Summer's been a breeze

Since the beginning of Summer, the family is doing good. I am getting busier everyday with looking for some partners and improving the website and connecting people. Petits Pois children is barely 5 months since its first publicly appeared. It is still a little baby.

I am more grateful as this 'little baby' grows, the children grow really well too. Sometimes I get too busy, but these children slow me down to breath some air. Looking at the photos we had on our holiday in France, it brought me some fresh inspiration for the future design.

How about you? I hope summer is a fresh air for you.

Tic Toc Tic Toc my travel time is here....

Early morning of the brand new day....

Excited to be after all, coming back to Bali for a visit. No wait, I'll be going without my babies!! How cool is that.

I'll be freaking busy prior to my departure. Preparing my designs, shopping new fabrics, printing some stuffs. Ludo is in Bali since last week for his work. It'll be just him and me and the paradise.

I am on the look out for serious workshop for stuffed dolls I designed.

Yeah yeah! And I will be working without any disturbance...

I mean seriously.

Please don't go....

I've been listening to this song over and over. The more I hear it, the better it sounds. And man, they hella good musiciens. I like it better than the original version sung by Michael Posner.

What can I say?! I love the sound of acoustic guitars...they are the simplicity but the beats touch my heart! A few more guitar classes for me until I make some noise!!!
:-)

Jump backward ....

I found her back in YouTube.

So the memory flashback did happened for a while. Enough to distract me on how much I experienced pain in my first almost-serious-kind-of-relationship. But pphheeewwwhhh, I'm glad it was over and learned really well my lesson.

It was a relationship full of crap (now I feel that way). Of course, when I was 23 years old I think Love is a big word. I listened to Gabrielle for a long time especially this particular song, and I knew I was stupid to kept it. So I let those "empty promises" from him go. It was the hardest, but hell I am truly happy now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMff05YcJYc&feature=related

Coconut Panna cotta for February 2012

Panna cotta is a classic Italian dessert which I love. Well, I've been to Rome long time ago but I never had this before. So, my gauge for the quality may be the one I tried in Bakerzin cafe. I am still looking for the opportunity to have it in the real Italian restaurant in Singapore. 

Panna Cotta mainly made from milk, cream and gelatine. The meaning in Italian is cooked cream. My biggest challenge is getting a perfect wobble rich flavour. It is not too much gelatine because it will make it too chewy, or too little, it will be saucy on our plate. It is delicate.

But this Panna Cotta will be different from where it comes from. It will be an Asian Panna Cotta using coconut milk instead of full-cream milk. Coconut milk is a common ingredient in any Asian dishes. And I  always keep some boxes of coconut milk in the kitchen cupboard.

I think it is perfect dessert for Summer.

Homemade Coconut Panna Cotta with Raspberry sauce

400 ml coconut milk

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup cane sugar

1 tablespoon gelatin (powdered)

1/2 cup hot water

For Raspberry sauce

200 g fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon cane sugar

a very little salt
1 tablespoon water

Method:

1. Place coconut milk and sugar into a saucepan over low heat. Cook, Stirring for 3-5 minutes or  until sugar dissolves. Be careful not to boil it. Remove.
2. Place a hot water into a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin in it. Stir or whisk with fork until it dissolves.
3. Add the coconut milk mixed and buttermilk, stir well all together.
4. Put these mixture into small oiled ramekins or tea cups. Don't forget to grease the moulds for easier removal. Cover it with plastic. Store it in the refrigerator at least 4 hours.
5. Turn panna cotta unto a plate before serving. You may dip the moulds in the hot water and run the knife around the edge.
6. For Raspberries sauce, Dissolve the sugar and salt with the water in a small pot. Add Raspberry  and let stew for 5 min on medium low heat. Let it cool before putting onto the panna cotta.

Make it a few batches, you may store them in the fridge for at least a week.

Enjoy!

No to shark fin soup

In one afternoon, me and Ludo were invited for lunch in the finest chinese restaurant at the golf course. We were there to meet with recently deceased friend's family. Of course, it was an opportunity to catch-up with them, the wonderful Indonesian family who I used to be close with in Jakarta. It was lunch after the wake of our friend.

The dining room has a high-ceiling with huge window-glass overlooking the green golf course. The entrance was decorated with dark red and black also golden ornaments. Yes, I feel it is pretty high-class lunch. I was sitting next to Counsellor George Soraya, a wonderful man I know from Jakarta who used to be a teacher for children class.

We were served small amounts of foods and delicacies such as duck feets and sea cucumber. I barely touched anything. In my Indonesian culture, oh well, in my culture where I grew up I will not eat any feet of the animals. It is pretty grossed to just even think about it. The next course was the bowl of soup of shark's fin. Of course, I was tempted to gulp the whole bowl as I have been pushing away all the "good" delicacies they served. I was hungry but also I want to try the famous shark's fin soup, once in my life. I thought eating a bowl doesn't hurt the whole population of sharks. But I pushed it away again this course, out of respect to my deceased friend, I am not cut to eat this poor animals. So was George Soraya who is working for World Bank of Indonesia in Poverty Department. Yes, it was pretty hard when we refuse the foods when our tummy was empty.

It was more than 6 courses of foods, but each is small portion. Forgive me, I wasn't really familiar with this fine dining chinese customs. But I was expecting rice and the yummiest noodles. So I picked a couple of desserts and left the table to chat with family members and friends. Of course, I was still hungry so me and Ludo went out to get a good tomato soup soooo good at 3 pm around Raffles Place.

So I hope, the consumption of shark's fin will be reduced soon. No more restaurants serve shark's fin for chinese new year in 2012.