Quick Recipe: Steak with Mash Potatoes and Simple Vegetables

As weird as this sounds, going grocery shopping is one of my favourite past times. Walking through aisles on aisles of colourful fresh produces and packages, comparing prices, finding new brands and products - I could do all these all day long!

One of my resolution for September is to cook more at home and eat less takeaways. Not for any particular reason, it is definitely normal to make a new resolution in the last quarter of the year. I really think 2016 is just going at the speed of light! Whatever happened to the last 7 to 8 months I don't even know, I feel like the new year was just last month.

Rambling aside, the new resolution helps me enjoy more of my favourite past times and the trips to grocery stores have definitely increased in the past few weeks. In the past, the resolution has almost never worked out because I always run out of time to cook my meals from scratch. So, I think it's a good idea to document the successful, quick and easy recipes on my blog. Whether you're a busy bee or just a lazy cook (like me), this recipe is very do-able.

Today, we will start with the fool-proof steak with mash potatoes and simple vegetables:

As for raw ingredients, you will need:

• Steak, raw and at room temperature (work out the size as you wish)
• Potatoes
• Your favourite vegetables (to save time, I use frozen packed vegetables)

The condiments that I use are:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Mixed herbs (or your other favorite dry condiments)
• Olive oil
• Full cream milk (you will only need a few dashes)
• Instant gravy (optional)

The process are quick and easy, it takes me about 15-20 minutes to prepare this deliciousness:

1. Boil water in a pot, seasoned with a pinch of salt.
2. Peel and wash potatoes. Cut them into medium chunks and fork these chunks. You can skip the forks but I find it helps the potatoes to soften to the core a little faster, making it easier to mash.
3. Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until it is soft.
4. Meanwhile, brush your steak with olive oil and rub salt, pepper, paprika, and mixed herbs on both sides.
5. Bring your pan to hot temperature, spray it with a little bit of oil if it is not a non-stick pan.
6. Grill the steak to medium rare or medium, about 4 minutes on each sides. Flip it regularly to prevent burning. Plate it aside.
7. Microwave your milk for about 30-40 seconds. 
8. Once the potatoes are soft, mash them up in a bowl, pour the milk little by little to make sure the mash is smooth and creamy. Plate it aside. (You may also put butter in your mash to make it even more creamy)
9. Microwave your frozen vegetables, or boil them to your liking. Plate it aside
10. Lastly, prepare your instant gravy according to the instruction. You can skip this step as you wish.

And there you go, a fresh, very quick and easy plate of juicy steak with mash potatoes and simple vegetables in 10 easy steps ready to eat! Hope this has been helpful to kick start your cooking and let me know if you try this out :)

Last Week's Food: Lonsdale Street Roasters and Gelatissimo

Welcome back to the new segment of Last Week's Food!

I've been upping my photos skill for this segment and took time to edit it a little bit so it looks prettier than what it actually is. So, here we go:

Last Sunday, a friend of my friend came to town for a visit. She wanted to go to places that is very Canberra so we took her to Lonsdale Street Roasters/Eatery!

Lonsdale is a street in Braddon, ACT, where you can find many people hangout at nights and weekends at heaps of cool cafe and eatery. There are a lot of choices for food around the suburb, from vegan to all-meat, Asian to French, outdoor or indoor, you make the decision. 

For brunch last week, I opt for the classic grilled/roasted salmon and eggs Benedict with corn bread. If you're worried about the small portion size of cafe's foods, don't be. You get plenty at Lonsdale Street Roasters. As you can see you get 2 blocks of salmon belly, a big corn bread, and 2 eggs Benedict. It was yummy and soo fulfilling. 

Lonsdale is famous for its coffee. Sadly, I did not order it last time. My friend did but I forgot to take a picture of it. It smells delicious, though!

Instead of coffee, I ordered a chai latte (my go-to drink). Look at this gorgeous glass of chai latte. Also, check out the little spoon! There is a mini vintage car at the end of the spoon. A great attention to detail. 

