September 2013 – A Story Book for Tori

Plum Cake ala Food52

When it comes to dessert, I tend to go rustic. I see this pattern on my blog too. Most dessert recipes I do involve a high degree of simplicity and…lots of fruits! Fruit cake/pastry/cookie appeal to me. They taste amazing and look genuine, sincere, and friendly. I find their uncomplicated nature to be charming.

Speaking of rustic dessert, I saw an attractive recipe from Food52 the other day: Olive Oil Ricotta Cake with Plums. Being crazy about plums, I had to try it. Though I couldn’t make mine to look as pretty as Food52’s (yet), the cake came out great, sweet, tart, and lemony–delicious, as predicted. (Notes: Mine was sweet enough, so I didn’t dust the cake with powdered sugar as the original recipe suggested. I also sliced my plums into thinner cuts.)

Hope you like it and thank you for stopping by.

Peace

Click here for full recipe: Olive Oil Ricotta Cake with Plums

September 23, 2013

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Baked Tempeh

Baked Tempeh. My parents would probably chuckle when they read this post’s title. You see, tempeh is one of Indonesia’s staple food and a favorite of mine. Typically, we’d just sprinkle salt on it and brown it in a pan with a little bit of oil. It is delicious, simple, and humble. Now, as much as I love having tempeh, I loathe getting oil splatter all over my stove, kitchen, skin, and clothes. So, my solution to avoid such a mess: bake them in the oven. Why not, right?

Tempeh absorbs seasonings and marinades quite well. So, we could just salt it OR add more flavors to it. I like to do a dry rub with a few spices for mine. Here’s how I prepare the baked tempeh:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
I slice tempeh into thin rectangular cuts
Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on the tempeh cuts and brush to coat evenly
Sprinkle a little bit of salt, cayenne pepper powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder
Mix these spices with the tempeh cuts and make sure each is well coated
Bake for 15 minutes or until they turn golden brown

They are still that delicious, simple, and humble tempeh that I like so much, even with the added ingredients and steps.

Great to serve alongside a vegetable dish and rice

Hope you like it.

Peace!

September 22, 2013

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Sauteed Green Beans with Peppers and Anchovies

I must love green beans a whole lot that they keep showing up on my blog. Here they are again—this time sautéed with peppers and anchovies. Yes, anchovies! I am one of those people who enjoy them. A lot of Indonesians use the fish in different dishes as flavor booster. These little babies make my sautéed vegetable dishes salty, savory, and smelling fantastic. And a little goes a long way, really. No need to go crazy.

Here’s what we’ll need to make this dish:

Two handful of green beans
3 yellow sweet peppers
5 cayenne or Thai or finger hot peppers (I like these skinny spicy peppers)
3 shallots (chopped)
4 garlic (chopped)
6 anchovies (In a can with olive oil—I rinsed mine before cooking to lessen the salt and oil content)
Black pepper
Ginger powder

Steps:

Fill up medium pot with water, bring to boil
Add string beans and let them cook for a while until the water bubble for the second time
Remove them from the hot boiling water and place under cold running water (or a bowl of ice cold water) to stop the cooking process (I am learning from various cooking sources that this process is also called blanching)
Heat up a tablespoon of canola oil in a large pan (medium heat)
Saute anchovies, garlic, shallots, and peppers for about two to three minutes (until the anchovies melt)
Add green beans, a dash of black pepper, and a pinch of ginger powder
Mix them really well, reduce the heat, and cover the pan for a minute or two
Serve with baked tempeh and rice

My favorite simple peasant plate

Thanks for reading. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend, wherever you are.

Peace

September 21, 2013

Harini Riana3 Comments

Quinoa Salad with Smoked Salmon, Avocado, and Peppers

A wholesome salad makes a great power-booster lunch. The other day, I was in the mood for quinoa. So, I combined it with a mix of sliced avocado, smoked salmon, red bell pepper, and cayenne pepper that I dressed in lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, and a little bit of honey. The taste of smoked salmon mixed with creamy avocado, crunchy peppers, and nutty quinoa blended well with the tangy and sweet vinaigrette. What a party in a salad bowl!

