Nasi Goreng or Indonesian Fried rice

Yesterday I posted a great banana roll up recipes reminiscent of what you may find on a warm tropical island. Today, I decided to stick with the island theme and post this recipe for Nasi Goreng, or Fried Rice Indonesian style.

Now, I love to cook. I would rather spend my days in the kitchen covered in edible soot (flour/sugar or the like), then say, be outside gardening. (Although I do love to garden as well.) However, with 4 kids and a business that I run out of my home, sometimes a girl has to have something quick and easy. That looks gourmet, and like it took a lot of sweat and tears to create. Enter Nasi Goreng.

I first learned of this exotic sounding meal from my husband, who in the 90's, was the first person to cross the island of Papua New Guinea without the use of motors. Allow me to pause here for a shameless plug for the book about their adventure. It was written with the use of my husband's carefully detailed journals, by his travel buddy Joel Kramer. It's a good edge-of-your-seat-yet-quick read! You can get it anywhere, but here's a link to reviews online Beyond Fear, a Harrowing Journey across New Guinea. Trust me when I say it will NOT disappoint you.

Ok,now that you've bought a great book, back to food! So, my handsome and adventurous husband ate this (among other things like pig poop, bugs and bat brains) in order to survive in the jungle. Obviously, of those things listed, the Nasi Goreng sounds like the only one I want to recreate for my family :) He remembers it being the most delicious thing he's eaten in a while.... but of course it was, look at the other things on that jungle menu!

I've tried over the course of many years to recreate the dish to no avail. By his standard, there is always something not quite right. I've tried little bag mixes, box mixes, you name it! He's tried it in Belgium and Holland, only to be disappointed.Until now.

I was googling recipes one day and came across this baby on Food.com.
I've tweaked it below, but let me tell you the results were fantastic. And fast. And delicious. I made it veggie since we were out of meat, (I really need to get to the store) but no one missed it. It was THAT good.

I served it with a bag of frozen pot stickers that I steamed. Remember that I cook for a hungry crowd. If your crowd is smaller, just cut this in half. Unless you want to freeze leftovers for another time.

Nasi Goreng

4 C cooked rice (I actually used sushi rice, but you can use basmani as well)

1 onion chopped small 

3 stalks sliced celery 

2 peeled, diced carrots/ few pieces broccoli

1/2 C shredded cabbage 

(You can also replace veggies with a bag of frozen ones!)

2 cloves garlic , crushed

 2 chicken stock cube

1/2-1 tsp. crushed red pepper

4 Tbsp. Ketsup Manaese (or ABC Sweet Soy sauce found at Asian stores)

 1 tablespoon coriander seed

5 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

2 eggs for the omelet to decorate the top

Heat the oil in a skillet or Wok. Add onions, celery, and carrots other veggies. Salt and pepper these, or use plain soy sauce.

 

Add garlic, the bullion cubes, coriander, and red pepper. Cook 2 min. more until translucent. 

Add the Sweet Soy sauce (It's thick and red, like ketchup!) Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

 

 Now add the rice, turning carefully to coat and mix thoroughly.

Use a metal bowl and PACK the rice into it. Allow it to rest for a few minutes while you cook your omelet in the pan Scramble 2 eggs and cook so that they are still 1 large disk (like an omelet).

Once done, turn the metal bowl of rice over onto serving platter and tap gently (or pound!) until it releases. Slip the omelet onto the top, and serve (and pretend you are on that exotic tropical island of Indonesia or Papua New Guinea) Oh! Almost forgot! It never hurts to add a little green sprig when serving. We added the pot stickers around the sides and top along with some fresh celery.Yum!

Easy Peasy Banana Breakfast roll-ups!

Happy Monday!

The sun is shining, the weather is getting warmer, and I can see daffodils and hyacinths blooming in my yard... it's going to be a good day!

I know most people hate Mondays, and you may want to stone me for saying this, but I LOVE them! Monday is the day I get to recoup from long busy (and loud!) weekends. I love having my family home, but lets face it, they destroy all my hard work in 2 single days at home.

