As Long As You Love Me

It's 4.37am. The doorbell rang. I awoke with half of my soul left apart in the dreamland. I heard the sound of a big rain outside and I was trying to gather my consciousness. I'm in the middle of my childhood room. With my husband. 

Urgh, something bad must be happened.

My father used to take a morning bath at 3am. Uncommon to many people, but not here. His schedule will started by pick up his previously night chosen sarong and shirt, put them in reachable area (sofa in family room, chair, etc), have a night praying, then take a bath, dress up and go to masjid for praying Shubuh with the neighbors. 

A month ago, my mom got an appendectomy. It's her 4th big surgery in her life. Surprisingly, while the surgeon did the procedure, several fat strings found and they decide to remove it too. It affects to her recovery, she haven't got the "normal" stamina as she has before.

I am so lucky, my parent has many people who loved them around. When I should left them outta town after the surgery, I went to Jogja with million of "how-if" questions in my head. I even cursed me for having a selfish thought for moved into another country, whether recklessly judge that I could live happily being not (too) worried about my parents (health or another). I left helpless and the last thing I could remember is the Owner of these lifes. I can't help to try repeat as many time as I can the hadits lines below. I tried to assure myself that He loves my mother as I am, cares about my father as I am. 

The Prophet, salla allahu alayhi wa sallam , said:
Almighty Allah says, ‘I am as My servant thinks I am,
and I am with him when he remembers Me.
If he remembers Me to himself,
I remember him to Myself;
and if he remembers Me in a gathering,
I remember him in a gathering better than it.
If he draws near to Me a hand’s span,
I draw near to him an arm’s length;
if he draws near to Me an arm’s length,
I draw near to him a fathom’s length;
and if he comes to Me walking,
I go to him with haste.’”
(Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

Today, at 4.37am, when the doorbell rang, when it's a hard-pouring rain, I had Tante Sis in front of my parents' door. Tante Sis lived across the home. She asked me to lend her the umbrella, so she could bring it too and gave it to my father while she pick her husband up in the masjid. 

Okay, let's me repeat: I slept very well, and I have another people care enough if my father stuck in a place because of the cloudburst. 

I am sure very lucky, witnessed the care and loving neighbors here. I am the lucky bastard, who have this chance to see, how He loves my father as I am. 

What could I expect more? 

I love you, mon Dieu. 

=')

Ayam Panggang Banjar

Dua minggu lalu saya merasa senang sekali karena dapat melunasi hutang janji untuk memasak menu baru. Selama 4 hari berturut-turut saya memasak, berurutan mulai dari Tahu Krispi x Batagor yang sudah saya tulis sebelumnya. Sayang, menu 3 hari sisanya belum saya bagi, karena (lagi-lagi) terkena sindrom rajin merajut. Hehe.

Untuk hari kedua, saya mencoba resep dari Agus Masterchef season 1 yang dimuat di tabloid Koki bulan Maret 2013: Ayam Panggang Banjar. Tapi sebelumnya saya minta maaf, karena tidak sempat memotret hasil masakan saya sendiri. Terlampau lapar, karena estimasi lama memasak yang jauh dari perkiraan awal. =P

Bahan
Ayam 1 ekor, potong 4 bagian; Jahe 2 ruas jari, kupas dan haluskan; Bawang putih 4 siung, haluskan; Air jeruk nipis 2 sdm; Garam 1 sdt; Kayu manis 3 cm; Merica bubuk 1/4 sdt; Gula pasir 1 sdt; Gula merah 50gr, sisir; Kecap manis 5 sdm; Saus tomat 100gr; Air 1lt; Minyak goreng 3 sdm. 

Bumbu halus
Bawang merah 200gr; Bawang putih 100gr; Kencur 2 ruas jari, kupas; Cabai merah kering 50gr; Cabai merah 50gr. 

Bahan Acar Banjar
Wortel 1 buah, potong korek api; Kubis 100gr, iris halus; Bawang merah 5 butir, iris halus; Cabai rawit merah 10 buah; Cuka 2 sdm; Garam 1/2 sdt; Gula pasir 1 sdt. 

