Beef Rendang

I usually cook this special dish for my hubby. He love it so much specially If I'm the one who cooked. one of the reason is because he only can stand the spice with  max 3 Big chilly ( on my opinion that is not spicy at all or barely spicy!! ).  Rendang food It’s supposed to be  spicy. hope the west Sumatra people not feel offended to know the recipe modify by me.
Even though I'm not  a moeslem I like to invite my friend to Idul Fitri dinner, I made Rendang Sapi, sambal Ijo ( green chili sambal ) and Sambal Goreng ati.  I just feel a bit not complete without the lontong sayur and the small cookies that usually come along such a nastar ( pineapple filled cookies ), putri salju ( almond cookies cover with snow sugar ) but, well, one a year it's ok to be different. 


I agree with my friend Indo Eats said that many Indonesians who live in abroad don’t have any patience to cook it. It takes hours to get the perfect rendang in taste and appearance. ( it almost same like cooking french cuisine named beef bourgogne soup... it takes hours and long!!!). For me it doesn't matter because as soon as all the ingredients are inside the pan, I can just put the timer and leave it until the timer rang. Guaranty, you will never missed it if you do like I did.

The authentic rendang is supposed to be dry but since my hubby doesn't like dry food.  I always make the Rendang a bit extra liquid. I know it's look  different but the taste pretty much is a good. I knew it because by accident I over hear that my moms tell my family that I can cooked now since I made a rendang that fit to her taste.

To get the closest taste, my mom ever told me to use daun kunyit (tumeric leaves). She did plant last year on my back yard and now I can use those leaves for my cooking, a lot.  my mom also told me that this leaves giving very special flavour.


Rendang Daging Padang

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 30 mins
Cook 4 hours

Ingredients:

• 1kg 450 g beef (my mom always told me to choose the best part of the beef, she called Haas meat but since I don't have here I replace with beef Bourguignon )
• 2 Canned  (800ml ) coconut milk 
• 1 sachet coconut milk powder
• 1 tbsp of Tamarind paste 
• Peper
• salt as desired

Leaf Spices (REMPAH DAUN):

• 3 Daun salam ( can be replace with bay leaves )
• 4 Lime leaves
• 2 lemongrasses, cut 3 cm long of the top parts(set aside) and bruise the rest

Other Spices to blend well:

• 3 pcs big red chillies  as desired
• 10 shallots
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 cm long galangal
• 4 cm long ginger
• 2 top parts of lemongrass that are cut into 3 cm long
• 3 lime leaves,
• 1 tbsp coriander seed
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 7 pcs Candle nuts ( Kemiri )
• Salt

Directions:
1.  Blend the spices in the food processor until smooth
2.  Reheat the oil, fry the spices ( wait until the spices produce oil )
3.  Bring the Beef / meats and stir until the oil come out,
3. Add coconut milk, coconut powder with REMPAH DAUN
4.  Bring to a boil and stir once a while.
5.  Add tamarind paste, salt and pepper. Let cook until the mixture starts to oil and thick. At this stage, the fragrant aroma of spices begins to smell.
6.  Reduce to low heat and stir once a while. When the liquid absorbs, it’s time to add stirring frequency, so the mixture is not going to be scorched on the bottom. Savory aroma starts to come out. Keep stirring until darken, dry and oily.

Fruit Salad for hot summer

I got this peach fruit from farmer market next to my home last Saturday. The seller keep telling me that the fruit is extra sweet. Ok. I got it.,I though he just want to sell his stuff, right!! so I didn't realize this fruit until this morning. That is because of  I have my sister in law family coming  for vacation in the area. They came from Dijon, about 700km from my place. It's really nice to have a family visit sometime. my kids can see and play with their cousins more then usual. They already spent time together at my parents in law in early Juli, but I guess for kids that's not enough.
Ok, back to my back of fruits, after the guess gone, as a routine, I start cleaning up the fridge, and what I found? Voila, bags of Peach Fruits. I found the peach in the drawer of my fridge. so I got excited thinking what should I do with this fruit. I plan to make fruit salad as a dessert .
It's true.. the fruits are so juicy and sweet.. I should return to that seller next Saturday to buy some more fruit!!
to make the fruit salad even better, I just add a drop of lemon juice and pinch of fresh Mint leaves..

Mie Baso

No matter where you go, when you craving this kind of street food ( which is always impossible to find the same taste like you had before in Indonesia ), it always  make you feel homesick of Indonesia.. that happen to me .. a lot..
That's why I always have a stock of noodle in the placard and home made meatballs ready in freezer.
I guess I don’t have to say all of this, because I'm sure you are all agree..


1 pack of Noodle
6 pcs of Beef Meatball
Celery
Fried Onion
Chily sauce
1 egg


 How to make it

1.  Boil hot watter
2. add the fresh / frozeen meet ball
3noodle cook about 3 minutes
4. in the bowl, Combine all the sauce or spice  from the noodle package, add little bit of hot watter to blend the sauce
5. Pour the noddle to the bowl, put back the watter to fire and add eggs to boilled
6. add the rest of the ingredients on top of the noodle
7. Add the egg on top of the noodle
Ready to serve while still hot..