The cafe is also pet friendly. There are many people bringing their dogs to enjoy the breakfast with them. However, I'm not sure if there is a special food for the pets. Anyway, this is one of the greatest cutest dog we saw that day. I think that's a great dane? Or a Dalmatian? Anyway, it was bigger than the table and so calm and super adorable. 

The rest of the week was not that special in terms of food. I spent a lot of time in the library doing assignment so I did not take pretty pictures. Also, the food wasn't that special.

But I got some vouchers of buy-1-get-1-free Gelatissimo and decided to use it. You know, college kids mentality. Wherever discount is present, we are there. It's been such a long time since I had Gelatissimo. As per usual, I bought the classic chocolate flavour gelato and it was heavenly. (Sorry the cup is dirty, I was half way eating)

Anyway, that was a look back of the food (with better quality photos). Sorry it was only from 2 different place but hopefully you guys enjoy this post! x

Last Week's Food

Here's a little post about the food that I took a picture of last week.

Guzman y Gomez was having $5 burrito for 5 days. As a true college student with a budget, of course I have to go and reap the benefits. Out of the 5 days, I went twice. Seriously, it was the best. First of all, Guzman y Gomez burrito is heavenly good. Then, it's half priced. Nothing is better than this. I went for pork burrito bowl and spicy chicken burrito (not pictured). They were amazing. 

I was craving Japanese food on weekend so I order a sashimi salad for takeaway. It's been a loong time since I've had sashimi and boy-oh-boy, was it good. You know when you're craving something that you haven't had in a long time, the food suddenly taste so good? That was what happened. 

Lastly, a good old Indonesian fried rice (nasi goreng) with a sunny side up. A little something to make me miss home a little less. 

I'm thinking of doing this every week or maybe every other week. I don't eat takeouts everyday but the food that I cook doesn't look pretty. But hopefully one day I'll be confident enough to share my cooking on here. For now, these are the food I enjoyed last week!

Halloween, Jamie Oliver Jamie's Italian, and more!

Warning: there will be lots of picture in this post

It's the FINAL EXAM PERIOD or most commonly known as biggest freak out period of the year or getting little to no sleep or too much sleep there is no in between.

And that is my excuse for not posting since almost a month ago, but I'm back in my precious procrastination time so I can dwell in this den and write a wee bit!

So October was Halloween! What did I do for Halloween, you say? Nothing! :)

Why? Because I never celebrated Halloween and I really don't see the significance of it for me...no offence on all the people who celebrate Halloween, though.

I did, however, become a zombie for one day! (I guess, this was my attempt to appreciate a tradition?). The college/hall that I live in now have annual musical and this year I helped for backstage hands. We're doing Reefer Madness musical and there are zombies in the plot so us as backstage hands thought it would be great to be a part of the walking dead troops with fake blood (that is made from chocolate and golden syrup, yum!) and makeup :)

Excuse my camwhoreness but do I look pretty dead yet?

Then, the weekend before exam week, we went to Jamie Oliver's restaurant, Jamie's Italian. The town that I live in is having a soft opening and one of my best friend here works there. She invited us to come down and indulge in what I call, beautiful food. Just appreciate that...

It was pretty amazing indeed. I really like the ambience of the place because it looks formal from the outside, but actually it's really laid-back inside. Also, the portion size is playing mind tricks with people if you're not aware of it. 

Jamie Oliver is pretty famous for his healthy recipes. His restaurant is obviously promoting the same thing. One mind trick they used is the proportion size vs. the plate size. If you have ever dined in Jamie's Italian, you probably know that the plate is humongous. It's not just big, it's huge. However, the lay the food flat so it looks like you're eating a lot because your plate is so big but the portion of the food itself is small to medium. So, you still think you're eating a lot and you're full.

Then a few days before the exams, the APO (Academic Program Officers) in my hall dropped a study-survival kit. Look at that! All 550 students get that pack! It's really cute :3

And one of my best friends also bought us cakes from Dobinsons bakery (best thing in town) and I got a chocolate cheesecake that is just so beautiful and so delicious!

Then, I have my exams two days in a row (and one of them is Saturday! Major bummer). After my exam on Saturday, I bought a bubble tea, chocolate milk tea from Chatime and walk home because the weather was gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of my high school time when I would do the same thing after a long/hard day...

