easy baking 101, resolution month #1 - Apple Crumble

got this easy peasy apple crumble from my bestie, shinta. see her recipe below (directly copied from her blog).

note:

i adjusted the ingredients a bit because i used whatever was in the kitchen.
apples and pears used here from the fruit baskets brought home from the hospital. because brown sugar is expensive here, i used regular sugar but used less than about 3/4 cup. happened to have blueband margarine, so i used it for the crumble and it turned out alright, really cheap compared to using butter. instead of lemon juice, a splash of orange juice was used. used 1/2 cup of instant oatmeal, then added however much flour needed for the right consistency crumble.

ingredients:
- 4-6 granny smith apples or any cooking apples. best you choose the firm/crunchy one, not those squishy red apples.

- 1 cup of sugar. you can use granulated or brown. i prefer to use brown sugar for better caramelizing.

- 100-125gr of butter. room temperature, do not melt.

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or vanilla essence, whichever one you have in your kitchen.

- 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

- 2 cups of flour. all purpose or self-raising flour, any kind will do. again, whichever you have in your kitchen.

- 1/2 cup oats/granola (optional)

directions:
1. first, peel the apples and core them. cut them in squares and put it in a pan. cover the apples with 1/2 cup of sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon powder and 1 tbsp of butter. cover and let it stew over a low heat. make sure you check and stir with wooden stick to avoid any burning. if a lot of liquid forms, take off the cover and let it caramelized and the apples soften (usually takes abt 30 minutes).

2. once the apples are soften, take off the heat and let it cool. mash the apples with your wooden stick, but not too much. you do not want a puree. once they are mashed (or if you prefer whole, you can also do that, skip the mash step), place them in the bottom of the baking dish.

3. preheat the oven 150C, then prepare the crumble. put in a large bowl the rest of the butter, sugar & flour. try to put the flour little by little then mix with fork or with your hand. you can put in the oats too. mix until the texture becomes crumble-like. if it’s still soft, you may add more flour until the right crumble is achieved.

4. place the crumble on top of the apple filling, do not press down. just distribute them equally on the baking dish. pop in the oven for about 30 minutes. let it cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or cream.

not just keychains

a few key chains made by myself and mandy to sell at a garage sale/fund raising event dedicated to a friend who recently passed away. it was a sweet moment when we realized that it was at tornado we first (and last) met tika, it was there that we learned how to make these key chains together.

*waves at @tikuyus*

01/12 - wednesday

things got sickeningly sweet when i almost put on a coral colored blazer, instead i opted for cargo-style jacket to tone down the girly ensemble.

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day 03

jacket: et cetera. white top: ninin. leggings: giordano. heels: nine west. rings+bracelet: nyc. necklace: blok m square. bags: ninin, mango.

woulda shoulda coulda

would you die for me?

no, i'd live for you.

sunny black tuesday

since i will be going to a tahlilan tonight, all black is in order. a touch of bright color on the inside is necessary to give me a cheerful thought during the day, because i know i will weep tonight.

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black blazer: bought at jis' bazaar. black harem pants: designed by my little sister, ina. yellow tank top. gold sandals: be bob. suede purse: mango. corduroy laptop bag: aunt's label, ninin. hubby's swatch. girl pin: kamar karma. ring: from istanbul from older sister, nisa. silver/gold bangles. scarf: from some store in kemang.

new year's resolutions

patting myself on the back for having achieved my 2 resolutions/goals last year, my close friends and i are coming up with new ones.

in addition to the 2 (bake (at least) once a month and draw tattoo), i've added one that's more general and not constricting (in a recorded way), but way more restricting in daily life, which is: spend less, shop less, be satisfied with the wardrobe you have, be thankful for it, make use of it. that in turn will save me money to travel and have additional budget for our new house.

i've tried to apply this resolution to my life in the past year (without documenting it) and i've grown quite tired of my wardrobe. mostly i've made jewelry, bought a few belts and scarves to play things up a bit. gaining some weight only slims down the choices in your closet.

but with friends as inspiration, i know i can try to do another year! this time, try to document it from time to time, to keep things interesting and just do it for the challenge :)

some of my inspirations today:

http://pakaiapa.tumblr.com/

http://ditut.tumblr.com/

http://uberfunk.tumblr.com/


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red ballet flats: zara. pants: xsml. belt: melawai. black camisole: giordano. pink top: zara. watch: hubby's swatch. friendship bracelet: by adis.

rainbows come after storms

i must say, the last week of 2010 and the first week of 2011 were quite tough for my family, with my father falling sick (gout) and my sister and niece both being admitted to the hospital for dengue fever. actually, tough wouldn't be the correct word. the past 2 weeks has been so fulfilling for me because i get to experience the unconditional love and security my family can provide for each other. we've grown very much closer and more solid in tough situations. serving my father whenever he needed anything, playing with my 6 year old niece, switching shifts to the hospital with my sister, doing chores and cooking with my mother. the more time i spend with my her, the more i'm at awe at how beautiful and strong and giving a person she is. she is truly superwoman. she is the definition of the very word, mother. the definition of unconditional pure love and strength. i must say i'm very blessed to be born into my family, very blessed as well to have such a supporting husband. and at the end of the first week of the new year, we've gained a new addition to our family! followed by my mother's birthday!


ps. pics from left to right: new year's eve on the front porch, fireworks above us. checking on sleeping rahma, afraid she was gonna wake in fright. finger-puppet show by rahma. straightening of hubby's hair as a punishment for failing last year's resolution. my first try at mom's addictive sweet soy sauce chicken recipe. baby niece, not-yet-named until this very second. and she's 3 days old now :)

he said i forgot about bob.

we got ourselves a car for our anniversary!

because his license plate is BF, we've named him bob. bob frololo.

because of bob, we are free to roam the city (and out of it) whenever we'd like!

i love bob. bob's cool.

it's been a while...

it's been 4 months since i've last posted something. i really thought it was more than that.

a quick review of what's been up:

our first ied as a married couple , finished downpayment of our house and first installment of mortgage (september), hubby's birthday (october, day consisted of massage, dinner at an irish pub, coffee at our favorite joint), our anniversary (november 15th, waking up late, duck king lunch, megamind 3D movie, coffee then bogor), collaborating on our own and first christmas tree together (december).

this past year has been such a learning experience! i'm counting my blessings each and every day :)