Easy Whole Wheat Bread

This is a super easy whole wheat bread recipe. I use a Breadman breadmaker machine but if you do not have a breadmaker, simply let it rise for two hours and then bake in a conventional oven for 30 minutes. for about 350F.

Ingredients:

2 tsp raw sugar (or brown sugar or honey)
1 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp vegetable oil


Put dry ingredients first in the bowl, then add water oil and yeast. It takes 4 hours to do this in the machine.

It smells good and its very healthy...no salt, no preservatives ans seriouslty it is tasty! Try it~

Your home made rice milk

Part of my diet includes no dairy. I miss milk because I love having oatmeal or granola for my breakfast. I tried to reduce sodium intake so I decided to make my own rice milk.

I read years a go that rice milk is very healthy and in the old days in Asia, babies were fed with rice milk all the time. The home made rice milk is very easy and much cheaper compared to the rice milks in the stores.

It only takes less than two hours to prepare and you can do others while preparing it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white rice (or brown rice if you prefer)
6 cups of bottled water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp non iodized salt


First, you washed the rice at least three times with lots of water. Rice was processed in different places therefore it is important to wash them thoroughly.

Second, boil the rice with 4 cups of bottled water for about 20 minutes. Add vanilla and salt.

Third, let the rice sit still for about 40 - 50 minutes until it is completely cool.

Fourth, put the rice in the blender with the rest of water, I did it in two batches.

Fifth, strain the rice (now its like creamy puree) to a clean bowl. If you think it is still too creamy, feel free to add more water. I am happy with a thick milk and I do not put any honey or maple syrup. But if you wish, you could put some sweetener.

This milk is good to keep in the fridge for days.

Enjoy!

THYROID CANCER - The beginning and the few lessons I learnt

In October 26th, 2010 I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer which is Papillary Carcinoma. That was shocking because my symptoms were minimal such as short of breath and higher blood pressure. I just moved from a humid place to a dry and high elevated area so my GP thought those symptoms are normal.

Lesson number 1: when your body shows changes, that is the best alert you could get. Do not ignore the symptoms but make sure you get better significantly otherwise keep searching for the cause.

I thought severe pain, breast lump and severe weight lose were the only major cancer signals. How wrong I was.

Luckily I was chatting with a Nurse Practitioner who performed my pap smear and she said I have a nodule in my upper neck. Wow...My mother has a thyroid problem (not cancerous) and I thought you must watch for the gland in your lower neck only. Plus my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone or TSH (=thyroid blood work) has always been good. So I went for an ultrasound, another ultrasound and a biopsy. During the biopsy the doctor mentioned that he noticed the lump nodes are showing some similarity with the thyroid. I was so worried but I tried to be calm.

Two days later, the call confirmed that I have thyroid cancer. They kept saying to me that if you can choose a type of cancer, thyroid cancer is the one you picked. Hmmm....who would choose voluntarily to have cancer. However my specialist is not only smart but he has a heart. He did not mentioned it but assured me that this is curable and we just have to work hard to fight it.

Lesson number 2: Always check for lumps in your neck, breast and other areas of your body. Women tend to check their breast but ignore the neck and thyroid attack more women than man. 1 out of 3 Caucasian woman has thyroid problem. I am Asian but I get it too. I asked my endocrinologist about the correlation about TSH result and cancer. He said there are so many thyroid glands in our body that is the reason many people with cancer have normal or good TSH results. So no matter how good is your TSH, always check for lumps in your neck.


So my surgery was scheduled ten days after my diagnose and it lasted seven hours. They removed my thyroid gland in my neck side and 27 lymph nodes. 7 of the lymph nodes have cancer too.

After the surgery I needed to see an endocrinologist to monitor my thyroid and hormone. Hormone plays a vital role in a human body and it could affect other organs if it is not under control. My cancer is also pretty aggressive therefore he will help me to monitor the other thyroid

He mentioned most thyroid cancer was caused by radiation during childhood or genetic problem.
I could not think of any radiation because I never worked in a hospital, dental office or any radiation exposed places, but I remember my bedroom used to be next to a dental office which was a possible radiation exposures .

