Recipe: No muss salad

This is for when I really really want to eat a handful of savory food, but hate to eat too much calories from a normal meal.

What you need:
Bowl
knife
fork

Ingredients:
2 medium sized Carrot, slice thin and long, use slicer or peeler if needed.
1 tbs of diced onion
2 tbs of mayonnaise
lemon, make 1 tbs of juice from it

How to make:
1. Slice the carrot, mix with onion
2. add in lemon juice and mayonnaise, stir and let sit well for about 20 mins in fridge
3. eat.

Recipe: steamed macaroni schotel

So, I was thinking to eat macaroni schotel but I don't have an oven to bake. I decided to do the steamed version of it.

what you need:
a small pot to boil the pasta
a bigger pot to steam the bowl of schotel
bowl, I am using my usual 20 cm diameter bowl (8 cm depth)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of pasta, elbow/fettuccine/spaghetti/any pasta
1/3 cup of milk
2 eggs, battered
2 clove of garlic, crush and mince
1 medium sized onion, dice
50 grams of minced beef
1/4 cup of grated cheese
1 tbs of butter


How to cook it:
1. Boil pasta to cook. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. melt butter, saute garlic and onion to fragrant.
3. Throw in beef and cook until the beef turned from pink to dark brown/gray
4. throw in a bit of salt, stir. Throw in the pasta. Stir for another 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
5. Mix battered egg and milk. add in salt and pepper.
6. Throw in the sauted pasta into it and mix well.
7. Put the mix into the bowl, and steam it with low heat for about 20 mins. Make sure you don't fill the bowl more than 3/4 of it.

You can change the pasta with sliced potato. You can also add diced tomatoes into the schotel.

Human minion

My human minion is trying to make me a DIY scratching post. That lazy minion stopped middle way and went to cook something. 

Finish it, you human minion! I am waiting...

Another adoption

One of my avocado got adopted! And we are heading that way.... To its new home. Riding a metromini...

knitting my way back

Trying to dig myself out of depression, I started picking up my needles again. I've been avoiding the knitting needles for quite a while now, and I just think that I should do something about it.

I gave away my blue teal trefoil to my aunt, and convince myself that it is now in good hands. It's quite difficult to part with that shawl, as it is just so damn beautiful. I still have my blue teal stash, so ... no better way than to leave it in my stash cupboard.

So I started to knit distant hours. Third time's the charm!

Recipe: Steamed banana bread pudding

Woops, second recipe posting.

This is for one 20-cm diameter bowl-pan (8 cm depth)

Tools you need:
- mixer or egg whisk
- juice extractor or blender, optional
- steamer or big pan
- pan made from well-tempered glass or ceramics that can withstand steaming
- knifes, cutting board, etc etc

Ingredients:
- 4 slices of bread, you can also use days old bread, as this is one of my way to salvage uneaten bread.
- 6 Bananas, peel and make thin coin slices (around 5 mm, around probably quarter inch)
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tbs of brown sugar, or subtitute with 1 tbs white sugar
- 1 tbs of white sugar, or omit if you like brown sugar only
- 10 pcs of pandan leaves, or substitute with 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
- 1 cup of milk or coconut milk
- 1 table spoon of butter, melt it.
optional ingredients, any or all of them:
- cheese, grated
- raisins
- chocolate sprinkles, or we call it muisjes.
- tiny cubes of jackfruit
- cinnamon (powder: mix at the same time with vanilla. bark: during steaming)

How to make it:
1. Cut the pandan leaves into 2 cm long and extract the juice. Add to 100 ml volume. If you don't have that much pandan, you can just use one leave and cut it 2 cm long, and later put them on top of the banana pudding while you are steaming it.
2. Tear bread into small pieces. Or not, if your pan is just the size of the bread. Soak into the pandan leaves extract. If you are not using the pandan leaves extract. No need to soak.
3. Mix the eggs, sugars, milk/coconut milk, melted butter and the pandan leaves extract (vanilla) left from soaking the bread.
4. Put the banana slices into the pan to make one layer, Lay off the bread on top of it. If you have optional ingredients, sprinkle them here. Put more banana, bread, and the optional ingredients again. Make sure you don't exceed 3/4 of the pan depth, as the pudding will grow.
5. Heat water in the steamer or pan, put the pandan leaves (if you don't use extract) on top of the pudding and steam the banana pudding in low heat for 30 mins.
6. And you are done....

How to eat it:
- Scoop it in a small bowl and eat it for breakfast, or afternoon snack with your tea.
- Dessert: scoop and add
Alternatively, you can also use one layer of pudding and steam them in small bowls.

