Pineapple Rice

September 1, 2014November 25, 2014 ~ Sophie ~ 3 Comments

Hello lovely people! ‘Another rice dish’ you say, but this one too has a story. There are those times when you just happen to have random ingredients around. This was the case with this pineapple rice. And as I collected all of them…you know the pineapple, soy pieces, the carrots, the cashews, I realized, hey a pineapple rice dish can happen right now. Seriously! And it happened! This tends to happen –more than—a lot in my cooking process. Cooking from scratch can be fulfilling because you create a dish out of random things and at the same time it can be frustrating because you are sure the same dish won’t happen again(ha! story of my life!). Since I was very alert while making this, I noted everything down. So here we go. First of all, before we go any further, this is purely from scratch. This means that you can add or subtract anything. That’s the joy of cooking. Right?…No?

What you will need:

3C Uncooked rice

1 kg diced pineapple (roughly one whole medium pineapple)

1C Ground (Read: crushed) soy pieces

1C Julienned Green beans

1C Chopped tomatoes

1C Diced carrots

1C Chopped onions

1C Chopped spring onions

½C Crushed Cashew nuts

3 cloves of Garlic

½ Tsp. Rosemary flakes

3tbsp cooking oil

1 Tbsp. Sugar (optional)

Salt

Method

Precook the rice the day before and keep (preferably in a refrigerator). In a large pan, add the oil and after 10 seconds add the garlic. Wait for it to slightly become brown and then add the onions, salt and half of the spring onions while stirring briskly. Make sure the fire is neither too low nor too high. Add the tomatoes. Note: If you want the carrots and green beans to have a crunchy effect add them after adding the rice but if not add then right after the tomatoes so they can cook longer. Add the pineapple and soy pieces and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and keep mixing till everything is thoroughly mixed. While mixing add the rosemary flakes and sprinkle the sugar. Continue stirring. Remove from fire and lastly sprinkle in the cashew nuts and the other half of the spring onions while stirring. Let cool and serve. Note: Serves a lot!

Hard work eh? Well, I call it a labor of love. A secret to make the work easier is by loosening the rice (with either your hands or a fork) before you add it into the fried mixture that way it will not be lumpy and it will still remain in flakes. Happy cooking y’all. Let me know how it turns out in the comments below.

Have a great week.

🙂

Sophie

PS: Happy September

Pumpkin Cookies

August 25, 2014November 25, 2014 ~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

I first discovered Indochine kitchen at the beginning of this year and by now I can say it is my official Indonesian food directory. Lots of nostalgic memories are brought back when I discover familiar looking foods and then sheer happiness when I realize I can actually try them. Lately we have been inhaling chilli(Soo Much!). You should definitely check it out. Wait…we’re talking Pumpkin cookies eh!!

Whenever there is a new ingredient in the kitchen, my mind get crazy with recipe possibilities. Does this happen to you? A couple of weeks ago, we happened to be having pumpkin and cashew nuts at the same time and I thought does a pumpkin cookie exist and the rest, as they say, is history. So maybe I got way too excited but I had much hope in this thing materializing I bought chocolate to fancy everything up! I can’t say they were a fail even though ~~they~~ I actually failed to achieve the cookie feel(?!?!). I will just let you in on what went down.

I used:

2 ½ C mashed (boiled) pumpkin

¾ C Butter/Margarine

3 Tbsp Sugar

A pinch of salt

½ Tsp Vanilla extract

2 C baking flour

¼ C Crushed chocolate

¼ C Crushed cashew nuts

Mixed all ingredients in their listed order. Dropped the dough by spoonful on greased cookie sheet (in my case oven toaster sheet) and baked for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies started browning on the sides(but not burnt). Makes about two dozens.

Funny thing is after making these I went online and actually found out that the pumpkin cookie does exist. But it felt great making everything from scratch. The result was a sweet smelling really soft and chewy cookie… and for some reason I didn’t like it that much. But surprisingly everyone else did. So maybe I might have to make this again someday…you know for the sake of everyone else or when I just happened to have pumpkin or cashews around. But hey, that’s one experiment down!

What are you planning to experiment on this week?

🙂

Sophie

PS: Don’t forget to check out my previous post about making dreams happen…or you can just click here to go to the post.

Making Dreams Come True

August 21, 2014 ~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

First of all, I want to say this is a random Thursday post. Second of all I want to say this is going to get emotional. Be warned. Lets get to the point now, shall we?

I personally consider it a dream come true to be able to (finally!!!) food blog(you have no Idea!). And for that I am humbled and very grateful for the privilege. I believe it is a wonderful thing to dream, dream big and think of changing the world. I have my own zillion dreams running through this head right now. And wouldn’t it be a fly idea to know some one somewhere out there would be willing wholeheartedly to help make your dream come true? I have had my own ups and downs in dreamland but what makes the difference between mere dreamers and doers is that doers act upon their dreams. I have a dear friend called Louise whose dream,to travel the world, makes her lie awake and she would like your support in helping this dream come true. Please click this link to go to the page with full details of how you can help make dreams come true. As much as i acknowledge the fact that not all my dreams may not come true(and I am learning to be cool with it), it gives greater joy and a sense of satisfaction knowing I have made someones dream come true.

So, please, I humbly request you all to help dreams come true by either donating or spreading the word.

PS: you can go to the page by clicking on the image or the highlighted links.

🙂

Sophie