Mondays are the day I get to re-take my territory. The kids are back to school, and the hubby is back to laboring hard to provide for us. Monday is the day I get to blast my music as loud as I want, throw on my wrinkled clothes with tiny bleach stains all over them, throw my hair into a quick pony, and reclaim the land once known as "Clean as a Whistle!".

Lest you think my Mondays are prefect let me share they are not. It's also the day the kids don't want to get up on time, we remember that we didn't get that project or paper done- that we had all weekend to finish- and the day I have to peel my eyes open at the crack of dawn after getting two whole days to sleep in (until 7). It's the day I wake up and realize I forgot to get to the store, so we are out of all things important. You know, eggs, milk, cereal, oatmeal, bread. Wait!! What are we going to eat??!

This recipe is easy and healthy and can help make any Monday madness turn into Monday gladness. It takes only  a few ingredients so when the pantry is empty, this is a good go to.

I usually keep a bag of frozen over ripe bananas in my freezer. I pull out a few, zap them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and viola'! (I've also used just ripe bananas and they were still good.)Ready for a unique and healthy meal that hopefully your kids will love as much as mine do. (Note: I have a banana hater in my family and she still gobbles these things up!)

-Now, when you make these for the first time, you may want to NOT make them when you are in a  rush. They can be tricky to get the hang of the first time since the dough is very, very sticky. You'll want to make sure you have about 30 minutes to spend making them the first time.

-You'll also want to make sure that you have a nonstick skillet. These will stick, they are sticky!! Don't say you weren't warned about stickiness.

The Original recipe can be found here at Love Food Eat.

Banana Breakfast Roll ups

2 C. Whole wheat flour (If your family isn't used to whole wheat you can use 1 C white and 1 C wheat or all white)
1 C. Mashed bananas
1 Tbsp. sugar (I use raw in this particular recipe)
2 Tbsp. Canola oil 
Extra flour to roll
Extra oil for cooking

Honey and Butter for serving.

Measure flour into large bowl. Add bananas. (In this photo I added whole, just ripe bananas directly to the flour and mashed them into the flour using a potato masher!) But the proper way is to mash them first.
Add oil and mix well with a spoon or spatula. It's going to be sticky remember?!

Section dough in the bowl the same way you would hamburger meat. (using the side of your hand "cut" the dough the way you would a pizza. so all pieces are even.)

Pour 1/2 C or so of flour onto the counter top, and roll out on section of dough into a circle. You want it thin.  about 1/4" thin or so. Make sure to gently sprinkle flour on each piece as you roll so your rolling pin doesn't stick!

                (This my friends, is my super duper PVC pipe rolling pin- cheap and they work so well!)

Make sure you have a few rolled out and your pan is pretty  hot. Add a little oil to pan and then cook each flat bread until just brown on each side.

Once they are done, put a little butter and honey inside, roll up and enjoy the squeals from your happy children! (sorry I forgot to take a photo before my kids snarfed down all the rolled ones.)

 





 

Mmm- Do you smell that Irish Soda bread?!

So, we all know that St. Patty's Day is over, but have no fear..... this is one recipe you'll be wanting to make ALL year round.

Let me start by sharing what holiday's are at our house. They are a big deal, not a "paint our faces and our lawns" kind of a big deal, but more like a " all food and fun on this day MUST remind us that today is not just a normal day.... it's a holiday!" kind of a big deal.

I've trained my kids well, and they expect their food on any given holiday to scream "It's a holiday!" Personally, I like St Patty's Day as it's a great way to squeeze in more green veggies. If they moan or gripe as I bring out the plate of crisp green bell pepper, all sliced up to resemble shamrocks, I get to respond something like, "It's a holiday isn't it??!" They usually sigh and then happily much away on whatever green goodness i have just placed before them.

