Lovely Day - Bill Withers

This one never fails me :)

Bill Withers - Lovely day from Anton Blåbärspaj on Vimeo.

The Forty Rules of Love

Got this book "The Forty Rules of Love" by Elif Shafak, a couple of months ago :)

It's such a beautiful book. A wonderful tale of love and spiritual for Ella (and us of course), based on Rumi and Shams Tabrizi relationship and stories. It's a journey through the lives of ordinary people. I enjoyed it and could relate to many issues that arouse. One of my favourites and I love Rumi's poems anyway :)

Like Shams said, "As I went trough all these experiences, I began to compile a list that wasn't written down in any book, only described in my soul. This personal list I called The Basic Principles of the Itinerant Mystics of Islam. To me these were universal, dependable, and invariable as the laws of nature. The Forty Rules of the Religion of Love, which could be attained through love and love only."

Here are some of the rules that I find quite beautiful, just thought I'd share with you:

 # Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighborhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful! It's easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that he has been denied.

# Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process. What does patience means? It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be so shortsighted as to not be able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never run out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the crescent moon to become full.

# For a new Self to be born, hardship is necessary, just as clay needs to go through intense heat to become strong.

# Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?

# You can purify your body through abstinence and fasting, but only love will purify your heart.

# We were all created in His image and yet we were each created different and unique. No two people are alike. No two hearts beat to the same rhythm. If God had wanted everyone to be the same, He would have made it so. Therefore, disrespecting differences and imposing your thoughts on others is tantamount to disrespecting God's holy scheme.

# Quit worrying about hell or dreaming about heaven, as they are both present inside this very moment. Every time we fall in love we ascend to heaven. Everytime we hate, envy or fight someone, we tumble straight into the fires of hell.

# The universe is one being. Everything and everyone is interconnected through and invisible web of stories. Practice compassion.

# If you keep breaking other people's heart, whatever religious duty you perform is no good.

# God is a meticulous clockmaker. So precise is His order that everything on earth happens in its own time. Neither a minute late nor a minute early. And for everyone without exception, the clock works accurately. For each there is a tome to love and a time to die.

# A life without love is of no account. Don't ask yourself what kind of love you should seek, spiritual or material, divine or mundane. eastern or western...divisions only lead to more divisions. Love has no labels, no definitions. It is what it is, pure and simple. Love is the water of life and a lover is a soul of fire. The universe turns differently when fire loves water."

And one of my favorite Rumi's quote:

"Not christian or jew or muslim, not hindu, buddhist, sufi or zen....not any religion or cultural system....I am not the east nor of the west...my place is placeless, a trace of the traceless....love..."


Go find the book and read the whole story :)

"Kutakatik" Art & Craft for kids at Potato Head (2)

We're celebrating Ice Cream Day! 

Thank you Potato Head for the opportunity again, we had fun! :)

More pics here from Ice Cream Day.....and some pics from our first time with Potato Head :)

Flaky Tomato and Mozzarella Tart

Got this recipe from Real Simple magazine

Easy peasy! All you need:

You can get the puff pastry in the supermarket if you don't have time to make it or too lazy hehehe.

How to make:

Oh, before I cooked it, I put thyme and oregano too....and voila!

I like it because it looks like a pizza but it's thinner, so it's not too heavy. I think for this one, you can change the ingredients or add some more stuff like anchovies, basil or rockets leaves...or anything you like.

Still got my lettuces from YUM's organic farm, so I eat this flaky tomato mozzarella tart with salad, got some lettuces, beets, onions, yellow & red peppers with ceaser salad dressing.

The ingredients for my version of ceaser salad dressing are:
a bit of anchovies, 2 tbsp mayonaise, a couple of mashed cloves of garlics, olive oil, a bit of lemon juice. Basicly how much for this and that it's up to your taste. Just mix everything, season with salt and pepper, and then you'll get your ceaser dressing :)

Go have a try! Enjoy :)

Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself

"Simple awareness is where it begins..." Thandie Newton.

Stir-fried Pakcoy with Tofu and Soba noodle

It's my 2 weeks off from my Kutakatik Art&Craft class, we're going to start again this early August. So now for my 2 weeks off, I feel like trying out more recipes at home...and i'm planning, hopefully to have a little getaway too hehe.

Anyway, back to this recipe...with my favorites ingredients, soba noodle, tofu, pakcoy and ginger :)

 All you need:

Soba noodle, pakcoy, tofu, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

(The amount is up to you, I think you just have to taste it...)

