HUGE OUTDOOR PICNIC

Outstanding in the Field is a restaurant without walls. These events started in 1999 and since then, they've set huge outdoor culinary events at farms or gardens, on mountain tops or in sea caves, on islands or at ranches. Occasionally the table is set indoors: a beautiful refurbished barn, a cool greenhouse or a stately museum.

Ingredients for the meal are almost all local and generally prepared by a celebrated chef of the region.

Wouldn't this be magical if it could happen in Indonesia? I can imagine seeing this happening in the Bogor Botanical Gardens or maybe below Monas. Or hey, why not at Yayasan Usaha Mulia's Organic Farm? :) Anybody wants to join me?

FRENCH GOURMET SCHOOL LUNCHES

This is one of the things I'm most proud of about France: they value and take pleasure in food.

I remember, when we used to live in Brussels (next door neighbor to France), my school lunches were awesome - first a salad/appetizer, then a main course and a dessert to end the meal. Also, my parents would get a note from school letting them know what I would be eating for the next month. Oh, and the best thing: they would serve another dish for the Muslim kids whenever pork was on the menu.

Just like the boy in the video says: "My school lunches are sometimes even better than the meals at home" :)

France & Belgium doesn't need Jamie Oliver to come over, that's for sure!

BERRY PARFAIT

Berry parfait

For the berry sauce:
(Makes 1 cup of sauce)
4.5 oz (125 g) raspberries
6 oz (175 g) mixed berries (I used blueberries, white currants and gooseberries)
1/ 4 cup (50 g) blond cane sugar
1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped out

For the parfait:
Fresh raspberries, to serve
Vanilla-flavored yogurt
Homemade granola (or you can buy ready-made)

Steps:
To make the sauce: In a pot, combine the berries with the sugar, vanilla bean and seeds. Bring to a simmer and stew for 5 minutes, or until the fruit is soft and has released its juice. Stop the heat, discard the vanilla bean and transfer the berries to the bowl of a food processor. Purée and strain. Set aside to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
When you are ready to serve, take a few small glasses and start to layer the foods as follows: yogurt, berry sauce, granola, yogurt, berry sauce and fresh raspberries. To have a taste all of the different layers with a spoonful, I suggest stirring lightly when eating. This is a wonderful food to have for breakfast or as a midday snack.

Found this fabulously simple recipe on La Tartine Gourmande. Oh how I wish I were half as talented as she is :)

FOR SALE - MY PARENTS' HOUSE

I remember when we built this house back in 1994, my mom overlooked all the construction and interior design. We were borrowing a house close to this one so she could go every day and check on the worker's progress. Then she got the idea from a friend to make the upper room floors in bamboo (at that time, bamboo flooring was not yet known as an ecological sustainable flooring option). She also added creative touches such as leaf-print cement floors and a high-ceiling for our family room.

But.... this house is now looking for a new owner. My parents have decided to build on a land closer to mine and my brothers' so they can easily come and see us.

If you are interested, the specifications of this house are:

Land 225 m2

Building 300 m2

5 bedrooms

3 bathrooms

carport for 2 cars

inner garden (dining room view)

Asking price: Rp. 1,300,000,000 (negotiable)


UPDATE: Sorry guys, this house has been sold...

FINGER IN THE NOSE

Finger in the nose is a trendy French kids fashion brand with rock and roll attitude. I could definitely see my son wearing one of these outfits (especially the top right one)...

So far, I haven't found anything like this in Indonesia but who knows, maybe one of these days, someone will think of making trendy rock and roll outfits for kids? Indonesians are super creative and new products are born every day :)

In case you're in Paris for work or holiday, here's the address:

60 rue de Saintonge

Paris 75003

+33 1 42 71 43 40

[as seen on the Cool Hunter]

MIXXIES #1

This is the first of many mixxies that I'll post on this blog. Mixxies are a mix of songs that I like and want to share with you in case you feel like listening to some new songs :)

P.S: I can't seem to align center this post so if anyone knows how to do this, please enlighten me...hehehe...

EARLY 1900s IN COLOUR

You know how each time we talk about the early years of the 20th century, we always picture it in black and white because all the photos that were taken at that period were all in black and white? ... I remember seeing my grandparents' albums (Indonesian and French) and just being amazed by the costumes and sceneries of that era...

Anyway, in 1909, the millionaire French banker and philantropist Albert Kahn, toured the world with his camera to create an "Archive of the Planet" and he did so using autochrome technology, the first-ever industrial color-photo-developing process.

The images above are just a few examples of his archive that you can view on the website The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn. The pictures are amazing!

Also check out his museum, Musee et Jardins Albert Kahn, in Paris if ever you go on holidays there :)

[pictures first seen through the Very Short List email]

TETE - LOVE LOVE LOVE

This is one of my favorite songs in French and Tete is one of my favorite french singers :)

Tete originally comes from Senegal but he moved to France when he was 2 years old. His music genre is pop-folk so it's quite easy listening.

If you're interested to know more about him, click here.

If you want to see more videos of him, click here.

INSPIRATION #1

I like browsing and collecting pictures for inspiration and ideas. It makes me feel happy :)

I, unfortunately, can't remember where I got photo #1 and #2, but the last photo was taken by The Sartorialist, a blog about everyday fashion.

I love the bike because it makes me think of traveling around a city, enjoying sights + it's a really cool bike.

I love the colors of the vegetables because I feel in the mood to eat healthy and this looks super healthy.