Have a little faith

So remember when i bought some mint and decided to salvage some to grow it with a little help of my water retaining bubbles?

Well... It indeed slow down the rate of decay and the leaves did stayed fresh (majorly) for 3 days. Nevertheless, i think the post harvest treatment is a bit bad as so many of them died starting from the middle stem, despite the new emerging root from the lower nodes. Pardon my scientific gibberish.

It end up with only few stems left, as one by one the whole stem decayed and it basically kills the leaves. Dead leaves = no significant photosynthesis = less possibility of root forming.

I decided to maintain two of the stems i salvaged as it showed apex growth as well as root growth, despite of the almost dead stem.

So i still have a little faith on this stem:

Back to Natural, Beauty recipes

Another post that I never thought that I would post. But... as it is really good... I think I should just write it down, just in case y'all need it.

For those who wants to go straight to the products, here is the product I am using daily:
erha 2 for oily skin (soap)
or alternatively, I use Hada Labo Tamagohada face peeling (also good for make up remover)
or Hada Labo es foaming face wash for sensitive skin

Daily moisturizer
Hada Labo Gokujyun lotion (they have light for oily skin and heavy for dry skin, initially, they only provide one, which was also ok)
or alternatively, I use the Gokujyun alpha anti aging lotion (red colored gokujyun)
Hada Labo SPF 50 UV protection (love it. it does not look like a sticky banana boat and friends)

When my oily skin suddenly went dry
Hada Labo Gokujyun milk (wham!!! dry skin go away!)

When I need to moisturize my skin so it won't be so oily:
Olive oil
Virgin Coconut Oil

When I need to wear make up
Revlon Colorstay Photoready

So, I have a vitiligo and I am a bit paranoid against cosmetics and any chemicals on my face. I am just worry that any of those chemicals will trigger something on my immune system and those immune soldiers will start to eat my melanin again. My dermatologist, who "fixed" my last vitiligo super outbreak (maybe 10 years ago), had given me a coumarin derived medication, forgot what's the name, but it is basically burning my skin so it will tan quickly and return my skin color. It does cover lots of the part that lost its color, around my lips and at the tip of toes and fingers, but it also tanned areas around it as I was not neat enough.

Anyways, back to the cosmetics. My dermatologist continued to give me his cosmetics (he is one of the franchise local dermatologist who produced cosmetics). That cosmetics actually peeled my skin, in a good way (not for the first few months) and well, I can say that my skin looks faboulous. But I feel that is not normal. Once I leave the cosmetics, my skin became dull within months.

I decided... this has to change. I stick to the soap from my dermatologist, which is Erha 2 for oily skin, as I still think that IT IS THE BEST face soap that I've ever used. It never fail me in removing make up, I have never seen any comedo or black heads (or white) outbreak while using only that, so I am perfectly happy with the soap. But I still have issues in finding the best moisturizer and friends.

So while I was in Singapore, I saw this brand called Hada Labo (Indonesian link here))and I thought why it claims that it is the no.1 selling moisturizer (lotion for face, long story, discuss later) in Japan. I was skeptical, but when I saw a Taiwanese TV program talk about it, I was sort of convinced and bought the Gokujyun milk instead of lotion (big mistake, but anyways, I still have it for severe dry skin remedy).

Only after I went back to Indonesia that I bought the full set of Hada Labo Gokujyun during a sale, and found out that the price of this product in Indonesia is so much cheaper as it is locally produced! Can't you imagine how happy I am? :)

I still unable to get my hands on Hada Labo es, for sensitive skin, but I am quite happy with my current access. I got the SPF 50 from my sister (well, it costs SGD 20, sooo expensive, but it lasts for months. Just like my erha 2 that lasts for 6 months at least).

Few months before I left Singapore, I started to use Palmer's skin therapy oil with Rosehip fragrance to remove uneven skin tone. My face is blotchy, like some part of it superwhite and some part of it is tan. Maybe thanks to the peeling cosmetics from my dermatologist + my tendency for vitiligo. I still feel that my face skin tone is still uneven, but you can't really see it unless you are scrutinizing with a strong light. After that, I started to use olive oil (Ginvera Bio Pure Olive Oil), and then I bought a VCO Cocolicious when I went to Manila in May. It's for food actually, but it so damn natural, it smells good, and it doesn't oxidize as fast as Palmer's. Been using that ever since.

