Meet the Fridge

So this is my messy fridge... :)
Show me yours :D



PS. Too bad the Organic Vegetables available on the supermarkets are all packed in plastics or styrofoams. I sometimes order my organic vegetables from a supplier nearby but he sometimes runs out of vegs so I have to go buy vegs all wrapped up in individual plastic/styrofoams :(
and Organic Fruits are almost non-existent here.

Chrysanthemum Tea

I like drinking Chrysanthemum Tea
I love the floral aroma.

It has some health benefits to it.
It's known to have a cooling properties to our body and it's believed to aid in the prevention of sorethroat and fever, even to aid digestion.


I got my flowers dried in a package and I just move it into a container and put it in the fridge.
I then take just a little amount (they do expand) to put in my glass and then I add boiling water to it.
Sometimes I swirl the first tiny bit of boiling water and throw the water out, just to rinse the flower.
and then fill my glass and wait till it's not too hot
and sip.... mmmmmmm..... and I'd just relax :)
I also like to eat the flower petals ;p
but that's just me.

I notice that my tea turns greenish after a while.
I suppose that's it's oxidating ?


and another thing is, Chrysanthemum can also be used for pesticide.
Whattt ??????
hohoho calm down...
I suppose you have to extract a large amount phyrethrins extracted to produce a lethal pesticide, besides chrysanthemum tea has been a popular drinks in Asian countries.

But drink at your own risk ;p
As a matter a fact, I'm making myself a chrysanthemum Tea right now.
mmmmmmm........ :)

Coconut

mmmmm coconutttt.....

I'm so lucky there's a street vendor selling coconuts near my home.
I don't usually eat it like this...because I get "exhausted" of scraping the tender coconut meat inside :p
I'd buy 3 or 4 coconuts and pour all the coconut water into a container, scrap the inside and dunk everything into that container and put it in the fridge.
And when I want to have some coconuts, I'd just pour them into a big bowl ;)
They're usually all gone in 2 days because everyone in the house keeps on coming back to get some more.

Coconuts are very good for you, they're a natural isotonic which means it gives a rapid rehydration when you're dehydrated.
more info here :
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/coconutwater.html

My New Water Bottle

I just got myself two Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Bottles :)


here's the small 12oz one.

but first,
5 years ago, I bought a SIGG water bottle in Milan, Italy.
I bought the large 1 L / 33 oz red one.
I would spend a whole day in class and that bottle would last me for the whole day.
It was quite heavy to carry in the morning, but by the end of the day it was already empty.
So... it's way better to use my own water bottle than wasting 2 plastic bottles from the vending machine.
My friends were asking me what that bottle was and what I was drinking.
I filled it with tap water.... but later on I stopped using tap water coz my friend told me that it's better not to drink tap water in Milan because it has calcare or calcium deposit.
But it's a different story.....
Anyhoo............. I've not used my SIGG since then, because I forgot about it and because it's too big for daily use now ;p
But I found this article that says that the old SIGG bottle may leach BPA and mine falls into that category.
http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/siggs-bpa-confession-you-arent-going-to-like-it-any-more-than-we-do

Moving on,
Most people here don't drink tap water, because.... well....tap water quality is not that good.
and Most people order the Gallon water bottles from Water companies.

I often see those big bottles transported on an open truck during the day, talk about not exposing water to sunlight ;p
And the gallon water bottle uses #7 type of plastic, which is polycarbonate, which may contain Bisphenol-A (BPA) and may leach the BPA into the water we drink.
http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/5-Gallon-Water-Jugs.htm
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100176179
But this is something I found out recently, and I've been drinking from this gallon water bottle all my life and I don't think there are other alternatives.

Then instead of buying water bottles, I usually use one of those Tupperware glasses/tumblers with the rubbery cap/lid.
But lately water leaks from the cap/lid and I bought a cap/lid replacement, but it wasn't really rubbery and I couldn't even put the lid on, so I don't really use it all that much anymore, besides I'm trying to avoid plastic usage.
I don't know which type of plastic is used for my tumbler, probably Polypropelene.
Tupperware uses different types of plastic on their products.
Info here :
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=740073
http://www.tupperware-blog.com/tupperware-overview/is-tupperware-cancer-causing-38/
http://mommyfootprint.com/tupperware-items-made-from-7-plastic/
http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/tup_widget.show_page?fv_page_code=safetyqa&fv_section_name=help&fv_category_code=search&fv_item_category_code=200550

And years ago, my dad got this little machine to distill water.