And, in the last photo, I love the big clutch. I should try to find myself one :)

BUMI SANGKURIANG - BANDUNG

Above are a series of photos who absolutely do not go together but I think they all depict the beauty of Bumi Sangkuriang, a hotel in the upper part of Bandung. It's a sweet, old hotel, very simple and minimalist but it's charm comes more from the feeling you get when you're there... you feel at home :)

If you are planning on a trip to Bandung, this is the place I would recommend you to stay. Especially if you have kids because it has a playground area and a heated pool.

Go here if you want to check the details of the hotel.

MAGIC - A BELLY GROWS

Magic- A Belly Grows from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

From the same person who brought you the video "So Long I'm Six" (Ryan Marshall), here's a video he shot of his wife during her pregnancy. Ryan documented the whole 9 months of pregnancy through photos and I think they're marvelously cute and funky! This is how a pregnant woman should feel and look like! She (Ryan's wife) has so much fun that it seems like pregnancy is a piece of cake :)

If you wanna see more videos by Pacing The Panic Room, click here.

DO FUN STUFF

I was just browsing Design Mom's blog this evening when I read a post about a kids' music album that was made for the benefit of a disease called Smith Magenis Syndrome. I'm not quite sure what it is and you can go here to learn more about it, but I think it was a marvelous idea to make an album that reaches people all around the world :)

This compilation was curated by Ryan Marshall who writes the blog Pacing the Panic Room. The idea was inspired by his step-son who loves music and has Smith Magenis Syndrome. He made this video recently and I am in awe... I wish I could document my son's activities the way this was made:

So Long I'm Six from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

As I mentioned above, Ryan Marshall curated this kids' music compilation and here is a preview of the songs. You can buy the whole album on iTunes for only $9.99 - I really should top up my iTunes account cause I only have $3.93 left on it but thank God for this preview! Enjoy!

P.S: If you like the music on the video shown above, the title is "Nothing" written and performed by Steve Foxbury and you can find the song in the "Do Fun Stuff" album below.

Read what Ryan from Pacing the Panic Room has to say about why he made this compilation. It's heartwarming!

SHABBY CHIC

My parents are slowly building a new home, close to my house and my brother's. And we've been talking about different design and decor ideas. One of my favorite decor styles is Shabby Chic, elegant yet cozy.

If I had the money to redecorate my house, I would definitely incorporate some ideas from the Shabby Chic website.

BANANA CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

175g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp TBN

1 tsp vanilla extract (I love the brand Durkee)

1 cup vegetable oil (you can put less if you want)

150g sugar

2 eggs (big size)

4 ripe bananas

1 bar dark chocolate (or milk if you prefer)

Preheat the oven at 170 degrees celsius

Mix the eggs, TBN and the sugar together (no need for an electric mixer). Add the oil and the vanilla extract.

Mash the bananas and add to the mixture.

In a different bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Slowly, little by little, add this dry mixture to the liquid mixture.

Cut the chocolate bar into small pieces and add to the blend.

Pour the cake mixture into a rectangular pan and bake for 1 hour.

Note: Each oven is different, so I would recommend that you check your cake after 45 minutes to see whether it is fully cooked or not. To check, just use a toothpick and if it comes out clean, your cake is done.

VANESSA PARADIS - DIVINE IDYLLE

Vanessa Paradis has the coolness and sweetness that all women should have. She also has a man that all women want :)

This song was taken from her last album, by the same name as the title of this song, and I personally think her songs gets better and better with age.

Enjoy :)

POEM FOR AMAL

* This cute poem was written by Alan Alexander Milne, the author of the Winne-The-Pooh books :)

MY BABY IS 6!

Today, my little boy turned 6!

I prepared several small gifts for him and he had asked to have a treasure hunt, like we did last year. Last year, he looked for toys while I told him "hot" or "cold". However, this year, since he knows how to read, I made him clue cards indicating where the gifts were hidden :)

So I made a big sign that said "Happy Birthday Amal", put it on the door so he sees it when he wakes up, and put the clue cards below the sign. This morning when he woke up, he went straight to it, looked at his cards and started racing all over the house looking for the presents. I tried documenting his search for toys but he was too fast for my camera :)

The last photo is his birthday cake that we had tonight. I made the cake from scratch (proud mama) with Jamie Oliver's Party Cake recipe that I found in his book "The Return of the Naked Chef". I bought a cake pan with the number 6 and it was a bit difficult to put the cream and strawberries between 2 layers so I decided to have them separately. I highly recommend this cake because it turned out delicious!

Here's the recipe:

3 rounded tablespoons cocoa powder
200gr/7oz caster sugar
200gr/7oz butter
3 large eggs
200gr/7oz self raising flour, sifted
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
1 handful of flaked almonds
200ml/7fl oz double cream (heavy cream)
1 large handful of raspberries
1 large handful of strawberries

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.

Line the bases of 2 x 20cm/8 inch cake tins with greased greaseproof paper.

Mix the cocoa powder with 4 tablespoons of boiling water until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, add the cocoa mixture, eggs, flour and baking powder. Mix well, fold in the nuts. Divide the mixture between the tins. Bake for about 25 minutes. When cooked, allow to cool then remove from the tins.

Chocolate Topping
100gr/4oz butter
100gr/4oz best cooking chocolate
100gr/4oz icing sugar
3 tablespoons milk

Melt the chocolate topping ingredients in a bowl over some slightly simmering water. Stir until blended well and allow to cool.

Whip the double cream to soft peaks and sweeten with a little sugar.

To assemble the cake, remove the greaseproof paper from both sponges. Drizzle each one with a little sherry, if you like. Spread the cream over one of the sponges, then sprinkle the fruit on top. Sandwich the second sponge on top and press down. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to smooth it off and drizzle over the chocolate topping.