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