Sunday, December 15, 2013

Pepaya Kalimantan

Papaya Kalimantan 2

I'm sorry, it was gone before I knew it. Couldn't help myself.

In Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, I came across this pepaya, or papaya as you may know, brought by my dear friend Rina Ahdalina. They call it Pepaya Hawaii. But I don't think it was the same as Pepaya Hawaii I once found being sold at Total Buah. This pepaya was smaller, way smaller, and way sweeter.

In between baking cookies for the next day seminar, we enjoyed spooning these babies and gulping its succulent burning orange meat like monkeys :D

I brought back some of them --so did Nadrah --, and yeah, you can see they're gone very fast.

Indonesian fruits are amazing. I always prefer our local grown fruits from the fake-fresh imported ones. Unfortunately not many of them make it to Jakarta. In many cases they are directly sent overseas to importer countries, usually the best variants in the bunch. And the locals were left with limited stock, only enough for them to eat, not enough crops to be sold to other parts of Indonesia --and Indonesia is indeed a big country.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Sagon Sembur

Sagon1

Oh, how food can be so nostalgic. It takes you to the time and place where your heart is. Is it that romantic or is it just me?
I was born the youngest of seven children and we had a dearest nanny we considered as our second mother. I mean, seriously. I remember everytime she had to go mudik, my sister and me, as the last youngsters under her caretaking- yes, she took care all seven of us since we were newborn babies- my sister and me would cry unstoppably, scream, kick, temper tantrum all the way, didn't wanna let her go, couldn't handle her going away. I still remember the feeling. It was like half of your soul was forcefully taken away from you, hurt and dying. She was wonderful to us. She loved us dearly and genuinely just like her own children, no fakeness, no politics. Unconditionally, just like my Mom did. And she remained our closest "family" until the day she died at a very old age, possibly more than a hundred.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Berkebun itu (Ternyata) Melangsingkan

Butterfly

Almarhumah mama saya sangat hobi berkebun. Beliau adalah seorang gardener handal. Halaman rumah kami selalu mempesona siapa saja yang datang berkunjung maupun sekedar lewat di depan rumah. Apapun yang mama tanam, selalu tumbuh subur! Bisa ditebak, halaman rumah kami hijau royo-royo, cantik oleh warna-warni bebungaan, juga penuh tanaman obat, bumbu, sayur-mayur dan buah-buahan. Belimbing sayur, pare, oyong, pandan, daun mangkokan, daun poh-pohan, pohon kunyit, kencur, cabe, daun sirih, lidah buaya, daun dewa. Pohon delima, anggur, pisang, jambu bangkok, jambu air, pepaya. Cocor bebek, kuping gajah, bunga sepatu, mawar, melati, sedap malam, gladiol, bougenville, kana, dan bunga-bungaan lain yang saya tidak tau nama-namanya. Koleksi anggrek memenuhi sisi dinding halaman yang berbatasan dengan tetangga dan pagar rumah. Pohon belimbing besar dan tinggi berbuah sepanjang tahun, biasa saya panjat dan duduki dahannya sambil mengunyah belimbing matang segar yang baru dipetik. Kami pernah memiliki pohon pakis yang dirawat mama sejak masih tunas sampai tumbuh besar dan berharga mahal, anggrek hitam yang langka, pohon sakura merah jambu yang bunganya sungguh rimbun ketika berbunga, hingga 3 batang pohon cengkeh besar dan tinggi di halaman! Saya ingat ketika pohon cengkeh itu berbunga, hasilnya sampai bisa dijual dengan hasil yang lumayan :).

Saya biasa melihat mama mengenakan sepatu botnya, duduk di atas dingklik di halaman rumah. Gunting tanaman, pot, ember, sekop kecil, berserakan di sekitarnya. Berbalut sarung tangan karet, tanpa ragu tangannya meraup tanah, menyekop pupuk kandang, mengatur pot, memangkas ranting, wajahnya serius tapi berseri-seri, tenggelam dalam suka cita merawat semua tanaman dengan penuh cinta!

