd
7 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2.5cm piece of root ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp white peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin
a little nutmeg, freshly grated
8cm cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods, bruised
2 cloves
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised

Heat butter or oil in a wok or heavy saucepan. Add all seasoning ingredients and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and continue sauteing for 3 minutes over high heat. Add chicken stock and salt and simmer until chicken is tender. Strain stock and put chicken pieces aside.

Place rice in a rice cooker or heavy stock pot, add 2.5 cups of the reserved chicken stock and bring to the boil. Cover pan and simmer until rice is almost cooked and liquid is absorbed. Add diced chicken and cook over low heat until rice is thoroughly cooked.

Serve on a platter garnished with fried shallots and pineapple pieces.

Chicken Rice with Pineapple (Nasi Kebuli Ayam dengan Nanas)

500g boneless chicken, diced into 1cm cubes
1/2 small pineapple, peeled and sliced and cut into small pieces and fried shallot to serve

2 tbsp butter or oil
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
2 cups long-grain rice, washed and drained

Seasoning :

13 French shallots, peeled and finely chopepd
7 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2.5cm piece of root ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp white peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin
a little nutmeg, freshly grated
8cm cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods, bruised
2 cloves
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised

Heat butter or oil in a wok or heavy saucepan. Add all seasoning ingredients and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and continue sauteing for 3 minutes over high heat. Add chicken stock and salt and simmer until chicken is tender. Strain stock and put chicken pieces aside.

Place rice in a rice cooker or heavy stock pot, add 2.5 cups of the reserved chicken stock and bring to the boil. Cover pan and simmer until rice is almost cooked and liquid is absorbed. Add diced chicken and cook over low heat until rice is thoroughly cooked.

Serve on a platter garnished with fried shallots and pineapple pieces.

Spiced Basmati Rice

I don't usually like to eat rice plain, so I'll find some ways to sneak in some homemade stock, or some of the leftover oil from frying garlic or shallots, or even just by adding a bit of butter (you can never go wrong with butter hehe). This is a recipe that will spice up your plain ol' rice, but one that's not too overpowering so it's a great side to most Indian curries.

Spiced Basmati Rice

1 cup brown basmati rice, soaked overnight , drained

1/2 tsp cumin (or whole cumin seeds, otherwise known as jeera. so I guess this is like the popular jeera rice + 3 more spices heh.)

1/2 cinnamon stick

3 cardamom pods, crushed

3 cloves

1 1/4 cup to 1 1/2 cups cold water (depends on your brand/age of rice. experiment! 2 flops should do it.)

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp of ghee/butter/oil (it helps prevent the rice from sticking too, I find)

Method

1. Over medium high heat, add the ghee/butter/oil and saute the whole spices for 2 min first.

2. Add the ground spices and the rice, saute 1 more min.

3. Add the water and salt, bring to a boil. Cover tightly and let it simmer for about 20-25 min. DO NOT STIR DO NOT PEEK. Curiosity kills the cat.

4. Remove lid, give it a fork through, close again and let it steam for 5-10 min more.

My Shortcut Rice Cooker Method

1. Switch rice cooker to "cook" and let the pot heat up.

2. Add the ghee/butter/oil and saute the whole spices for 2 min first, before adding the ground spices and the rice for another 1 min.

3. Add the water and salt, close the rice cooker and let it do its job UNDISTURBED.

4. When it's done and switches to "warm", do not open yet for another 15 min.

You can then open, give a fork through to loosen the grains then close, and let it steam for another 5 min.

While cooking, the fragrance of the spices and the basmati rice will perfume your kitchen temptingly. But if you want beautiful loose grains, do not be a busybody and check on your rice. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving with curry of your choice. And the inedible cardamom pods and cloves if you want, but I think they look pretty.

Forget History, He's On The Wrong Side Of Math

So President Obama has decided to mobilize Mobilize America* and support the Teachers' Union protest in Wisconsin. Maybe he's forced into this because the unions are a big part of his coalition, but it looks like a sure loser to me. If the unions win the day, they'll end up with layoffs instead of benefit cuts. The math is against them.

Further, in many cases, the teachers called in a sick day to protest, closing down some schools. Moms and dads had to scramble to find a sitter for Junior so the teachers, whose pay is probably higher than theirs and whose benefits almost certainly are, could run off and chant in unison. Again, probably not a good move, particularly in a state where Obama's side just took a historic beating.

Writing that last sentence and considering the budget he just released, it looks over and over again like the guy is completely disconnected from reality. Wisconsin has to balance its budget by law. There aren't too many places to cut. The electorate in Wisconsin just let everyone know they've had it with the Democrats. Obama is doubling down on a losing hand by sending out his own political action group to man the front lines.

Crazy, man. Crazy.

Civil discourse!
* - Or is that organize Organize America? Whatever.