And what better way to end the story with a picture of a park (or a forrest, like seriously it's just full of rows and rows of huge-tall trees) with the sun ready to set in and a red blob of ray of sunshine :)

That's all there is for now guys :) I would love to know what you guys did for Halloween and also what is you favourite guilty pleasure drink, food or dessert? Let me know in the comments below!

Good luck! Have a great week and wish me luck for exams!

xx

Want to earn money and gift cards by playing apps?

Download FeaturePoints on http://featu.re/C9Q23Z and enter the referral code: C9Q23Z

Thanks, guys! x :)

Summer Trend 2k13: Masks (Singapore Haze)

So, I am home! 

But then I wasted my first week home by sleeping and staying inside because I couldn't go outside at all these past few days. 

If you have been watching or reading the news, you know that Singapore has been hazed for a week (not just on Tuesdays). It's been pretty bad, this afternoon the pollutant standard index went up to over 400. The sky has been looking like this: (can you see anything?)

But then once in a while, you need to come out of the house and buy supplies. So I did go out for like an hour or something. But then again you need to protect yourself, right? So mask-time, it is.

Yep, a lot of people were wearing one which is really really good because I feel less weird. So, yeah, that's my first week of break back home having fun in haze. Whoop whoop! Other great things would be that I've been eating healthy food, home-cooked, delicious food outside for cheap price, eating lots of snacks (I love food what can I say). I've also been cuddlin a lot with my ukulele and my guitar which is the best. Also been watching Daria (my favorite girl of all time)

Hope you guys have fun in your summer or winter!

Bits and Pieces

Hey hey lovelies!

I've been very busy procrastinating lately and just feeling overly tired all the time. I'm going to have my exam soon and they freak me out. On the other hand, I'm just very very lazy and I don't get the incentive (see what I did there?) to study at all, I have no idea why :( 

Thought I will share bits and pieces about my days for you guys!

First up, I am a huge fan of Nutella and I eat pretty much everything with it. And, I love bread which makes the best combination with Nutella. Since I am a college kid, I don't have the time and money to do fancy meals (or to cook at all) especially for breakfast. Moreover, it is really hard for me to eat fruit because I always forgot...

Fortunately, I came up with the idea of eating fruit with my breakfast...and I started making my own banana-and-nutella-sandwich! Nothing fancy or new here but holy moley it tastes heavenly! Also, it does not make you hate yourself because even though you eat sugary nutella, you also eat banana/fruit which is really good for your body! You can also use wholemeal/wholegrain/high-fibre bread to make you feel better of yourself :D

I've also been busy with rehearsals (which is one of the greatest thing that happened to me this semester :D) on weekdays at night and on weekends. Last week, CBR decided to cry water and fog everywhere. It was really really gloomy and wet. And... I fell down my bike too (no fun D:)

But later that day, I was walking through campus cutting roads to get to one side from another and came across this gorgeous view. Look at this! It may look gloomy but isn't this so pretty? This is one of the reason why I fell in love.

That is all I have for you all today! I hope you have a lovely month and holiday! Happy summer for my northern hemisphere loves and happy winter for all my southern hemisphere loves!

Wish me luck for my exams!

It is Okay

I'm writing this down not because I want to be inspirational or anything. In my 19 years of life, I've been in the same situation for lots and lots of time and I always feel uncomfortable about this.

As you probably know, I'm in a family with loads of males. I have female cousins from my dad's side but they all live so far away that I don't get to see them very often.

Being the only girl in the family and having 5 other male cousins and an older brother is very very amazing. I am very grateful and I wouldn't wish for anything else to happen. Anyway... This pretty much makes me a lot like them, like a guy.

I really don't want to explain myself to find justice but in a nutshell, I'm not that girly. Yes, sure, I know and like stuffs about make up and fashion, but it stops there. I don't really dress up or plan my outfit just to go to school. I don't really wear make up (I still wear it sometimes). I don't have a ladylike curve/figure. And, I wear glasses.

All these were never a problem until I move away from home. I did not expect people's view about girls is that twisted...

