COOL AND COLOUR

Cool Place.

It is late summer and close enough to Autumn, and the weather can be still hot, the other week we had three days in a row of the hot summer.  First,  it was so dry and warm, and the following days were hot and humid, very uncomfortable.
The weather forecast this time said, within a few days Saturday and Sunday will be warm enough, at 24 degrees, but Monday is going to be reaching to 30 degrees C.  Personally I love warm weather, too hot is a no-no for me. I know, we can always put on the air conditioner, but sometimes it is not enough.  In an empty open room, sitting with the aircon going is not enough.
Maiden Hair Ferns

 Improving the ambience helps to create a pleasant place by adding green plants such as indoor plants particularly ferns. The area became a lovely cold room, fresh, you relax with comfort.  In hot days stay in and let the outside be an absent place for the moment, but waiting for a refreshing change.
Probably visiting the bushland or forest is the way to go to escape from the heat to find a cool place.   Seeing wildlife beautiful vegetations and enjoy the soft breeze while we all enjoy the glory of nature and feeling crisp and fresh.   Do not suffer! There are ways to get through the hot days.

Fern trees grow outdoor in a cool shade as you would set up fernery, but these maiden ferns sit happily indoor in the living room, it suggests that the place is neat and indeed the family feels that ways.

Bright Colour
A bright colour is cheerful, positive and hopeful. Always good to see a mixed bright colour, it is encouraging, unlike a dull colour, is sad and gloomy.  Beautiful colourful flowers in the garden are very inviting so the colour of the delicious cooking, from savoury to sweets. My food the Lompia Basah has a bright filling. It is pancake roll with filling and good for snacking. The filling is wrapped and rolled, no one could not see the inside, but I love to see the pretty filling when I cut to eating it.
The filling: green vegetables, carrots, bean sprouts and shredded chicken breast.
Pancake: freshly made and the ingredients, 3/4 cup plain flour, and lightly beaten 3 free-range eggs, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon oil and a little salt.  Mix these five ingredients together, make a smooth, relatively thin batter mixture, if it is too thick add some more water.  Let it rest for 25 minutes. Cook this batter to make 8 pancakes.  

Pictures how to make pancake rolls.

Cooking the pancake

Cooked pancakes

A layer of the filling from green, sprout, chicken and carrots

The Lumpia cut in halved

A platter of Lumpia

This filling: cooked crunchy vegetables and chicken, for a variation, use all fresh vegetables with cooked meat for fish.  However, you could do the filling as you wish.  As my lumpia basah is not very traditional, I do as I like it.

Colourful Ricotta Dish.

Pan-Fried Ricotta Cheese and Egg

Ricotta and eggs, very colourful,  the garnished did it.

It was not a good day in the kitchen, the pan-fried ricotta and egg did not shape very well, fell apart, instead of nicely round.  It did not hold the shape, but the taste was good.

 Leafy salad with tomato, radish dressed with lime juice was the garnish for the dish. 

Sweet Scones.

Plain scone is good food, easy to make, and you could dress it up or down.  I baked pretty small size scones and loved to dress it up, looked pretty, creamy, sweet and beautiful.  The plain pumpkin scone looked golden with the pumpkin jam topping but garnished with slivered almond it looked even better.  They were dainty and dandy scones, shared with friends for a morning tea.

Sweet Scones for Sunday best maybe colourful enough for one, but you may have delicious sponges for the best.

Herbs and Edible Flowers.
Colourful fresh herbs and flowers are readily at my kitchen for me to make my cooking completes.

Beautiful and Colourful

Colourful Fruits
Fruits to dress a rustic sweet water pastry definitely more appealing.

Colourful and Different.
Arem-Arem 
This Javanese dish, rice rolls with spiced meat for the filling won't' be found in Java, the yellow colour to make the dish bright and beautiful is my way to cook it.  The original is a plain steamed white rice.  It is arem arem with the difference, the colour adds to celebrate the rice.

Yellow Arem Arem

Wajik, sweet glutinous rice is pretty in a pink, beautiful bright colour.  The traditional wajik is brown as it is flavoured with coconut sugar.  Both are delicious in their own way.

Pretty Pink
Sweet Glutinous Rice

You may like the ideas of serving food with colours, as I do, bright and beautiful.
Feeling Cool on a warm day is right,  Colourful flowers and colourful dishes cheer us always.

My message for the coming week is to enjoy the calm and colourful as it will be the Autumn the new season. Autumn weather is pleasant and Colourful Autumn colours are Lovely.


Until Next Post
Susy

Herbs, Flowers and Fruits

Story to Tell.

HERBS

Potted Standard Bay Leaf and rosemary growing underneath.  They share the space beautifully.

Bay Leaf and Rosemary,

Milo Cake with Bay Leaves Recipe: look on the older post, type: milo cake to search.  Posted on 12-06-2012 with the heading: Moist Milo Cake.

Rosemary, this herb is very useful in cooking, baked potato with rosemary is delicious, and lamb meat flavoured with rosemary is a match in heaven.  Roast lamb with Rosemary is the best.

Lemon and Rosemary
goes very well

Roast Spring Leg Lamb

Leg of Lamb with sprigs of Rosemary

Cooked Roasted Lamb with Rosemary

Rosemary Plant is in Flower

Lemongrass.

Lemongrass, a beautifully fragrant herb for Asian cooking.  Lemongrass tea is very refreshing, but cooking chicken with coconut and lemongrass is so creamy and aromatic.

Chicken with lemongrass
Ayam Nyemek Bumbu Sereh.
(Lemongrass Chicken Coasted in Coconut Sauce)

The recipe of chicken with lemongrass, please look on the older post: Lemongrass (continued)

Potted Lemongrass

Recipes using lemongrass, look on the older post.  Type Lemongrass to search.  It was posted on 18-05-2012.  Lemongrass (continued) posted on 19-05-2012).  Enjoy!