Lesson number 3: be aware of radiation exposure. Do not spend too much time in a dental office, refuse x-rays unless it is really necessary, if you must have x-ray in your dental exams, always cover your neck (they usually cover your chest but does not cover your neck).

Though only a small amount of thyroid cancer patients got it from bad diet, it is important to have a good and healthy diet. Too much fish with mercury exposure is not good. Some food such as soy is not good for thyroid health. If you have a good diet, somehow it will prevent the cancer to grow. In my case, the doctor think my relatively good diet and exercise has helped to fight the cancer which probably has been in my neck for more than ten years.

Lesson number 4: Good diet and exercise are very important. I also believe being positive and happy is equally important. Since my move I have been sad many times because I miss my family and friend...and my old life style in Jakarta and this sad episode has not been beneficial to my health.


Well God is so good, He is good all the time. I am counting my blessings and put my trust in the Lord for a complete healing through the doctors, medication and His healing power. I do hope my experience could somehow help others not to get cancer.

Oatmeal raisin cookie

Today I want to share my otameal raisin cookie recipe. It's pretty healthy and you can always substitute the white sugar with raw unrefined sugar.

Ingredients:

2 cups quick oatmeal

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup raisin

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Mix all dry inredients in a large bowl.

3. Melt the butter and mix with dry inredients. Add beaten eggs and vanilla.

4. Place into ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. This makes 42 to 50 cookies depending on how small or large they are.

They are delicious and healthy so you dont feel gulty having lots of them :)

ITALIAN CUISINE

Cappuccino, white heads with brown hair :)

A special lunch with Betta at Parma. Do you know where the super famous Parmesan cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano came from. Its from Parma, where people is pretty stylish like in Milan and pretty royal like the Venetians...Geographically Parma is pretty close to Milan and Venice. Our menu was the typical local dishes which was Tortelloni with spinach and lots of cheese...hmmm


Betta's father, Nino, at their house at Sarbolo. Lots of bacon (which is also famous in Parma) and Italian bread. A typical Italian home meal.



















There is home made pasta prepared by Laura, Betta's mom. So yummy! Some of the ingredients came from the back yard!!

















Waiting patiently for another meal...I was even smiling, I guess I was so excited to eat another real Italian food :)

The small cupcakes packaged beautifully in Florence and the amateur photographer..

A long glass of fresh orange juice...perfect for a hot summer day except for the price!









A nice dinner, trying Roman cusine in Rome of couse...the restaurants in Rome was a typical restaurant in Italy, compact and extended to the narrow streets with graffiti.



Pizza ala romana or Pollo alla romana, they were all perfecto! Unlike the perception of Italian cusine, Italians eat healthy food, they combine pasta with lots of vegetables and they use olive oil all the time. Italy sits at second place in terms of a country with longevity (seriously)...not bad at all for a place where people cherish the art of cooking. One of their secret is small portions!

Ti amo Italia.

GREECE - A TASTE OF ANCIENT HISTORY

Athens, the columns from centuries ago at the Acropolis , just imagine how solid they built the buildings then...



















The Parthenon

The Parliament Building (VOULI), a shot with one of the guards.

DELPHI

The ancient stadium, the picturesque city, the mountains; simply beautiful!

I felt in love with the Mediterranean houses from 8th Grade but seeing them is definitely much better than looking at pictures. They use simple lines (especially comparing them to Victorian houses - which are also beautiful) and they use different natural stones a lot. In some areas the colors are earthy and in some areas, closer to the beaches, they are so colorful. They use a lot of canopies too. Gorgeous architectural style!

On the way to Corinth there are many olive trees just like other parts of Greece. They used a lot of them and this is the first time I tried to eat fresh olives in salads...yummy and as you know the Mediterannean diet is very popular now. Do you know that olive tree has been around for more than 60,000 years and they originally came from Asia.

Some of the benefits of olive:

- produce monounsaturated fat (to reduce bad cholestrorol),

- prevent constipation (so its very good for your stomach),

- moisture skin and hair ( i used it before shampo for dry scalp)

- last but not least...its tasty ;)

The Corinth Canal

The ruins in Corinth, this is a real place where Paul used to preach to the Corinth people.

