Chicken Escalopes

Akhirnya hari ini kami sempat masak-masak lagi. Resepnya lagi-lagi dari buku resep Annabel Karmel yang dimodifikasi sedikit. Kami memasak chicken escalopes dengan pasta saus pomodoro. Caranya mudah sekali, dan tidak butuh waktu banyak. Hasil akhirnya pun memuaskan, dari dapur saya (dan Aira) yang masih menyiapkan bumbu pasta bisa mendengar Aidan yang sudah gak sabar (akhirnya makan pakai tangan) berseru, "Masya Allaaaah.. ini enak bangeeet!" x)

Kalau berencana membuat chicken escalopes dengan pasta seperti kami, sebaiknya pasta sudah disiapkan lebih dulu, berikut bumbunya. Sambil menunggu pasta dan bumbu matang, chicken escalopes bisa mulai dimasak. Selamat mencoba. :)

Bahan-bahan:

- Tepung roti

- Keju Parmesan

- Seledri, dicacah

- Potongan fillet dada ayam

- Garam, merica

- Telur, dikocok

- Minyak, untuk menggoreng

Cara membuat:

1. Campur tepung roti, keju Parmesan, seledri

2. Tutupi daging ayam dengan plastik cling wrap dan pukul-pukul dengan palu masak (atau ulekan, seperti kami.. hehe..) sampai agak tipis

3. Bumbui daging ayam dengan garam dan merica, lalu celup dalam telur

4. Taburi daging ayam dengan campuran tepung roti sampai tertutup menyeluruh

5. Panaskan minyak di wajan. Goreng daring ayam sampai kedua sisinya keemasan

Houdini

Houdini ~ Foster The People






Rise Above gonna start the war
What you want whatcha need whatcha come here for
Well an eye for an eye and an F for fight
Taking me down as the prisoners riot

Got shackles on, my words are tied
Fear can make you compromise
Fast enough it's hard to hide
Sometimes I want to disappear

When I feel kinda bad and I'm all distressed
Pass it off on a better day
Well you got whatcha want whatcha never knew
Perfect gift from me to you

Got shackles on my words are tied
Fear can make you compromise
Fast enough it's hard to hide
Sometimes I want to disappear

Raise up to your ability
You never knew that I could find
What could come when we realize
The sun won't stop with the compromise

Raise up to your ability
Can't stand while I disappear
Run around before I'm filled with fear
Like a glue cause my life is filled with red

Raise up to your ability
I know that you wanna
Throw me into the sea
For my ability

Raise up to your ability
Yeah you're undecided
Yeah I just want to leave it
Yeah I'm gonna wanna runaway

Focus on your ability
Now focus on your ability
Gain again what they want to steal
Gonna gain again what they want to steal

Never Lost

pics taken from here and here. :)

Going to Bandung for Gold

Shed Seven were having a concert in Bandung last week.  So obviously we, Syarin & I, go bought our selves 2 tickets to the gig, booked a decent hotel, and went there. Glad to have a hubby like mine, he didn't mind at all watching the kids for the weekend while I went doing things that I like.

It was a great gig. The band played every single songs on my 'Shed Seven favorite' playlist, including Ocean Pie, an old song that made me fell in love with Shed Seven in the first place. We sang our heart out all night long, through out Dolphin, She Left Me On Friday, Long Time Dead, Going For Gold, Speakeasy, and of course, Bully Boy. And then some more. :D

Everything here is above board, everything here is a closed door, there's something I'd like you for. You've got the key to the ocean, you've got the key to the ooooooceeaaan... 

There was a gig, and then there was a trip too. Spent with great friends & great food. So here's what we did, beside enjoying Shed Seven. Proudly using only the GPS on my phone for directions. Yes, not once did we asked hubby for directions of Bandung roads. And we didn't get lost, not once. Considering how bad Syarin & I were with directions, & how bad I was at reading maps, this was an achievement.

Had a great lunch at Dahapati, where the oxtail soup was oh-so-delicious. And then we spent the afternoon at Selasar Sunaryo, with Tania, Hans, & Onta. Nervously watching a caterpillar crawling in front of a lady's face, while running some scenario on why it took Hans so darn long in the toilet, including the possibility of him passed out on the stair on his way to the toilet. Absurd unimportant things.

The next day, we skipped breakfast & had another great lunch at Toko You. I almost always promised myself to try another dish at Toko You, to almost always ended up with the same dish, Nasi daging kepiting cah brokoli saus tiram. And never regret the decision.

