Savory Pastry with Turkey and Vegetables

Inspired by Indonesian’s pastel goreng, a savory treat similar to empanadas, I made this easy pastry recently. The wonderful smell of ground turkey, peas, carrots, garlic, and onions baking inside of a pie crust in the oven filled the apartment. Hmm…delicious!  This flaky and savory pastry makes a great appetizer.

Here’s a list of things we’ll need:

  • 2 sheets of pie crust
  • 1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 pound of ground turkey (or beef)
  • 1 bag of thawed frozen (mix) peas and carrots
  • 4 garlic (chopped)
  • 1 sweet onion (chopped)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • A dash of curry powder

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Heat up a medium pan and add the oil.
  • Add garlic and onion. Cook for two minutes.
  • Add ground beef and let it brown.
  • Mix in the peas and carrots, salt, pepper, and curry powder.
  • Following Paula Dean’s direction on her empanada recipe: I cut out rounds from the pie crust using a small cookie cutter (3-inch), place a bit of cooked turkey and veggies in the middle of the crust, brush the edges with water, fold, and repeat. Place the pastries on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until they turn golden brown.

Harini Riana2 Comments

Easy Apple Tart

I love fruit pastry. In fact, a lot of the baking recipes I’ve blogged involve fruits. Jeff and I would have these baked goods for breakfast with our coffee or as a snack with hot tea at night. So when I saw this recipe from Ina Garten, I couldn’t wait to try it. It’s unbelievably easy and delicious. All you need are apples, puff pastry sheets, a little bit of sugar, and unsalted butter.

As usual, I do a little tweak to the original recipe:

  • Instead of Granny Smith apples, I use Honey Crisp apples (since these tend to be sweeter than Granny Smith)
  • I put the pastries in the oven for about 30 minutes instead of 40. I think my oven gets super hot and I try to avoid charring the bottom parts of the apple tart.
  • I also prefer to go without using the apricot jelly and Calvados. I think the apple tart taste great as it is.

The warm, buttery, flaky, light, sweet and tart, and refreshing qualities make these apple tarts so inviting. What a nice fall treat!

Have a great weekend!

Harini RianaLeave a comment

Spicy Kale

This entry was originally titled Kale Braised in Coconut Milk and was published back on January 26, 2012. Since then I have tweaked the recipe and arrived at a point where I could say, “This is even better!” So here it is, dear readers. Let’s turn the hardy green leaves into a tender and flavorful dish. 

Almost a decade ago, a good friend introduced me to kale. Originally, we wanted to cook braised cassava leaves in spices and coconut milk (gulai daun singkong), a native dish to the West Sumatrans, but could not find the vegetable in Michigan. My friend believed Kale’s texture and taste would work for the dish we wanted to make. And OH WOW, did it work great!  Since then on this super vegetable has been one of my regular side dish menus. 

Both Jeff and I love this dish. It is spicy but yet there’s also a little sweetness that comes from the mixture of red bell pepper, shallots, and coconut milk. 

Here’s a list of things we will need:

  • 2 bundle of kale (remove the stem, wash, and chop the leaves)
  • 4 shallots (finely chopped)
  • 4 garlic (chopped)
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 10 hot finger peppers (finely chopped)
  • Light coconut milk (one can)
  • One cup of water Chicken stock (use half a cup) 
  • One inch cut of galangal root (for aroma)
  • A pinch of turmeric powder
  • 1 tablespoon of canola oil
  • Salt

Steps:

  • Heat up the canola oil in a medium pot
  • In a food processor, chop and mix garlic, shallots, and all peppers. Add shallots and garlic into the pot and let them turn to light brown
  • Sweat the garlic, shallots, and peppers mix in the medium pot for 2 minutes
  • Add salt and turmeric powder
  • Add water and bring to boil Mix the leaves with shallots and garlic
  • Add coconut milk, stir, and bring to boil one more time chicken stock and peppers. Cover the pot with its lid and let the dish boil
  • Add kale, bring to boil, and then remove pot from the heat immediately (to avoid overcooking the vegetable) Add coconut milk, stir and mix well, and let it cook for another 20 minutes until the vegetable becomes tender
  • Uncover the pot to reduce the liquid for no more than 2 minutes
  • Add salt to taste

Great with rice and a grilled chicken or a beef dish.

Hope you like it!