Chicken in Tomato Yogurt Curry (Dahi Murg)

This is kind of like butter chicken, but the addition of yogurt (dahi) instead of cream makes it a little lighter and tangier, plus having the chicken marinate in yogurt really tenderises the meat. I'm not sure if it follows a real Dahi Murg recipe (if there even is one), because I tweaked a butter chicken recipe to make this, but I believe with Indian food, and all that wonderful combination of fragrant spices, you can't really go wrong and you can't really say there's a "right" recipe out there.

Chicken in Tomato Yogurt Curry (Dahi Murg)

serves 4

Ingredients

500g chicken pieces (I use chicken leg meat, because it has more flavour and texture and most importantly, is cheaper.)

For the marinade

2 cloves of garic, minced

2 cm ginger, minced

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

75 ml yoguty

For the gravy

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, minced

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp chilli powder

half 500ml can of chopped tomatoes (or tomato passata for a smoother, less chunky sauce)

1 1/2 tbsp ghee (or butter)

To finish

1 tbsp butter

150 ml pot yogurt

cilantro leaves

Method

1. Combine marinade ingredients and mix with the chicken. Leave for at least 3h, or overnight.

2. Over medium-high heat, par-fry the chicken pieces till the outside is nicely seared. Set aside.

3. Now the gravy. Melt the ghee or butter and add the onions and garlic till onion turns translucent and garlic is lightly browned.

4. Add the rest of the spices, stir for 1 min or so just to let their fragrance come through but not burn. Then add the canned tomatoes and bring to a boil.

4. Return the chicken pieces to the pot along with the chicken juices and remaining marinade and let simmer for 15-20 min.

6. Remove from heat, and stir through the butter to give the curry gravy that extra silkiness and sheen, and then the yogurt. Garnish with the cilantro leaves, and serve with roti/naan/basmati rice (it's good enough to go with plain rice, but try it with my Spiced Basmati Rice if you can!)

Oh I just love creamy curries, and while not as rich as the dish it's inspired from, this curry has extra tender chicken and that extra tang from the yogurt to balance the heat and spice. Indian head-wiggle (:

This is part of Tuesday Night Supper Club, Pennywise Platter Thursday and Real Food Wednesday.

Film? bubar jalan!

Alangkah lucunya negeri ini!
Ini adalah sebuah judul film lokal yang (sepertinya) bagus, sayangnya saya belum sempat menonton sampai diturunkan dari bioskop. Jadi teringat salah satu lirik lagu Zeke Khaseli, inti liriknya adalah sekalinya ada film lokal bagus cuma bertahan 5 hari.

Hari ini semua orang heboh akan berita pemberhentian distribusi film dari luar Indonesia atau film impor di Indonesia. Permasalahannya cuma satu, pajak bea cukai yang kelewat mencekik.

Kilahnya sih memajukan perfilman lokal, sayangnya justru menunjukkan betapa terpuruknya akal pikir beliau. Kalau sampai film-film berkualitas tidak tayang di bioskop, lalu bioskop bangkrut, dimanakah tokoh perfilman lokal bisa menayangkan filmnya?

Sebenarnya saya sih setuju kalau sampai tidak ada penayangan film lokal, karena hampir semuanya film asusila. Film pembodohan. Film yang enggak menghibur, enggak bermoral, enggak juga berkualitas. Bermodal pornografi dan pornoaksi. Yang menonton dan bilang itu bagus, pasti bagus bukan ceritanya, paling bagus pamer badannya. Saya jujur, dan yang berpikiran waras mestinya mengakui hal tersebut. Buat apa coba, ada uu pornografi pornoaksi, sedangkan itu cuma jadi wacana. Nyatanya, prakteknya (selalu) nihil. Tapi...

Ya, ada tapinya! Tapi, saya juga sedih, masih ada tokoh perfilman nasional berkualitas, intelek, yang akan terancam terhambat kreativitasnya akan hal ini. Sungguh menyedihkan. Saya jadi membayangkan, bagaimana rasanya jadi saya tidak bisa menikmati film kesayangan saya di bioskop. Seperti Harry Potter ke-7 part 2. Sedih dan miris.

Seharusnya tokoh perfilman nasional itu berkaca, kenapa perfilman Indonesia enggak berkembang.

@Keketketty: Film Hollywood lebih laku drpd film lokal, knp? Harusnya filmmaker lokal mikir, film tuh yg penting KUALITAS bkn kuantitas!!

Semoga pembuat kebijakan yang gue enggak tau siapa, pemerintah yang mana, pejabat yang mana, bisa cepet-cepet jadi orang pinter dan enggak semena-mena mengambil keputusan.

Kebijakan yang memiliki "kuasa" atas sesuatu, melambangkan keadaan negara yang memberinya kuasa.

Harapan saya pastinya, generasi kita, generasi selanjutnya, bisa memutus mata rantai kebodohan dan juga ketidakadilan. Korupsi dan kekerasan dieliminasi. Amin. Seburuk-buruknya Indonesia saya tetap cinta, meski amarah dan kesal membuncah.

Depend on us!

Groetjes,
Ketty Tressianah

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