ZUCCHINI CHIPS

Today's hot dog lunch with zucchini chips

On Friday, I got beautiful organic vegetables from the YUM Farm in Cipanas, and I had specifically asked for tomatoes, beetroots, cucumbers and zucchini. However, I was feeling a bit tired of the usual ratatouille, zucchini au gratin and sauteed zucchini so I started browsing..... until I found this interesting recipe for Zucchini Oven Chips. It looked really easy so I thought ok I'll try them out and hopefully Amal will like them.... And he did!! He even said: "Mama you should open a restaurant. We'll call it ROM...Restaurant Of Mama!" :)

The recipe is quite simple.

ZUCCHINI OVEN CHIPS

Ingredients:

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoon milk

2 1/2 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 small or 1 medium)

Cooking spray

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celcius.

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an overproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake a 220 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately. Best eaten hot.

LOVEBOTS APP

If you, like me, have a little boy who's crazy about robots or maybe you are, you have to try this new app on iPhone and iPad! It's called Lovebots and I think it costs $0.99 on iTunes. Loads of fun fun fun! Amal has made more than 20 so far, and I even tried to make one myself (pink background, of course!)...

CHOCOLATE MILK

I want a glass of this like right now!

PODCASTS AND HOW TO BEAT THE TRAFFIC

I love stories and I love hearing people have a fun conversation. What I don't love is traffic and spending an hour in my car to go to and from the office to the house. That's why I love podcasts. I don't think many people in Jakarta actually download and listen to podcasts but these are what gets me through the traffic. And honestly, I'm sure I've had people looking at me when I drive because when I listen to the stories and conversations I could just suddenly burst into tears or laugh out loud.

So I'm going to share with you my secret to getting through Jakarta traffic. First of all, get iTunes on your computer. You don't need to have an account. Go to "Podcasts" and search for my favorite podcasts:

1. THE MOTH: TRUE STORIES TOLD LIVE
The concept is simple: everyday raconteurs or storytellers get together for an event and each have about 15 minutes to tell their story. The event usually has a theme, but the stories are all different. I truly can't say I've ever heard a boring or uninteresting story. A few that I remember well is a father telling the story of his son who is into girl toys and clothing and asks for a pink bike, another one where Kimya Dawson talks about her experience working in a carnival and scaring Mariah Carey, and a really touching story told by DMC of Run DMC.

2. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

This podcast is for mostly female and a parent, but honestly you would also enjoy it if you were male and non-married. The host are Lynette and Stephanie and they talk about everything from their daily lives to what's happening in the news (mostly in the States). They just have a really relaxed feeling to their podcast and you feel like you're there next to them, just looking at them talk to each other.

3. MANIC MOMMIES

Ok so from the title you can already imagine that the podcast is mostly for women and mothers. But what I like about this is that the two hosts, Erin and Kristin, talk about managing work and motherhood, which I'm very familiar with. Again, it's like listening to your good friends just ramble and make you feel like you're not the only one in the world who feels frustrated when it comes to balancing work and motherhood.

4. TED TALKS

There's nothing more to say except that these talks have literally changed my life. They've taught me so many things, that I couldn't have even imagined learning on my own.

Now that you've found the podcasts, click on "Subscribe" and download a few episodes. Put these into you iPod and voila, you're ready to beat the traffic :)