Cara membuat
1. Acar Banjar: Siram potongan wortel dan kubis dengan air mendidih secukupnya, tiriskan. Campur semua bahan dan aduk hingga tercampur rata. Sisihkan. 
2. Lumuri ayam dengan bawang putih, jahe, air jeruk nipis dan garam selama 20 menit. 
3. Panaskan minyak, tumis bumbu halus hingga harum. Tambahkan sisa bumbu (kayu manis, garam, merica bubuk, gula, gula merah, kecap manis dan saus tomat), aduk. Tumis hingga matang.
4. Maukkan daging ayam, tuang air. Aduk, kecilkan api. Masak ayam selama 45 menit hingga matang. 
5. Bakar ayam di atas bara api hingga matang dan berwarna kecokelatan, angkat. 
6. Sajikan ayam panggang banjar dengan sisa bumbu ungkepan dan acar banjar

Tips

• Saya sarankan menggunakan ayam yang berukuran besar, karena bumbu yang dihasilkan cukup banyak.
• Bumbu sisa ungkepan dapat juga dimanfaatkan untuk membuat nasi goreng kambing/aceh. Untuk menambah aroma khas rempah, dalam mengolah menjadi bumbu nasi goreng, dapat ditambahkan bunga pekak & kapulaga. 
• Waktu persiapan hingga selesai minimal 75 menit. Jadi jangan memulai memasak dalam keadaan perut kosong seperti saya, ujung-ujungnya jadi ga sabaran. =D

Selamat mencoba!

QoTD: Love is Insane

"Nobody could define what sanity is. Me either."

-- Vinka Maharani

P.S.: No one said true love played by rule. 

xoxo, Damon & Elena. 

Tahu Krispi x Batagor

Wah, sudah lama tidak menulis tentang masak-memasak. Sedikit tercuri perhatian oleh rajut-merajut & perjalanan panjang di tiap minggunya. Hehe. Tapi, jangan khawatir, saya kembali di jalan yang benar dengan menepati janji saya sendiri sekarang. "Memasak 2 resep baru tiap minggunya". =D

Kemarin saya mencoba mempraktekkan resep dari tabloid KOKI Edisi 00248, Maret 2013. Dari edisi ini sepertinya akan banyak yang saya bagi, karena banyak resep menarik bin mudah di dalamnya. Nah, yang akan saya tuliskan di bawah ini hasil adalah 2 resep: Batagor dan Tahu Krispi. Kedua resep ini muncul dalam segmen Tren Kuliner, berjudul "Jajanan dalam Cup". Saya sendiri mencobanya dengan memodifikasi Tahu Krispi ditambah dengan Saus Kacang dari Batagor, karena menyesuaikan situasi yang sedang tidak punya suplai ikan. Hehehe. Agar ada asupan karbohidrat dan protein tambahan, saya menyajikannya dengan kentang & telur rebus, potongan mentimun dan kerupuk bawang. Komplit! Rasanya jadi seperti persilangan tahu tek+siomay+batagor. Crossover tastes, as expected results. 

Blasteran Tahu Krispi x Batagor. Yumm!

Di bawah ini saya bagikan resepnya, masing-masing utuh kok, barangkali ada yang ingin mencoba satu resep saja. Selamat mencoba!

Batagor

Bahan

200gr filet ikan tengiri; 5 buah tahu, potong bentuk segitiga; 50gr Tepung Tapioka; 1 butir telur ayam, kocok lepas; 1 batang bawang perai, iris tipis; 1/2 sdt garam; 1/2 sdt merica bubuk; 1 sdt kaldu ayam bubuk; 500ml minyak goreng

Bahan Saus Kacang

150gr kacang tanah, goreng dan haluskan; 4 buah cabai merah; 2 siung bawang putih; 1 sdm gula pasir; 1 sdm air jeruk nipis; 185ml air; garam secukupnya; kecap manis secukupnya. 

Cara Membuat

Batagor: 1. Keruk salah satu sisi tahu dengan menggunakan sendok kecil. Lakukan yang sama hingga habis

2. Campur ikan, telur, bawang perai, garam, merica bubuk dan kaldu ayam bubuk. Aduk rata. 

3. Tambahkan tepung tapioka sedikit demi sedikit hingga tercampur rata. 

4. Masukkan adonan ikan ke dalam bagian tahu yang telah dikeruk. Panaskan panci pengukus, kukus hingga matang. Angkat. Panaskan minyak, goreng tahu hingga berwarna kuning kecokelatan. Angkat dan tiriskan. Sisihkan.

Saus Kacang: 1. Haluskan cabai merah dan bawang putih. Campur bumbu halus, kacang tanah halus, gula pasir, garam dan air. Aduk rata, masak hingga mendidih. Tambahkan air jeruk nipis. Aduk rata, angkat. 