(Serves 4)


Harini Riana2 Comments

Olive Oil Herb Dip for the Bread

Love dipping bread into olive oil? Here’s my latest obsession with dipping sauce. Inspired by my friends Leena and Spas’ chili pepper marinade and motivated by the urge to use up all of my planted herbs and peppers, I have made this condiment a must-have at home.

Back in August, at the dune house we rented for a weekend, the couple made this wonderful chili peppers marinade. They grilled a few Serrano peppers, wrapped them in an aluminum foil (so that the charred skin can be easily removed), and then mixed the peppers with chopped garlic, lots of fresh dill, extra virgin olive oil, and white wine vinegar. An overnight marinating process brought out and blended all flavors very well.

Since I wanted to use up the herbs that I had, I came up with a slightly different version of the dip. My mix contained: fresh thyme, fresh mint, chopped garlic, grilled (or roasted) cayenne peppers, extra virgin olive oil, apple vinegar, salt, and black pepper. So fragrant and inviting. The cayenne peppers really gave a nice punch! Great with warm baguette or pita bread.

(Note: Fresh chives, mint, and garlic combination make a fantastic olive oil herb too.)

Hope you like it!

Harini RianaLeave a comment

Parsley and Feta Cheese Pastry

My Turkish neighbor had made this pastry a while back. Both Jeff and I thought they tasted fantastic. But it wasn’t until I read a novel (that was also) filled with dreamy descriptions of Turkish cuisine did I get the strong urge to try making this amazing baked goods. One sentence from the book did it for me: “The delectable smell of newly baked börek  wafted from the kitchen: white cheese, spinach, butter, and parsley melting into one another amid thin layers of phyllo pastry.” (Shafak, Elif. The Bastard of Istanbul. Viking/Penguin, 2007. Pg. 126.)

I asked my good friend Farah, who’s also Turkish, about the pastry. She explained that in Turkey, börek could also be stuffed with other delicious things such as meat, potato, vegetables, etc. Yum! So I found an excellent recipe for the pastry. The successful first trial encouraged me to do a repeat. So far I have made this fantastic crispy, salty, and fragrant snack twice this month! Another addition to my favorite-food list and…one excellent way to use up my parsley plant.

Here’s what I came up with:

Parsley and Feta Pastry

A few things that I did differently from the original recipe:

  • I chopped and mixed my parsley leaves and egg in a food processor.
  • I folded the phyllo dough (with the cheese and parsley mixture in it) into a rectangle instead of rolling it.
  • For an extra kick, I brushed the wrapped cheese and parsley with a little bit of herb olive oil (marinade: olive oil, vinegar, thyme, garlic, chili peppers, and chives) before they go to the oven (350 degrees F for 15 minutes).

Thanks for reading!

Original Recipe: Filo Pastry Stuffed with Feta Cheese and Parsley by Kathryn at London Bakes

My flat parsley plant. Hopefully it overwinters and returns to life in the springtime.

Harini Riana3 Comments

Backpackers Getaway: North Manitou Island – Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Late September breeze carried a little chill, a preview of what’s to come in the coming months. The blazing sun balanced the cool air and offered a perfect hiking weather for us that weekend. Trees on the outer part of North Manitou Island have begun to change colors. Inland, the leaves stayed green like refusing to accept that summer was over. After the hour-long ferry ride to the island and checking in with the ranger, the three of us sat on the grass and enjoyed turkey pita sandwiches for lunch. We had packed enough food and snack for the weekend. We were in the wilderness, which means no restrooms, showers, let alone restaurants. The ferry would be back to pick us up on Sunday, two days away. From where we sat, we could see other backpackers, all came in on the same ferry, eagerly dispersed into the wilderness, racing to get to their solitary and exploratory mode. Seemed like we all wanted to feel that the non-populated island was our own playground for the weekend.  

After lunch, we headed south on the trail. About three miles later, we took a break on a beach. I wanted to stay there and just sleep under the sun. 

My guy wanted to have one more backpacking trip before winter returned with its cold air and long nights. The dreadful thought of winter made me jump at the offer to spend two nights out in the wilderness, sleep under starry sky, walk in the woods, and take naps on a beach.

A novice in this whole backpacking-universe I find myself learning about new places, the art of exploration, and the technology that supports this hobby (the latter: my guy’s biggest attraction to this backcountry activity). I never realized that there were many little islands in Lake Michigan. Maybe this is why people keep saying that  hobbies would do us good: they open our eyes to things we hardly notice before. 

North Manitou Island of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore offers a friendly terrain for hiking enthusiasts. The scenic panorama of Lake Michigan, endless white sandy beach wrapped around the island, and a manageable trail for outdoors lovers make this tiny island an ideal place for a backpacking getaway. 