Lemon Basil.
Basil, potted lemon basil for Javanese salad, but it is excellent also simply mixed with fresh tomato cucumber and lime juice.  I served as a garnish for spicy food, such as curry dishes.

Potted Lemon Basil

Javanese salad with lemon basil is so refreshing.  Gather some lettuces, other leafy green, tomato and beansprout for the salad, dress with coconut dressing.

Recipe for the coconut dressing
Savoury Coconut Dressing

Ingredients: 1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons grated palm sugar/coconut sugar
1 shallot and 1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 small sliced galangal
1 kaffir lime leaf
salt to taste (1/2 teaspoon)
1 cup water,  extra
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method
Place the peeled shallot, garlic, and coriander seeds, grind them to make a rough paste
In a saucepan, place the coconut, water, sugar, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, cook to soften.
Add in the rough paste, extra water and lemon juice, keep on cooking until all liquid is absorbed
Transfer to a bowl, add the oil, mix together.  It keeps well refrigerated.

FLOWER AND FRUIT

Hydrangea Plant.

Potted Hydrangea, the second flowering season change from Pink to Blue.  A big question.?

A plant produces two colours of flowers.  Amazing!?

Apple Tree

The first harvest apple Fuji is going to be from this potted espalier Fuji apple tree.

Looking forward to eating the fresh apple from my potted garden.

Potted Espalier Apple Fuji

These plants have the story of their own, I listen and listening very well.  Yes, I got it most of the time.

Until Next Post
Susy

Beans from Bruce

Green Beans
Freshly picked vegetables always taste better, it is tender, sweet, fresh is best.  Yesterday we got a beautiful freshly picked green beans from our good neighbour Bruce.
Preparing a composed salad with Spanish flavour for lunch, and the green beans would be useful in it.  I have enough vegetables and other ingredients for the salad.

Fresh Green Beans
Cooked to add to the Composed Salad

Other vegetables I need for the composed salad: tomato, capsicum, potato, leafy lettuce, red onion, egg, chorizo. And other ingredients are oil to cook also spices, fresh herbs, lime and olive oil for the salad dressing.

The dressing: Simple and Mild.
Oil, lime juice, smoked paprika, freshly ground black pepper, fresh herbs parsley and chives and salt.

2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1teaspoon salt and add freshly ground black paper
1 tablespoon chopped the fresh herbs.
(Place all ingredients in a jar, shake it to mix)





Preparation and cooking: all together is only 35 minutes.

An example, cooking for four people for a Lunch.

Lunch at 12
Set the table at 11

Start prep and cooking 11.15-11.55
(clear all the mess all the way)

Guests arrive at 11.55
Lunch starts at 12. approx
Serves and dress the salad just before serving.

The Other Ingredients  and a Large Bowl For the Compost Salad

Leafy greens (endive or cos lettuce), Chorizo, Eggs, Red onion, Potato, Red Capsicum and Tomatoes.

Note:
Boil the potato with the skin, peel when it is cooked.
Sautee the onion lightly, the onion should be crunchy with a sweet taste
Omelette, flavour it with herbs, cheese etc. (optional)

Preparation and the Procedures
The Cooking

Omelette

Saute Onion

Peeled Potato

Boiled Potato

Pan Fry Chorizo

At 11.45, the components of composed salad have to be ready, and they are placed in the serving bowl.  Set aside and dress it prior serving time.  Serve at once.

Place all cooked salad components in a large bowl, set aside.
Dress with the salad dressing before serving.

The Procedures

Start at 11 o'clock

11.20  -------- clean leafy greens, the beans, slice onion-chorizo-capsicum-tomato 

11.20 - 11.30 -------------- boil the potato and cook the beans, have two pots to cook at the same time.

11.22 - 11.24------------------------------------- place clean and cut fresh vegetables in a large bowl

11.25 - 11.29 -------------------------------------  sauteing red onion and cooking omelette-cut in wedges.

11.30 -----------------------------------------------   the beans cooked before the potatoes,  leave to cool

11.32 - 11.35 -----------------------------  cook the chorizo using the pan from cooking the omelette.

11.37   ------------------------ prepare the dressing

11.45 ---------------------------All components of the salad are in the serving bowl, set aside 

11.55 ------  Dress the salad with the dressing, add the onion and sprinkle with fresh parsley on top

12.00 ----  Lunch is served

Multitasking in cooking is vital to achieving a good result and timely.

A Delicious Composed Salad, Garnished with Sourdough Bread.

Home Baked
Sourdough Bread

The preparation was spot on, and the procedures worked perfectly.

The composed salad was sufficed to serve for four, a little sweet could be served to complete the meal. 

Crusty bread is excellent to complement the salad,  and it is readily available from the bread shop.  You don't need to bake it at home.







I am sure Bruce would be very pleased and proud to know regarding the beans.  Thank you kindly.

***

Variation for the Salad Dressing.

A dressing using smoked paprika, and prepare one hour before serving.

Salad Dressing with Smoked Paprika

Lime juice of one lime.

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 shallot, finely chopped
1 fresh clove garlic, crushed

Herbs: oregano (optional)

1/3 cup olive oil.

Blend the ingredients in a food processor together except the olive oil until smooth.

Pour the olive oil into mixing, at the last

The dressing should be thick, smooth and silky

Refrigerate before using for one hour.

This dressing is not very delicate, as the flavour of fresh garlic, shallot and the vinegar is very pronounced.
You have the choice, the mild one was prepared for the composed salad.





Until Next Post.
Susy