2. Potong-potong tahu, masukkan dalam cup. Siram dengan saus kacang dan coretkan kecap manis di atasnya. Sajikan. 

Catatan

Untuk saus kacang, kalau bikin sesuai resep ini, hasilnya jadi sangat-sangat kental. Tambahkan air sedikit-sedikit sampai pada kekentalan yang kalian sukai setelah langkah menambahkan air jeruk nipis. Juga pastikan kematangan kacang pada saat menggoreng, hal ini juga memengaruhi warna saus. 

                      

Tahu Krispi

Bahan

3 buah tahu, potong dadu 2x2cm; 1 siung bawang putih, haluskan; 1 butir telur ayam, kocok lepas; 100gr tepung terigu protein sedang (segitiga biru, gunung bromo), 2 sdm tepung maizena, 3 sdm tepung beras, 1/4 sdt soda kue; 150ml air; garam secukupnya; 500ml minyak goreng; saus sambal dan saus tomat secukupnya. 

Cara membuat

1. Campur air, bawang putih halus dan garam. Aduk rata.

2. Tuang ke dalam mangkuk berisi tahu, rendam selama beberapa menit. Tiriskan. 

3. Campur terigu, tepung maizena, tepung beras, soda kue dan garam, aduk rata. Celupkan tahu dalam telur kocok, gulingkan di atas campuran tepung. Ratakan. 

4. Panaskan minyak, goreng tahu hingga matang dan berwarna kuning kecokelatan. Angkat dan tiriskan. Letakkan dalam cup, sajikan bersama saus sambal dan saus tomat. 

Catatan
Campuran tepung (di langkah no 3) ini ternyata juga enak untuk menggoreng bahan lainnya. Tempe misalnya, sebelumnya saya rendam dengan air-bawang putih-ketumbar-garam, kemudian digulingkan dalam campuran tepung ini hasilnya ciamik. Bisa jadi alternatif pengganti tepung bumbu instan. 

[Updated!] Magical Songs

[Previously this was posted on March 5th, 2013. 

There is an update! Scroll down to read it]

Lately, there are many singing competitions broadcast in the television. By the participants' song, I should agree to Ahmad Dhani that it could broaden the knowledge of Indonesian people to the taste of music. His choice for Dalagita in X Factor Indonesia, as the example, could show the legendary soundtrack from the film "Sound of Music".

In this post, I want to enlist 3 magical songs based on my opinion. They are quite new, well, at least published last year. All of them have the same feeling when I listened at the first time. It's not only the music or lyric, but how the message landed directly to the heart and made me understand about what it means. 

Okay, let's start! The beginning will be Zee Avi's. I've already caught her in my mind since "Kantoi", while at the same time I prefer Yuna's "Decorate" because of its meaning. But then, I'm captured on "Concrete Wall". The notes, lyrics, video concept, the way she sings, all of it astonished me. She could show how the person (in the song) hurt her, how it affects her, she's already fed enough, try to keep calm and having her own world whose nobody could shook off.

"Say that I need therapy,

well my darling, so do you.

Don't need for you to tell me, what is wrong in all I say or do.."

The second song is "All Your Gold" from Bat for Lashes. Helen showed me this for the first time while we are comparing each music preference. My expectation was high, because she is an artist. I thought, if I can't understand her choice then it's okay. I just thought that I'm not artsy enough to understand. Haha. Well, I'm not joking when I'm saying this. Because one day, when I worked with Helen, a sound of door creaking just repeated all the time, combined with the same particular sound as you watched Sadako from the Ring movie comes out of the television. You know what I mean, right? I directly try to find out what's happening, while felt creepy at the same time. Then, Helen just calmly said, "It's a music Vinka, some artists from China made that". I stayed blank for several seconds, and simply think: I'm not artsy enough to understand that kind of music.

Back to Bat for Lashes, surprisingly, I fell in love at the first play. Her move, the video, lyrics, all of them stirred well and brought me to a "magical" state of mind. I directly know how the hurt feeling, how she's in dilemma, and the hate and the love. I enjoy every second passed when I listened, because she delivered it perfectly.

"There was someone that I knew before,

A heart from the past, that I cannot forget.

I let him take all my gold, and hurt me so bad.

And now for you, I have nothing left.."

The last song, perhaps the most popular than  the others from this list. It's "Stay" by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko. Yeah, I always love to sing Rihanna's songs, but there's not much of them who I really adore the meaning as this. When I watched the video for the first time, I dropped my tears. Just by watching, I felt the choked breath when she hold her anger, sadness, how she try not put down herself, the willing of keep the dignity as the girl who doesn't beg a love. Have you been on that place? I have.

"Oohh, the reason I hold on..

Oohh, cause I need this hole gone.

Funny you're the broken one but I'm the only one who needed saving.