Foei Gras

You will only can find this kind of dish during the fiesta or celebration like Christmas, new year or some other special celebration, you can named it.

for most of American people (that I knew), they wouldn't dare to eat this kind of dish one of the reason is because they always think first how unfriendly / inhuman they treat the duck to get the big liver.. for myself, thank you very much, I don't want to know the detail..I just want to enjoy the delicious dish in front of me.

Ingredients

• 600g duck liver
• 2 figue , cut in two
• pinch of Salt 
• pinch of Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Porto

Duck liver ( Foie Gras )

this dish always makes Christmas or any celebration complete, I always try to make my own with my mother in law recipe.

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 30 mins
Cook 15 mins
Plus setting

1. Cut away and discard any large sinews from the livers, then set the livers aside. 
2. Cut the figue in 2, 
3. Season the livers generously, then tip the contents of the terinne  and blitz until smooth. Push the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, taste for seasoning, then tip into a serving dish, banging the dish down on the tabletop to smooth out the surface. Place in the fridge cover it ( leave in the fridge around 2 hours )            
4. Reheat the oven 150C  and place the terinne foei gras in bain marie ( water bath ) about 1 hour    
5. Remove from the oven and cool off  before you keep for in the fridge. 

Make ahead
You can make the foei gras up to 4 days ahead, making sure it's properly covered with cover. It can also be frozen for a month, but start defrosting it in the fridge 2 days before serving.

===========================================

Confiture D'Oignon

INGREDIENTS

Pour 6 personne(s)

- 2 Oignons rouges + 2 oignons jaunes émincés ( 2 Red Onion And White Onion )
- 30 g de beurre ( 30 gr Butter )
- 150 g de sucre semoule ( 150gr sugar )
- 1 cuil. à café de vinaigre balsamique ( 1 tsp balsamique Vinegar oil)
- 4 cl de grenadine ( 4tsp grenadine syrop )
- 1 cuil. à café de piment d'espelette ( 1 tsp ground hot chilly )
- Vin rouge, un côte de Blaye ou un Bergerac rouge ( red wine )
- Salt
Optional : 2 Apple , blend it.

PREPARATION

* Put the butter in the frying pan, add the onion already slice, cook about 3 minute ( Dans une casserole mettre du beurre ajouter les oignons émincés, faire cuire à feu doux 3 mn.)

* after that add sugar, vinegar, grenadine, salt and ground chilly, pour the red wine on top of the Onions. leave it cook for 1h30 minute with medium fire. (Puis ajouter le sucre, le vinaigre, la grenadine, sel et piment, verser le vin rouge à hauteur des oignons, et laisser réduire pendant 1h30 à feu moyen.)

* as an optional you can add the puree apple  during the slow cook.

Red and White in August

I would presented this  salad  for special event with red and white theme for food blogger that I follow. hope can fit to the theme.

Since I got a lot of stock of cherry tomato growing so fast in my garden. what I need to do is just add some Mozarella cheese.

Ingredients :
Bunch of Cherry tomato
Mozzarella cheese

Sauce:
Vinegar Oil
Mustard 
Olive oil
1 tsp honey
Mint / coriander leaves

How to :
1. Rinse tomatoes with clean water. Drain
2.Drain the water on mozzarella cheese from the package ( usually there is a water in the  package). Put aside.

Sauce:
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp vinegar oil
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey

Mixed well all the ingredients of sauce and pour on top of the salad that you already prepare in the plate.

Voila, Bon appétit

Salsa Sauce

I love salsa sauce. Since last year I keep buying the coriander bucket for my salsa sauce, those tiny bucket are so expensive,  this year I got a courage to do semi the grain of coriande. so I can have my own coriander in my garden. the idea to make salsa sauce today is perfect. cloudy and rain.. At least fresh salsa sauce can bring back the summer taste in our mouth ....   

 

Ingredients

• 250g  fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 mild chillies, finely chopped
• bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
• salt, to taste
• 
  
  lime juice, to taste
  
  
  
  
  
  Methods:
  Combine all ingredients. add Tortillas chips to dips the salsa sauce
  
  
  
  
  
  

Something About summer

These were the gigantic tomatoes I grew in my garden this year.
I loved how big and strong they looked. How watery they felt in the mouth. Fresh and light in the same time
I kept them for my hubby, knowing how much he’d enjoy les premiers tomat du jardin.
I also plan cherry tomatoes, not much only 4 small tree, that's just for myself , every day Most of the time while I watering the garden, I can just pick and eat them, they are so fresh and yummy.
It’s a small and simple thing, and it might sound silly, but these tomatoes made me feel very excited. And happy. Because my hubby loved them. Because I grew them myself.
Every day. Most of the time, I used them in salads or salsa sauce. But at other times, we preferred to eat them nature as an appetiser. or if some of green tomate  so tempting to eat, I made a Sambal Hijau ( spicy green chilly blend with green tomat ), it always remain me of Sambal Ijo from Padang restaurant in Jakarta.

 

Sambal Ijo Padang
  (Green Chili and tomato sauce )

Ingredients: 
250gr green chilli
150gr green tomato
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed  lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt 
5 pcs Shallots
4 pcs Garlic
4 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying  
1 sachet bumbu rendang
4 lime leaves


Methods:
Combine all ingredients.squeezed lemon juice before blend the all ingredients (so the color will stay green ).
fry the ingredients with small fire ( about 15 minutes)