After hiking for nine miles, we found a perfect spot on the southwest part of the island to camp that night. With the three of us, setting up the tent took less than five minutes. I prepared the sleeping pads/bags inside of the tent while the men got some water from the lake to filter and then drink. Not long after that we sat around a tiny but powerful gas stove heating up our dinner: beef rendang and rice. I had cooked them the night before, put them separately in zip lock bags, and froze them. By dinner time, all we had to do was boil hot water in a pot, drop the food bags in it, and let them warm up—a trick my guy taught me a while ago. We had a fantastic dinner overlooking sunset by the lake.

the boys

In the morning, we walked six miles northeast toward the village where the ferry would come to pick us up the next day. By this time, every muscle of my feet sent painful signals to my brain. Other than that the hike was far from arduous. Thankfully, our friend Dod’s hilarious stories about his college friends distracted me from the pain. At lunch time, we all shared sliced corned beef deli meat with pepper jack cheese, sliced honey roasted turkey deli meat, pita bread, hummus-to-go, and herbed olive oil that we put in a tiny little bottle. Pretty gourmet wouldn’t you say? 🙂

We arrived at the village campground in mid afternoon. Once we set up our tent, we had a second lunch! It was amazing how ravenous we got from being outdoors all the time, well that…and walking for miles with heavy backpacks. We prepared chicken and vegetable soup. My guy mixed the dehydrated vegetables soup mix with boiling water, added dried beef stock, and sliced chicken (chicken in a pouch). After our second lunch, we decided to do more hiking toward the northeast side of the island. We moved a lot faster without our backpacks. By sunset, we finished another five miles of the trail and went back to our site. A total of 20 miles in two days.

The menu for dinner that night: pasta and meatballs with marinara sauce. Dod boiled the pasta and heated up the frozen meatballs and marinara sauce. Having hot meals during a backpacking trip always felt luxurious. I also think that the wilderness never failed to intensify the taste of food. Everything became incredibly delicious, even the add-boiling-water-to-the-pouch freeze-dried meals we had. Maybe it was my brain’s way of being grateful to find something comforting in such a rugged and undomesticated environment.  

The air got a lot cooler that night. We met a few backpackers at the community fire pit and shared our hiking experience with each other before turning in for the night. The bright full moon illuminated the area. Even inside of the tent.

On Sunday morning, the ferry came back to pick up all of us backpackers. At exactly 11AM, as scheduled, we all boarded the ferry to return to Fishtown Dock in Leland, MI and then drove home. Despite of my aching feet, shoulders, and back, I was happy we did this trip. It was a perfect way to close our hiking season for the year. 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photos property of The Traveling Chili Pepper

Thanks for reading. Until the next adventure!

Harini Riana2 Comments

Potato with Shiitake Mushroom, Sweet Corn, and Brussels Sprouts

In the mood for something easy but tasty? Here’s a one-pot meal that combines great colors, textures, and flavors.

We’ll need:

  • 2 shallots (thinly sliced)
  • 6 Brussels sprouts (halved)
  • 6 Red baby potato (halved)
  • 2 cups of Shiitake mushrooms (stems removed and cap chopped)
  • 2 ears of corn (peeled) or substitute with one cup of frozen corn
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Steps:

  • In a small pot, boil the potato for 15-20 minutes and set aside
  • Heat up a medium pan and then add oil (over medium heat)
  • Cook the shallots for a minute or two
  • Add Brussel sprouts and cook until they turn a little yellowish/brownish
  • Add ¼ cup of water and bring to boil
  • Add salt
  • Add chopped mushrooms and peeled corn while the pan is bubbling. Bring back to boil. (You could also grill the corn first and then cut the corn kernels out of the cobs)
  • Turn of the heat and add the boiled potato into the mix
  • Serve on a plate

Great to serve by itself or as a side to my oven roast chicken.

Crispy oven roasted chicken

Harini Riana3 Comments

Goat Satay

Goat satay (sate kambing) is one of my favorite street food in Surabaya.

Illustration: Satay Vendor

Recently, I attempted to create the satay in my kitchen. Though I deviated a bit from how the satay vendors normally prepared theirs in the motherland, my version was nothing short of delicious. The meat-on-skewers came out with the three qualities I had in mind: tender, aromatic, and a little sweet. I served it with rice and  chili sauce on the side.