Cause when you never see the light it's hard to know which one of us is caving..."

That's the list. Try to listen & feel more. 

Let yourself moved away for several minutes. It's good.

=)

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Update!

Weeks ago I just watched a video clip and I can't rid it outta my head since it's so magical. I thought it's really suit in this list too. The music video comes from Joel Compass, titled "Back to Me". Me & Rendy watched it in local Surabaya tv station, which I never expected to play a non-mainstream & this meaningful video. Just try to spare your time to watch and start to feel your own goosebumps! =D

Knit Stories #2: Behind The Knit Gift

Finally! I finished my 2nd knitting in 3 weeks. A quite long duration for a simple scarfl, but I'm still proud of it. I made it specially for Poet, my best friend who had her birthday at April 28th. I know it's late, but it's better late than never, 'aight? =P

I, somehow, feel grateful for doing this project because it accompanied me on many journey and occasions. From the station to the train, to the hospital when I passed my time with my mother, to the boring silence and so on. I found that knitting soon to be my 2nd loyal-silence-friend. The first is books, anyway. You could check the process in photos below. 

After the scarf's done, it left some yarns so I made 2 ribbons and sew them to hairpins. I really thought they are beautiful. *self-proclaiming. Haha* The process took my patience, time but increased my technique in knitting too. I learnt purl stitch and stockinette stitch here.

And yes, here is the link for the pattern. Try 'em! =)

 

At Lempuyangan station, it's still so short!

Already at home (Jogja), and the skein still looks so full...

Sitting in Sancaka train, went to Mojokerto to see my mom. 

The scarf's done, look at the skein! And the hairpin's there too. Happy! =D

Bopo

Dahulu saya menulis bahwa hal yang paling menyesakkan adalah tidak adanya kesempatan untuk mengucap salam pada sebuah perniagaan perpisahan. Saya juga acap kali mencibir adegan klasik penyanderaan seseorang dalam film aksi yang digunakan sebagai pemancing & alat untuk mengancam orang yang disayanginya: klise & usang. Tetapi dua hipotesis itu terbantahkan mutlak oleh satu perkara saja, di hari kemarin.

Ternyata ada yang lebih sesak.  Situasi "penyanderaan" itu juga betul-betul memaksa. Keduanya berjalan simultan ketika akhirnya mampu sadar bahwa tidak ada daya upaya yang bisa menyelamatkan yang tersayang, di depan mata kepala anda sendiri. Hanya terawang pasrah yang ditapis jendela. Ada ruang yang tak bisa ditembus, apalagi ditebus. 

Di tepian doa yang dirapal berulang, di sujud-sujud yang dipanjangkan. 
Di situlah ia, menunggu kekasihnya.

Ibu, cepatlah sembuh.

*ditulis sehari usai ibu operasi

Rumah Sakit

Terkadang, kehidupan yang paradoks ini perlu diamati dari tempat yang banal. Kali ini di pandangku, ia berwujud tawa muram yang dipaksakan di bangku kayu panjang yang ada di ruang tunggu. Atau kikik geli, karena suara kentut merepet di lorong sal. Ia juga berupa senyum masam perawat yang sudah jenuh dengan pekerjaannya. Ia juga hadir dalam degup-degup kencang para penunggu di luar ruang operasi.

Ada mata-mata yang celik, memaksa diri untuk mengatup,  meski pikiran masih terpicing karena satu soal: esok akankah ada atau tiada?

Di koridor rumah sakit ini aku merepih sepi. 

Ada air mata yang harus ditahan, karena ia tak pantas untuk dibandingkan dengan perih yang tertanggung.

Ibu, cepatlah sembuh.

Knit Stories #1 : First Batch!

Finally! I've just finished my first knitting project. Huwooooow. The first step is always the hardest, isn't it? I actually thought the second step is the hardest, tho. Anyway, I got introduced to knitting by the event #JogjaEklektik when I learnt yubiami, finger-knitting. Mbak Ajeng, the owner of Poyeng, a lovely little workshop in Jogja where you could learn almost everything about knitting, was the one who gave the lesson of yubiami. Later, I came to Poyeng for lend a tapestry needle, because I want to sew my yubiami results. I was in awe with the variants of the yarns, needles and another knitting tidbits. I dare myself with buying a set of double points bamboo needles and a roll of soft acrylic yarns, by the Poyeng fellow assistance. She said that I could try to learn make a pair of baby shoes for the first challenge. I visited mbak Ajeng's blog, then get the pattern here. And now, I proudly present my first booties. Yeay!