So I've been drinking that, but not entirely that, sometimes we ran out and we just drink the mineral water out of the gallon water bottle.
You can totally tell the difference, distilled water feels lighter when you drink it, maybe because the water's purer, so it feels thinner.
I don't know if distilling water will remove BPA.
There are also controversy about drinking distilled water because it lacks the natural occurring mineral in drinking water and it may drain your body from minerals, but some says it won't.
But hey... I still drink mineral water from the susceptible BPA leaching gallon water anyway.... oh man.
Besides.... the water that I use on a daily basis to shower may also contain BPA from the PVC water pipes and we know that everything we put on our skin, the largest organ of our body, is absorbed by our body.
So what next ? A water filter system for the whole house ?
Okay.... one thing at a time.... :)

Anyhoo.... in search for a better water bottle and to use it with my distilled water.
I finally got myself Klean Kanteen Stainless steel bottles.
well, my sis got it for me from Singapore. thx sis :)

my new Klean kanteen bottles with my old SIGG bottle.

Why Klean Kanteen ??
They say Stainless Steel is better, so.....
(but who knows what new research may suggest later on)
(besides, almost all my cookware are stainless steel)
There are other brands, but his one looks simple enough and I didn't know where to buy the other ones ;p
I got the wide one for easier cleaning, and because it has 100% stainless interior.
The wider mouth makes it feels like drinking from a glass instead of a bottle really.
From the outside, It kinda looks like my dad's old thermos.

I got the Wide bottles (12 oz / 355 ml and the 27 oz / 800 ml)
The small one to always have in my bag and the bigger one for when I need more water, exercising or to put in my car to refill my small bottle ;p


no corner inside, matte inside and out.
I can actually fit my hand in there when washing it.
and oh... the accidental scratching sound my nail made with the steel..... goosebumps.
It may leave water stain on the stainless steel surface after washing, it's always a good idea to always wipe the outer part dry after washing :)
Or not.....you'll have a subtle polka dot water stain all over, kinda decorative ;p


My SIGG bottle got dented..... I may have dropped it, but I can't seem to remember when.
Is my grip really that strong ;p
But the paint or the inside lining doesn't chip, so dat's a good sign.
The Klean kanteen bottles will also dent when dropped but hey.... I'm fine with that.


The waste afterwards....
2 clear plastic bags and klean kanteen paper tags.
I don't want to just throw them out and, so the 2 plastic bags are waiting to be reused and the paper tags are in my drawer, for now.

I'm so excited to use my new Stainless Steel Water Bottles :)
I only use it for water only (room temperature)
So..... I washed it with soap water. leave it to dry and used it the next morning.
I can smell that metal smell when I drink the water out of the Klean kanteen bottle.
not a strong smell, but it's there.
Can I taste the metal ? I'm not really sure, but if I can smell it, I might think that I can taste it as well.
Some people can definitely smell and taste the metal and someone else reviewed it and said "it taste like coin", mmm... I think that kinda describe it right.
But some people said that there are no metal taste.
So, it's probably because my bottle is still new or probably it's just that some people are more sensitive than others, me included.
My old SIGG bottle didn't have any smell to it, and my stainless steel kettle didn't have any smell to it, so probably the smell will go away after a few uses, hopefully.

Update : I filled the bottles with distilled white vinegar and baking soda and left it overnight, I also filled it with boiling water overnight (careful coz it's not a vacuum flask) and the next day, I thought I kinda still can taste the metal... But now, After a few uses, I don't really taste anything anymore, dunno if I've gotten used to it or the metal taste's gone away. :)

Just one thing though,
I've noticed that on the top part of the bottle, the stainless steel is folded, and it's probably to give it more thickness for safety purposes (so that u don't cut your lips drinking from it)



close up

Can you see what I mean ? It's folded like the blue line illus. on top right.
I don't know if it's tightly pressed or there's tiny gap in between.
So, will stuff get stuck in between there ? (food, oil, germs)
nevertheless, it creates a "corner" (where the arrow is) and stuff might get stuck there , so it's a good idea to use a brush the clean the top part when washing.

