garlic bread

Honestly, I don't like whole wheat bread. I prefer white bread. But I must get use to eat whole wheat bread for health concern. So I packed them on my lunchbox, with peanut butter and jam or butter and chocolate sprinkles, or any spread.. I could never finish one.

One day my mum told me to make a garlic bread instead. Here goes the trick. Spread the bread with margarine (or butter if you like), sprinkle with ground pepper and garlic powder. Then put it in the oven for 5-10 minutes, medium heat, and ready to eat.

The salty umami seasoning from garlic and pepper has infused into the bread, make it easier to taste. If you like a whole meal to pack into the lunchbox, add some tuna spread and coleslaw. That would be perfect company. And I guess this time I could finish my lunch.

no brainer biryani rice

Here's the story. That night I was sooo hungry that I decided to have nasi padang for dinner. A set of nasi padang (rice + meat or chicken + cooked cassava leaves + curry gravy) would be overwhelming when we buy for take out. The rice is always double portion when we buy for take out. The result is either we eat too much or there are plenty of rice left untouched.

So that night I ate only half portion (from double portion, which means one) then I stored the leftover on the rice cooker. Press "warm" to avoid the rice for becoming spoiled.

In the morning, open the rice cooker. The rice of nasi padang usually the long grain ones, and mostly stained by the gravy of curry when packaged.. makes it perfect for flavourful rice such as biryani or rice pilaf. Just add some margarine (couples of spoon should be enough) and raisins. Mix them well on the pot.. and ready to serve or put on the lunchbox. 

If ever you want to make rice pilaf but can't find any padang restaurant around (for having gravy), I believe you still can make it using this simple steps.

Let say you already have the rice in your rice cooker and have the machine set to "warm". Add some margarine, raisins, and curry powder. If you have stock cubes or powder, you may add it as well to enrich the flavour. Mix them well, and they're ready in a minute.

coleslaw

Here goes another simple lunchbox recipe. Coleslaw is kinda shreded salad and quite easy to prepare. Menurut gue, bahan2 untuk coleslaw tuh mirip ama asinan. Ada kubis dan wortel serut.. eh tapi nggak ada tauge dan sawi asin tuh hihihihi.. Berikut ini adalah resepnya yang dikutip dari buku "Healthy Lunchboxes for Kids" by Amanda Grant (2008). Credit photo : Tara Fisher. I took the snapshot photo from the book and kinda edit it. This recipes serves 4.

1 small head or half large white (or green) cabbage
2 carrots, peel and grated
1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
a large handful of raisins
a large handful of peanuts (optional)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad cream
1 tablespoon natural yoghurt
1 tablespoon runny honey
freshly ground black pepper

Cut the cabbage into quarters, cut out the hard core and then thinly slice the cabbage. Put it into a bowl together with carrots, red pepper and raisins. 

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, yoghurt and honey; season with a little black pepper. Add to the cabbage bowl and mix well. Store in the fridge, ready to serve.

simple tuna spread

Few days ago, I had a small talk about lunchbox / bento with my friend Rita on facebook. It ends up with an interest in tuna spread a.k.a rillettes de thon. I used to make this simple spread - or some say, tuna salad - using canned tuna chunks, mayonnaise and a bit of mustard. However, the french recipes use crème fraiche or even fromage frais instead of mayo. I think this shouldn't be a big deal. In the end, you'll be the one who eat it, so the taste has to be right for you.

Here I share you my simple recipe, and feel free to modify it.

- a can of tuna chunks (in water or in vegetable oil - whatever), drain it from the liquid

- 2 or 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

- 1 or 2 tablespoon of mustard

- a dash (or a teaspoon) of ground pepper

(1st method) Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix them using fork. Make sure everything has mixed together and it's all set.

(2nd method) Alternatively, you can put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Run the machine for few seconds and they're ready.

The first method is more suitable if you want to have it with a bowl of salad.. there you have salade niçoise. The second method is for a smoother result which is easier to spread into a bread for sandwich or as a dipping sauce (with crackers, carrot or celery sticks) on apero.

Have it a try and tell me about your creation ;)

healthy lunchbox

These days, recession is everywhere. I also have to tighten my spending on foods, especially for breakfast and lunch. Also a gently reminder to eat healthier and in reasonable portion ;) So, I've been googling around for lunchbox ideas and stumbled in this article from BBC about "What's in a healthy lunchbox". Although it's for school kids, but at least this is a good thing to know of what to pack. 

Pada dasarnya, makanan sehat yang semestinya dibawa untuk bekal makan siang terdiri dari :

• Protein (daging, ikan, kacang-kacangan)
• Karbohidrat berserat (nasi, roti dari gandum utuh) untuk energi
• Sayuran dan buah (berupa salad atau utuh)
• Air minum (boleh juga susu, jus buah, yogurt cair atau smoothies)

Sedangkan makanan / minuman yang sebaiknya dihindari adalah :

• Permen dan cokelat
• Cemilan (keripik kentang, keripik buah yang asin/manis)
• Minuman bersoda atau kadar gula tinggi
• Gorengan dan daging yang telah diproses (sosis, daging asap)

Sering kali, kita kehabisan ide untuk bekal makan siang. Di artikel tersebut, ada file pdf packed lunch menu untuk menu lunchbox selama 3 minggu, lengkap dengan beberapa resep makanannya. Jadi mulai sekarang, mari berusaha hidup lebih hemat dan sehat dengan membawa bekal makan siang setiap hari.

Packed lunch menu and Photo source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8454692.stm

no brainer nasi goreng

Still have no gas in my appt, so I gotta maximize all the appliances I have for cooking. A simple nasi goreng without sauted them with a wok and flames. How? Just mix some leftover rice in the magic jar (rice cooker) with margarine, instant seasoning of bumbu nasi goreng, a bit of chili powder and shredded leftover fried chicken. Et voilà..

note : in case you have no seasoning of bumbu nasi goreng, you can use a bit of minced onion, a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar.