Nigella's #1: Chicken Teriyaki

Ever since I got the book, I desperately wanted to try most of those recipes. So, when all my assignments done, and final exam isn't started yet, today's the right day to start my mission: Nigella's Recipes My Way.

Chicken Teriyaki was the right choice. It's everyone's favorite, easy, and fast. You can find her original recipe here, but because this mission is called "my way", so I made several changes on the ingredients list.
These are my ingredients..

325 grams of chicken fillet
1/4 cup of Korean cooking wine
1/4 cup of soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger root
2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
splash of sesame oil

...and for the steps, you can follow her's like I did.

So, how was it?

So goooood!!

You may ask my family members if you don't believe me, hahahahaha..

Crap!

This past week, I feel helpless. Every time I get into this place I feel so angry and depressed. I am no longer enjoying myself being here with them. Crap. Crap. Crap.

I need vacation!

My attempts at being a domestic goddess

Last Sunday, I spent hours flipping pages and pages of Nigella Kitchen book. I stared at almost every single picture and imagined how delicious they'd be. I was so excited to go back to the kitchen and try some of these recipes out. I even marked some with index flags divided by 3 categories.

The first category refers to easy recipes (savory ones) that suitable for those who don't have serious pallet, the ones who are picky-eaters like most of my family members and Y himself.  The second category refers to sweet stuff I'd like to try, including Nigella's legendary chocolate chips cookies and devil's cake. And the third category refers to recipes for myself just because those strange recipes are tempting!

So, this is my mission. To try her recipes with my own interpretation (and adaptation). That's why I called: Nigella's Recipes My Way.

Y will be so proud of me! nyahahahahahaha...

I am twenty-five and ready to embrace a new life!

How did I spend my birthday? I spent it awesomely!

It starts, exactly like last year, minus the not-knowing-that-he's-coming-at 0'clock, Y was the first one who greeted exactly at 0'clock with a present. Actually, we spent Saturday together (like our usual Saturdate) at home. He then went off at 11 p.m and left me knowing he'd be back in at 0'clock. And yes, he did. He came to my house again with this huge (and heavy) plastic bag.

Oh, hi!

Yeeeeeaaay!!

:D

Oh my God! Lots of :* !!!!

He got me a copy of Nigella Kitchen! To make it very special and very personal, he made the jacket himself!! Woooohooooo!!! He totally got it when we visited a bookstore and found this one available and I was just starring (and drooling at the same time. I LOVE YOU!! :*

Domestic Goddess' Bible

In the evening, (almost too late to call it evening :P), the whole family gathered (including Y and the newest member of the family - baby Darryl), had dinner and our usual humble candle-blowing ceremony. Something else also made me head over heels but I'm not going spill everything out now :D

Blow? Now?

LOVE!

The IT Baby!!

On Monday, my friend Etta greeted me and gave the present ecstatically. Frankly saying, I knew she got me this present like 3 weeks ago, but she kept it until the right time. She got me this Lego watch, which, I remembered telling her in our earliest conversation that I would love to have one *BIG GRIN*

Some cool tokens!

The blissfulness of my birthday didn't stop there. On Tuesday, I arranged an afternoon pizza party for my dearest work-mates. Since we are know working at two different buildings, I was so happy having them around and sharing laughter like we used to.

O happy family!

To sum up, I WAS SO HAPPY! (I even still feel the great happiness up until when I write this!) I'm so blessed with everything and everyone. Being 25 made me realize that now my life is really in my hand. So, whatever may come, and whatever may change, I'm ready, 'cause I'm 25 and old enough to say that I will live my own life gracefully :)

The unknown future

This morning I visited someone's blog, someone I know from college. She is now a managing editor in Jakarta's most prestigious teenage magazine. She started her career 4 years ago as an intern and ta-daaa.. look at her now.

I hate to say this, but I really envy her career path and it makes me looking even worst. I know, I started my career 2 years later than her, but hey... she got it right, while I did not. Well, what can you expect here. I can't even declare my self that I am this big-brand's copywriter. Maybe if there's such thing as a typewriter, I'll be it. The one who types, not the one who writes. I've been here for two years and nothing really has changed. Even though if I stay for another couple more years, I will still be the typewriter. No future I see. None.

I love this place, I love my friends, and just like her, I don't worry about the 'number'. That's why I stay. But then, I got this big opportunity to pursue master degree while working. Trust me, juggling two lives, as a student and as a employee, is not easy. Also, I have to be very thankful that my bosses and my colleagues are very supportive to me. So why envy her in the first place? I wasn't so sure.

Until the superego of mine whispered, "It's just a feeling of insecurity and fear of the unknown future."

"But, I want to be successful like her. I want to have a bright career!" I argued.

The superego smiled and whispered again. "You will, darling. You will and it will be as bright as hers, even more, I reckon."

I paused a minute and told her again, "Does it mean that I have to move from here? Or does it mean that I have to stick to the plan, wait for a year or so?"

"Something will lead you, girl. Just be faithful, and you'll be awesome!"

Will I?

Kamu kecil-kecil ngangenin!

Mau tau nggaaaak siapa cowok kecil yang akhir-akhir ini sering bikin kangen?

Darrylio Darileeei!!!*

:* :* :*


*Bukan nama sebenarnya hihihihi...

Oh..O!

No more joint birthday party with Ompung.
Never-ending arguments.
Thoughts about passion and future.
Dilemmatic issues between school and office.

Totally feeling lonely.

Oh.. O!
This is not how I want to spend my O.

Salemba-Bintaro Sia-Sia

Apa gunanya diusahain mati-matian kalo lo ga nganggep usaha gue penting?!?!

Sialan!

The boundaries are now called technologies

I’ve had such terrible experiences with technologies that pushed me to write those experiences here and there. Yet I just had another one and I am so sure I have to write it down here. 

One day I went to this meet-up. These people are not really strangers to me. I know them but not in a way that I know my close friends. I just know them. We spent hours nearly without some topics to talk to. Instead, they spent hours ‘talking’ with their gadgets, while I left clueless alone. BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, MacBook, you name it, they have it. The only topic they were busy talking to was the poor wifi connection. 

I’m not really a people person. Not that kind of girl that will ask you first if you happen to sit next to me anywhere in this world, from bus seats, to random meetings. I am not the one who has the big interest on some people and eager to ask them about anything. No. I am the one that shuts her mouth closely until someone asks me for something. I prefer to be drowned in my own world in the middle of bunch of unknown people. But that doesn’t mean that I cannot be in the middle of the meet-ups or party or anything. Although I’m not a people person, I cannot not communicate, in a conventional way. I value being interactive with everyone, I value the distances, I value the effort they’ve put to be there.

Can you imagine how I was at that weird meet-up? I felt awkward and totally insignificant. To sum up: I hate it. I’d rather be sitting alone, drinking coffee while watching people pass by than being in the middle of unnecessary meeting where the members are busy with their so-called techie toys. 

Oh how I love when black berries and apples were simply just fruits, and cellphone was only to call and to text.

New statuses

WOW! I know it's been forever!!

So what has happened?

New statuses.

I'm an aunt!!
Yeeeeaaaaay~
My sister-in-law finally gave birth to a handsome baby boy named Darryl Mikail Haristz. He's in a good shape, super cute and squeezable! hahahahahaha... Yesterday he just turned a month and I already spoiled him with lots of love and stuffs.

Proud aunt and 20-hour old nephew

Darryl turned a month!

And theeen...

I'm now a master student. It's going to be a tough journey since I'm juggling school and work. So, fingers crossed. I'm looking forward for the next 2 years (or possibly 1,5 years) to be graduated.

That's all for now.

How far do I have to go to get to you? Many the miles...

I've been out of this blog world for quite a long time. Actually, I got nothing interesting to tell you lately except this greatest concert I have ever been. Sara Bareilles' Concert.

Everything's perfect: the sound, the lighting, the song list. I only regret one thing: our seats. We should've bought VVIP!!!! Because the stage quite far from our seats and two girls in front of us were really annoying. I felt like her song called Many the Miles was looping over and over again.. "How far do I have to go to get to you? Many the miiiiiileeeesssss... Many the miiiileeess!!" Because, though she was there, on the stage, in the same room with us, but still felt like she's very far to get.

Anyway, Sara was gorgeous yet witty, charming and really funny. She came out with Kaleidoscope Heart and instantly grabbed everyone's attention. Let's not forget about her own version of Cee Lo Green's Forget You and Beyonce's Single Ladies. AWESOME!!!

After 3 or 4 upbeat songs, she drew us with her depressing songs. Hold My Heart was the first one and yes... I wasn't hoping for that because the song would bring back the memory of my late grandpa. I used to listen to the song when he was hospitalized. So, no question, I cried my tears the entire song and Y didn't know until he turn his head and found my teary eyes.

But that didn't ruin performance at all. I enjoyed every second of my time there. I really really appreciate her ability to communicate and entertain the audience. God bless her for spreading happiness and joy, hehehehehe...


Ah, about Mr. Javier Dunn. Actually, his performance was good. I could've enjoyed it more if I were in a front seat and drooling over his cute face hihihihi. I promised Rara to record his performance. I got it (well, Y got it) But the quality is rather low. You'd barely see his jaw-dropping jaw line.. So sorry dear.. VIP is not really VIP when you're like 50 meters away from stage -________________-

However, this one is the best we can get.

Then, I asked Y.

"Hey, did you get any great shots of Sara?"

"Nope."

Oh well... Poor us.

Next time, I promise. I will buy the most expensive ticket to watch her closer, close enough to see her skin texture, hahahaha... and bring along my proper pocket camera.

Come round again soon, please Sara?

Adieu, Lieutenant.

It's written a day after my grandpa passed away. I finally posted it days after just because I... had no strength even to proofread and post it.

I love him... and I owe him a lot. And he went away before I finally fulfill his dreams. But, as a grand daughter.. I am so very proud of him. His fighting spirit, his honesty, his warm heart will always remain in me. This post is dedicated to him, my dearest Ompung Raja.



Battle was your life.
And never once you gave up.
Because giving up is not your friend.
Life is.

And when the last battle's over.
It's not you giving your life up.
It's you, being very nice to welcome the next life.


Adieu, Lieutenant.

Love,
Cacha.

When you've been working like a dog, have some dogs. Chili dogs.

It's been a hard week for Y. He got a ton of works, several deadlines and a cranky girlfriend :P Exhausted and sleepless but still maintained our Saturdate. He came to my house quite late (around 5 pm) and hadn't eat for the whole day -________-

So, while Y hadn't arrived yet and Pak Diman was still around, I asked Pak Diman to drive me to the nearest grocery store. There were several menu items in my head and I wasn't able to decide what to cook that moment. So I grabbed all the things I needed: buns, cheese frankfurters, ground beef, onions, soy sauce, ice cream, coffee and chips. When I finally got back home, with a fixed menu in my head, I rushed to the kitchen and started to cook a beefy cheesy wholesome chili dog (without the heat, of course).

Here's the simplest recipe. It's a combination of Beef Bolognaise sauce and hot dog. Easy peasy.

Chili Sauce:
250g ground beef
4 tbsp of store-bought bolognaise sauce
1 onion
2 tbsp of tomato sauce (optional)
1 tsp of oregano
grated parmesan or cheddar cheese (depends on how cheesy you want it to be. For me, the more, the merrier :D)
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Salt and pepper to taste.

How to make chili sauce:

1. Sautee the garlic and onion with butter until they get soft
2. Stir in the ground beef until half cooked
3. Put bolognaise sauce, oregano and cheese. You may want to reserve some cheese to top the dog later.
4. Cook for 4 minutes. Don't forget to put salt and pepper and taste. If it tastes good, then you're fine :D

And of course to make real chili dog, beside the chili sauce you also need 2 buns, 2 frankfurters (or you can always change to any sausage you like), and condiments of your choice. For this, I used cheese frankfurter, regular buns, and couple tea spoons of mayo. Next is to prepare the sausages according to package instructions (I'd like to lightly fry them). When everything's ready, place sausages in buns, top with chili, drops of extra mayo and grated cheese.

Serve in a nice plate with... store-bought chips! Lays is the best thing for someone like me who find no time to fry real potato chips :P

And here it is...

Beefy Cheesy Chili Dog

Big Bite

He even complimented the chef by scoring 10 (Out of 10? Of course!)

Yeaaaay! :D

And we both had ice cream for dessert, mini ice cream.

Ice Cream + You = :)

What a wholesome Saturdate!

Three and a half months later

Remember the great farewell presents I got from those kids? Sadly, they're still in box for more than 3 months and I couldn't place them on my 'communal' desk, because it's a communal desk and I have no space for cutreness, hahahahahah... So I kept Mr.Woody and Mr. Buzz on my desk at home, boxed.

But then, three and a half months later, things changed and I returned.

 

I opened the box

1..2..3.. POSE!

Put them in a paper bag

Let them rest for a while

Donkey joined the boys

I have my own desk, space for cuteness, and happiness. 

Yeeeaaay!

My Why List

Have you ever annoyed with something, some people, because of their acts and you don't have the guts to really ask them in front of your face just because...? Inspired by Ditha's recent post, I'd love to make my own why list.

Well... I have.. and I want to spill em all here.

1. Why... why do you have to have 2 (or even more.. ck!) Facebook accounts with slightly different names and still invite me to be on your friend list (while I'm already on your friend list on the other account) ?!?!

2. Why my sister is easily obsessed with something? Once, it was Avril Lavigne, then American Idol, then the Gosselin kids, and now.. the Korean boyband/girlband. Yes, it's a MAJOR OBSESSION. Like... where ever I go (in this house), there's always those songs... And I'm dying to shut them up. Seriously. I love Korea, its people, its language, its drama, its Clazziquai, its technology, its culture, its food and its Soul city. But, to hear the.. oh-my-God-not-again songs... is... really annoying!

3. Why Blackberry users cannot, for a second, put their hands off the thing and enjoy the moment without it?

4. Why snob people exists and survive the industry? Or does the industry turn nice people to snob people?

5. Why parents let their kids play Grand Theft Auto? Seriously, WHY?!

6. Why they keep building malls in Jakarta? Why don't they build more playgrounds or parks?

7. Why corruptors corrupt?

8. Why people are so proud of their so-called prestigious credit cards??

Oh, it will get longer.. hahahahahahahah.. but I guess I'm quite satisfied just to write down the questions. And you.. are welcome to answer any of those questions.

To Treasure Happiness

Lately, people been asking me question that starts with "why" and ends with "?" because of the "3 months only" thingy... So here's my answer...

At the end of the day, a trooper decided to leave the war. Not because she's a quitter, NO. She just knew that the war isn't right anyway.

So, thank you for asking. I'm now ready to treasure happiness.. :)

Simplicity by Brandon Lee

I was browsing here and there and happened to find this blog with this video attach on it. I took time to watch it and this is a feel-good film. I love the simple idea and the execution. And I think I love it more because it has things about cooking, writing and love in between. It's simply beautiful!

Re-opening Chota Homemade Delicacies: Ditha's Order for Her Mom's Birthday

Oh, hello!
It's Sunday afternoon and I'm exhausted but I'm proud to say that I am back to my kitchen! HAA!!

It felt great taking an order from Ditha for her mother's birthday. I had not take orders since... months ago, so this time, I just believe in my guts to take an order of 2 dozens of chicken mayo risolles and 2 dozens of chocolate almond tartlets. Quite brave, huh? Hahahahaha...

Yesterday afternoon I went grocery shopping and when I got home, I rushed to the kitchen and started to make the ganache filling for the chocolate almond tartlets. After that, I prepared chicken mayo filling for the risoles, made the crepes from scratch, filled, folded, rolled the risolles and froze them neatly. And then I started to feel tired, hahahahaha. Not to mention, a wedding party after that and tartlets filling session before I finally hit the bed at 1 a.m.

