General Tso's Chicken Recipe

" I didn't have any clue how to be a parent until I'm dealing with my kid daily now"--me

Selam everybody..... Merhaba from Turkey....

Fall officially comes..... Everyday is raining and dark mostly this whole week. I have no complaint at all..weather come and go..changing as nature calls... But I get a little clueless dealing with my kid... she seems boring stay inside house whole day these few days....
I already tried to make her busy start making her play dough, buy her new puzzles (she bored already with her old solved puzzles), drawing, coloring.....anything that across my mind that kinder garden teachers mostly do.
Tell me if you have any idea how to "home schooling" 3 y.o kid... ^,^
If we were in my homeland, she could play outside during the day...plays with chickens, sheep, cats or even climbs small trees around my mom's house and with many other kids in my "kampoong" ^,^

So lately I don't want to spend too much time at kitchen...although yes she loves follow me doing things in kitchen..I like it ..but our kitchen is too small-just like design for 1 person only in it!! 
Of course I want her to have fun also with me in kitchen... she is just small girl, she always brings her step stool to kitchen to reach kitchen table..if so.. no more space for me to move freely...really..our kitchen that small... I think around 2 x 1,5 m square.... Hope we can move to our own soon, Ameen. ^,^

Well...enough my "daily report" for now.... just I hope few years later she will remember the time we spend together daily (^,^)

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Turkish Baklava easy Recipe

Resep dalam bhs Indonesia bisa dilihat di sini

Selam...Merhaba from Turkey everyone.....

Sacrife feast has just finished few days ago... It was happy holiday for me and family. Just like in Ramadhan bayram (Eid al-fitr) as tradition, we visited families and relatives and some close friends.... Ate a lot of baklava and chocolate candies! :)
Yes, in Turkey baklava is served traditionally during major Islamic feast like Eid al-fitr or Eid al-adha together with turkish delight, chocolate and candies.

Baklava is a rich sweet pastry made of many layers of phyllo dough filled with finely chopped nuts between a few layers soaked in thick sugar syrup (or honey)
Every people in the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans, and Caucasia; Turks, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Armenians, and Bulgarians introduce baklava as their national dessert. When we consider that all of these regions once belonged to the Ottoman Empire, it is possible to think of Baklava as an Ottoman dessert.

Well, I won't talk about baklava history... it could be such long long writing and we must read many valid sources you can googling or go to local library. I need rest and you need recipe, right? (^,^)

For Kurban bayram (eid al-adha) last week beside I made this cevizli baklava (baklava with walnut filling) I also made Şöbiyet baklava. Both turned to be great bayram's treats (^,^)

Here I will share my easy recipe on how to make baklava at home. Why I call it easy? cause I use ready bought phyllo dough for baklava. Some people (including my mother in law) still made their own yufka, but for me, rolling the dough into such a veerrryyyy thin and looks transparent is not my skill (YET) ^,^

Indeed.. homemade baklava mostly have slightly thicker layers than store bought baklava in patisseries..it's all about "ROLLING" the dough..hehehehe..

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Şöbiyet Tatlısı / Turkish Sobiyet Baklava Recipe

"Kurban Bayramınız kutlu olsun....Happy Eid al-Adha 1436 H"

Assalamu'alaikum..... Merhaba from Turkey...

Eid al-Adha or feast of sacrifise or in Turkey calls Kurban bayram is the great festival of Islam to honors the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of submission to Allah's command, before God then intervened, through his angel Jibra'il and informs him that his sacrifice has already been accepted.

The Sacrifice Feast comes about 70 days after the Ramazan Festival. The meat from the sacrificed animal is preferred to be divided into three parts. The family retains one third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.

Like Ramadhan bayram (Eid al-fitr) traditionally baklava and other sweets also serve in Kurban bayram here in Turkey. Generally people make at home or buy künefe or baklava or Rıvani or turkish delight and chocolate sweets and other sweets for serve to the guests.

I didn't make baklava at last Ramadhan bayram, so I promise my self I would make some baklava at Kurban bayram or next ramadhan bayram.... So here my homemade Şöbiyet baklava recipe using ready bought baklava phylo sheet. There 's no reason using store bought phylo sheet but for practical and easy way to make delicious baklava with very thin phylo layer and crunchy in every sheet.

Yufka or phylo sheet for making baklava dessert is different for making börek pastry. Phylo sheet for making baklava we call it baklavalık yufka, it has very much thin, dry and almost transparent layers while phylo sheet for making börek pastry has thicker and slightly moist layers.

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Indonesian food recipe, Bandung style steamed fish dumpling /Siomay Khas Bandung

“Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

Selam everybody.... Merhaba from Turkiye..