Last but not least, we looked for something to be brought home. We decided to drop by Toko Roti Abadi, once again relaying on GPS. Then we went back to Jakarta. A short trip, but it was a great one. Enough to recharge our mood & energy to get through another round of hectic Jakarta days. :)

P.S. Thank you for my trip buddy & pilot. It was a great one. I heart youuu! :D

Happy Shed Seven Day!

pic taken from here.

Chocolate Fudge Popsicle

We love having popsicle on hot sunny day. We usually made our own popsicle, it was more fun & healthier than having the store bought one. Jakarta was super hot, so I went looking for a new popsicle recipe from the internet. Then I found this chocolate fudge popsicle from Smitten Kitchen. I didn't change any ingredients, I just doubled the measurement. 

The popsicles turned out great. All chocolaty, gooey, and of course, fudgy. Aira & Aidan loved it. I love it. This is the original source of fudge popsicles recipe, & these are other popsicles that we had made at home, strawberry yogurt popsicle and mango orange popsicle. :)

Ingredients:

4 tbs (45 gr) semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

140 gr sugar

2 tbs cornstarch

3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

600 ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbs unsalted butter

How to:

Medium saucepan over very low heat, gently melt the chocolate chips, stirring constantly until smooth.

Stir in sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, milk & salt & raise heat to medium.

Cook mixture, stirring frequently until it thickens, between 5 and 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, add vanilla & butter & stir until combined

Set aside to cool slightly then pour into popsicle molds.

Freeze before serving.

Cold Strawberry Cream

It had been awhile since the last time we made this messy but super good dessert. But the weather been so so hot these past 2 days & we need something to cool us off. So we made our favorite cold strawberry cream. The original recipe was taken from Aira's fairy cookbook, but we changed some ingredients. So here it is, our recipe of cold strawberry cream. Make some, who knows maybe tomorrow will be as hot as today. :D

Ingredients:

150 gr strawberry

4 tbs castor sugar

4 tbs thick yogurt (I used strawberry flavored)

1 pack yogurt (I used raspberry flavored)

150 thick cream

50 gr marie regal biscuits (or to like)

How to make:

- Put the strawberries into a bowl, mashed

- Add the castor sugar into the bowl, stir well

- Add the yogurt, stir well

- Pour the cream into another bowl, shake well

- Pour the strawberry mix into the cream bowl, stir well

- Keep stirring until the color of the mixture become pink

- Put the biscuits into a plastic bag, mash it to crumb

- Put the strawberry cream into small bowls, pour the crumb on top of it

- Put them in the fridge to cool

Enjoy :)

The Daughter Reality

Sering orang bilang kalau anak perempuan itu dekat dengan ayahnya sementara anak laki-laki dekat dengan ibunya. Saya menolak untuk mempercayai hal ini. Saya punya dua-duanya, si sulung yang perempuan dan adiknya yang laki-laki. Saya ingin kedua anak ini, perempuan maupun laki-laki, dekat dengan bunda DAN ayahnya.

Tapi sekarang saya belum akan membicarakan si adik. Sekarang ini saya akan membicarakan di kakak perempuan. Yang sudah berumue 10 tahun. Kelas 5 SD. Iya, kelas LIMA! SD-nya sudah lewat setengah. Sebentar lagi teenager. Sebentar lagi SMP. Sebentar lagi mulai jalan-jalan di mall sama teman-temanya. Sebentar lagi abege. Sebentar lagi ditelpon dan didatangi anak laki-laki. Aaaarrggh!

Anak saya ini tidak bongsor macam teman-temannya, masih suka nonton kartun, dan menurut gurunya masih lebih kekanak-kanakan dibanding kebanyakan temanntya - yang dalam hati saya syukuri, karena saya ingin dia menikmati masa anak-anak sepuas-puasnya. Memang saya sering lupa kalau sebentar lagi dia sudah bukan anak SD lagi. Si ayah sepertinya malah lebih clueless lagi, Aira sepertinya akan selalu jadi little princessdi mata ayahnya.

Tapi beberapa waktu yang lalu Aira mengatakan sesuatu yang membuat saya rasanya dilempar dari dunia pastel warna-warni yang selama ini saya bayangkan kalau melihat Aira, saya dilempar ke kenyataan. Kenyataan bahwa anak ini tidak akan selamanya jadi kecil. Ini dia kalimatnya: "Bun, temen aku di sekolah udah ada yang M loh." Yak, perut saya mules seketika. Saya tidak tau siapa temannya yang sudah M alias menstruasi itu, tapi sumpah detik itu juga perut saya yang mules. Karena kalimat itu mengingatkan saya kalau pada waktunya nanti Aira juga akan menstruasi, akan menjadi remaja dan kemudian perempuan dewasa.