To remove make up, I use my olive oil or just a normal baby oil (my fave is johnson's and johnson's baby oil with aloe vera). I put the oil on my left palm, dip my right 3 middle fingers into the oil and massage my face. Be very careful around the eyes, wipe it outwardly. After you massage all of the face with oil, use a cotton ball or ordinary facial cotton, dab a little oil on it, and wipe those make up off your face. After all make up layers have been removed, wash your face with facial wash (warm preferably, but with my erha 2, I don't need to worry about this). Immediately dab your face with towel, and use your moisturizer immediately. For me, I just need to pat my Gokujyun lotion. On days when I feel like I had abused my skin, I will go directly to olive oil or VCO.

I also use the VCO to treat my hair, by mixing it with honey, and leave it for at least 30 mins. Warm it with steam or hot towel, and wash with hot/warm water to ensure complete oil removal.

How has my skin been doing?

Great! I don't have those white or black heads as much as I was before. I usually need to do facial to remove the comedos every 1-2 months. Now it's been 3 months and my skin still feels clean. I just realized how my skin looks after I met a friend who told me that my skin looks great, and that when I am holding my concealer, I have nothing to conceal :p. Humble brag? I hope not. But I sincerely suggesting to use VCO and other oils for your skin. If my supersensitive skin can handle it, I'm quite sure yours should be able too.

Recipe: Green Bean Soup

Actually, I promised myself not to write recipes as it is so not my kind of thing (according to my dear sister and mother). But I found out that I lost a lot of my notes over the year... so I figured out that maybe I should just write it down here.

So... let me state my disclaimer: I am not a good cook. The recipe(s) I am sharing is merely my raw calculation, definitely not a guarantee to make the result good. So... you are at your own risk, basically.

As I am currently sick, and as a single living alone, I had to cook for myself, regardless. Utilizing my lovely Sanken Rice Cooker, my idea of ideal cooking is that I can throw everything into that rice cooker and it will cook just find when I leave it. Few months ago, I tried to find some recipes that I can just throw in, and this is my fave when I feel weak to cook. And, it's friendly to my angry belly.

blablabla, So here's the recipe:

Tools:
Rice cooker, or just pot and stove
measuring cup
spatula

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Mung bean, or green bean
2 cups of water
100 grams of palm sugar, or javanese brown sugar
ginger, maybe just a cube of 2 x 2 cm, less if you don't like gingery taste, vice versa.
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of vanilla
cinnnamon (those small barks or 1/2 tsp of the powder)
2 pcs of pandan leaves (omit if you don't have)
white sugar, if you feel so.
1/2 cup of Coconut milk

How to make it:
1. soak the mung bean in water for at least 2 hours. Use hot water if you want it faster.
2. throw in the mung bean and 2 cups of water, turn the heat on, close with a lid, wait until it is slightly simmer, and then add palm sugar , as well as ginger, salt, white sugar, pandan leaves and vanilla.
3. Two choices of the soup. Soupy style and porridge style. To get the soupy style, the mung bean should look bloomed already, and the soup should be brown colored almost translucent. Porridge style should be thick, like a normal porridge.
4. Add in the coconut milk. Wait until it simmer again, be careful so that the coconut milk stays "intact". Occasionally, stir the soup while waiting for it to simmer.
5. And you are done.

How to eat it:
Traditionally: take a small cup and eat it hot.
Alternatively: take a scoop of vanilla ice cream and eat it together with the soup/porridge. Better porridge, if I may suggest.
Summery: Freeze the soup to popsicle

When you need a little help

Few weeks ago, i bought mint from the grocery, tried to root it but miserably failed. I was guessing it was due to the water viscosity that doesn't really "inviting" for mint's root to sprout.

So... I remembered back then when i was in taiwan, i used jelly balls that retain water as planting media. It's wet, but not that wet to let the plant rot.

It's the second day and i already some root emerge. I hope that this ain't false hope and silently praying that all these mint cuttings can survive. It's a bit hard as the mint are not freshly cut from alive plant. But compared to the leaves i put in the storage, these mints surely look like that they are fresh. The leaves looks vigor and the cuttings look strong. I did have to remove one or two stalks that looks like passed their wilting point. So i hope they'll grow just fine. I want to have pots of mints at home.

More plants

Some of my plants died as i went for vacation for a week. Felt sad, but i didnt have that much choice anyway. 

I went to the market to buy lemongrass and found out that i can still plant some of them as the basal node, where the root and stalk emerges, are still intact. I decided to soak the root in water (just so that the disks are immersed in water). Within 3 days, the roots are well grown and i moved them into a soil medium om day 5. Hopefully it will grow.

And i also brought my avocado baby to the office. I used starbucks plastic glass as pot. It looks cute, i think...

Cheat red top

Actually, i am almost done. Maybe i should add some more garter rows before I bind it off, but i was off with... Something, that i cant continue knitting it yet.