Finally Sunday came and risolles were not fried yet. I woke up quite late (6.30), thawed the risolles, prepared the boxes, and fried them all. At 10 a.m, I was standing in front of Ditha's house and rang a bell.

What a relieve to see her mother's expression when I handed the boxes and said, "Happy birthday, Tante. These are from your lovely daughter, Ditha."

Here are some pictures of them. I was really in a rush so don't expect great pictures. Next time, I'll take more time to shoot drooling images :P

Happy customers are worth the pain... yes, my both arms are in pain from rolling too many risoles and filling too many tartlets, hahahaha..

Thanks Ditha for the order. Next order, please.. :D

Updated: She wrote the other side of the story on her own blog. Check it out!

Earphones Were Created For Some Reasons

Hey mister!

Have you ever wondered why earphones or headphones (whatever the name) were created? What? You haven't? Okay, let me tell you some things, that I think, were the reasons why they created such things. It only took simple logic to find out the reasons, so I think, I think, you, yourself, know them so well. Because, you look (and act) like a smart-ass. But let me help you out because maybe you're too smart for these simple elaborations.

First of all, people are born individually. Each person has their own things. Each person has their own preferences for everything, e.g. how they like their steaks done, how they choose color for t-shirt, what is their best time to enjoy coffee, what kind of music they listen to, and so on.

The earphones, by the way, were created to meet the specific preference of music. Some people want to listen their favorite songs and enjoy them all alone. Because, maybe, they don't want anybody else to know what are they listening to at the moment. Some people need to solemnly enjoy their songs with minimum noises. Because, again, maybe, they need to listen to each sound in detail. Or maybe they just want to get the 'mood' from the song. Or, maybe... they just don't want to disturb others with the songs they're playing, just because they're sociable.

Sociable? Yes. And 'social' is the keyword to my second reason. People are social creatures. We literally depend on each other. We share the air, we live on the same planet. We belong to the community, thus, we need to compromise. We have to respect each other. We cannot force somebody to like what they don't like. Even though it's something we deeply love. We cannot share everything, just because we think it's okay to share it. So, when you have your own playlist with songs you love, doesn't mean everybody has to listen to them too, right? What if they hate the songs? What if they cannot work with songs? What if your choice of songs frustrate them? That is why earphones are created.

There you go. My own top reasons why earphones were created. So, why don't you plug your earphones into your ears and stop bothering us with your playlist. Why everybody else plug their earphones and you're not? Mind your surroundings, would you?

But, please don't misinterpret those reasons. There are times when you have to plug out your earphones and start to listen to your surroundings. There are times when you need to listen to what other brings.

New Comfy Yoi Shoes

Hello and happy new year for all of you :)

So this is my first post in 2011 and it's not about how I spent my new year's eve. I'll let Rara spill every single detail of it on her own blog(s). She got the photos (and the illustration) by the way.

Okay, on this post, I will introduce you to my new pair of (urhmm..) yo'i shoes. Yes. Some of you might still remember the last pair I bought with Y and how they turned out to be not so comfortable to wear. (Sorry, dear. Blame the shoes, don't blame your choice. I love you for that anyway :D) And some of you might have read the homecoming story when I got 'teased' by Cak Wier because of that old shoes. I told my mom about it and her reaction was obvious: she insisted me to get new pair of shoes.

So that last Sunday, January 2, My mom and dad took me to Pondok Indah Mall to find shoes. Being pushed that way, I was really hoping I could get that darn shoes easily without the after-wear side effect. And then, there were they. Two pairs of Reebok. Sitting nicely on the rack with the label "Kids" on it. White and velcro. One with black accent on the back, and the other one with pink accent.

I wasn't sure at first, that they would fit in my feet well because they're size 37 they're the biggest (because they're for kids!). But, hey. I got flexy-feet! How could I almost forget that?! My feet can fit a range of sizes, from 37 to 41. Cool, huh?

So, Ta-daaaa!

I've been wearing them for 3 days straight. They're super comfortable and cute enough to be adored. Right?