Fresh Tomatoes Rawit

Nah, kebetulan kemarin saya membaca sebuah artikel yang menerangkan hubungan antara kegiatan berkebun dengan penurunan berat badan. Ternyata aktifitas ini membakar kalori lumayan banyak. Seketika saya teringat mama dan kebun indahnya. Bagaimana tekunnya beliau merawat setiap tanaman, pastilah beratus-ratus kalori terbakar tanpa perlu pergi ke gym. Tips-tips dalam artikel ini sungguh cihuy, menyadarkan saya bahwa berkebun bisa jadi sebuah latihan fisik yang bisa kita jalankan tanpa merasa berolahraga, asalkan kita membiasakan diri memperhatikan beberapa hal penting. Seperti memulai dengan perlahan, memperhatikan postur dan posisi tubuh, menggerakkan tubuh dengan stabil dan halus, dan menyelaraskan antara gerakan otot perut dan punggung. Dan yang paling penting, atur pernapasan. Lalu tiap 10 menit berdiri dan meregangkan lengan, kaki, dan punggung. Ah, serasa full sweat yoga!

Lebih lengkapnya, sila langsung diklik: Tips Berkebun Untuk Menurunkan Berat Badan

Artikel yang sarat tips tersebut juga membuat saya teringat janji belajar berkebun di awal bulan depan bersama seorang teman yang punya lesung pipit di kedua belah pipinya. Meski mewarisi sebagian besar hobi mama, urusan berkebun ini entah kenapa belum pernah saya sentuh. Setelah membaca artikel tadi, saya jadi makin semangat berkebun! Dengan segala manfaatnya, mulai dari aspek olah fisik hingga ketahanan pangan organik, saya akhirnya bisa melakoni hobi mama berikutnya untuk saya tekuni. Setelah semua hal baik yang beliau wariskan, kini satu lagi menyusul saya teruskan.

Lagipula, kayaknya lucu juga main tanah ketika saya lagi bosan berenang atau lari di hutan, lalu beberapa bulan kemudian panen bumbu dapur dan sayur mayur. Atau memetik bunga aster segar untuk saya letakkan di atas meja dapur.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

What's Left..

What is left
You'd think a plain cookie with a few chocolate chips folded into the mixture would be a simple matter. It's not. It's never difficult to make, just difficult to get right. 
~ Nigella Lawson

These were what I was left with. Three cookies. No more, no less. And even those were already booked by a friend. So basically, I got nothing left. Really. Well, I guess that just sums up how good they really were.

Monday, July 8, 2013

My Up and Coming Hero!

Wholewheat Chocolate Chips Cookies 1

This is the wholewheat chocolate chips cookies I ranted about in the last post. Made it several times by now,  I keep craving for more. I tweaked the recipe to my liking and got me my best fool-proof version of comfort cookies. It is that good I am proud enough to include in my next Idul Fitri selection cookies to sell. It will be my up and coming hero!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

About Wholewheat Cookies and A Beautiful Orange Pie

Japanese Roll Cake Tiger Roll

Being a die hard fan of homemade cookies and wholewheat flour, I think I was destined to find this recipe by Betty Crocker. A chocolate chips recipe using full wholewheat flour. I was drooling right away I couldn't wait to try baking it. It was a lazy afternoon today, typical afternoon when we had to stay home due to the unpredictable stormy weather recently. I got butter and wholewheat flour waiting to use up. Got whitesugar-palmsugar-cinnamon mixture leftover from making churros the other day (which by the by, never had the chance to blog about, 'coz it's all gone before even finished cooling, oh my..). Got dark 70% couverture chocolate button, then I baked away.

I halved and tweaked the recipe to my convenience, so mine did not look like the ones in the picture on Betty Crocker's web site. They were mounded more and rather smooth on top than crinkled. But, hell baby, were they so goooood....!