A famous quote from Paul about Love:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Memories of Vietnam (May 2009)

When I think of Vietnam, I instantly remember the beauties of HALONG BAY, wow, fantastic...it's an amazing place, a gem and it's so refreshing compared to the busy Halong Bay harbor with too many pearl vendors and the dusty long bus trip from Hanoi.

I always like to use the fruit as a centerpiece for my parties and especially the pineapples. Anyway this pineapple and springroll centerpiece was better, I think ... it looks really nice and you don't need a serving platter for your appetizer.

The famous Vietnamese coffee, very strong, that is the reason they always serve it with espresso mugs, not the big glass you usually see in the restaurants. Better for your health and sleeping pattern :) Isn't right Susi?

Left to right: Dwi, Tini, Susi, myself, Betty

In front of Ho Chi Minh (HCM or "Uncle Ho") mausoleum.

Do you know that he worked as a cook once? He did, he was even hired as a chef in a London hotel once.







A must see when visiting Hanoi. Puppet show is generally popular in Asia but this was performed in the water. It makes the Water Puppet Show so interesting and unique!! Plus the show gives you a lot about the customs in Vietnam. Vietnam has a big influence from French and you can see it in this theatre. Good show and lots to learn from!

PUMPKIN MUFFIN

This morning I made pumpkin muffin because my mixer is broken and we are out of bread;) Since it is snowing I am too lazy to go out and get some bread.

Voila....the healthy pumpkin muffin, no mixer needed and they will be good enough for lunch today!


Ingredients:

15 oz pumpkin (in a can)
2 cup flour
1/2 cup raisin
1/3 cup water
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
8 oz honey (you may subtitute with brown sugar)


Instructions:

Mix all ingredients, water should be added last so you could get the feel if you need more or less.

Preheat oven to 375F and bake for 20 minutes, this makes 14 muffins, yeah...

Enjoy!

MY CHILDHOOD MARBLE CAKE

Today I decided to go back to my childhood time and baked our family marble cake. Very popular in Indonesia. When I was a child, I used the drinking glass as my measurement instead of a real "cup". It works all the time :)


Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
3 eggs
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder


Mix butter and sugar, add milk, egg, vanilla, baking powder with a mixer.

Add flour, continue mixing with a lower speed or use a spatula.

Pour batter into greased pan, leave 4 tsp to be mixed with 2 tsp cocoa powder. Pour the cocoa batter to the pan and bake for about 30 minutes at 350F.

Enjoy!

Emergency Cooking - Super Simple Seafood Pasta

Ternyata hari ini nggak punya makanan atau telur di kulkas dan karena nggak bisa keluar rumah, nyoba masak Sefaood Pasta yang sangat gampang ( Super Simple Seafood Pasta) dengan crab meat (kepiting) yang ada dikaleng.

Bahan: 450 g spaghetti
1 botol besar saus spaghetti (kira2 750 g)/750 g spaghetti sauce
300 g daging kepiting/300 g crab meat
3 siung bawang merah/3 red shallots
3 siung bawang putih (boleh tidak pakai)/3 garlic cloves (optional)
garam/salt
oregano
basil
minyak zaitun/olive oil
keju parmesan parutan/ grated parmesan cheese
6 gelas air / 6 cups water

Cara:

1. Didihkan air sebanyak 6 gelas/cup lalu tambahkan garam dan spaghetti. Diamkan selama kurang lebih 8 menit - lamanya sesuai selera pastanya, mau lembek atau al dente saja. Setelah mendidik, di buang airnya. Tidak perlu disiram air dingin (pelajaran dari Rachael Ray show)

2. Tumis bawang merah yang sudah diiris kecil2 dengan 3 sdm minyak zaitun sampai harum dan layu. Jika akan memakai bawang putih, maka bawang putih boleh ditambahkan.

3. Masuk-an saos spaghetti dan daging kepiting. Juga bumbu oregano dan basil secukupnya dan 1 sdt garam. Dimasak selama 3 menit.

4. Masuk-an spaghetti dan diaduk 1 menit.

5. Siap disajikan dengan parutan keju parmesan diatasnya. uenak, enjoy!