It was really annoying when people ask me why I wear glasses and lecture me about how uncomfortable it is to wear glasses. Told me to lose the glasses and wear contacts and whatever. Excuse me. It's not like I devote my life and try hard to wear glasses. I wear it because I have to, my eyesight is not healthy thus I wear glasses. And I'm still scared to wear contacts, but I will try hard because I really have to in a few months from now.

I have scars on my face from acne. It is annoying when people say why not cover it up with make up, why don't you want to wear make up, come here and I'll make your face up, and I will not let you get away with no make up to this event. I don't know why I don't want to cover my scars up with make up. I wear make up when I feel like it. And sometimes I just don't think I need to hide my scars. It's not like I spray blood from my face, anyway.

I have a wavy/curly/thick hair. And let me tell you, it is annoying when people told me to straightened my hair, "you look better with straight hair", "why don't you straightened your hair", "let me straightened your hair" and all the stuffs. No, you don't know how I looked like with straight hair. No, I  don't want you to straightened my hair and I do not want to do it myself. This is my hair, I like it natural, get over it.

I'm a medium size and you would not believe how annoyed I am when people start to compare figures, telling me that I'm so lucky I'm skinny, I have small this small that (while sometimes the person who said this are smaller than I am). Despite this, I eat a lot. And I don't appreciate when people starts telling me about how much fat/sugar/carbohydrate are in the food that I eat, keep asking "why do you eat that? It's so unhealthy" and then coming back to the first comment about body figure. I have been called anorexic for many times and you have no idea how much I wanted to throw a rack full of shoes.

And (probably) you don't know how much it hurts when you hear those comments from people you know, people you love, or even people whom you just met.

Enough of me rambling, the point is I do not see anything wrong with wearing glasses, having a wavy/curly hair or acne scars on my face. It was never a problem, why is it a problem now? Do you judge people from their size? From their outfit and make up? NO.

In the end, nobody is perfect. If anything, I am totally unfit in all the ways you could ever think of. I don't do sports anymore. The only thing I do now is walk or cycle to and fro campus. And IT IS OKAY to have imperfections because every single person in this world have at least one. IT IS OKAY to wear comfortable clothes or not to wear make up or glasses as long as you look presentable as a human being (not like wearing underwear outside and all that crap).

I don't like to be a standard for anything. As long as you are healthy, you feel good about yourself, you fulfil your needs, and you are not bothering other people, IT IS OKAY.

Reasons to Live (Pt. 1?)

1. Rainy season or just rain in general (especially if you live in tropical climate)
2. Sunshine!
3. Beautiful beaches, walking in the sand barefoot and feeling the sand and water..
4. Swimming pool or jacuzzi
5. Snow!
6. The color of autumn leaves
7. Being able to drink water when you're tired and very thirsty
8. Internet!! and all the magic in it :D
9. Parks
10. Reservoirs or any non-contaminated places

11. Music, music, music
12. New music from your favorite artist
13. Seeing your favorite band making new records after years of hiatus
14. Hearing/finding the right song at the right time
15. Being able to know the title of the song you heard once on the radio after years of effort in trying
16. Hearing the song that you want to hear in the radio without requesting to the radio dj
17. LIVE CONCERTS!!
18. Being able to meet people who love your favorite bands/artists as much as you do
19. Great TV series or movies
20. and its fandom!

21. Learning new things, no matter how simple it is
22. Making people smile, whatever you do
23. Having a quality time with yourself
24. Family!
25. Your best friends
26. Meeting new people
27. The smell of new books
28. Great books or a sequel of the book that you've waited for so long
29. Hugs, especially when you really need one
30. Sleep time or nap time

31. Being able to sing your heart out in the shower (or anywhere really)
32. Dancing around as silly as you can
33. Doing weird stuffs with your friends
34. FOOD!!!
35. MORE FOOD!!!
36. The warm fuzzy feeling when you drink hot tea/chocolate/coffee when it's cold
37. The brain freeze or cold and tingly feeling when you drink cold drinks when it's hot
38. Theme parks
39. Cartoons (and watching those that you've watched when you were a kid)
40. Laughing until you cry and smiles

(to be continued...)

