Chicken and Kailan in a Garlic, Ginger, Miso Sauce

Still trying to use up my stash of miso and take advantage of the super cheap baby kailan (Chinese broccoli) at the grocery store.  I mashed two recipes together and ended up with a pretty tasty meal:

I marinated the chicken as described in this Rasa Malaysia recipe.  Then I steamed the kailan as described in Steamy Kitchen's recipe, set it aside, cooked the chicken in the wok, set it aside, then cooked the garlic, ginger, miso sauce per Steamy Kitchen.  Tossed it all (chicken, kailan, sauce) together and served it on top of rice.  Pretty good!!

I bet you could use this sauce/methodology with lots of different greens- bok choy, kale, broccoli...

Batik Ella

Here's another take on the Ella Raglan Blouse from I Think Sew:

 

This one's made from a pretty navy and pink batik and made for Georgia, the cute daughter of some of Tim's Peace Corps Armenia pals.  The Ella pattern is so easy... it's almost mindless.  I love it.

Oven Baked Crispy Onion Rings

Sadly, despite really wanting this recipe to be a winner, I can only give it a "meh."  Tim had the idea to make burgers the other night* and I decided that onion rings would go quite well with the burgers.  I remembered seeing this recipe on one of the blogs I follow, Closet Kitchen, so I dialed it up.

While the onion rings did get quite crispy from panko bread crumbs and hot oven temperature, there really is no substitute for deep-frying when it comes to onion rings.... onion rings should be crispy AND a bit oily from the fryer. Oh well.  A for effort.

Made me crave some really onion rings, though.  In particular, the ones served at the unfortunately named but awesome temple of fried stuff, Kream 'N Kone on Cape Cod.  Mmmm... fried stuff...

* Tim's burgers were quite good: cheddar and bacon with sauteed mushrooms and onions, all topped with a creamy chipotle BBQ sauce (BBQ sauce + chipotle in adobo + mayo).  And, when he was buying the meat at a small Japanese grocery store near his office, he spotted an Indonesian celebrity: Farrah Quinn, the self-proclaimed "sexy chef."  I actually like to watch her cooking show because, although the food is not particularly appealing, she alternates between speaking Indonesian and English, sometimes repeating statements in both languages, which helps me with my Bahasa Indonesia.  I understand other people may have a different reason(s) to watch her show.

Maggie Mae Tunic

I'd had my eye on a couple of cute patterns at Shwin Designs for months now.  Recently they re-released all of their patterns with a whole range of sizes included, so I took the opportunity to snatch several of them up, including the Maggie Mae tunic/dress.  I love the curved seam on the bodice and the ability to easily do some fun colorblocking.

My first Maggie Mae is the tunic version, sewn in a beautiful leaf batik (scraps leftover from Colleen's Anda dress!) combined with some cute red polka dot fabric from The Real Martha.

I meant to add piping to all of the horizontal seams, but kinda forgot until the last step.  Thus I only added it in at the waist seam, but I think looks pretty cute in the end.  Don't look too closely at the sides of the tunic, though, as my piping insertion is not ideal at those seams.  Zoe won't notice, right?

I also skipped the pockets this time because the white polka dot fabric was fairly sheer- I thought they would show through.

Can't wait to make it again in more color combos!!  I also like the full button-front version shown on the Shwin and Shwin blog...

Kahlua Chocolate Banana Milkshake

I've been in a bit of a food rut recently... cooking the same old things repeatedly.  I think it's the lack of really distinct seasons here in Jakarta (particularly this year, now that rainy season is encroaching on what should be dry season!) and the new and exciting produce associated with that season change.  I am jealous of the seasonal farm stand strawberries and asparagus that I see on all of my cooking blogs...

However, Tim and I did discover a new treat this week:  another, more "adult" iteration of my beloved banana shake: the Kahlua chocolate version!  Dudes, this is my new favorite dessert/after dinner drink.

Please excuse this blurry photo; I couldn't be bothered.  I was, however, bothered by the fact that Blogger refused to upload it upright. Apa boleh buat?  (Indonesian phrase for "What can I/we do?," usually accompanied by a shrug and a sigh)

It barely qualifies as a recipe; it's really just a question of adding ingredients to taste, but the rough ratios are:  

1 cup of milk + 1 frozen overripe banana + a tablespoon/good squirt of chocolate syrup + a shot of Kahlua = heaven  

(and if you wanted to go more hardcore with the booze, I think a bit of rum or vodka wouldn't hurt!)

Meghan Peasant Blouse

I think I may have found my new favorite pattern... the Meghan Peasant from Sis Boom.  It's basically the adult version of the Ella raglan blouses I made last week and it's awesome: comfortable, flattering neckline, amazingly clear directions.  Now that I've sewn up the blouse version of it, I can't wait to try the dress version!

I made it from this Michael Miller Kaleidoscope fabric I bought when it was on sale... apparently it's part of a Christmas line, which makes sense when you see it with all of the other coordinating fabrics, but on its own it doesn't really seem all that Christmas-y to me.  It's pretty summery, actually.  Well, at least I hope so!  

Regarding how I put the pattern together, I chose the lowest neckline option (there are 3), cut the bottom to be 15" long, and I skipped the arm elastic (too pinchy on my guns).  I probably should have paid a little closer attention to the placement of the large print of the fabric when cutting out the top, but it's not the end of the world.

Another Day, Another Anda

Burdastyle's Anda dress is addictive to make.  This is my first second third fourth fifth version? 2 pattern pieces?  You can't go wrong.  I mean, it's not high fashion, but it's damn comfy and shows off a piece of pretty fabric quite well! 

I got this gorgeous piece of batik last week at Pasar Mayestik... look at those colors!!! I went to buy elastic for bubble pocket shorts and raglan blouses, but I left with that plus an additional 4 pieces (almost 12 yards) of batik.  I have an issue.... I may need to be cut off.  And I was holding back, too, because I only had so much cash on me!