I've seen a cheap vacuum flask that has a smooth non-folded top part and it's not too thin.
I suppose, price wise, weight wise, factory standard wise, it's just suppose to be like that.
But I prefer to have a thicker heavier stainless steel bottle than having the top part folded like that. but hey... that's just me :)

I'm curious about other Water bottles and your experiences.
What water bottle do you use ?

Why Fried Food is bad for us

Another reason why Fried Food is bad for us

As I mentioned before here
1. Fried Food always make my throat a bit uncomfortable afterwards.
2. I'd feel uncomfortable if I eat too much fried food, because my stomach would definitely notice all the oils absorbed in those fried food.
3. and Yep... Fried food is bad for you.
It's bad when you're trying to lose weight, It's bad when you're trying to cleanse, It's just bad.
4. Do you also get this or is it just me ? When I eat too much crunchy food, I hurt my gum a bit, the one near the lower wisdom tooth at the back of your mouth, that's where I chew my crunch crunch and the friction probably irritates my gum a little.

Another reason is :

Acrylamide

What is the problem?
Acrylamide is known to cause cancer in animals. Also, certain doses of acrylamide are toxic to the nervous system of both animals and humans.
(from WHO website)

How does acrylamide form in food?
Acrylamide forms from sugars and an amino acid (asparagine) during certain types of high-temperature cooking, such as frying, roasting, and baking.

What kinds of cooking lead to acrylamide formation? In what foods?
High temperature cooking, such as frying, roasting, or baking, is most likely to cause acrylamide formation.
Boiling and steaming do not typically form acrylamide. Acrylamide is found mainly in foods made from plants, such as potato products, grain products, or coffee.
(from FDA website)

WHO AND FDA links
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/chem/acrylamide_faqs/en/

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodContaminantsAdulteration/ChemicalContaminants/Acrylamide/ucm053569.htm

So goodbye potato chips....
so long french fries.....

and what if you can't stop eating fried food or baked goods or roasted food ?
Just remember to balance it out by eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruits :)
and drink lots of pure water.
and in time...... you'll end up always craving healthy fresh fruits and vegetables above everything else.
:D

Awards for Healthy Rainbow :)

IRaw gave me the Kreativ Blogger award.... :)
Thanx IRaw....
I'm supposed to pass this on to 7 other bloggers, but since I'm new in the blogging world and all the other bloggers I know already have this award , so the award stays with me for now :D

7 things about me :
I love small colorful wooden toys
I love dogs
I love to eat
I love the smell of freshly cut grass
I love cloudy days
I love cool sunny mornings
I love watching "The IT crowd"
:D

Another award is the Creative-Hands award from Creative-Hands.org
It totally serves as a reminder to use our hands creatively in whatever things we do :D
and I'm passing it on to IRaw at http://irawvegan.blogspot.com :)

Kue Rangi

Kue Rangi is another Traditional Indonesian Desserts.
yupppp... a lot of the Traditional Indonesian Desserts are totally Vegan :D

It's made out of sago flour and coconut slices and a tiny bit of salt to taste.
then "baked" on this traditionally homemade baking tray.
usually sold on a street food vendor, served on a banana leaf shaped into a plate, cleverly secured with "lidi" (the ribs of palm leaf)
and drizzled with thick sweet palm sugar, sometimes jackfruit / durian are added for a more intense flavor there.

It's kinda crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and the sweetness comes from the drizzled sauce............ yummmmmmm............................

What I ate is the one I ordered from a Restaurant at a Mall.
The one you found on the street......... is way more authentic and yummier.
Too bad they're a bit hard to find nowadays.....