Slogtember 19 - Steal, Nostalgia, Weekend

Jadi Uwi lagi ngidam pancakes hari Sabtu kemaren. Akhirnya hari ini gue, Uwi dan Marsha berusaha untuk makan di Strictly Pancakes daerah Dhoby Ghaut. Tapi sayangnyaaa, restorannya tutup. Karena sangat kurang beruntung, akhirnya kita ganti haluan ke Baja Fresh, restoran Mexico yang nampilin jam Los Angeles, jualan bir dari Jerman, dan pelayannya rata-rata orang India. Sangat multikultural. Selama beberapa jam makan, kita ditemani oleh lagu dari si seksi Enrique Iglesias ;) dan pas banget yang keputer lagu-lagu nostalgia kelas 8 :3 seperti ini:

Dimelo 

Alguien Soy Yo

Hohoho. Dan kita pun mampir juga ke Cathay yang toiletnya sangat jauh berliku dan nyeremin. Membekas abis di hati gue. Kita juga ke Gramophone karena Marsha mau liat-liat vinyl (alternatif gitu ya ngga sha hahaha). Karena vinylnya mahal akhirnya Marsha beli DVDnya Like Crazy dan Uwi beli DVD Paprika (alternatif juga ya wi wkwk) yang membuahkan percakapan seperti...

M: "Kok Paprika?"
U: "Iya, nama ceweknya Paprika kalo ga salah"
S: "Aneh-aneh aja. Bayangin lo punya anak namanya Ketumbar"
U: "Atau kalo enggak, Jahe"
M: "Yang bumbu khas indo dong, apa kek. Kunyit gitu."

Selain itu gue juga nemu CD yang lagi di sale murah-murah kebangetan seperti ini yang gue beli akhirnya pun... (struktur kalimat hancur)

Dan juga menemukan CD Kotak yang mana adalah band asal Indonesia Raya Merdeka Merdeka. Tapi harganya kejam banget ya parah... Jujur tadi waktu liat mau nggak mau kita bertiga ketawa ngakak tapi kasihan juga.... Btw, udah di cek 50 cent = Rp 3.893,88 (www.xe.com)

Oh and another thing, gue hampir ketabrak.

Sekian.

Byeeee~

Part 3: Food

"Makan ga makan, ya asal ngumpul" - Ini lirik lagu bukan sih? Lupa gue.

Yak kembali lagi bersama saya disini semoga anda semua masih tertarik untuk membaca tulisan tulisan sarat gambar ini dan melihat-lihat bagaimana kehidupan sehari-hari saya. Sekarang, saya akan menceritakan kepada anda semua cerita liburan saya yang ketiga. Kalau anda bertanya kenapa sudah yang ketiga, mohon buka blog saya dulu karena bagian satu dan dua telah menunggu untuk dibaca :)

Jadi gini nih, baru aja gue sadar kalo ternyata setiap kali gue pulang liburan gue selalu bawa oleh oleh pas balik. Oleh-oleh yang selalu setia mengikuti kemanapun gue pergi ini bernama: LEMAK. Berat badan yang naik, perut yang membuncit dan celana-celana yang ngga muat adalah hal yang udah gue anggap biasa untuk dihadapi di masa-masa kembali ke realita...

Tapi ya emang masakan-masakan Indonesia itu emang enaknya tiada tara duanya! Dari makanan pinggiran kaki lima, warteg sampe ke restoran-restoran semua rasanya itu NENDANG! Jadi di mohon hati-hati pas lagi makan jangan lupa kakinya pada diiket ya. Takutnya nanti tawuran.

Semua makanannya maknyus dan menggoyang lidah tanpa bergoyang dangdut. Biasanya sebelum gue pulang, gue udah bikin mental list makanan apa aja yang harus gue cicip cicip lagi pas gue lagi di rumah. Gado-gado, ketoprak, ketupat sayur, soto, rawon, empal gentong, es campur, es doger, es duren, AYAM PENYET IBU YANI di KEMANG PRATAMA BEKASI (promosi restoran temen), mi ayam, pangsit goreng bakmi GM, bakso, siomay batagor, nasi goreng, oke kayaknya musti udahan sebelum gue nyebutin semua makanan yang gue tau.