Here’s my ingredient list:

1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of chicken stock (or water)
1 avocado (sliced)
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
2 slices of smoked salmon (sliced)
1 cayenne pepper (chopped)
Lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon of honey

Steps:

I followed the quinoa cooking instruction on its package: bring it to a boil with two cups of chicken stock and lower the heat to let it simmer for 15 minutes in a covered pot
In a medium bowl, I whisked lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, and honey together to make the dressing
Mixed the avocado, salmon, and peppers with the dressing. Cover and chill in the fridge
Let the quinoa cool down for a bit, place in a salad bowl, and topped with the avocado, salmon, and peppers

Serve two

Great for bring-lunch-to-work menu (keep it chilled) or as a meal after an exercise.

Have a great weekend, all!

Peace

September 13, 2013

Harini Riana1 Comment

Grilled Plum on Warm Bread with Cheese

When people find out that I cook, some would ask, “Wow, you don’t mind the effort that cooking involves?” or say, “Good for you. I am way too lazy to cook.” or “Oh, you’re such a good wife.” (I usually roll my eyes, in my mind, for the latter comment :D.) Feels like there’s this impression that a person who cooks is industrious, taking on such an onerous task, or domestic. Well, contrary to that assumption, I cook because I get bored with food a lot. I seek wonderful colors, a burst of great flavors, and pleasing tastes in food. They bring me joy, while bland food just makes me feel sad.

My curiosity of tastes and appreciation for creativity takes me on an ongoing search for things to try. Just like this recipe I adapted and simplified from a genius food blogger at Dash and Bella: Grilled Plum and Lemon Ricotta Toast. Grilled sweet plum over warm bread with mild cheese spread. Delicious. I’d like to try using apples, nectarine, or peach next time. What a great way to enjoy more fruits! Thanks, Dash and Bella.

In my version, I used:

4 black plums (each sliced into four cuts)
Bread
Ricotta cheese

Steps:

I grilled the slices of plums and bread for about 1-2 minutes each side over medium heat (I didn’t mix the plums with olive oil, balsamic, and herbs as the original recipe suggested and still they tasted wonderful).
Spread ricotta cheese on the warm bread and place the juicy plum on top (I used the ricotta plain without the lemon juice)
Enjoy! Great for breakfast and snack

Have a great day!

September 5, 2013

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Red Hot Cooked Salsa

The other day, I had tons of cherry and beef steak tomatoes. Using a technique that a friend taught me, I turned them into a fantastic red-hot cooked salsa. Easy and delicious!

My friend G, whose family came from Oaxaca, Mexico, shared her homemade cooked salsa verde (green salsa) with me a while back. It was so garlicky, spicy, fresh, and good, I could just drink it. I slightly modified her recipe in a blog entry titled: Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with Tomatillo Mango Salsa. Cooking the tomatoes (or tomatillos for the green salsa) definitely made this condiment so great.

Here’s what we’ll need for the red hot salsa:

Two cups of cherry tomatoes (halved)
2 beef steak tomatoes (cut into four pieces)
A handful of cilantro (just use the leaves and chop in a food processor along with the garlic and jalapeno peppers)
2-3 garlic
5 jalapeno peppers
Salt
Lime juice from 1/2 of lime

Steps:

Heat up a cooking pot over medium heat
Add the tomatoes into the pot, cover with a lid, and let them cook for 5–10 minutes until they fall apart and become juicy. Turn of the heat.
Add the chopped jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, salt, and lime juice into the pot. Stir well to mix with the tomato. Let it cool down for a few minutes before serving.
Serve with corn chips

Thanks for reading!

To my friend G and our book club

September 4, 2013

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