But here's a photo of a Kue Rangi seller from Selby

I just love how Selby takes a lot of detailed pics of everything.
Selby, You Rock !! :)



That other plate is Karedok
Another Traditional Indonesian / Sundanese Raw Salad, served usually mixed with sauce made of a tiny bit of galanga (Kaempferia galangal L) + peanut sauce and palm sugar.
I prefer to separate the peanut sauce so I can add just exactly how much sauce I want :)
But more on post on karedok later.... :)

btw, Do you see the jar filled with pickles ?
It's called acar, and it's filled with cucumber, carrots, shredded cabbage, lightly pickled......... well... I don't think it's pickled because it's not pickle-y sour but instead, it's lightly soaked in sugar-salt-chili water (I think)
But it's there on every table so everyone can have as much as they want ;p

Anyhoo....
Kue Rangi rules.......... :)

Traditional Desserts - Kolak Pisang & Biji Salak

This is also one of my favorite Traditional Indonesian Desserts
and yes it's Vegan :)



Kolak pisang is Banana Kolak (top right, in the bowl)
I honestly don't know what kolak/kolek means ;p
It's banana pieces boiled in rich palm sugar & water bath. (pandan leaves included of course)
You can also use fresh ripe banana if you prefer it raw :)
and then when you want to eat it, you just add the coconut milk to it (this is like adding fresh cream to your dairy dessert)
The banana used here is Pisang Gepok
It has a subtle sour-y taste to it. It's just perfect.
It's creamy and sweet and soup-y and it's just heaven.



The other one is Biji salak. (in the blue mug)
Salak is snake fruit (Salacca zalacca)
and biji salak is Salak's pit/seed.
It's probably called biji salak because it ressembles the round shape of salak's pit.
It's made with grated sweet potato mixed with sago flour.
shaped into little ball shapes or rolled into a long cylinder-y shape and cut into small pieces.
then boiled for a short while... just until they float.
then chuck everything into the palm sugar + water mixture
and add a lil bit of coconut milk to serve.
I prefer to make this myself because the ones they sell has more sago flour to sweet potato ratio so it's more chewy with a tiny hint of sweet potato taste.

You can eat the Biji Salak warm or cold.
But I prefer to eat the Kolak Pisang warm and sometimes I add raw ginger juice / boiled ginger water to the mix to add warmth to it ;)
mmmmmmmmm.............. yum yummmmmmmmm.............
You can even mix the two together, like I did :)
mmmmmmm.........yuummmmmmmmmm

Fried Shitake Mushroom

yumm....
Shitake mushroom, cut in half or more.
covered in batter and deep fried.
eaten in bed.
It's so good....



I know I know..... another fried food !!!
What is this ?
Fried food Week ???? ;p

I should re-start the "No Fried Food" period again.
This is the last of my fried food
I will find crunch in nuts and seeds and fresh fruits and vegetables. :D

Fried Tempeh - My Favorite Fried Food

besides kerupuk / crackers and banana fritters and everything else fried :D

I love Fried tempeh....
yes.. it's fried... :(
but they're just so good.... :)

I always thought that you just cut tempeh and fry them
but nooooo..........
you have to season them first.


This is salt + garlic + coriander seed + a little bit of water
and just crush everything using "ulekan"
It's the traditional Indonesian spice masher before the spice-blender era.
and is still widely used today because it gives more aroma and texture to the result.
kinda like a peston mortar, but you crush the spices by a twisting hand movement....
I'll post a video of it soon :)

then you dip the tempeh slices and leave them there for a while....
then deep fry it.
Done !!
yummm


Another favorite of mine is thin sliced tempeh, coated in batter and deep fried into a crispy crunchy tempeh.
oooohhh... this is even better.