Nah, pas liburan gue dan 2 orang sahabat yang udah sering banget disebut disini, Nadine Nadia, memutuskan untuk bertemu bersama bernostalgia mengulang kembali kenangan lama. Jadi pagi kita janjian di Tamara dan ke panti dulu sampe siang. Pas pulang, kita pun diturunin di hero dan kebingungan mau makan apa. Setelah jalan kesana kemari dibawah teriknya matahari dan peluh yang membasahi, akhirnya kita menjatuhkan pilihan untuk makan di Bakmi Awat. Kwetiauw ayam bakso pangsit pun gue lahap dengan sukses.

Setelah itu kita jalan kaki dari hero ke basecamp kita, Ayam Penyet Ibu Yani sembari menurunkan makanan dan membakar kalori dan lemak. Sampe disana kita dengan sangat baiknya disuguhi Es Kelapa Muda dengan sirup warna merah gitu yang endang bambang. Setelah capek ngobrol selama beberapa jam, kita pun iseng mau beli popcorn. Akhirnya balik lagi jalan kaki dari basecamp ke hero dan bertemu kawan lama yang bernama Ferry. Yang dengan kurang kerjaannya *menurut gue sih* naik sepeda dari kuningan sampe bekasi bolak-balik.

Setelah mendekat ke hero, kita pun gajadi beli popcorn karena menurut kita itu kemahalan dan kurang ngenyangin. Akhirnya kita ke depannya hero karena Nadia udah kepanasan dan kepingin makan es podeng. Gue yang masih kenyang es kelapa muda pun memutuskan untuk makan Tahu Gejrot dan minum es teh yang berhasil gue tebas sampe es es-nya sekalian karena kepedesan. Padahal itu yang pedesnya sedang. Nadine, pertamanya sih ga pesen apa-apa. Ngeliat gue makan tahu gejrot begitu, hasratnya pun timbul untuk mesen juga... Emang dasar ni anak kalo makan lauknya pake cabe, dia pesen yang pedes, tapi ga pesen minum. Nadine dengan sukses ngembat es batu gue dan keringetan lebih drpd tadi sehabis jalan kaki.

Setelah ngobrol bentar dan membayar makanan tadi, kita pun jalan lagi. Begitu liat gerobak siomay, emang dasarnya kita semua pecinta makanan (baca: sedikit rakus), langsung berpikir yang engga-engga. Pertama niat kita pesen siomay batagor satu porsi buat bertiga. Tapi akhirnya kita pesen batagor satu porsi bertiga dengan saus kacang yang dibanyakin. Sayang sekali abangnya ga ngasi kita bonus waktu itu. Tapi ngga papa lah. Udah agak kenyang jg kan ceritanya. Setelah berhasil menyantap batagor seporsi bertiga bersama-sama (kesannya mesra banget ya uuuu :3) kita pun bertekad untuk mengakhiri wisata kuliner hari itu.

Kembalilah kita jalan kaki ke basecamp. Tapi entah kenapa, rasanya hauuuus sekali waktu itu. Dengan penjual es duren di sisi kiri dan kanan jalan, gue sama Nadine udah nafsu kepingin beli. Tapi Nadia berhasil meredam hasrat naga perut gue dan Nadine dan membawa kami masuk ke resto lagi. Tiba-tiba sayup sayup dari kejauhan terdengar, "Tenonet tenonet tenotenonet" (nyanyiin pake lagu eskrim Walls) dan kuping kami yang jeli langsung bereaksi. Wisata kuliner hari itu berhasil ditutup dengan, es krim walls.

Abis itu kita tepar. Duduk-duduk doang. Bisa bayangin ga sih sekenyang apa ya itu perut udah ga kerasa deh kaya ilang. Oh dan mohon diingat, gue minum susu ultra 2 kali buat ngilangin pedes (dan emang itu minuman gue dari kelas 8 haha).

KANGEN INDONESIA KANGEN MAKANANNYA.

*mikir plan wisata kuliner liburan selanjutnya :P*