Siomay (some people also call somay) is steamed fish dumpling serve with mix vegetables and tofu, flush with peanut sauce, kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), chili sauce and lemon juice or kaffir lime. So it's deliciously sweet-sour spicy dish.

Siomay is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities, It can be found in street-side food stalls, mobile carts, bicycle vendors, or even in restaurants. But the most popular place is in Bandung (West Java) so people call it siomay Bandung.

This food derived from Chinese cuisine shui mai (or shumai or shaomai). Beside influenced by Dutch cuisine (in Dutch colonial long time ago), Indonesian cuisine also had influence by other countries like India, Arabic, and Chinese. 

And my today's post is Bandung style siomay. I use haddock fish fillet mix with shrimps, but optionally feel free to use chicken minced mix with shrimp/ fish. But my suggestion if you mix with chicken, use bigger portion of fish/ shrimp than chicken meat. 

For other vegetables complements, usually people use bitter gourd/ bitter melon, white cabbage- boiled and rolled, boiled potato. There's also tofu and hard-boiled eggs. 
Enjoy your siomay with lime juice (mostly from kaffir lime), sweet soy sauce and chilly sauce.

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Mercimek Çorbası / Turkish Red lentil soup

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin

Selam everybody...... Merhaba from Turkiye...

Raining during the weekend marking of the spring has started. Soft and fresh (slightly cold) wind swept the summer heat. Welcome rains, welcome cloudy days... welcome fall.

And I believe this red lentil soup could bring us a little warmth on our family table. I made this simple version without carrot and potato. Quick, simple yet fulfill our family nutritious.

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BEST MOIST DARK CHOCOLATE FORREST STEAMED CAKE / KEK BLACK FORREST KUKUS

Resep dalam Bhs İndonesia ada di bagian bawah

"We Never know the Love of parent until we become parents ourself"

Selam..... Merhaba from Turkiye.....

Today I'd like to share other steamed cake recipe. As you know steamer method has been used for centuries in mostly Asian cuisine. Unlike mostly western cooking method which require oven bake on mostly their cooking process, we are Asian people accustomed with steam cooking process than oven bake. We steam almost everything starting from the main dish, side dish, and bread, until dessert.

With steam process we can avoid of burning or overbaking/ overcooking on food. And with steaming I believe we can get healthier and more nutritious especially when we steam vegetables.

I like steam my cake also. Cake with steamed process has more moist than baking one. And it's moist can last until few days (keep in an airtight container). And for me steam cake is always fail-proof in any recipe I make. 

And today I'll share one of my favorite cake recipes, it's definitely delicious and champion in my family. I use this recipe long time ago and still not boring of it. It's rich and intense of chocolate flavor, moist yet fluffy. With silky chocolate sauce even it's a plus plus.. (^,^) 😄

Silky chocolate sauce: (make it ahead)

• 140 gr chocolate chip
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp full-fat milk

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Cherry Flaky Pie

“Never do for a child what he is capable of doing for himself.”--Elizabeth Hainstock

Salam..... Merhaba from Turkey everyone.....

Weekend is my favorite time..when we can spend time with family, husband and kid or with your friend. Don't you agree of that? Spending quality time with your love ones.

Welcome September.. the month where summer will end and fall will come. And as the season changes, I should prepare some change on our wardrobe---yeahhh... maybe it's too early for some of you-- but for me as a mom of growing kid, I am not sure that my kid still has some fall/winter clothes which still suit for her.

Kids growing so fast you know. We change her shoes twice. I remember bought her new shoes for summer at early summer this year... but couple weeks ago she complained that her feed was pain.. she said in her mix language "mommy, my feet sıkıstı"

sıkıstı she means like in bind or being pressed in Turkish (^,^) . So Last week we bought new shoes for her.

And of course with her clothes.... I should check and prepare all for upcoming fall/ winter-head to toe...
Anyway.... summer almost end and I'm a little regret I didn't buy much cherry this summer. I love cherry and like always do previous summer I freeze them for dessert in fall/ winter. Sometimes I made cherry jam. But as I said, I didn't buy much cherry this season.... 

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Flaky Pie Dough

“Where parents do too much for their children, the children will not do much for themselves.”--Elbert Hubbard

Selam everybody..... Merhaba from Turkey...

My today's post is pie basic dough. I'm planning to make a pie for dessert this weekend.. I still have no idea what kind a pie I will make but surely a pie for this weekend dessert (^,^) ... long time though I didn't make any pie..

So I prepare to make this pie dough... anytime I I want to make a pie it'll just ready to go. I want flaky pie dough. And since it's very difficult to find shortening here in Turkey, so I googling recipe use whole butter, no shortening... Then I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen... 

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