I tend to make the usual fare every year, but this year via Pinterest I decided to shake things up around here a bit. I've tried Soda bread out of a bag and a box, but never made this kind of bread from scratch.Since Spring Break is close, (and I've watched enough award shows to know that all the big stars go carb-free to look their best) so I've been sticking to a limited carb diet in hopes of shedding a few last minute pesky pounds before I have to debut my Michigan white as snow skin. But after I saw this recipe on Cakespy and it looked SO easy and delicious I had to try it. It turned out scrumptious. So good in fact, that my family had gobbled up the entire loaf in less than 30 minutes, slice after slice, I watched that loaf sit on the stove and get smaller and smaller.

This recipe is a keeper! I baked it on a baking stone, and didn't knead it at all! Seriously. My family is already begging for me to make it again. Crisp, slight sweet and chewy on the inside. Bonus! It's smells great while baking!

Here's the recipe:

Irish Soda Bread to make again an again

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 Tbsp butter, cubed
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together the 4 cups of flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Using clean fingers or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour, mixing until it resembles a coarse meal, then stir in the raisins.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the beaten egg and buttermilk into the well, and combine with a wooden spoon until the dough is too stiff to stir. Dust your hands with flour, then gently pour dough onto baking stone.  Take a little more flour and use it to pat the dough into a ball. Your bread could become tough if you over-work it. The dough will be a little sticky, like biscuit dough.
3. .Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. 
4. Bake until the bread is golden and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a long, wooden skewer into the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean, it's done. If the crust gets too dark while baking, tent the bread with aluminum foil. Serve warm.

Baked Oatmeal

Yum, yum, yum. That's what your family and guests will be saying when you serve them this uber good morning treat!

I've been making this recipe for years. It's my go-to when we have company. It's my go-to when my kids are tired of eating cold cereal every single day. It's quick. It's easy. And it's oh, so delicious!

I've never made it for a guest who didn't ask for the recipe, and there are so many ways it can be made it's easy to change it up for a different taste every time. It's also great when made the night before (not cooked) and refrigerated until morning. Just let it sit out for about 10 minutes before popping it into the warmed up oven.

I think I've had this for about 10 years, and I believe it has roots in the Amish. It's sort of like a healthy, custard-y oatmeal cake, and depending on your family size, it can feed you for a few days. Confession: I'm starting to feel sad every time I make this breakfast. As I stated a minute ago, I've been making this for years, and it used to last for days. It's easy to re-heat, but my kids even like it cold! But how can oatmeal, (esp. and oatmeal like cake thing) make you sad you may be asking? These days, one batch is gone in s single few minutes out of the oven. It's another sign that my kids are growing older, getting more independent, and needing this mama a little less. And that my friends, makes me so sad. What will I do when none is home to bake this for?!

SNAP! Ok, I'm back to reality. Although gone are the days of single recipe cooking, here and now, I have to make a double recipe if I want leftovers, and I'll enjoy that while I still can!

Behold my friends, the Baked Oatmeal.

BAKED OATMEAL

1/2 C canola oil
1/2 C applesauce
1 C sugar (or less. I adjust. If using berries I use about 1 cup. If using apples I use 1/2 C.)
4 eggs
4 C oatmeal
4 tsp. baking powder
2 C milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Any kind of fruit you'd like. My family's favorite is apple. I dice unpeeled apples (2) and add it in. 
I also like to use a bag of frozen berries. (yup! Just toss in the whole bag of frozen berries!) Whatever suits your fancy. Here are some suggestions to get your mind rolling:

Apples/cinnamon (when doing this I also sprinkle the entire top of it with a generous amount of cinnamon so that the whole top looks brown)
Bananas/walnuts
Apples/raisins
Berries/almonds
Peaches/pecans

Heat oven to 375 F.
Measure out your oatmeal into a large bowl. Add the baking powder,sugar and spices.
Mix the dry stuff, then add the eggs, the oil and applesauce and lastly the milk. Then add your mix-in's of fruit and nuts. Mix well with a spoon or spatula.
Pour into a well greased 9X13 baking dish. Smooth out. At this point, wither bake it or cover it and put it in the fridge for morning.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until edges are brown and middle comes out clean.

Cut into squares and serve with a pat of butter and a small amount of milk. Enjoy! And get ready to share the recipe as everyone you know will want it!