Here’s my version:

Serve 2

  • 1 pound of roast cut goat meat (cubed)
  • 3 garlic
  • 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon of apple vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of sweet soy sauce (if you don’t have it, create your own by mixing 1 ½ teaspoon of light soy sauce and 1 ½ teaspoon of honey)

I mixed all of the above in a container, covered with the lid, and let it marinate overnight or at least for six hours. Afterward, using 10-15 skewers that I have soaked in water for 30 minutes prior, I pushed the skewers gently through the meat. Then I fired up the grill and let the satay cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

If you’re into spicy food like I am, serve the satay with this special chili pepper sauce:

Warning: Very Spicy!

  • 5 Thai peppers (substitute with hot finger peppers for medium heat)
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 tablespoon of sweet soy sauce

Chop the chili peppers and shallots and mix them with the sweet soy sauce. Serve as condiment or drizzle it on the satay.

Hope you like it!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Harini RianaLeave a comment

Guacamole

A recent weekend trip to the dunes by Lake Michigan sent me home with plenty of food inspiration. One night at the cottage we rented, I saw my newly-wed-couple friends mashing avocados into guacamole on the kitchen’s island. They worked together like couple of scientists in a lab, immersed in the task at hand. I, on the other hand, stood nearby, watching, and waiting impatiently, like a little kid, eager to taste that avocado sauce. Ro added some salt to the cut up avocados, mashed them up, and tasted it. Then he added some onion, garlic, and lime juice. Zulma tasted it and she said it needed a bit more of something something. I was so hungry I couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying. It seemed like the mashing, adding things, and tasting continued on for a while before I could get my arms around the bowl of goodness. The couple’s hard work paid off though. They produced a fantastic guacamole.

After Jeff and I got home from the cottage, I couldn’t wait to try my friends’ guacamole recipe. Actually, I’ve made it twice in the past two weeks. The vibrant flavors of garlic, cilantro, onion, and jalapeno peppers mix so well together with the sweetness of the avocados. I am addicted to this sauce.

Chunky Guacamole
Or make it: Smooth and Creamy Guacamole. Either way is good for me 🙂

Here’s how I made mine:

(Serve 2-3 people)

  • 3 avocados
  • 1 handful of cilantro (finely chopped)
  • 3 garlic (finely chopped)
  • ½ sweet onion (finely chopped)
  • 3 jalapeno peppers (finely chopped)
  • Salt to taste
  • A pinch of Cumin
  • Lime juice from 1 lime

Steps:

  • Peel, cut up, and mash the avocados
  • Mix everything together in a bowl and then drizzle with lime juice
  • Serve with tortilla chips

Special thanks to Roneil and Zulma for the guacamole and the recipe

Harini Riana1 Comment

Easy Summer Recipe: Grilled Squid in Spicy Salsa

I’ve gone grill crazy this summer. I seriously have :). Here’s another result from my obsession with cooking over an open fire: grilled squid. Yes, squid! Oh… the aroma and taste of it after being grilled, just divine! Growing up in one of the world’s largest (and most populated) archipelagos surrounded by seas and oceans, I got introduced to all sorts of fresh seafood early in life. Hence my love for it.  For this recipe, I put a little bit of Mexican twist to the dish by adding one of my favorite flavors: spicy salsa. Intense!

We will need:

  • 1 pound of frozen squid (usually they are already cleaned)
  • Lemon juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 serving cup of store-bought refrigerated fresh spicy salsa (usually are placed next to hummus and tabbouleh salad). OR we could also prepare a bowl of our own homemade salsa by chopping two or three tomatoes, a half of sweet onion, a handful of cilantro, three garlic, five jalapeno peppers, and adding salt and lime juice.
  • Olive oil

Steps:

  • Cut the thawed squid tubes into rings and the tentacles into smaller pieces
  • Drizzle the cut squid with olive oil and lemon juice
  • Let them marinate for 10-15
  • Meanwhile, heat up a small pot on the stove (over low heat), add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and add the fresh salsa. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes to let most of the water out (and to sharpen the flavor of the salsa). Set aside on a serving plate.
  • Brush the grill rack with oil
  • Fire up the grill
  • Grill the squid for 2-3 minutes total, turning only once. They cook very fast, so please be careful not to overcook.
  • Mix the cooked squid with the salsa.
  • Combo suggestion: serve with my Bitter melon with Shiitake Mushroom stir-fry and jasmine rice

Hope you like it!

Have a great weekend, everyone…

Harini Riana4 Comments