Saya tidak tau pastinya kapan itu akan terjadi, yang pasti saya rasanya belum siap. Dan rasanya tikan akan pernah jadi siap.Bukan hanya soal menstruasinya, tapi juga soal perkembangan sosial-emosional anak usia remaja dengan segala perubahan hormon dan mood-nya. Saat itu juga di kepala saya langsung mengevaluasi hubungan saya dengan Aira selama ini. Karena saya tahu pasti di usia remaja anak cenderung menarik diri dari orangtuanya, dan ini yang ingin saya minimalisir. Saya ingin jadi temannya, dalam kapasitas yang tepat. Bukan bunda sok asik yang bikin dia malu. Hehehe.. Saya ingin dia merasa kalau dia bisa cerita apa saja kepada saya atau ayahnya.

Si auah memang yang lebih dulu merasakan dampak dari anak perempuannya tsudah hampir abege, ketika pada suatu hari dia bercerita pada saya dengan muka patah hati kalau Aira menolak di rangkul di depan teman-temannya ketika dijemput di sekolah. Hal-hal seperti ini mungkin memang akan ada masanya, dan mungkin tidak akan selamanya, tapi si ayah lumayan merasa ditampar. Kasihaaaan.. x)

Akhirnya kami sebagai orang tua hanya bisa berbesar hati kalau masa itu sudah tiba. Ketika anak diminta untuk belajar mandiri, maka orang tua juga harus belajar, belajar untuk 'melepas'. Berat memang, tapi akan terjadi dan lebih baik terjadi. Ingat film Failure To Launch? Sudah tua masih nempel terus sama orang tua juga gak lucu kan?

Jadi, ini yang akhirnya kami lakukan. Kami melanjutkan obrol-obrol kami bersama Aira. Ayah dalam perjalanan ke sekolah, atau saat bermalas-malsan waktu akhir pekan di rumah. Aira biasanya cerita apa saja tentang sekolah dan teman-teman kepada ayah. Waktu ngobrol sama bunda sebelum tidur. Atau saat kami girls day out berdua keliling Jakarta, ke mall atau ke salon. Saya ingat dulu pertama kali creambath berdua dengan mama saya, dan saya lakukan itu bersama Aira. Jalan0jalan ke mall bukan lagi sekedar liat-liat mainan atau belu buku, tapi pilih-pilih dan beli baju atau sepatu, lalu ngopi-ngopi atau makan siang sambil ngobrol. Topik dibuka seluas-luasnya. Termasuk soal menstruasi yang sudah waktunya dibicarakan oleh ibu dan anak perempuannya. Saya memperbanya membaca soal bagaimana menghadapi anak remaja, fisiologis dan psikologis. Saya tahu kadang-kadang sebanyak apapun yang saya baca, ketika waktunya tiba insting yang akan lebih banyak berperan. Tapi saya tidak mau clueless. Saya tidak mau Aira clueless, makanya ketika ada sesuatu yang ingin dia  ketahui, saya ingin dia bisa bertanya kepada saya atau ayahnya, dan kami bisa memberikan jawaban yang baik.

Jones The Grocer

So we went to Dempsey Hill for breakfast, at Jones The Grocer to be exact. And it was great. Love love love the place. Love love love the food. Love love love Dempsey Hill. :)

Jones The Grocer is a food store concept with cafe inside. You can sit outside at the terrace or at the long tables inside. They served breakfast until 11.00 am during weekdays, and lunch starts at noon, if I'm not mistaken. Weekend brunch is from 8.30 - 3.00 pm.

I ordered Coconut Pancake (SD 12.5) and I wasn't disappointed. What I got was a plate filled with 2 fluffy thick pancakes served with vanilla ice cream, diced mangoes, syrup, and sprinkled vanilla bean.

Hubby ordered English breakfast (SD 20), and like me he didn't disappointed as well. 2 sunny side up eggs, sauteed (gigantic) mushrooms, smoked salmon, slow roasted tomato, toasts and butter. Perfection. x)

It was a great food experience that we will surely repeat again. And I love the fact that Dempsey Hill didn't seem as fast-paced as any other places in Singapore. So we took our time, slowly sipping our cups of coffee and tea, enjoying every bites of the food, no rush. We were in no hurry anyway. :)

Jones The Grocer

9 Dempsey Road

#01-12 Tanglin Village

Singapore

Travel Foodie: Singapore