What to do:

1. Cook soba noodles following packet directions, drain and rinse under cold water until cold. Place into a bowl, add ginger, soy and sesame oil and toss well

2. Cook the Pakcoy with sesame oil, garlic and ginger.  

 3. Cook the tofu with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper.

Arrange soba noodles, pakcoy and tofu in dishes and serve with the prepared sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger). As for me, I love ginger, so usually I put more hehehe :)

Easy peasy right? and it's healthy too :)

 Anyway, got the pakcoy from YUM's organic farm. Like I've said before, got lots of veggies only for Rp.55.000,- from them...nice right? Check the pics here (scroll to the bottom) if you want to see the package, it's nice.

Saturday Cooking Playdate :)

I love cooking and I love to cook for my family and friends too. Combined with hanging out with girlfriends, getting a cooking playdate is better. After loads of rescheduling, me and Yarra finally set the date for a saturday afternoon cooking playdate, with Agie too :)

Here are the foods and drink:

We just realized...it's all green and yellow (the food) :)

First I made "Lemon Mint Juice". 

All you need:

- Put 100-150gr of sugar into the blender...and put 40gr of mint leaves...then put 350ml water and 6 lemons (juiced/squashed).

- Blend until mint leaves are evenly chopped. After finished, put in a cold glass or just put it in the refrigerate for 15 minutes. Put some mint leaves on top...then you can drink it. It's sooooo freshhhh and nyummy :)

Then Yarra made "Salad with Mint leaves and Deviled egg"

You need, lettuce, mint leaves, onions, baby tomatoes, eggs, lemon, olive oil and some herbs, just mix everything. For the deviled egg, you seperate the egg yolk first from the white egg, mix the egg yolk with mayonaise, salt, pepper, thyme and oregano...

Then you put back the finished egg yolk mixture into the white egg again with a plastic wrap for cupcake icing, so you can decorate the egg as if the egg yolk is the icing :)

For the dressing...olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, ,thyme, garlic. Just mix it :)

And then I made "Boiled Chicken Breast with Asparagus and Sweet Potatoes and thick White Sauce" for main course :)

- First, set the oven to 180C.

- So all you need is basicly just chicken breast, asparagus....you boiled them (in a separate bowl). 

- I combined white and orange sweet potatoes. I  love the orange more, but hey I  just love to combine colorfull food, especially with their own natural colors :) Then you cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise and put it in a pan, drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper...then you put it into the oven for about 30 minutes.

- While waiting, you can make the white sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, you melt 20gr of butter. Add 10gr of flour, stir until the butter and flour are well combined. Then pour 180ml of milk into the mixture, stirring constantly as it thickens. Add some parmesan, salt and pepper too. Add more milk depending on desired consistency.

White sauce with sweet potatoes? It turned out nyummmyyyy :)

Then for dessert...Yarra made "Lemon pudding with Lemon zests"

You need:

Juice and grated zest of 2 lemmons

300gr coaster sugar

60gr melted butter

375 ml milk

25 gr flour

3 large eggs, seperated

- Set the oven to 180C. 

- Beat together the lemon zest and juice, then sugar, butter, milk, flour, and egg yolks until you have a smooth batter.

- Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks and then gently fold into the batter.

- Pour the mixture into the prepared pudding moulds and then sit them in a roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the tray to come half way up the side of the pudding moulds.

- Bake for 30-35minutes, or until the tops are nicely golden and risen.

- Serve immediately as they are or with pouring cream.

It was a great cooking playdate and everybody's happy! Hopefully we can do this again next month and hopefully more girlfriends will join the next session. More food is better right? :D So if you like to cook, you can try these recipes or you can share your recipe and let us try it. Or we can make it together, sharing is caring :) 

Oh, thanks to Echa, I got the lettuces, mint leaves and white sweet potatoes from YUM's organic farm. Got my self some lettuces, mint leaves, white sweet potatoes, leeks, mint leaves, kaylan and pakchoy (just like in the picture) only for Rp.55.000,- Go check it.

 More pics here from Yarra.

Cheers!! :)

Kutakatik Art & Craft Class Holiday Program 2011

We had FUN!! :D

Amazing to see kiddos' art works and creations...take a look at these pics:

Check more pics from Kutakatik Art&Craft Class here:

More pics from our Holiday Program 2011

Kutakatik Art&Craft Class on Facebook

Kutakatik Art&Craft Class Regular Classes