Yup... everything tend to stick together

the result ......
mmmmmmmmm :)


Enjoy your tempe /tempeh :D
yes... eating too much of fried tempe will tickle my throat a bit, so I always eat my fried tempe with salad and lots of vegetables and I don't eat them 3 days in a row.... next time. ;p

Panbis Cookie - Super-easy-to-make cookie

Pancake-Biscuit Cookie = Panbis Cookie
yup... it can be a Pancake or a Biscuit-y Cookie :)
It also requires such simple ingredients.
No baking, No Oven, No hi-tech equipments, No fuss.
No precise recipe.... make according to your taste and fun-chef-wannabe-intuition ;p
It's great when you have no ingredients at home, but want to make a quick tiny batch of cookie that can be eaten in 1 go.
All the ingredients are usually in your fridge and cupboard.
and if you just bought any of the ingredients, you can keep them there for weeks ;) no worries of finishing them up after opening.
So, this is perfect if you're craving pancake or cookies when you're stranded in a remote mountain area with no fresh ingredients and no oven.

This is also an update to the previous recipe,
I added lots of almond meal to the batter and reduce the flour a bit....
waaaaawwwww..... yummmmmmm
It turned out great.



Equipments needed :
Wide non stick pan
Spoon & Bowl

Recipe
(makes around 10 cookies)
Mix everything in a Bowl.
- 1.5 tablespoons of flour, preferably organic whole wheat flour or anything healthier.
- 1.5 tablespoons of almond meal or more
Almond meal = almond powder.
- a pinch of baking soda (I think this also helps thicken the batter)
- a pinch of salt
- a dash of cinnamon powder
- enough (thick) liquid palm sugar, adjust to your level of sweetness taste,
you can always add again after all the ingredients are mxed
- add enough water (If your liquid palm sugar is really runny, then you don't even need to add more water)
- stir with spoon, should be like a thick smoothie consistency.
(If it's too runny, it's not good, but don't worry, just add more almond meal and flour)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mix again (It's easier to add olive oil after the flour's mixed with water)
- I then add lots of black sesame seed and flax seed or anything else.
- or add any other finely chopped nuts of your choice.
You can add whole nuts, but they may get burnt first because they stick out (not inside the batter) when you flip them over on the non stick pan.
- Stir like 2 times ;p just so all the seeds and nuts are evenly distributed.

that's it,
- Take out your Wide non stick pan.
- Low Heat
- Use 1 table spoon to pour the batter onto the pan to make 1 cookie-like-shape.
- Repeat to use up the whole batter.
- Wait a while, flip.
- Don't leave too long if you want to make a Pancake
- Leave longer if you want them to be a crunchier Biscuit-y Cookie.
Remember Low Heat and a tiny bit of patience ;)
- then it's DONE !!!



and flip


It's Vegan !!! but it tastes oh so yummy -- to me :)
It's not like most cookies, It's my version of a Vegan cookie.
It's more of a haha hihi cookie, but it's a success -- to me ;D
It tastes similar to Anzac cookie, actually.
the Almond meal makes it moist and hearty.

- will try to bake it and see what happens.
- actually, will try to leave out the entire flour and see what happens...
will the cookies stick together only with almond meal ?
- will also try to add ginger to see if it turns out to be ginger cookies ;P

Info :
When you're stirring or mxing the batter with your spoon.
Just do it gently and normally, don't do it like you're whisking an egg, we don't want lots of air to go into the batter, it will make holes the Panbis cookies..... I think.
But adding lots of almond batter, makes the Panbis cookies more hole-y...... I think.
(see the little holes on the cookie ?.... that only happens after I add more almond meal to the batter, but that don't matter coz it still taste good)

I don't know if you can just use Palm Sugar powder, it's sometimes called Palm suiker,
but sometimes Palm suiker has added cane sugar / white sugar in it so I prefer to make thick Liquid palm sugar out of Palm Sugar chunks by boiling it, besides, there are sometimes dirt?/sand? residue, so I can strain it first.
Okay, I don't strain it, I just pour the liquid palm sugar slowly so the residue stay on the bottom of the pan.
oh... I'm so practical ;p

I don't know about the usage of non stick pans, some says it's not good, especially when the coating is scratched and you need to always have something on the pan (like oil/water)
so.... I dunno.... :)

and If the Recipe Fails....
Don't blame me ;p
but the Recipe's good tho ;)

PS. Eat the Panbis right away... after a while they get a bit harder, but still totally edible.
PPS. I ate too much Panbis just now.... typical me... I won't be making Panbis for weeks now ;p